Yes Sir Trivia Quiz

Answer: Honeybee

Honeybees are being trained by many countries including USA, UK and Croatia with a view to determining how practical sniffer bees are. Tests conducted at Los Alamos National Laboratory, in New Mexico, have already shown the the bees' olfactory abilities allow for the detection of TATP, the primary charge used in many terrorist bombs, as well as being able to detect TNT concealed in motor oil.

The downside to the project is that the bees have to be contained in some way rather than allowed to free fly and this leads to a lifespan of, on average, about 48 hours.

Answer: Dolphins

Dolphins have been used by the U.S. and Russian Navies for many years. The American programme also uses sea lions and is based in San Diego, California, where other than mine detection, the animals are also trained in the recovery of objects and assisting persons in difficulties.

Answer: The Dickin Medal

The Dickin Medal is named after Maria Dickin, who in 1917 founded the veterinary charity the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA). The Medal came into existence in 1943 to honour animals that had served in WWII. The first recipients were White Vision, Winkle and Tyke, three pigeons that had delivered messages, whilst under fire, that contributed to the rescue of Allied troops.

Answer: Horse

Reckless started life at Seoul racetrack but was bought by the U.S. Marine Corps who trained her to be a pack horse, carrying ammunition, supplies or wounded personnel. She was so adept at this role that she would learn a route after just a few trips and be able to make future trips on her own.

Her importance was illustrated when in March 1953, she made 51 solo trips in one day, to supply front line personnel. Reckless died in 1968, aged 20 and there are statues of her at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia and in the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington Kentucky.

Answer: Gerbil

The idea was so simple it was genius. Gerbils have a heightened sense of smell and the animals were trained Pavlovian style, to press a button when a person sweating heavily walked past their cage. In tests, the animals correctly identified potential terrorists, however they also picked up on nervous flyers and people with bad hygiene habits. Needless to say, they were picking out so many people that the idea was shelved.

Answer: Bats

This was an ingenious idea, even if cruel to bats. Up to 800 bats could be dropped by parachute in a specially designed bat carrier, which would open in mid air, releasing the animals, all of whom had a timed bomb fitted to them. The bats would then roost in large numbers during the day at which point the timer would activate, the bomb would go off and the building would catch fire.

It was deemed especially useful in Japan where many of the buildings were of a wood and paper construction, but despite the National Defence Research Committee praising it as an effective weapon, it never got off the ground due to a number of problems, such as slow development and errant bats, who during testing at Carlsbad base roosted under a fuel tank and the subsequent blaze destroyed the test range.

Answer: Pigs

Both writers noted that the elephants were scared by the squeal of a pig and the animals would be released in great numbers to run toward the approaching elephants and their armies. This was taken a step further in 226 BC, when the Megarians, at the siege of Megara covered pigs in pitch and tar and set light to them before releasing them.

The elephants stampeded in order to escape the burning, squealing pigs and trampled large numbers of their own forces.

Answer: Glowworm

Just ten glowworms are needed to emit a similar amount of light to that of a modern day street light, so these insects were collected in their thousands by trench bound troops and placed in jars to allow for night time reading.

Answer: Stubby

Sergeant Stubby was a pit bull mix dog who was adopted by Private J. Robert Conroy of the 102nd Infantry Regiment in 1917 and accompanied his master to the front lines in France. A mustard gas attack left him sensitive to the fumes and from then on he was able to warn the regiment of an impending gas attack.

Although there are no official army records, legend has it that by the end of the war, Stubby was a sergeant - and Conroy had only made it to the rank of corporal, meaning he had to salute his dog.

The 2018 movie featured the voices of Helena Bonham-Carter and Gerard Depardieu.

Answer: Chickens

It was a simple idea which was based on proven scientific theory. Similar to miners taking canaries underground, soldiers used chickens as they will show signs of respiratory distress or even die due to the effects of gas or other pollutants before a human will realise anything is wrong.

The use of chicken in the Gulf War was dubbed Operation Kuwaiti Field Chicken (KFC) and having the chickens strutting around outside camps provided great reassurance, until one morning when they were all discovered to have died in the night. Fearing a gas attack, the chickens were quickly examined as the camp took precautions, and it was discovered that the birds had all frozen to death.

Not only did the chickens provide a healthy meal, they proved that the idea behind them worked and chickens were also used in the second Gulf War.