Thematic Cows Trivia

1. The letter "aleph", from which the Greek "alpha" is derived, meant "ox" in what ancient language of the Mediterranean region?

From Quiz Bovines: The Male of the Species

Answer: Phoenician

"Aleph" is the first letter of most Semitic abjads (writing systems that do not include vowels). Its origins lie in an Egyptian hieroglyph that depicted an ox's head, adopted to describe the initial sound of the word meaning "ox" in various Semitic languages, such as Hebrew and Phoenician. The pictograph, which represented the strength and power associated with oxen, later became stylized, looking like an upper-case "A" lying on one side. Both the name and the shape of the Greek "alpha" come from the Phoenician letter: while the upper-case letter kept the shape of the Phoenician letter, the lower-case one suggested the original pictograph that included horns. Alpha was also reinterpreted as a vowel, while "aleph" was a glottal stop occurring at the beginning of a word. Phoenician is a Semitic language of the Canaanite branch, thus closely related to Hebrew. Though not much is known about it, as very few written texts remain, its alphabet was for the most part derived from Egyptian hieroglyphs.

From Quiz On the Ning Nang Nong, The Cows Go Bong

Answer: Four

Although it's often said that a cow has four stomachs, that isn't strictly true. Rather, cows have one stomach with four compartments: the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum and the abomasum. The different compartments are needed to digest the plants cows eat, such as grass. The rumen contains microbes that break the food down, and when the food passes into the reticulum, the acids inside it break down any foreign bodies that may have accidentally been mixed in with the food. The omasum absorbs the moisture from the food. Finally, the abomasum - which is the compartment with the function most similar to that of the human stomach - digests protein and starch.

From Quiz Cows Throughout History

Answer: Turkey

The first domesticated cattle descended from ox-like creatures named Aurochs. The modern European strain of cows (Bos Taurus) is named after the Taurus Mountains of southern Turkey, the area where cows are believed to first have been domesticated. The domestication of cattle were a significant step in civilization, because aside from milk and meat, cows also provided clothing, tools and shelter and were used for labor intensive agricultural tasks. Cattle were also used for wealth exchanges and religious sacrifices. While European aurochs were the first to be domesticated, there was a second domestication in India around 7000 years ago, and possibly another in Africa around 8500 years ago. Taurine cattle can first be seen in Neolithic Europe around 6400 BCE.

From Quiz Famous Bovines

Answer: Black Diamond

Black Diamond was technically a bison and not a buffalo, as buffaloes are mainly found in India and Africa, and not in the United States. He weighed more than 1500 pounds and was a resident of New York's Bronx Zoo. The buffalo nickel first went into circulation in 1913, and was minted until 1938. A few years after the nickel commenced circulation, Black Diamond was sent to a meat-packing company which rejected all offers to save him, and began selling "Black Diamond" steaks instead.

From Quiz Bovines Are Divine

Answer: Jersey

Elsie "came out" as a Jersey cow at the New York World Fair in the 1930s, when an actual Jersey cow was chosen to be her real life counterpart. In 1940, advertising execs announced that the lovely Elsie had "married" another well-known bovine---Elmer, the bull whose likeness adorns Elmer's Glue bottles. Whether the pair are still together, I don't know, but both of their smiling faces can still be seen promoting their respective products.

From Quiz On the Ning Nang Nong, The Cows Go Bong

Answer: Hereford & Hereford cattle & Hereford cow

Hereford cattle are originally from the county of Herefordshire, on the border of England and Wales, but have spread all over the world as one of the most popular breeds of beef cattle. It was initially exported into Kentucky in 1817, before spreading across the US and then into Mexico and South America. Hereford cattle are hardy beasts, thanks to being accustomed to the cold damp British climate; they have distinctive red coats and white heads, and a hornless variant called the polled Hereford also exists. ('Here' is the opposite of 'there' and the car manufacturer in question is Henry Ford.)

From Quiz Cows Throughout History

Answer: Second (1493)

Columbus brought the cattle and other domesticated animals along on his second journey in 1493. The second journey was much larger than the first, with Columbus bringing two naos and 15 caravels. Columbus arrived in Dominica on November 3, 1493, and sailed the Caribbean as far west as western Cuba. Descendants of the cattle that Columbus brought to the Americas still survive, and that has been established through genetic testing. Conquistadors later introduced cattle in Mexico at Vera Cruz in 1525.

From Quiz Famous Bovines

Answer: You'll Do Lobelia

You'll Do Lobelia was born in 1932 on a farm in Massachusetts. She was selected to be Borden's spokescow in 1939. In 1940 Elsie got a husband named Elmer who was the mascot for Elmer's glue. Lobelia was so popular that she traveled all over the United States by first class on trains or chartered airplanes. Lobelia was seriously injured in a truck accident in 1941, and had to be put to sleep.

