Cultures Trivia

1. In the Christian world, who was at one time most likely to be buried in an upside down position with the head below the feet?

From Quiz Last Rites

Answer: Suicides

An upside-down burial position is not common in any culture. In Christian societies they would sometimes bury suicides and assassins in this position. It was done as post-mortem punishment and to inhibit the body from the activities of the dead.

From Quiz Have Fun or Aisle be Upset

Answer: Jewish

A traditional Jewish wedding sees the couple being married under a canopy of some kind to symbolise their new home together as husband and wife, but before that begins, they both sign a marriage contract to formally state the husband's obligations to his wife, and the process to follow should a divorce occur. That of course originated long ago in the times where the wife was a home maker, and the husband brought home the income. Following a variety of blessings and vows, the couple then sip from a glass of wine together, after which the groom crushes the glass with his right foot. This symbolises the destruction and loss of Jerusalem's second Holy Temple which was destroyed by the Romans, circa 70 CE.

From Quiz Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia

Answer: Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes are indigenous in the Americas, yet carbon dating has proved that they have been in the Cook Islands as early as 1000 AD. They were widespread throughout Polynesia by the time Europeans reached it. The Maori word for sweet potato, Kumara, is similar to Native American words for it: the Quechua and Aymara languages call it a k'umar or k'umara.

From Quiz Fantastic Fa'a Samoa!

Answer: Talofa!

"Talofa!" is "Welcome" in Samoan. The word "alofa" means "love", and "ta" means "to hit", so this greeting is somewhat similar to the Hawaiian "Aloha!". "Malo e Lelei!" is a Tongan greeting, "Kia Orana!" is from the Cook Islands, and "Bula!" is Fijian.

From Quiz Justa Word in Spanish

Answer: con

La semana pasada, yo soñé con ella. I dreamed about her last week.

From Quiz LGBT Signs and Symbols

Answer: Lambda

Used in the title of the Lambda Legal Defense Fund, a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people, and those with HIV, through impact litigation, education and public policy work.

From Quiz Australian-American Culture

Answer: baseball

Obviously, he wasn't very successful. "The first recorded Australian baseball match was here on 21 February 1857. The account tells of the 'Melbourne Base Ball Club' having a series of three matches between Collingwood and Richmond. The scores were astronomical - with Collingwood winning the ssecond [sic] match 350 - 230! These early Australian baseball players were probably playing a variation of rounders and the New York Game."-- Joe Clark. http://www.australianbaseballhistory.webcentral.com.au/ABH/Baseball%20Web%20Pages/early%20history.htm

From Quiz Anglo-American Cultures

Answer: Lincolnshire

I think they still have tea parties!

From Quiz Last Rites

Answer: Hold a smoking ceremony

The Northern Territory Australian Aboriginals smoke out the deceased persons home. This smoking ceremony is done in order to expel the deceased person's spirit from the home. The body is then covered in leaves and left on a platform to decompose.

From Quiz Have Fun or Aisle be Upset

Answer: Islam

A Muslim couple must always marry publicly and never in secret. The actual ceremony itself varies from culture to culture throughout the Muslim world. Apart from the romantic side of acting as each other's comforter and protector and the belief that they are meant for each other, a Muslim wedding is also viewed as a legal contract between the couple. Neither couple can be forced or tricked into marriage, and although polygyny is allowed under the practice of Islam - with definite restrictions in place - the vast majority of Muslims in our modern world do not practice this. One wife is enough for any man to handle it would seem, a thought that is just a tiny bit amusing.

From Quiz Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia

Answer: Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea has more than 800 languages still in use. This is due to the fact that many tribes in Papua New Guinea are still uncontacted and have not assimilated with the rest of the world yet.

From Quiz Grin and Bare It!

Answer: 1543

Running about naked literally streaked through the 1970s and naked people were stripping off at any opportunity. At its peak, impromptu streaking was rife. Whether sky-diving, skiing or conga-lines, it was seen as a harmless bit of fun but is now frowned upon by faculty leaders. It still happens as an annual event on many campuses but not with the same gusto because of strict rules and repercussions.

From Quiz Justa Word in Spanish

Answer: Quechua

This language has some 13 million speakers in the Andean region. Its first grammar was compiled by a missionary in 1560 and it was used by the Catholic Church to help convert the population. Condor and puma are derived from this language. Guaraní is widely spoken in Paraguay and Brazil; Nahuatl, in Mexico; and Navajo, in the U.S. Southwest.

From Quiz LGBT Signs and Symbols

Answer: Mercury

In Greek mythology, Hermes (whose Roman equivalent is Mercury) and Aphrodite had a child named Hermaphroditus. When a nymph named Salmacis was upset that he hadn't fallen in love with her, she prayed to the gods for them to be together forever. Her prayer was answered and two were fused together into a single being with both male and female characteristics.

