Is It ICK or INK? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wink

To wink, you quickly close and open one eye. On the other hand to blink, you quickly close and open both eyes.

It seems the expression 'forty winks' meaning a short nap first appeared in print in England in 1821. Not even I remember back that far!

Answer: Rink

You can go to the roller rink or the ice rink. These are places specially designed for skating.

That reminds me... Did you know that American figure skater Tara Lipinski started roller-skating when she was three? The only athletic thing I could do when I was three was ride my tricycle. How about you? You can read about Miss Lipinski's hard work to become an Olympian in Glenn Stout and Matt Christopher's book, "On the ice with-- Tara Lipinski".

Answer: Brick

Nowadays, in the rich or 'developed' countries, bricks are mass-produced. They are made of clay that has been fired in a kiln like pottery. In poor or 'developing' countries, they can still be made of sun-dried clay or mud.

The scientists who study such things tell us that bricks made of dried mud were being used to build houses, temples and even whole cities as early as 4000 BCE in Mesopotamia, the part of the Near East that is now the countries of Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey and Syria. The method of brick making has advanced since then, and nowadays a number of other building materials are available. Even so, brick remains popular all over the world.

Answer: Chink

A chink is a narrow opening or crack. Often, it lets in light.

Chink is also part of a special class of words, like click, clink, snick and plink, as well as crash and smash. These words that sound like what they name or describe are onomatopoeic words. They help make what we say and write vivid.

Answer: Kink

A kink is defined as a sharp twist or curve in something that is otherwise straight, like a cat's tail as it is being flicked.

When Dad stands up and stretches his back after bending over his work for a long time, he might explain that he's working out the kinks.

Answer: Fink

To fink on someone is to snitch or tell on them. To be a rat fink is, well, to be a rotten person.

'Fink' is not something you want to do or to be! All the same, the word 'fink' is interesting. According to one dictionary I looked at, dictionary.com:

"The exact origins of how fink entered English aren't fully known, but it's thought to come from the German word Fink, which means "finch" (a type of bird). In German, the word was used as a slang term referring to an undesirable person, especially an untidy one."

Why a nice little finch should come to be associated with an undesirable and untidy person beats me. But then, I don't speak German.

Answer: Skink

Though all the choices are animals, a skink is a type of small lizard with a very long tail. Mostly, skinks live on the ground rather than climbing. They usually eat insects, spiders and millipedes.

Whereas the skink is a reptile, the mink and the lynx are mammal. Among other things, that means the skink is cold-blooded, so he has to bask in the sunshine and warm up before he can get going in the morning. Depending on what species he belongs to, he may have smooth skin or scales (or a combination of both).

By contrast, the mink and the lynx are warm-blooded, like humans. Also, they have fur.

A chick is a baby bird. Interestingly, birds are warm-blooded like mammals. I say 'interestingly', because the scientists who study such things tell us that birds are descended from cold-blooded dinosaurs. Evolution is an amazing thing.

Answer: Nick

A nick is a small cut. You can also nick an object, like a piece of furniture, leaving a small notch. Doing this might get you in trouble.

It's important to pay attention and work safely with sharp objects like knives, scissors and woodworking tools. A little nick won't do you much harm, but you could sustain very severe injuries from a bad enough accident.

Did you know that Louis Braille, the Frenchman who developed the braille reading and writing system for the blind in the Nineteenth Century, lost his eyesight as a child through an accident when he was playing with leatherworking tools in his father's workshop? You can read about his life and work in Barbara O'Connor's book "The World at His Fingertips".

What happened to Mr. Braille is a drastic example but still, safety first!

Answer: Wick

I never gave much thought to wicks before writing this quiz. They're quite interesting though.

First we have to talk a little about combustion. That's burning to you and me. Here's how NASA (the U.S. space agency) explains it:

"Combustion is a chemical process in which a substance reacts rapidly with oxygen and gives off heat. The original substance is called the fuel, and the source of oxygen is called the oxidizer. The fuel can be a solid, liquid, or gas."

Got all that? Don't worry if you have to read it a couple of times; I did too.

Now, the wick is usually specially treated twine, made of cotton and/or paper fibers. In an oil burning lamp, the lit wick uses a process called capillary action (the same process trees and plants use to move fluids inside them) to draw the oil up to where it has contact with the air. Remember, air contains oxygen and oxygen is needed for burning. When the oil makes contact with the oxygen in the air, it becomes vapor and it is this vapor that maintains the flame and keeps the oil, the fuel, flowing up the wick to meet the air.

With a candle there's an extra step. The heat of the lit wick melts just enough of the wax to start the liquid wax traveling upwards the same way the oil does. From there, the process is the same.

Answer: Think

To think is to use one's mind actively to form connected ideas.

Thinking can be fun, like when you're using your imagination. Or it can be hard work, like when you're puzzling out a math problem. Always, though, thinking is an important thing to do. Thinking helps a person be kind and considerate. And that helps her or him be a better person, more human, you might say. So remember, when in doubt, use your noggin.