A Manx Mix Trivia Quiz

Answer: Snaefell

Snaefell rises 2,037 feet (620.9 m) above sea level on. From its height, there is a saying you can see six kingdoms: Mann, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and Heaven. Indeed, the Isle of Man, a mere 30 miles (48 km) long by 10 miles (16 km) wide, is centrally located in the Irish Sea, surrounded by Scotland to the north, England to the east, Wales to the south (all three on the island of Great Britain), the Republic of Ireland to southwest, and Northern Ireland to the west.

As you may guess, the name 'Snaefell' is Norse for "snow mountain", and the word 'fell' persists in English meaning a "rocky hill", though mostly in place names (such as Scafell Pike, the highest summit in England.) . While it requires no special equipment, if you can't manage the climb on foot, you can ride the electric tram (spring through mid-autumn) up the four miles (6.4 km) from the village of Laxey to the top, where you'll find an obelisk marking the true peak.

Overall, the terrain of Mann is rather treeless and hilly to the north and south, with a valley in the center. The Manx people enjoy a temperate climate with cool summers and mild winters, although there are at times hurricane-force winds. A weather station on Snaefall recorded in 1970 a gust of wind at 150 mph, a record for the British Isles.

Ben Nevis is the tallest mountain in Scotland and in all the British Isles. Snowdon is the highest peak in Wales. Carrauntoohil is the greatest mountain on the Emerald Isle (which is to say Ireland, as if you need telling).

Answer: True

Given the Isle of Man's proximity to its large neighbor Great Britain, and its position as a self-governing dependency of the British Crown (though not a member or territory of the UK), it is little surprise that British English would ultimately overtake Manx and even Anglo-Manx, the local dialect of English. The Manx language had suffered a slow decline since the Duke of Atholl sold the island to the British Crown in 1765, a trend which accelerated as immigration from North West England (Liverpool and Lancashire) increased, and also influenced the Anglo-Manx dialect, also called Manx English. In 1974 the last native speaker of proper Manx passed away. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) delayed until 2009 to declare Manx extinct; by then, however, the Manx language had already begun to undergo a resurrection as the 21st century progressed, at least as a second language taught to schoolchildren. UNESCO has since reclassified Manx as "critically endangered".

Manx, called Gaelg or Gailck natively, is an Insular Celtic language, meaning it arose in the British Isles, as opposed to European mainland where Continental Celtic emerged (and is now utterly extinct). To distinguish it from Irish Gaelic and other forms of Gaelic, it may be called Gaelg/Gailck Vannin ("Gaelic of Mann") and Gaelg/Gailck Vanninnagh ("Manx Gaelic").

One last point: historically, the adjective was originally spelled "Manks", especially by natives, as it was a contraction of the Old Norse 'Mannisk' ("Mannish"). Vikings brought the Norse language to the island in the 5th century, and for much of the Middle Ages, Mann was a protectorate of Norway, and so there are marked Norse influences on the Manx language. Manx emerged as a distinct language around the time of the collapse of the Norse Kingdom of Mann in the 13th/14th century.

Answer: wrongy

Manx cats are known for being tailless, but they can actually be born one of three ways: with no tail ("rumpy"), with a bobtail ("stumpy"), or with a normal tail ("longy"). Manx cats, however, are not native to the Isle of Man! Domestic cats were introduced possibly by a shipwreck from the Spanish Armada, or it may have been as early as the Viking conquest. At any rate, we can observe the effects of microevolution, which is to say that in isolation (as on an island) a landrace develops with unique characteristics, from genetic mutations passed down from generation to generation. (A landrace is kind of like a breed, but bred by Mother Nature rather than by human beings.) But now they are bred especially to be rumpy, with taillessness actually being a dominant gene. The Manx is the world 's best-known tailless breed that is recognized by the Cat Fanciers Association and other international registries. Unfortunately, about 20 percent of rumpies are born with a too-short spine and other birth defects collectively called Manx Cat Syndrome. Healthy Manx cats make excellent mousers, vigilant watch-cats, and affectionate companions. Quite intelligent, Manx cats can figure out how to open doors, and unlike many breeds they can tolerate long road trips.

Especially for cat-fanciers: many sources will say that the Manx is the only officially tailless breed, but actually there is a sister breed, the Cymric, which is also bred specifically to be rumpy. But the Cymric, too, originated from the Isle of Man! The main difference is that while the Manx is short-haired, the Cymric is long-haired. They share similar personalities, including superior intelligence, hunting skills, affection, and watch-cat behaviors. (Some international registries regard the Cymric as a subset of the Manx breed, rather than a separate breed.)

Answer: rat

Do not use that three-lettered word starting with 'r' to refer to four-legged members of genus Rattus on the Isle of Man! You especially must never say it aboard a ship, perish the thought! Instead you must call such a rodent a longtail, a ringle, or a joey in English, or you may use the Manx word 'roddan'.

Many Manxmen and Manxwomen go their whole lives without ever saying the dreaded 'r' word, and visitors to the island learn the taboo quickly. If you do say it, be sure to whistle immediately afterwards, or cross your fingers, or touch a piece of wood while saying it to dispel the curse. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Answer: women

The Isle of Man was the first self-governing nation to give women the right to vote in parliamentary elections, in 1881. Under this new law, however, Manx women had to be at least 21 years old and either unmarried or widowed; married women could not vote, and both women and men had to own property worth at least £4, a tidy sum in those days. Tynwald, the name of the Manx parliament, was persuaded to thus extend the franchise by Lydia Becker, a suffragist leader in Manchester, England, after she visited the island and made five impassioned speeches.

