Thematic Rodents Trivia

1. In what iconic ballet, a holiday favourite, does the evil Mouse King engage in battle with the title character?

From Quiz Maus in the Haus

Answer: The Nutcracker

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" is one of the Russian composer's most enduringly popular works, regularly performed over the Christmas holiday season in North America and other parts of the world. First performed in 1892, the two-act ballet is based on "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" (1816), one of the fantastic tales by Prussian author's E.T.A. Hoffmann. The libretto by Marius Petipa, however, greatly simplified the plot of Hoffmann's tale (and also of the adaptation by Alexandre Dumas that was Petipa's primary source), in which the mice have a much larger role. The story is set on Christmas Eve in the house of the Stahlbaum family. At the end of Act 1, the monstrous, seven-headed Mouse King leads his army of mice out of the floorboards at the stroke of midnight. The mice first engage in battle with an army of gingerbread men, but are defeated when the Nutcracker (who is an enchanted prince), accompanied by tin soldiers, enters the fray. The Mouse King is eventually killed by the Nutcracker with the help of Clara, the little girl who has been given the toy as a present.

From Quiz I Smell a Rat

Answer: Trying to win back their girlfriends

Brodie (Jason Lee) was dumped by his girlfriend Rene because she was tired of sneaking in and out of house only to watch him play video games all night. TS (Jeremy London) and his girlfriend Brandi broke up because of tensions between TS and Brandi's father. The two girlfriend-less friends headed to the mall to drown their sorrows, and while there, began working on plans to win back their girls. They succeeded after appearing on a game show, "Truth or Date", that was being filmed in the mall.

From Quiz I'm a Rat What's Your Excuse?

Answer: The Stranglers

The title was changed to 'Rattus Norvegicus' at the last minute. The band's name was actually listed as 'Stranglers IV' on the sleeve. The second most successful mammal on earth (after humans), Rattus norvegicus is also known as the brown rat, the Norway/Norwegian rat, the common rat, the Hanover rat and the wharf rat, but they actually originated in China. Rattus norvegicus has been blamed for the spread of bubonic plague, but it was actually spread by the fleas on the rats - a subtle distinction, but one to appreciate for the sake of the rat!

From Quiz Celebrated Rats

Answer: Remy

As Linguini says, "Ratatouille. It's like a stew, right? Why do they call it that? If you're gonna name a food, you should give it a name that sounds delicious. Ratatouille doesn't sound delicious. It sounds like "rat" and "patootie." Rat-patootie, which does not sound delicious."

From Quiz Famous Mice!

Answer: Gerald

Gerald was featured in the song "Bike" which first appeared on the "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" album, released in 1967. It went to number 6 in the UK album charts. "I've got a mouse and he hasn't got a house, I don't know why I call him Gerald"

From Quiz Maus in the Haus

Answer: Western Australia

Located about 18 km (11 mi) west of Fremantle, off the southern coast of Western Australia, Rottnest Island owes its name to its population of quokkas, small native marsupials that were mistaken for giant rats by Dutch captain Willem de Wlamingh, who explored the islands for six days in late December 1696. The low-lying, sandy island, inhabited by Aboriginal people for over 7,000 years, was settled by European colonists in 1830, and used as an Aboriginal prison until 1902. Now Rottnest Island is a popular tourist destination, connected to Perth and Fremantle by daily ferry services. Most of the original colonial buildings are used as tourist accommodations; cars are not allowed on the island, and cycling is the main mode of transportation for both tourists and the few permanent inhabitants. With its rich flora and fauna, which includes three native tree species, many coastal birds, and colonies of seals (as well as the quokkas), Rottnest Island enjoys the status of A-Class Reserve (granted in 1917), the highest level of protection afforded to public land in Australia.

From Quiz I Smell a Rat

Answer: Ratt

Ratt, from California, was a popular band in the 1980s, and has tried to keep its success going over the years. "Wanted Man" was from the album "Out of the Cellar"(1984) and was used in the film "Weird Science"(1985). "Round and Round" was the band's most successful single, and was also originally found on "Out of the Cellar". It won a spot on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s" list, at number 51.

