A Bit of This and That Trivia Quiz

Answer: Montreal Royals

The Montreal Royals were a minor league baseball team and the top farm club for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson played for the Royals for one season in 1946. During that season, he faced racial resistance from his own manager as well as his teammates but helped his team to win the Little World Series.

He was named MVP of the league for that season and led the league with a .349 batting average. Montreal fans very enthusiastically supported him and he helped to sell tickets as the small league saw more than one million people attend games.

In 1947, he was called up to the major leagues and made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 11, 1947.

Answer: September 11, 2001

In the movie "The Matrix", Mr. Anderson (Neo) fails to escape from the agents who pursue him and is taken into custody and interrogated. One of the agents is flipping through a folder full of documents and one of these documents is Neo's passport which shows an expiry date of September 11, 2001. That date of course is the date of the horrific terrorist attack against the United States in which four passenger planes were hijacked. People who are attracted to conspiracy theories have a bit of a field day with this coincidence and there are very interesting discussions online about this.

Answer: Tryptophan

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, necessary for sustaining life. It is not made inside the body and so it is necessary to obtain it from diet. Tryptophan is present in many foods, including proteins such as turkey, chicken, beef and fish. It is also found in chia seeds, sesame seeds, oats and chickpeas.

Although side effects of tryptophan taken as a dietary supplement can include drowsiness (as well as nausea and headache), the drowsiness felt by people after consuming a large turkey dinner are more likely related to feasting on a carbohydrate-heavy meal.

Answer: Used as fertilizer

Buffalo bones are high in phosphorous and because of this, were ground up and sold as bonemeal. The bonemeal was used as fertilizer in poor soils. The vast majority of buffalo bones were used in this manner although buffalo bones were also sold to sugar refineries. Both Native Americans and settlers sold the bones to bone dealers.

The bone dealers sold them to sugar refineries and to fertilizer plants.

Answer: 1976

Construction began on the CN Tower on February 6, 1973, and was completed on June 6, 1976. It cost $63 million to build and until 2007, held the record for the tallest free-standing structure in the world. It is 553 meters tall (1,815 feet) and has a rather nice revolving restaurant at the 350 meter mark (1,150 feet). Don't worry, it revolves quite slowly - it takes 72 minutes to complete a full revolution.

Interestingly, it became the world's tallest free-standing structure while still under construction.

It achieved that feat in March of 1975, with the placement of an antenna.

Answer: Australia

Kangaroo Island is located in southern Australia, specifically southwest of Adelaide in the Great Australian Bight. It is Australia's third largest island, covering an area of 4,405 square kilometers (1,700 square miles). The island is home to Flinders Chase National Park which is located on the west side of the island.

It is also home to a diverse range of animals including koalas, sea lions, birds and, yes, kangaroos.

Answer: Wally Lamb

Wally Lamb began writing in the 1980s, writing short stories. In 1989, he won the Missouri Review William Peden Prize for "Astronauts." His debut novel, "She's Come Undone" was published in 1992 and was named as one of Oprah's Book Club choices and nominated for the Los Angeles Book Awards' Art Seidenbaum Prize.

The novel is about a troubled young woman and how she deals with the challenges she has in life. The book was also one of "People" magazines top ten books of the year. Six years after his debut novel, Lamb wrote "I Know This Much is True" which was also an Oprah Book Club selection.

Answer: Nemesis

She's called Nemesis, Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia. Nemesis is the Greek word that means 'to give what is due.' She's described as the daughter of Oceanus or Zeus but also as a child of Erebus and Nyx. She is portrayed as winged and carrying a whip or dagger.

In Greek tragedies, she avenges crime and punishes excessive pride. In mythology, it is Nemesis who lures Narcissus to the pool where he sees himself in the reflection, falls in love with what he sees, and dies.

Answer: Steve

Steve is the name of one of the fictional characters in the game "Minecraft." His female counterpart is named Alex. Steve is a customizable avatar for characters. His character is human and is blocky in appearance. Characters can change the visual appearance (skin) of Steve. Steve has made appearances in other video games, namely "Super Meat Boy" and "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate."

Answer: Crocodile

Dr. Erickson is quite an expert on the origin and growth patterns of alligators and dinosaurs. In a series of tests over multiple years, he found that the saltwater crocodile bit down with 3,700 pounds per square inch (psi), or 16,460 newtons, of bite force.

He believes that would compare to a T. Rex. In case you're not convinced, big cats such as lions only generate around 1,000 psi (4,450 newtons). Humans generate around with 150 to 200 psi (890 newtons). What about sharks? Well, they weren't measured in the study...