A Head Start Trivia Quiz

Answer: sharks

The family Sphyrnidae of the order Carcharhiniformes (the ground sharks) comprises the genus Sphyrna (the hammerhead sharks) and the genus Eusphyra (winghead shark). These cartilaginous fish are characterized by the distinctive shape of their heads, named "cephalofoils", and reminiscent of a hammer; this peculiar head shape gives the fish enhanced binocular vision, enabling them to see above and below them at all times. The winghead shark (Eusphyra blochii) of the Indo-Pacific region boasts the largest cephalofoil. Hammerhead sharks are found in warmer coastal waters, though they will occasionally migrate to cooler regions during the summer. All species of hammerhead shark are at least vulnerable, and some of them - such as the largest species, the great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) - are critically endangered (IUCN, 2019) because they are intensively fished for their fins, considered a delicacy in parts of East and Southeast Asia.

Though the larger species of hammerhead shark are potentially dangerous, these creatures have been very rarely involved in attacks on humans, and none of the 17 documented unprovoked attacks was fatal. Those unique animals, considered divine by native Hawaiians, are clearly in much greater danger from humans than the other way round.

Answer: English Civil War

Roundheads, or Parliamentarians, were the supporters of the Parliament of England, who fought against the Cavaliers (or Royalists), the supporters of King Charles I, during the English Civil War (1642-1651). While the Royalists believed in absolute monarchy and the divine right of kings, the Roundheads aimed at handing supreme control of the country to the Parliament.

While the name "Roundheads" refers to the custom by Puritan men of wearing their hair closely cropped, in contrast with the courtly fashion for long ringlets, not all Roundheads were Puritans, and many of them belonged to the Church of England; their supporters, however, were all staunchly anti-Catholic. Especially during the Civil War, the term "Roundhead" was used in a derogatory sense by the opposite faction, and Parliamentarians were discouraged from using it amongst themselves; on the other hand, Royalists proudly embraced the term "Cavaliers".

Answer: John Keats

Written in 1818, and published in 1820, John Keats' narrative poem "Isabella, or the Pot of Basil" counts 63 stanzas of 8 lines each. It is based on a story in Giovanni Boccaccio's "Decameron", known as "Lisabetta da Messina" (IV, 5). The daughter of a wealthy family, Lisabetta falls in love with Lorenzo, a young man who works for her three brothers. When the three greedy, violent men learn of the affair, they murder the young man, spreading the rumour that Lorenzo has been sent on a work-related trip. However, Lorenzo's ghost appears to Lisabetta in a dream, revealing the truth, and telling her where his murderers have hidden his body. The young woman finds the body and cuts off its head, and once back home buries it in a pot of fragrant basil, which she waters with her tears. Unfortunately, the brothers steal the pot, finding the head inside it: afraid of retribution, they get rid of the head, and flee to Naples - leaving the unfortunate Lisabetta to sicken and die, pining for her lost love.

This tragic love story was a very popular subject for Pre-Raphaelite painters: the most famous depiction, by William Holman Hunt (1867), shows Isabella embracing the pot, which is decorated with skulls. One of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, "The Elf of the Rose" (1839), was also inspired by Lisabetta's tale.

Answer: cheese

Though head cheese is one of those foods that many people love to hate, variants of it are enjoyed all over the world. The name "cheese" is deceptive, as there is no dairy involved in the preparation of this dish, but relates to the visual appearance of many versions of this dish, made in a rectangular mould and sliced before serving like cheeses often are. As is the case of most dishes prepared with offal, head cheese is a peasant food, originated in times when most parts of a slaughtered animal were utilized. Only the fleshy parts (including the tongue) are used in the making of head cheese: first the brains and eyes are removed, then the head is simmered to produce a stock that will congeal into a jelly. Various spices and seasonings are added to the stock; the dish is usually served cold, with fresh or pickled vegetables, sauces, and other accompaniments.

Head cheese is especially popular in Europe, and also found in countries influenced by European culture, such as the US, Canada, and Latin America; similar dishes exist in China and Korea. Some kinds of head cheese - such as the Central Italian "coppa di testa" - come in the shape of highly seasoned cold cuts, served thinly sliced, usually with bread, or as part of an "antipasto" (appetizer) platter.

Answer: Slovenia

Standing at an elevation of 2,863 m (9,395 ft), Triglav (named "Terglau" in German and "Tricorno" in Italian) is the highest peak of the Julian Alps, and the highest mountain in Slovenia; it was also the highest mountain in Yugoslavia before Slovenia became independent in 1991. Slovenia's only national park, named after the mountain, was established in 1981. The name Triglav, meaning "three-headed one" in Old Church Slavonic, refers to the mountain's three peaks, which are depicted on Slovenia's coat of arms. Triglav lies in the northwestern part of the country, close to the border with Italy and Austria. Sadly, the glacier on the northeastern side of the mountain has almost completely disappeared.

The Slavic deity Triglav (or Troglav) is believed to have no connection to the mountain; there are, however, other places in Central and Eastern Europe named after this deity. Triglav was depicted as a man with three heads - possibly representing the realms of sky, earth and underworld, or (like the Hindu Trimurti) the three major gods of the Slavic pantheon. Unfortunately, most statues of the god were destroyed during Christianization. Another early Slavic deity, Svantovit, was depicted with four heads.

