FunTrivia Sci / Tech Mix: Vol 23 Quiz

Answer: vitamin D

Vitamin D is the name given to a group of fat-soluble secosteroids (i.e. steroids with a "broken" ring), the most important of which for humans are ergocalciferol (vitamin D₂) and cholecalciferol (vitamin D₃). These compounds, produced in the lower layers of the skin by a chemical reaction dependent on exposure to the sun, increase intestinal absorption of minerals such as calcium, magnesium and phosphate, which are essential for bone health.

As natural food sources of vitamin D are few (among them, the flesh of oily fish, eggs and liver), food products like milk and breakfast cereal are often fortified with vitamin D. Dietary supplements are also widely available, though their effects - even in terms of preventing osteoporosis - are unclear.

Question by player LadyNym

Answer: On the tip of your tongue

Lingual means pertaining to the tongue and the apex is the tip. The central line on the upper tongue, more pronounced on some than others, that joins the apex to the back, is called the medial sulcus. Most people don't realise that the tongue is not one single muscle but eight muscles meshed together.

In psychology tip of the tongue, or TOT, is the failure to retrieve something from the memory with the feeling that retrieval is imminent. It is regarded as an indication that memory retrieval occurs in stages.

Question by player gmackematix

Answer: Red

Red is the first color in the rainbow mnemonic ROY G. BIV. It is commonly associated with danger, fire, love and anger.

Question by player geobeechamp

Answer: Upset stomach

Pepto-Bismol, a famously pink preparation based on bismuth subsalicylate, is used to treat many digestive system ailments. A curious side effect of the ingestion of the bismuth is a blackening of the tongue and stools in some cases.

Question by player mehaul

Answer: Footballers and soccer players

Turf toe, from which quite a few footballers suffer, is an injury to the under side of the base of the big toe. Basically it's a sprain, but, though we may be inclined to grin at such an injury, turf toe can be career destroying if serious enough. It is usually the result of playing on artificial surfaces, such as Astro Turf. Sports stars such as Tom Brady and George Best have suffered from this condition.

Question by player Creedy

Answer: Exponents

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally or "PEMDAS" means (P) Parentheses and brackets, (E) Exponents, (M) Multiplication and (D) Division, (A) Addition and (S) Subtraction. The calculations must be done in the correct order, or the answer will be wrong.

Question by player Loronia

Answer: Saturn

With the addition of 62 new moons in May 2023, Saturn was confirmed to have a total of at least 145. By contrast, Jupiter, which has the second largest number of moons, was known at that date to have 95. The discovery was made by two independent teams of astronomers, one based in Taiwan, the other based in the USA, who carefully compared thousands of images taken from 2019 to 2022 by a telescope on top of Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Most of the newly discovered moons are relatively small in size, being less than two miles in diameter, and have irregular orbits. Saturn has been known to have moons since 1655, when Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovered Titan, its largest satellite.

Question by player agentofchaos

Answer: mitosis

Mitosis happens in several complicated stages, starting when the centrosome divides into two and ending in stage six when the cell has completed its division. The two cells formed, the 'daughter cells', can now grow and reproduce by mitosis.

Question by player retiredangel

Answer: Do-It-Yourself (DIY)

"Maker culture" is the technological version of the Do-It-Yourself culture of attempting to build and repair objects by yourself, as opposed to paying a skilled expert. Stereotypically associated with the "Home Handyman" with a shed full of tools (remember your father trying to fix something you broke?), the term "DIY" has since expanded to incorporate a vast array of mediums, including fashion, jewellery, knitting, crocheting, and ceramics, as well as larger-scale efforts like bands and authors self-releasing their works. "Maker culture" involves users repairing and modifying existing technological hardware and software to achieve a desired result.

Question by player matthewpokemon

Answer: antibiotic

In the field of medicine, there has been a long drought when it comes to finding new antibiotics. Before the discovery of teixobactin, all of the antibiotics in the world had been discovered during or before the 1980s. This has been a cause for concern in the medical world because many organisms that are treated with antibiotics have begun to mutate and become immune to the treatments. Due to new laboratory techniques, previously unworkable biotics are now able to grow in the laboratory setting.

Question by player trident