It's the Truth - Nothing Special Quiz

Answer: Kansas, USA

There were certainly earlier cases, but the first officially recorded instance in the massive influenza pandemic that came to be called the Spanish flu was at Camp Funston, a US Army training base in Kansas, in March 1918. The First World War, with its large scale movements of men, provided an effective means of transmitting the virus, and many combatant nations were affected. The secrecy of war meant the warring nations were not going to admit to a large scale illness among their troops, so it transpired that neutral Spain, with no imperative to hide the medical emergency, was the country that publicised the flu outbreak.

The picture shows an early edition of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", whose heroine comes from Kansas.

Answer: Beetle

Coccinellidae are a common family of beetles that entomologists would prefer people to call lady beetles or ladybird beetles, because they are not true bugs. They are often red, yellow or orange with black spots, though there are other combinations, such as brown examples with white spots. Ladybugs are favourites with children because they are so cute, but also with gardeners because of their voracious appetite for aphids.

The picture is of a 1970s Volkswagen Beetle car.

Answer: Ecuador

Panama hats are high quality lightweight hats that are woven from the leaves of the jipijapa or toquilla plant. They have been made by expert Ecuadorian hat makers for many years and the art of making them has been registered by UNESCO on its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The misnomer Panama hat came from the migration of skilled workers from Ecuador to Panama in the middle of the nineteenth century, and the growth of popularity and renown for the hats that followed.

The picture shows an equator monument at Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.

Answer: Sheep

Catgut has been used for many purposes, including the strings of instruments such as violins, violas and guitars, stringing tennis racquets, suspending pendulums in clocks, or as surgical sutures. More modern alternatives have been developed for some of these uses, but catgut continues to be useful.

It is produced mainly from the intestines of sheep or goats. The reason for the misnomer "catgut" is not clear. Perhaps it is short for "cattlegut" or maybe the "cat" element comes from the use of the word "kit" for a fiddle?

Answer: Lizard

A slowworm is a legless lizard. It looks like a snake, but its tail, though it looks continuous with its body, will detach to enable escape from predators. Slowworms are found in western Eurasia, and feed on slugs and snails.

Answer: Newfoundland

The Labrador retriever is one of the most popular breeds of dog in the world. Nineteenth century British breeders created it as a dog to retrieve wildfowl shot by hunters. They used St. John's water dogs from Newfoundland and crossed them with British hunting dogs. They named the breed after Labrador, which was a region of the Newfoundland colony, not on the island itself. Labrador retrievers are popular family pets and commonly used as guide dogs.

The picture shows a Newfoundland dollar.

Answer: Milk

An egg cream is made from three ingredients: full fat milk, carbonated water, or seltzer, and a flavoured syrup. Some swear by certain brands of syrup, such as Fox's U-bet chocolate syrup. Rather than milk, some recipes use half and half, or half full fat milk, and half heavy cream.

It's a drink best served from a place with a soda fountain. The reason for the name is unclear. It could be from Yiddish - an "echt", or genuine cream or a mispronunciation of chocolate and cream - these are just guesses.

Answer: Marni Nixon

Marni Nixon is most famous for providing the singing voice for actresses in top musical movies. Among her work is "West Side Story" where she sang Natalie Woods's parts, "The King and I", covering for Deborah Kerr, and "My Fair Lady", where she did singing duties for Audrey Hepburn. She appeared in front of the camera in "The Sound of Music", where she played one of Maria's fellow nuns.

The picture shows a map of the Watergate Complex, which was intended to lead you to Richard Nixon.

Answer: Grover Cleveland

In the 1888 US Presidential election, Democrat incumbent Grover Cleveland was defeated by his Republican opponent, Benjamin Harrison. This was despite winning the popular vote. The popular vote was affected by widespread voter suppression of Republican supporting black voters in the south. If Cleveland had won in his home state of New York, he would have retained the presidency. He turned the tables on Harrison in the 1892 election.

The picture shows the Cleveland Browns HQ.

Answer: Hydrozoan

The Portuguese man o'war, also known as the Pacific man o'war, was named for its resemblance to an old fighting ship. Its other name, blue bottle, comes from its colour. It has a relatively small floating section with a long tentacle. It resembles a jellyfish, but is actually a hydrozoan or siphonophore made of a colony of small organisms. It can deliver a very painful sting.

The picture shows an Estonian hydroelectric plant.