Waiting for Bill Trivia Quiz

Answer: Camel

Camels are adapted to travel in deserts. Apart from the hump which is full of fat and allows them to go for days without food or water, they have nostrils that can be closed against blown sand, long eyelashes and feet that splay out to avoid sinking in the sand.
It is believed that the carol "I saw three ships come sailing in" actually refers to the three wise men travelling by camel.

Tell Bill I am not going to wash his clothes if one of those camels spits on him!

Answer: Iditarod trail sled race.

The number of huskies in a team are usually between 12 and 16 and everyone is examined by veterinary nurses and doctors before they are allowed to compete. The course goes from Anchorage to Nome. Conditions mean that the route and distance vary from year to year, but it is in the region of 1700 miles and takes more than eight days to complete.

If you see Bill while you are there, tell him not to bring one of those dogs home with him! If I have a dog it will be a lap dog.

Answer: Two

Two hulls joined by a couple of lengths of branch were the original catamarans. They were far more stable and unlikely to capsize than a single hulled canoe. A three hulled vessel is a trimaran.

The postman says there are a lot of hulahula girls in the South Seas. I hope Bill keeps his hands to himself.

Answer: a mahout

Sadly the elephants are no longer needed in such numbers for logging camps and their numbers are declining. Mahouts are paired with their elephant from a very young age, sometimes about seven, and grow up with them. They learn to look after them and how to work with them from the time they are able to move small branches until they can lift heavy tree trunks.

Answer: A rickshaw

Once the drivers of rickshaws ran in front of the vehicle they pulled. Now many of them have managed to obtain bicycles which make the job easier. The postman suggests he might bring one home to use for us to get us to the wedding!

Answer: Oxen

The postman was interested to hear that it is true my grandfather explored and mapped much of that part of Africa when he joined the Kenyan Mounted Police Force in the eighteen hundreds. Oxen are big and heavy and can push their way through difficult, untravelled terrain, both jungle and plains and drag a heavy cart after them. Zebras are resistent to training and seldom tamed for work, camels do not live in jungles and horses legs are too fragile for such areas.

Answer: A bullet train

The postman says the bullet train runs above many of the buildings in Japan and can travel safely at high speed. With only a few, rare delays, it runs very much to time. In 2012 the average delay of arrival was 36 seconds.

Answer: Crampons

The postman brought me a picture postcard of the Matterhorn. The postman says Bill is climbing an easier mountain.
Crampons are a series of spikes fixed in straps that tie round the climber's boots. The spikes help the climber cling to the ice covered rocks.
Bill might have got home quicker if he had followed Hannibal's example and brought home one of those elephants from India!

Answer: St Bernard

I suppose any of these dogs might have done, but the St Bernard is the one known for finding lost travellers in the Alps. Pictures show the dogs carrying a small barrel of brandy to the people they rescue. I hope the dog that found Bill does not do that or he might make a habit of getting lost. The postman says that the dogs no longer do that, if they ever did.

Answer: A river

A coracle is a small handmade boat. Typically, willow branches are bound together into a framework and then covered with animal skin. This is a very ancient form of boat and, because they are individually made and are used on rivers with various kinds of current and bank, each one has a slightly different shape.
All that is needed now is for Bill to get a taxi to bring him home and then we might be able to use a limousine for our wedding at last.