From Quiz Bovines Are Divine

Answer: Mrs. O'Leary

The contention that the Great Chicago Fire was started by a lamp-kicking cow belonging to one Mrs. Kate O'Leary, a small dairy business owner, has never been fully proven. A post-fire inquiry into the matter yielded inconclusive evidence and no charges were ever filed.

From Quiz Bovines: The Male of the Species

Answer: Luke

In many artistic depictions Luke the Evangelist is accompanied by a winged ox, a likely reference to the theme of Christ's sacrifice on behalf of humankind that is central to the Gospel attributed to him. In the ancient world, oxen were common sacrificial animals, and also symbols of service and strength; the Gospel of Luke begins and ends in the Temple, where sacrifices were offered. In Christian iconography, it was common practice to replace the Evangelists with their symbols - the winged ox for Luke, a winged man (or angel) for Matthew, a winged lion for Mark, and an eagle for John. When the four symbols appear together, the image - mentioned in the book of Ezekiel (1:4-11) and the book of Revelation (4:6-8) - is known as a Tetramorph (Greek for "four forms"). Traditionally regarded as the author of Acts of the Apostles, Luke is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations; his feast is celebrated on 18 October. A follower of Paul, he is widely believed to have been a physician and an artist, the first painter of icons. He is also venerated as the patron saint of bachelors, students and butchers.

From Quiz On the Ning Nang Nong, The Cows Go Bong

Answer: Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock has multiple film roles - and a few production jobs as well - to her name, including 'The Blind Side', 'Speed', 'Gravity', 'Miss Congeniality', 'The Heat', and 'While You Were Sleeping'. She won multiple awards for her role in 'The Blind Side' in 2010 as Leigh Anne Tuohy, the adoptive mother of American football player Michael Oher. Of German descent, she grew up in Germany and Austria due to her father being stationed there. 'Speed', in which she played Annie Porter, a passenger on a bus with a time bomb, was her breakthrough film in 1994. She was given a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame in 2005.

From Quiz Cows Throughout History

Answer: Abilene

Abilene was the first major cattle town in Kansas, between 1867 and 1871. It marked the end of the Chisholm Trail, a cattle route from Texas. Cattle were driven to Kansas where they could be loaded onto freight trains and shipped to Chicago, where most of the major meat processing companies were located. Wichita was the major Cow Town between 1872 and 1877, and Dodge City was known as the "Queen of the Cow Towns" between 1877 and 1884. Newton and Ellsworth were also major cow shipping locations in the 1870s.

From Quiz Famous Bovines

Answer: Kamadhenu

Kamadhenu was considered the mother of all cows. She was said to have emerged during the churning of the celestial ocean of milk and became the property of the sage Vashishta. Kamadhenu is a symbol of prosperity, and the cow in general is a symbol of purity, motherhood, and non-violence.

From Quiz Bovines: The Male of the Species

Answer: Knossos

The site of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete was first discovered in 1878, and later (starting in 1900) excavated by a team led by English archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans. The core feature of the site is a magnificent palace, founded circa 2000 BC, with about 1,300 rooms connected by corridors. The fresco panel known as the Bull-Leaping or Taureador Fresco - dating from around 1450 BC - was destroyed in an earthquake, and its fragments were found lying on the ground when the site was excavated. Painstakingly reconstructed, it is held at the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion, the capital of Crete, while a reproduction is displayed in the Palace. The vividly hued fresco - painted in relief on a stucco panel - depicts an acrobatic scene in which a human figure vaults over a galloping bull's back, while another holds the animal by the horns, and a third watches from behind. As illustrated by various Greek myths, such as the one about Theseus and the Minotaur, bulls were central to Minoan culture: a number of artifacts depicting bulls and bull-leaping ("taurokathapsia" in Greek) scenes have been found in various parts of the islands. Another striking example of bull-themed Minoan art is the stunning bull's head "rhyton", a drinking vessel made of black steatite, jasper, and mother of pearl, which was also found in Knossos.

From Quiz On the Ning Nang Nong, The Cows Go Bong

Answer: Gary Larson

Gary Larson is the brains behind 'The Far Side', a surreal cartoon strip often featuring anthropomorphic animals, historical figures, and women with beehive hairdos and glasses. Many of his cartoons feature dogs, ducks and cows. His 'Cow Tools' cartoon, published in October 1982, depicted a cow standing in front of a table laden with unusual objects, one of which vaguely resembles a saw. Larson was inspired by the idea that the ability to use tools differentiated humans from other animals. Readers of newspapers featuring 'Cow Tools' were confused by the cartoon and wrote in asking Larson what it meant. Larson responded that there was no deep meaning to the cartoon; he was simply imagining the kind of tools a cow would make if it had the ability.