From Quiz Australian-American Culture

Answer: Detroit

Considering that Detroit hasn't made the play-offs since 1999, I'd say Brisbane's team is currently the more successful of the two. Of course, the Brisbane Lions' history is relatively short, as the club was formed in 1996 from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy Lions clubs. It didn't take the merged club very long to win its first league premiership in 2001.

From Quiz Anglo-American Cultures

Answer: Hawaii

Hawaii used to be called the Sandwich Islands and were at one time claimed by Britain.

From Quiz Last Rites

Answer: Being buried alive

Immurement is the punishment of being buried alive, and is usually done as a particularly cruel means of execution. This was often done by bricking up the victim in the walls of a building. Death usually occurred from dehydration, asphyxiation or starvation. Examples of immurement can be found in cultures all over the world.

From Quiz Have Fun or Aisle be Upset

Answer: Chinese

In a traditional Chinese marriage ceremony, the bride is escorted to her wedding by a "Good Luck Woman" who carries a red umbrella over the bride's head. This woman is chosen on the grounds that her own marriage was a fruitful and happy one, and this is seen as a good omen for the young couple entering into married life. The family and friends of the bride also scatter seeds and beans in front of the bride as she makes her way to the ceremony. If these attract a gold chicken along the way, this is considered to be an extra good omen for the marriage.

From Quiz LGBT Signs and Symbols

Answer: Labrys

In mythology, Demeter, the Goddess of the Earth, was known for using a labrys as her scepter in the many religious ceremonies she held, many of which are thought to have included 'lesbian' elements.

From Quiz Australian-American Culture

Answer: Florida

Both are Sunshine States.

From Quiz Anglo-American Cultures

Answer: Nylon

It has been retrospectively claimed that the word "nylon" is derived from NY (New York) + LON (London), but this is apocryphal. The "on" part is from the ending of cotton and rayon, with "nyl" being invented.

From Quiz Last Rites

Answer: A funeral cart

A caisson is a two wheeled cart used for carrying a coffin to the cemetery. It originated in Britain as an artillery cart but became a funerary cart around the 17th century.

From Quiz Have Fun or Aisle be Upset

Answer: England

An English handfasting was not actually a wedding ceremony at all as many believe, but was looked on more as a type of engagement period before the union of a couple became permanent in a follow up church wedding. In pagan ceremonies this period lasted for a year and a day and was also called a handfasting, but in normal English society the handfasting only lasted for a month before the wedding. This ceremony existed from the 12th to the 17th century in England, and it was considered legally binding, only to be dissolved on the death of either partner. It was also known as a troth-plight. Part of the ritual of such a ceremony consisted of wrapping a red ribbon around the joined hands of the couple and tying it with a knot. This is where we get the expression "to tie the knot" today when referring to a wedding.

From Quiz Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia

Answer: Easter Island

Easter Island is one of the remote islands in the world. It is almost 1300 miles away from the nearest piece of inhabited land, which is the Pitcairn Islands, a British Dependency. Easter Island is also known for its carved head statures, called Moai.

From Quiz LGBT Signs and Symbols

Answer: Purple, pink, blue

The bisexual pride flag has three stripes in these colors. In the triangle symbols there is usually a pink triangle overlapping a blue to create a smaller purple triangle in the center.

From Quiz Australian-American Culture

Answer: General Motors

The Holden was launched in 1948. You can see some images of those early models on the company's website at http://www.holden.com.au/www-holden/action/gallery?navid=5&catid=1011

From Quiz Anglo-American Cultures

Answer: Wilson

Both were in power in the 20th century.

From Quiz Last Rites

Answer: Removing the flesh and organs before burial

Excarnation is removal of the flesh and organs before burial. This can be done either by the person preparing the corpse for burial, or by leaving the body in the open air to decompose and be eaten by animals.

From Quiz Have Fun or Aisle be Upset

Answer: Pregnancy preceded the marriage

The English spelling for this Korean expression is "Sokdowebaan". It translates to "speeding over the limit" and refers to a bride's pregnancy preceding her marriage. Korea's nearby neighbour, China, refers to conception preceding a wedding as "Married by order of the child" ("Fengzichengun"). This suggests that the marriage was approved by imperial edict. Because the increasing percentage of pre-wedding pregnancies is on the rise in that nation - and is somewhat frowned upon - the hint of official approval gives it an acceptable quality instead.

From Quiz LGBT Signs and Symbols

Answer: Pink and Black

The pink triangle is the most widely known. It was used to identify homosexual males, while the less known black triangle was used to denote lesbians and those with so-called "anti-social" personalities. (This merely reflected Nazi notions of "anti-social" and has nothing to do with what is often referred to by psychologists as "anti-social personality disorder").

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Last Updated Nov 16 2024 5:44 AM

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