Anything Goes Number Thirteen Trivia Quiz

Answer: A woman hit him with her purse

Italian immigrant Giuseppe Zangara, with a heart filled with indignation at the unfairness and inequality of life, decided to draw attention to this by assassinating President-elect Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, at a public function held 17 days before Roosevelt's inauguration as President. Unfortunately though, Giuseppe was only a small man, and decided to stand up on a nearby bench for a better view of his target - and that bench was also occupied by a buxom American woman named Mrs Lillian Cross. Once she realised what Giuseppe was up to, this stout heroine promptly whacked Giuseppe with her handbag - and wrestled with him until help arrived.

Answer: From one of your own cuttings

Coleus is a member of the mint family and comes in a range of very pretty colours, that make great fill-in spots in your garden if you wish to add a splash of colour. Traditionally it was once used to treat asthma, chest pains and high blood pressure, but please do NOT attempt to treat yourself with this little beauty unless you first consult medically and scientifically trained specialists.

Also known as spurbush and the hedgehog flower, you'll be wasting your money if you trot along to a plant nursery and buy a pot or two of coleus. Instead simply cut off a healthy looking little stem from one of your own, remove all the lower leaves (that prevents dehydration during the growing stage), and replant in the soil with a good watering. These plants need to be pruned regularly to maintain their fullness and loveliness, or they start to look scraggy. Don't we all!

Answer: 43 AD

Julius Caesar first landed in England in 55 BC, a date many consider the successful invasion, and permanent settlement, of that country. However, that first expedition to Britain was more a case of the introduction of trade and Roman culture. Caesar landed again in 54 BC with a LOT more men (which should have warned the Brits) but once again, this was more a case of continued development of ties with Rome.

It wouldn't be until 43 AD, under Emperor Claudius, that the true invasion of Britain took place - and you know the rest of it from there. (Refer University of Warwick, England, Classics and Ancient History, Roman Invasions of Britain).

Answer: An unprincipled politician

The original meaning of the word "snollygoster", which arose in the 19th century in Pennsylvania, America, was a creature of myth whose prey was children and chickens. By later in the century, a slang version of the word had evolved to mean a very shrewd and cunning person, unguided by principles - with reference, in particular, to politicians.

Another old-fashioned word once much in use, was "woofits". That described someone who was feeling depressed and out of sorts - or who had a hangover. Possibly the latter had caused the former?

Answer: With Viagra and explicit videos of mating pandas

Giant pandas once roamed the world of south-east Asia, Vietnam and southern China, but alas, their numbers are dwindling fast because of man's destruction of their habitat. Their diet consists mostly of bamboo and bamboo shoots and they have developed larger molars over time to help with grinding up this rather tough fare. The giant panda only reproduces every two years in the wild, and at that, usually gives birth to just one cub at a time. If twins arrive, sadly one is left to die.

Attempts to breed giant pandas in captivity are a dismal failure as the males simply lose all interest. To try to get them going in that area, and as reported on the BBC news in September, 2002, Chinese scientists medicated their male giant pandas with large doses of Viagra, and tried to further enhance the process by showing them explicit videos of pandas mating. Both attempts failed. That is hardly surprising as most male animals rely on receptive signals from their females - and not human intervention - before they're interested. It is doubtful, also, whether these beautiful animals can even perceive moving images on a screen, but either way, they possibly just don't want to mate anyway, with curious onlookers watching their every romantic overture.

Answer: Prune juice

Prune juice, which is made from dried and rehydrated plums, can act as a mild laxative, and, more interestingly perhaps, is also used to enhance the flavour of some cigarette tobacco. We learn in season three of "Star Trek: The Next Generation", episode "Yesterday's Enterprise", that prune juice is introduced to Lieutenant Worf (the Klingon security officer on board) by the mysterious Guinan, and he takes an immediate liking to it, describing it as a "warrior's drink".

It would certainly keep him running, that's for sure.

Answer: To season and cleanse the baby spiritually

This small amount of salt, which had been blessed beforehand, was to symbolise a couple of Catholic beliefs. The first was that it represented the baby being seasoned with God's grace - and the second, because of salt's cleansing properties, was that the baby was now clean and fit to receive that grace.

It is unknown whether other faiths follow, or followed, a similar practice. I received a dressing down from my eldest sister once, when I was 13 or so, for giggling all the way through the baptism ceremony of her son, at the look on her baby's face when salt, and then water, was put on his unappreciative tongue and head. I just couldn't stop.

Answer: Testicle Cove

Ball Bay is a pretty spot by the ocean 35 miles north of Mackay in Queensland, Australia. An ideal spot for those on camping holidays to stop for a night or so, its facilities include toilets, cold showers, wood barbecue facilities and fresh water, but that's about it. Ideal for a quiet few days fishing, or exploring bushwalking trails, it features some really stunning views over the ocean.

However, given the nature of Australians, who seem to delight in thumbing their noses at anything official at all, and as a play on the name of the settlement, Ball Bay is known locally as Testicle Cove.

Answer: Belly laughs

Global Belly Laugh Day, celebrated on January 24 each year since 2005, is not just a trendy new age event. Medical researchers have long considered laughter to be a very positive contributing factor to our overall health. It releases many happy chemicals in the brain and boosts both our physical and psychological well-being, as detailed, for example, in Ramon Moira-Ripoll's 2011 work, "The Therapeutic Value of Laughter in Medicine".

The Global Belly Laugh Day was instigated in 2005 by professional yoga instructor, Elaine Helle, and so the official gift of celebrating laughter has chuckled on ever since - hopefully without taxes.

Answer: Jenny Kissed Me

"Jenny Kissed Me" is a poem written by English writer, Leigh Hunt, in 1838. Who amongst us has not looked back on a similar innocent and happy memory from their youth with a smile, a sigh - and a flash of sweet remembrance? Its innocent gentle lines follow below:

"Jenny kissed me when we met,
Jumping from the chair she sat in;
Time, you thief, who love to get
Sweets into your list, put that in:
Say I'm weary, say I'm sad,
Say that health and wealth have missed me,
Say I'm growing old, but add,
Jenny kissed me."