Answer: Saint Denis

Cephalophore means "head-carrier". In the Catholic tradition, a number of saints martyred by beheading are depicted carrying their severed heads - though this particular motif is also found in secular literature (namely in Dante's "Inferno", and in the Middle English poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"), as well as in folktales. Many of these head-carrying saints are venerated in France, Spain, and Britain.

Believed to have been the first bishop of Paris in the 3rd century AD, Saint Denis is also the first saint to whom this unusual property is attributed. According to the famous "Legenda Aurea" ("Golden Legend"), a collection of hagiographies compiled in the 13th century by Jacobus de Varagine (himself an archbishop) - which inspired many of the masterpieces of medieval and Renaissance art - after being beheaded by pagan priests on the hill of Montmartre ("mount of martyrs"), Saint Denis picked up his head and walked for seven miles, preaching a sermon during the journey. The Basilica of Saint-Denis (widely held to have been the first true example of Gothic architecture) was built in the place where he stopped and was eventually buried, a Roman settlement to the north of Paris that was later named after the saint.

Answer: captive

The Latin word "caput" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *kaput-, to which also the English "head" is related. Many common English words derive - directly or indirectly (in many cases through French) - from this word. "Captive", however, is not one of them, as it comes from "captus", the past participle of the Latin verb "capere", meaning "to seize".

"Capital" - from the adjective "capitalis", originally meaning "relating to the head or top", or "standing at the beginning" - has come to denote (among other things) the most important city in a country, generally the seat of government, as well as the wealth owned by a person or organization. "Captain" comes from the Latin "capitaneus", meaning "leader"; "chief" and "chieftain" also have the same origin, though their form is more directly influenced by French. "Capitulate", on the other hand, comes from "capitulum", the diminutive form of "caput", meaning "heading" (hence "chapter"); the original meaning of "draw up under headings" has come to mean "surrender" or "comply" (presumably from the act of drawing up terms of surrender).

Surprising as it may sound, the likes of "cadet", "cabbage" and "cattle" (plus a host of others) are also derived from "caput".

Answer: Olmec

The earliest known civilization in Mesoamerica, the Olmecs lived in the tropical lowlands of the modern Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco, near the Atlantic coast, between ca. 1500 to 400 BCE. This people influenced many aspects of the civilizations that flourished in this part of the world in the following centuries. The name "Olmec", meaning "rubber people" in Nahuatl (the language spoken by the Aztecs), is believed to refer to the Mesoamerican ballgame, the ritual sport widely practiced by the pre-Columbian peoples of Mesoamerica. The artifacts most often associated with the Olmec civilization are the colossal (up to 3 m/10 ft tall) human heads carved from large basalt boulders. Each of the seventeen heads unearthed so far wears a helmet-like head covering, as if in preparation for a ballgame; all the faces share similar physical features, such as slightly crossed eyes, flat noses, and fleshy lips. Most of the heads have been dated between 1500 and 100 BCE.

Many theories have been put forward regarding the identity of the people depicted in these massive sculptures. As in the case of other large pre-Columbian artifacts or buildings, many questions remain about the planning and execution of these huge heads without the help of beasts of burden or wheeled vehicles to move the boulders, and metal implements to work them.

The Pueblo people, or Puebloans, live in the southwestern US, not in what is commonly known as Mesoamerica (i.e. Mexico and most of Central America).

Answer: Radiohead

Radiohead were formed in 1985 by Thom Yorke (vocals/guitar), the brothers Colin (bass) and Jonny Greenwood (guitar/keyboards), Ed O'Brien (guitar), and Philip Selway (drums), a group of five young men who attended the same independent school for boys in Abingdon (Oxfordshire). The band's original name was On a Friday, but was changed to Radiohead (from the title of a song by Talking Heads) when they signed a six-record contract with EMI in 1991. They released their debut album, "Pablo Honey", in 1992: it included the single "Creep", which drew attention to the band. Their breakthrough, however, came with the following two albums - "The Bends" (1995), and especially "OK Computer" (1997), which saw the band experimenting with unconventional song structures and influences from electronic music and avant-garde, and earned them widespread critical acclaim. Since then, Radiohead have released another six studio albums - the most recent (at the time of writing) being "A Moon-Shaped Pool" (2016).

Radiohead have pioneered the use of the Internet for streaming and promoting music, and adopted a "pay what you want" model for their seventh studio album, "In Rainbows". In 2019 they were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; they have also won three Grammy awards for Best Alternative Music Album.

Answer: Albania

The association of the ancient symbol of the double-headed eagle with imperial power has its roots in the Byzantine Empire, where this symbol represented the Empire's dominion over both the West and the Near East. In the Middle Ages, the double-headed eagle was adopted as an emblem by Serbia, Russia, and the Holy Roman Empire, and appeared on the coat of arms of Austria-Hungary until its dissolution in 1918. The double-headed eagle featured on the flag and coat of arms of Albania was originally the emblem of the Kastrioti, the family of Albania's national hero, Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, leader of the Christian resistance against the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. The current flag - whose red colour represents bravery - was adopted in 1912, when the country became independent from the Ottoman Empire.

The flags and coats of arms of Serbia and Montenegro also feature a double-headed eagle, as does Russia's coat of arms. On the other hand, the flags of the three countries listed as wrong answers all depict eagles with only one head.