From Quiz Cows Throughout History

Answer: Catherine O'Leary

The O'Leary's lived at 137 DeKoven Street in Chicago, which is the site of the Chicago Fire Academy today. It is generally accepted that the fire began at their barn, but there is debate over what exactly started the fire. Some blame the O'Leary's cow, others a tenant who was smoking, and still other sources suggest embers from chimneys. In any case, the fire spread rapidly, destroying several square miles of Chicago, killing hundreds, and causing millions in property damage. In a silver lining, the fire left a blank slate for architects, and the first skyscraper in Chicago (and the world) was built just over a decade later. Chicago would go on to become one of the world's premiere architectural cities.

From Quiz Famous Bovines

Answer: Elm Farm Ollie

She was milked during her flight and was reported to have produced 24 quarts of milk on board. This happened at the International Air Exposition at St. Louis on February 18, 1930 and Elm Farm Ollie flew about 72 miles between St. Louis and Bismarck, Missouri. The purpose of this trip was to observe how flight affected animals. The milk was sealed in cartons and dropped from the airplane over St. Louis. Small parachutes were attached to the cartons to prevent spills.

From Quiz Bovines Are Divine

Answer: Clarabelle

Goofy, gangly, and girly, Clarabelle the Cow shares her first name with Clarabelle the Clown, the non-speaking character played by Bob Keesham (the future "Captain Kangaroo") on "The Howdy Doody Show." Clarabelle the Cow was originally paired with an equine "beau" named Horace Horsecollar. But Horace failed to catch on with the public and he eventually faded into cartoon obscurity, leaving Clarabelle to make her way alone in the world, until she, too, lost her animated luster.

From Quiz Bovines: The Male of the Species

Answer: The Who

Born in London in 1944, John Alec Entwistle was one of the founding members of The Detours, the band that became The Who in 1964, together with guitarist Pete Townshend and lead singer Roger Daltrey. His nickname "The Ox" allegedly stemmed from his strong constitution, which enabled him to eat, drink, and do other things in higher amounts than the average person. "The Ox" is also the title of the closing track of The Who's debut album, "My Generation" (1965), an improvised instrumental piece featuring pianist Nicky Hopkins. While his stoic stage presence sharply contrasted with the pyrotechnic antics of the other three members, his ground-breaking approach to bass playing - which earned him the nickname of "Thunderfingers" - was one of the band's driving forces. He also contributed to songwriting, his output being characterized by a rather dark sense of humour (as exemplified by the song "Boris the Spider"). Entwistle also released a number of solo albums, and had a thriving side career as a visual artist. Entwistle was a member of The Who from 1964 to their breakup in 1982, and then again from their reformation in 1999 to his death in 2002. He was 57 years old when he unexpectedly passed away of a heart attack (partly brought about by cocaine use), the day before the start of The Who's US tour.

From Quiz On the Ning Nang Nong, The Cows Go Bong

Answer: Ferdinand

Ferdinand is a young bull who would rather sit under a cork tree and smell flowers than fight with other bulls. He grows up to be big and strong, but unlike the other bulls, does not dream of fighting in bull fights in Madrid. However, when a bee stings him, he charges around snorting madly and some men take him to Madrid to a bullfight. When women throw flowers into the ring, Ferdinand is delighted and smells the flowers, refusing to fight, much to the anger of the matador. He then returns to his pasture. Various readers read all kinds of political agendas into the book and it was banned in various countries, including Fascist Spain (where it remained banned after Franco's death) and Nazi Germany (Hitler called it 'degenerate democratic propaganda'), while in the US, it was made into a Disney film in 1938.

From Quiz Cows Throughout History

Answer: Louis Pasteur

Pasteurization uses relatively low level heat (50 to to 60 centigrade) to kill of microbes. Initially Pasteur used the process to sterilize wine and beer. It was not until years later than it was used to process milk. But by the early part of the 20th century, pasteurization of milk was fairly commonplace. Lavoisier was a chemist who helped discover hydrogen and oxygen. Chevreul is best known for his work with animal fats. Wurtz is a chemist who was a major advocate of the atomic theory in the late 19th century.

From Quiz Famous Bovines

Answer: Norman

"City Slickers" was a 1991 movie in which three men, facing various crises, signed up for a cattle drive vacation in the Southwest. Mitch (played by Billy Crystal) helped birth Norman and formed a special bonding with him. He eventually prevented Norman from being slaughtered by buying him and taking him to a petting zoo in New York City.

From Quiz Bovines Are Divine

Answer: Four

Technically, cows are known as "ruminents", which means that their stomachs are divided into chambers. As a child, I thought that cows had four stomachs and found that very strange. What's even stranger (and very sad) is that many cows destined to become steaks are fed meat and blood from butchered members of their own species. I'm no vegetarian, but it doesn't seem that cows were meant to be cannibals, either.