The first country to give *all* women the right to vote in national elections was New Zealand, in 1893. The Isle of Man removed all property restrictions for women and men in 1918. In 2006, Tynwald became the one of the first parliaments to lower the national voting age to 16. Tynwald is the oldest continuous parliament in the world, having existed since the 9th century, when the Isle of Man was a Norse kingdom.

Political note: The Isle of Man is Crown dependency, which means it belongs to Queen Elizabeth II and her successors directly and is not a member of the UK; it's not even a UK territory such as Bermuda. It makes its own laws, which is why Manxwomen householders over 21 had been voting for 27 years before the UK gave women householders over 30 the right to vote in 1918. Elizabeth II is its head of state, though she is not Queen of Mann, but rather Lord of Mann. The Isle of Man is also neither a member of the European Union nor a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Answer: Aurora Borealis

The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights are caused by magnetic disturbances in the Earth's atmosphere caused by solar wind, which manifest as brilliant, colorful, and complex displays of light. Although the Lights are best seen in high-latitude Arctic regions, the lack of light pollution actually makes it possible to see the phenomenon well at times on the Isle of Man, even though it is hundreds of miles south of the Arctic Circle.

The low level of light pollution also makes possible excellent views of the Milky Way (Via Lactea), which from our vantage point on Earth appears as a cloudy band of stars.

Answer: spuds & herrin (boiled potatoes & herring)

Spuds and herrin (boiled potatoes and herring) are historically the food of the earliest subsistence farmers who inhabited the Isle of Man during the Stone Age. Seafood also comprises traditional Manx fare, the queen scallop being a favorite delicacy. Additionally, lamb and mutton from the unique four-horned Manx Loaghtan sheep occupy a significant position in Manx gastronomy (and some of this rare, short-tailed breed have as many as six horns). The island is known for exporting lamb and seafood, as well as Manx Cheddar and other cheeses, which have won awards in international competitions.

Poutine is a beloved dish of Canada, although something similar has become very popular in fast-food restaurants in Mann. Samosas are an invention of the Indian subcontinent, whilst colcannon is as Irish as the shamrock.

Answer: cammag

Before motorcycle racing and association football (soccer) were introduced to the Isle of Man, the predominate sport was cammag, which is a team sport similar to Irish hurling or Scottish shinty. Teams move a ball called a 'crick' or a 'crig' about the field using a bent stick called a 'camman' ("small curved thing"), which resembles a hockey stick (and in a pinch you can use one of those or any other sort of stick with a crook for a spontaneous game). Thanks to football, cammag had essentially vanished by 1900, but in the 21st century, the Manx people revived their national sport, and an annual cammag match that begins on Boxing Day (December 26) is held on the field of the Tynwald (the Manx parliament) in the village of St. John's. A proper league formed in the second decade of the century.

Motorcycle racing has become a sport closely identified with the Isle of Man through the strength of the annual Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (TT), the premier motorcycle road race of the world, held on the island in May or June since 1907. In fact many enthusiasts regard Mann to be the motorcycle-racing capital of the world and road racing to be Mann's new national sport.

Answer: Dan Quayle

James Danforth Quayle (b. 1947) was the 44th Vice President of the United States, serving under the elder George Bush (1924-2018), the 41st President, from 1989 to 1993. He served as a Senator from Indiana during most of the 1980s, prior to his single VP term during which he was infamous for numerous public gaffes. Dan was born in born in Indianapolis, the capital of Indiana, and his paternal great-grandfather Robert was born in Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man.

Despite sharing a name, Dan Quayle does not appear to be a relation of politician Robert Quayle Kermode (1812-1870), the Manx-born legislator of colonial Tasmania believed to be the richest Manxman in the world in his day. Nor is he related to English-born Manx actor Sir Anthony Quayle, who starred as Thomas Wolsey in 'Anne of the Thousand Days' (1969). "Quayle" was the third most common surname on the Isle of Man in the 20th century, after Kelly and Corlett. All three used to have an unstressed "Mac" in front them, but this had been dropped by the 17th century.

Answer: The Bee Gees

Wait, aren't the Bee Gees Australian? Well, it's more complicated than that. The three brothers Gibb who would become the Bee Gees -- Barry and fraternal twins Maurice and Robin -- were born on the Isle of Man to English parents. A fourth brother named Andy, who was never part of the Bee Gees, was born in Manchester, England, as was their sister Lesley. The children were raised in Manchester, and eventually the family emigrated to Queensland, Australia in the 1950s. The three eldest boys began singing together Down Under and appearing on television.

The Bee Gees achieved their breakout fame, however, upon returning to England in the 1960s, where they were initially compared to the Beatles, until they developed a more electronic-dance sound. The Bee Gees might be best remembered for their breathtaking and era-defining success during the Golden Age of Disco in the late 1970s, particularly with their runaway album, the soundtrack to 'Saturday Night Fever'. Ex-Beatle John Lennon praised them in 1980: "Try to tell the kids in the seventies who were screaming to the Bee Gees that their music was just the Beatles redone. There is nothing wrong with the Bee Gees. They do a damn good job. There was nothing else going on then". At one week in 1978, the Bee Gees wrote or performed nine of the Billboard Hot 100 songs; for the whole of 1978, they wrote or preformed thirteen songs on that list, twelve of which made the Top 40 ranks as well.

Maurice Gibb died of complications from a twisted intestine (which led to a heart attack) in 2003 at age 53. Twin brother Robin died of cancer at age 62 in 2012. Littlest brother Andy had already died in 1988 at age 30 from myocarditis, leaving eldest brother Barry as the last of the brothers Gibb.