From Quiz I'm a Rat What's Your Excuse?

Answer: A water vole

The European water vole (Arvicola amphibius) was nearly wiped out in the UK, but is making a comeback. It is also known as the water rat, which is why 'Ratty' is the character's name in 'Wind in the Willows'.

From Quiz Famous Mice!

Answer: Ate them as snacks

The edible dormouse, latin name glis-glis, was considered a delicacy in Roman times. The glisary was used to breed a plentiful supply to be roasted and snacked on.

From Quiz Maus in the Haus

Answer: Michael Bond

Michael Bond, who sadly passed away in 2017, is well known for his series of children's books featuring the beloved character of Paddington Bear. His second children's series, the books featuring the guinea pig Olga da Polga (written between 1971 and 2002), was inspired by the Bond family's own pet guinea pig. In the series, Olga lives with her owners, the Sawdust family, and a host of other animals - including Noel the black cat, Graham the tortoise, and Fangio the hedgehog. All these creatures form Olga's audience when she launches into wildly exaggerated tales (eventually revealed to be untrue) that turn everyday occurrences into daring adventures in the style of Baron Munchhausen. The Olga books were originally illustrated by Danish artist Hans Helweg, known for the iconic "pulp" covers he created for Pan Paperbacks; later editions were illustrated by Catherine Rayner.

From Quiz I Smell a Rat

Answer: Pickles

"Rugrats" premiered on Nickelodeon in 1991 and aired until 2004. The show, its spinoffs "All Grown Up!" and "Angelica and Susie's Pre-School Daze", and three theatrical films, featured a toddler named Tommy Pickles and his friends, and his parents, Stu and Didi Pickles, and their friends. Other regular characters on the show included Chuckie Finster and his father Chaz, Tommy's cousin Angelica Pickles and her parents Drew and Charlotte, Tommy's baby brother Dil, Susie Carmichael, and the twins Phil and Lil DeVille

From Quiz I'm a Rat What's Your Excuse?

Answer: Richard Ratcliffe

The Tudors have never stopped slandering Richard III (who is now not believed to have murdered the princes in the tower - for an interesting take, read Josephine Tey's 'The Daughter of Time'). In this doggerel, the Cat was Catesby, one of Richard III's most trusted councillors, the Rat was Richard Ratcliffe, another of Richard's confidants, as was Lovell (our dog) and the Hog was Richard III himself, who had a wild boar as his personal totem.

From Quiz Celebrated Rats

Answer: James Cagney

The movie was "Taxi" (1932), and the actual line was, "Come out and take it, you dirty, yellow-bellied rat, or I'll give it to you through the door!" Warren, Doug; Cagney, James (1986). Cagney: The Authorized Biography, p.209 The phrase is most often cited as "MMMmmm, you dirty rat... (etc)" which became a trademark Cagneyism despite never being used in the film.

From Quiz Famous Mice!

Answer: Minnie

Charlie, Algernon, et al. featured in the classic science fiction novel "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. First published in 1966, it won the Nebula Award and was nominated for a Hugo Award.

From Quiz Maus in the Haus

Answer: Candlemas

Observed in Canada and the US, the popular tradition of Groundhog Day has its roots in German weather lore. In the original tradition, however, the weather-predicting animal was not a groundhog (a kind of ground squirrel, related to the European marmot, but native to North America), but a badger: if, on the day of Candlemas (2 February), a badger emerged from his lair during a sunny day and saw its shadow, then winter would continue for a further four weeks. This superstition was brought to North America by the Pennsylvania Dutch, the German immigrants ("Dutch" being a corruption of "Deutsch") who settled in Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries. The festival of Candlemas commemorates the presentation of Jesus at the Temple, and is based upon the account in the Gospel of Luke (2:22-40). The name "Candlemas" is derived from the custom of bringing candles (a symbol of Christ as "the light of the world") to church to be blessed.