From Quiz Bovines: The Male of the Species

Answer: lake

An oxbow is a U-shaped metal frame attached to a yoke that fits around the neck of an ox. Named after this implement's shape, an oxbow lake forms when a meander (wide curve) in a river is cut off from the main stream. Since they are bypassed by the river that has formed them, these U-shaped lakes are stillwater lakes, with no current flowing through them, and eventually become swampy, or dry up completely. An example of this are the Australian billabongs, which fill with water in the rainy season, but are dry for most of the year. Oxbow lakes are generally found in low-lying plains, near the mouth of a river. They often host thriving ecosystems, which, however, can be damaged or even destroyed by the sediment and runoff that oxbow lakes - acting almost as filters - remove from the main river flow. Many oxbow lakes are found along the course of large rivers such as the Amazon and the Mississippi. A large bend in the Connecticut River, home to many bird species, and immortalized in a large painting by American artist Thomas Cole (1836) is simply known as "The Oxbow".

From Quiz On the Ning Nang Nong, The Cows Go Bong

Answer: It will rain.

Reasons for this superstition include cattle detecting increased air moisture and lying down to secure a dry patch of grass, or lying down to ease their stomachs as their stomachs are supposedly sensitive to atmospheric pressure changes. However, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that if cattle are lying down, it is going to rain. Cattle spend half their time lying down while chewing the cud, regardless of the weather, and because they are herd animals, they have a herd mentality and will mimic each other's behaviour. Other superstitions about cattle and weather include a belief that a cow hitting its tail against a fence post means the weather will be fine, as does cattle resting on high ground.

From Quiz Cows Throughout History

Answer: Grain mash from whiskey distilleries

Starting in the 1820s, grain distilleries would sell their leftover mash to dairy farmers. While the high calorie mash led cows to produce more milk, it was extremely low quality milk. Milk dealers would adulterate it with things like chalk to make it look whiter and, therefore, healthier. Fights to eliminate swill milk were a major battle for public health authorities in New York City during the 19th century.

From Quiz Famous Bovines

Answer: Hathor

Hathor was a very ancient goddess and has been pictured, among other things, as a woman with cow's horns with the sun between them and a cow with the sun's disk between her horns. Besides being called the Mother of Mothers and the Celestial Nurse, she was also credited with being the Mistress of Drunkenness and was connected with romance, fertility and erotic dancing.

From Quiz Bovines Are Divine

Answer: Smell flowers

Published in 1936, "Ferdinand the Bull" tells the story of a peace-loving bull who rebels when chosen by the local men to participate in a bullfight. It was one of my favorite books as a child, and it remains a best seller today.

From Quiz Bovines: The Male of the Species

Answer: Lamborghini

Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. was founded in 1963 by Ferruccio Lamborghini, who wanted to compete with Ferrari, Italy's leading sports car brand. In 1972, he retired and sold the company, which went bankrupt a few years later. Now the brand is owned by Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. One of Lamborghini's most distinctive features is its association with the world of bullfighting. Shortly before starting his company, Ferruccio Lamborghini visited the ranch of the Miura family in Andalusia, where prized fighting bulls were bred. He was so fascinated by those powerful animals that he adopted the image of a charging bull (also his star sign, Taurus) as the emblem of his automaking business. One of the earliest, and most famous, Lamborghini models, produced between 1966 and 1973, was named Miura. The bullfighting connection has been a constant in the company's history, with cars named after individual bulls (such as Islero and Diablo) or notable bull breeds (such as Jalpa or Urraco). Spanish fighting bulls ("toros de lidia") are large, highly aggressive animals bred on large estates in Spain, Portugal, France and Latin America. Though controversial, the bullfighting tradition is still strong in many Spanish-speaking countries, as well as in southern France. Though founded by an Italian, Bugatti is based in France.

From Quiz On the Ning Nang Nong, The Cows Go Bong

Answer: Isle of Wight

Cowes is linked to the town of East Cowes by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a vehicular ferry that acts as a bridge and transport across the River Medina. Cowes is also the home of Cowes Week, Britain's oldest regatta, presided over by the Royal Yacht Squadron; George IV, the Prince Regent, was a big fan of yachting and joined the Squadron in 1817, when it was known as the Yacht Club. Having an actual prince in its ranks caused the Club to become the Royal Yacht Club, then the Royal Yacht Squadron, and their first race took place in 1826. Nowadays, Cowes Week takes place at the beginning of August. It includes the Fastnet Race, a biannual event (only held in odd years) which involves rounding Fastnet Rock near Ireland, a wide variety of races featuring various kinds of boats, and a firework display on the last Friday of the festival.

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:54 AM

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