An N-ticing and N-thralling Quiz

Answer: New Mexico

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1973, Neil Patrick Harris first hit the big-time when he was chosen as a teenager for the title role in the 1989-1993 comedy series "Doogie Howser, M.D.". He later became particularly well known for his role as womanizer Barney Stinson in the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother".

He was named as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in 2010 and awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2011.

Answer: Nails

Like animals' horns and hooves, human fingernails and toenails are made from a tough protein called keratin. Nails found on humans and other primates evolved from the claws of earlier animals.

The "lunula" is the white crescent-shaped area of the nail which sits at the base of the nail, against the finger. Changes in the colour of the lunula can indicate certain health issues. For example, the area might take on a blue tinge in a patient suffering from silver poisoning, or possibly turn red where a patient suffers from heart disease.

Answer: Namibia

The Republic of Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990 and established its capital city at Windhoek. It is named for the Namib Desert, which is believed by many geographers and historians to be the oldest desert in the world. Sitting between both the Namib and the Kalahari Deserts, Namibia has the least rainfall of any country in sub-Saharan Africa.

Answer: Narwhal

The narwhal lives constantly in the Arctic. Male narwhals are distinguished by the long, straight tusks which many describe as looking "twisted" or "like a plait". The tusk is actually an elongated tooth. Sometimes, the males rub their tusks ("tusking") in order to obtain social dominance.

Answer: Necropolis Railway

The success of the Industrial Revolution created a population boom in London and the surrounding area. As such, the numbers of corpses needing burial also increased substantially. Given that cemeteries were fast becoming overcrowded, by the mid-nineteenth century, a large plot of land in Surrey had been allocated as a new overflow cemetery.

The London Necropolis Railway Company opened the Necropolis Railway line in November 1854. It was intended to carry both the dead and their mourners from Waterloo in central London to the new overflow cemetery in Brookwood.

Unfortunately, the service no longer runs. Following a lack of usage and particularly bad bombing damage during World War II, the terminus at Waterloo was closed and the service abandoned.

Answer: Nappy

The word "diaper" relates to the geometric pattern of early cloth nappies (the pattern being known as "diapering"). Although the word has remained in usage in the US and Canada, it never caught on in the United Kingdom. The word "nappy" is likely to have come from the word "napkin", which was used to describe the cloth of the garment before the twentieth century.

The late twentieth century saw a major shift to a more widespread usage of disposable nappies/diapers rather than the cloth versions from which the names came.

Answer: Never Gonna Give You Up

The song won Best British Single at the 1988 Brit Awards, although Astley chose to retire from the music business only a few years later.

He was thrown back into the spotlight, however, when "Never Gonna Give You Up" became the subject of a popular Internet prank known as "Rickrolling". The prank involves misleading internet links redirecting to the song's music video. The phenomenon has been extremely popular - so much so that on 2008 April Fools' Day, YouTube chose to 'rickroll' viewers of all of its featured videos.

Answer: Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj was born in Trinidad and Tobago to parents of mixed Indian and Afro-Trinidadian ancestry.

Following a move to New York, she was discovered by Fendi, CEO of the Brooklyn label Dirty Money Entertainment who signed her to his label. Initially, she adopted the pseudonym "Nicki Maraj", later changing it to "Nicki Minaj".

Answer: Nickelodeon

Originally established as a cable channel in the US, Nickelodeon has worldwide versions of its children's channel. Nickelodeon started life as "The Pinwheel Channel" on the first cable network in 1977 but relaunched as "Nickelodeon" in 1979. Its major success began in the 1990s and led to multi-million dollar marketing deals, internet popularity and a variety of spin off channels and websites.

Spongebob Squarepants debuted in 1999 and ranked consistently as one of the channel's highest rated and watched series' over more than 10 years from 2000. It is also one of the most widely distributed programs that Nickelodeon offers.

Answer: No Country for Old Men

Based on the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name, the film follows an ordinary man that finds two million dollars in a satchel. A hitman is dispatched to recover the fortune and a sheriff attempts to save the finder.

The film was nominated for eight Oscars and won four at the 2007 Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (for Javier Bardem) and Best Adapted Screenplay.