From Quiz I Smell a Rat

Answer: Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Brian Backer played Mark "Rat" Ratner in the 1982 film "Fast Times at Ridgemont High". Mark Ratner was one of the main male characters in the film, a young 'good guy' type who worked hard at his part-time job and was in love with Stacy Hamilton (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh). His budding relationship with Stacy went a little haywire when she became involved with Rat's friend Mike Damone, but they sorted it out and got together by the end of the film.

From Quiz I'm a Rat What's Your Excuse?

Answer: Banksy

Much as though I disapprove of graffiti in itself, there is no doubt that Banksy is a genuine artist. His 'Gangsta Rat', which has appeared in many images, wears a baseball cap, bling (prominent jewellery) and is accompanied by a ghetto blaster (portable stereo). All the wrong answers are American graffiti exponents.

From Quiz Famous Mice!

Answer: Mitzi

The operatic super hero was voiced by both Roy Haley and Tom Morrison - all together now, "Here I come to save the daaaayyyyyyyy" Mighty Mouse first appeared in 1942, having been altered from a house fly called (who'd have guessed it?) "Superfly," drawn by Izzy Klein. The head of the studio thought a mouse would be more appealing to viewers and Mighty Mouse was 'born'.

From Quiz Maus in the Haus

Answer: Novosibirsk

The Monument to the Laboratory Mouse is a small (70 cm/27.5 in high) bronze sculpture that sits on a high granite pedestal in a park in front of the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, located in a suburb of the Siberian city of Novosibirsk. The statue, designed by local artist Andrey Kharkevich, and made by sculptor Alexei Agrikolyansky, depicts a mouse wearing pince-nez on its nose, and knitting a DNA double helix with the needles held in its paws. The monument commemorates all the mice whose sacrifice has allowed genetic research to progress and contribute to the development of new cures for diseases. It was completed on 1 July 2013, the 120th anniversary of the city's foundation. With a population of over 1.5 million, Novosibirsk is Russia's third-largest city after Moscow and St Petersburg; it is located in southwestern Siberia, on the banks of the Ob River. The three cities listed as wrong answers are also major Russian cities: Kaliningrad is the only one of them located west of the Urals.

From Quiz I'm a Rat What's Your Excuse?

Answer: A ducat

Polonius was hiding behind an arras (tapestry) to eavesdrop on Gertrude and Hamlet's conversation, but when he cried out, Hamlet killed him in mistake for Claudius. Hamlet, Act IV, Scene III, 23: "How now? A rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead!" A ducat was a gold coin used in Europe before the first World War. A doubloon was a Spanish gold coin. Eight half crowns made up a pound in British pre-decimal currency and a sovereign is a gold coin that is nominally equivalent to a pound sterling but, being made of gold, is worth considerably more.

From Quiz Celebrated Rats

Answer: Templeton

Templeton was beautifully voiced in the 1973 Hanna-Barbera animated film of the same name by comedian Paul Lynde, who also played the role of Uncle Arthur on "Bewitched." "Charlotte's Web" is a wonderful story which focuses on an unlikely relationship between a spider, a pig, and a collection of other farmyard animals - including our rat, Templeton. Amazingly, it works! Some might even say it's "terrific!"

From Quiz Famous Mice!

Answer: Kafka

Kafka wrote "Josephine the Singer" also known as "The Mouse Folk" in 1924, shortly before he died of tuberculosis. It has been proposed that the allegorical story was about Kafka himself, as his tuberculosis was of the larynx, and, like Josephine in the story, he lost his ability to communicate with his voice.

From Quiz Maus in the Haus

Answer: dormouse

The name "dormouse" denotes a number of species of Old World rodents of the family Gliridae; it comes from the French "dormeuse" ("sleeper"), and refers to these small, nocturnal creatures' habit of hibernating for about six months a year. The common name of "European edible dormouse" of the type species, Glis glis, hints at these animals' highly prized status as a delicacy in Ancient Rome. Caught in the wild, dormice were kept in terracotta containers called "gliraria", where they were fattened with nuts prior to being killed and served as appetizers or desserts. A dish of attractively arranged, honey-glazed dormice is featured in the famous episode of Trimalchio's dinner in Petronius's "Satyricon" (1st century AD), while a recipe for stuffed dormice is included in Book VIII Apicius' "De Re Coquinaria" (also from the 1st century AD). Dormice are still eaten in various parts of their range, though in some regions (such as Italy) it is illegal to hunt them. The Dormouse is one of the characters in Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", where it first appears during the Mad Tea Party (Chapter 7), and then in Chapter 11, at the Knave of Hearts' trial.

