FunTrivia Humanities Mix: Vol 17 Quiz

Answer: the

"The" comes in first ahead of "be", which includes any of its other forms ("is", "am", "are" etc). "To" is in third place. The "Oxford English Corpus" is a compendium of 2.5 billion words. The writings used for the database are English language texts, taken mostly from web pages of different English speaking countries.

Question by player Nealzineatser

Answer: lighting an empty building on fire

Lighting a building on fire though generally frowned upon in civilized society would be classed as arson, not murder. Sometimes a burden or difficulty can be described as murder, presumably as a metaphor to the act of killing, such as "these uncomfortable shoes were murder on my feet during the long hike." Most birds can be generically described as a flock when gathered in numbers, but a group of crows can also be described as a murder.

It seems somewhat fitting to give them such a creepy name as their often peculiar behavior can be a bit unsettling.

Question by player namrewsna

Answer: You turned to stone

Medusa was a gorgon with snakes for hair. To gaze upon her face would cause a man to turn to stone.

Question by player dcpddc478

Answer: Tuesday

"You can't help respecting anybody who can spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn't spell it right; but spelling isn't everything. There are days when spelling Tuesday simply doesn't count." -- Winnie the Pooh

Question by player brittany1119

Answer: Norse mythology

In Norse mythology, Odin is a major god ruling a world called Asgard, which surrounds the immense Yggdrasil along with eight other worlds. Many concepts of Norse mythology have become popular with heavy metal groups, sometimes used along with Viking legends to create themed lyrics.

This has been used significantly by bands such as Amon Amarth, Bathory, Tyr, and Wulfgar, to name a few.

Question by player MacaroniPants

Answer: Scar

A scar is a sign that the body has healed itself after suffering an injury or sustaining damage. Derived from the Greek word for 'fireplace', the word 'scar' is used to describe the many different marks which denote healing, from minor cuts and scrapes to acne blemishes, all the way through to invasive surgery.

Question by player poshprice

Answer: Norman Rockwell

It is one of Norman Rockwell's most recognizable paintings, this one showing a small New England town during the holidays. The town of Stockbridge, in Massachusetts, is one in which Mr. Rockwell lived for many years. In the painting, we see children playing in the snow, a family walks down a street all bundled up and the stores in the background are lit up with holiday lights.


Question by player Billkozy

Answer: an unwholesome interest in sexual matters

In the 16th century, the adjective "prurient" entered the English language from the Latin. Its Latin meaning was to itch or to crave, deriving from a word describing a glowing coal. Prurience occurs when one has an immoderate, excessive, lustful, unwholesome, wanton, lascivious interest in matters which are sexually arousing or appealing.

The Roth standard allowed Mister Justice Potter Stewart to write in Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964) that "I know it when I see it."

Question by player FatherSteve

Answer: Halloween

Halloween was originally known as Samhain, the Gaelic word meaning "summer's end". It was the time of the harvest festival and for celebrating the entrance into the dark half of the Celtic year and the Pagan festival of the dead who are said to walk the earth one night of the year. Christianity changed Samhain to Hallowmas, All Hallows Eve and then Hallowe'en or Halloween. So samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween.

Question by player ssabreman

Answer: a remote parcel of land

In American metrics, there are 640 acres in a section. A section is a square mile. Sections may be divided into quarter sections of 160 acres each. Quarter sections may be further divided into quarter-quarter sections of 40 acres each. The "north forty" refers specifically to one of these but idiomatically to any part of a ranch or farm which is remote.

Question by player FatherSteve