From Quiz I'm a Rat What's Your Excuse?

Answer: UB40

UB40 was named after the then Unemployment Benefit Form 40. Their biggest successes were with covers ('Red, Red Wine', '(I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You' and 'I Got You, Babe'), but they had modest success with 'Rat in the Kitchen', which reached number 4 in the British charts and number 53 in the US.

From Quiz Celebrated Rats

Answer: Joey Bishop

The group originally centred on Humphrey Bogart in the 50s, and for a time included Norman Fell and 'visiting' members Errol Flynn, Nat King Cole, Mickey Rooney and Cesar Romero. There was also a contingent of high profile actresses, somewhat condescendingly referred to as the "Rat Pack Mascots."

From Quiz Famous Mice!

Answer: Robbie Burns

"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang aft agley" was from Robbie Burns work "To a Mouse," written in 1785. The book "Of Mice and Men" was first published in 1937, and featured a scene where a character tried to stroke a mouse and accidentally killed it.

From Quiz Maus in the Haus

Answer: Hans Holbein the Younger

Executed in 1526-1528, during Hans Holbein the Younger's first stay in England, "Portrait of a Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling" depicts a young woman believed to be Anne Lovell, wife of Sir Francis Lovell, a courtier of Henry VIII. The woman, who wears a distinctive white fur hat, is set against a plain blue background, where a starling can be seen perching on a branch; the chained squirrel she holds in her lap is eating a nut. While the starling is believed to be a pun on the name of the sitter's residence, the squirrel may refer to the coat of arms of the Lovell family, on which six red squirrels appear. The painting has been part of the collections of London's National Gallery since 1992. A highly accomplished artist, Hans Holbein the Younger was one of the foremost portrait painters of his time. During his second stay in England, which lasted from 1532 to his death in 1543, he became Henry VIII's official painter, and created numerous portraits of the King and his family. Of the artists listed as wrong answers, Bosch was Dutch, not German.

From Quiz Famous Mice!

Answer: The Mouse Organ & Mouse Organ

"Bagpuss" was made by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin. Every episode saw the mice singing their 'fixing song' as they restored the "thing that Emily found that someone had lost."

From Quiz Maus in the Haus

Answer: Siena

Enclosed within a nearly intact circle of medieval walls, the historic centre of Siena (Tuscany) is divided into 17 wards, known as "contrade" (a cognate of the English "country"). Most of these wards - which were more numerous in the Middle Ages - are named after real or legendary animals. The Contrada Sovrana dell'Istrice (Sovereign Contrada of the Crested Porcupine) is located at the north-westernmost edge of the city centre; it was traditionally associated with blacksmiths and their craft. The "Sovereign" title was granted in 1980 by the Sovereign Order of Malta, which has been headquartered in the ward since the 14th century. The ward's coat of arms features a crowned porcupine; its colours are red, white, blue and black. Istrice's arch-rival is the Contrada della Lupa ("She-Wolf"). The Palio horse race takes places twice a year (2 July and 16 August); ten out of seventeen wards compete in it each time. The crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata) is the largest rodent in Africa and Europe; it is found in most of the Italian peninsula, as well as in Sicily and on the island of Elba.

From Quiz I Smell a Rat

Answer: The Summit

By the mid-1960s, the media referred to the group, including Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford, in addition to Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., as 'the Rat Pack'. However, they called themselves 'the Summit' or 'the Clan'. Some titles of their albums reflect this preference: "The Clan in Chicago, Live at the Villa Venice, Chicago 1962"(released 1993) and "Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. - The Summit in Concert 1962"(released 1999).

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