An RGB Rainbow Trivia Quiz

Answer: The murex shellfish was the source of a green dye.

The murex shellfish did not produce green, but rather a shade known as Tyrian, or imperial, purple. The garments of Roman emperors were dyed with this costly color. The discovery of the first synthetic dye (mauve, or mauveine) is attributed to William Henry Perkin, in the year 1856. By the 19th century's end, many other bright colors were being produced synthetically.

Answer: McIntosh

The first known McIntosh apples were discovered in 1811 by John McIntosh, grown from seedlings found on his Canadian farm. The McIntosh apple's tender, white flesh is juicy and tart - excellent for pies, applesauce, and just plain eating. The computer I referenced is the Apple Macintosh (Mac).

The computer's name was spelled differently from McIntosh to avoid trademark disputes. Apple, founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, has also developed the iPod, iPhone, and the music download application iTunes.

Answer: Cloud Forest Preserve

Monteverde, Costa Rica was settled in 1951 by members of the Quaker religious group, looking to establish a peaceful community. In order to provide self-sustaining support to their community, the settlers began a cheese-making operation that now produces more than 9,000 pounds of cheese a day, in addition to other dairy products. In the 1960s, a group of scientists and local residents founded the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, a wildlife sanctuary that is a rich haven of unique flora and fauna.

Monteverde is home to 500 species of trees, 420 kinds of orchids, 120 species of amphibians & reptiles, 100 species of mammals, and over 400 kinds of birds, making it a bird-watcher's paradise. It is also one of the few habitats of five different species of the cat family (jaguar, ocelot, puma, margay, and jaguarundi). The brilliantly colored golden toad, apparently unique to Monteverde, was discovered in the 1960s by biologist Jay Savage. Sadly, a mere two years after its discovery, few golden toads could be found; it is now believed to be extinct.

The Fossil Rim Wildlife Park is located in Glen Rose, Texas, U.S.A. Dedicated to the conservation of endangered species, it is inhabited by over 1,000 animals representative of 50 species (including giraffes, rhinos, antelope, deer, and zebras) living in near-natural environments. The park encompasses 1,700 acres of open space. A 9.5 mile driving tour is available to visitors.

Answer: Chief Medical Officer

Yes, despite the difference in style, the uniforms of Drs. Leonard McCoy (aka "Bones," "The Original Series"), Beverly Crusher ("The Next Generation"), Julian Bashir ("Deep Space Nine"), and The Doctor ("Voyager") all have the color blue somewhere on them. The Doctor is arguably the most unique of the above list of Chief Medical Officers: an EMH (Emergency Medical Hologram) originally designed to assist during emergencies, he has vastly exceeded his parameters and serves as Voyager's Chief Medical Officer during their seven years lost in the Delta Quadrant. Julian Bashir is also rather unique: illegal genetic enhancements, done to him as a child, give him superior mental abilities, and among other things exceptional hand-eye coordination, much to friend O'Brien's dismay when playing darts.

As of "TNG" and subsequent series, command personnel (including captains and helmsmen) wore red, and tactical officers/engineering crew wore yellow. These colors were reversed in the original "Star Trek" series. Blue is representative of all science personnel, medical or otherwise.

Answer: Lentil stew

Jacob and Esau were the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah, Esau being the older. Esau was so named due to his abundance of red hair, and Jacob because he was holding onto Esau's heel at birth. Esau became a skilled hunter, and was loved by his father, Isaac, because it meant "game in his mouth." A second name, Edom (meaning "red"), was given to him because of the red lentil stew for which he sold the birthright he despised. Jacob, especially loved by Rebekah, led a quieter life and was described as blameless.

When Jacob was about 97 years old, God gave him the name Israel.

Answer: Geocaching

Geocaching - a worldwide hobby - is a high-tech "hide & seek" game that's fun for adventure-seekers of all ages. It is a treasure hunt, of sorts: an activity that brings people outdoors to see new places & interesting things as they search for hidden containers (geocaches). Geocaches can range in size anywhere from only a few centimeters in diameter, to an ammo can; hidden in places of interest ranging from cemeteries or public city parks, to the middle of nowhere on a 10-mile hiking trail. The person who has hid the geocache publishes the coordinates on the official Geocaching website, and geocachers, equipped with a GPSr (Global Positioning System receiver) can begin their search! The geocache container holds a logbook for finders to sign, and some of the larger caches hold small objects, such as toys for young cachers (but if you take anything, be sure and leave something of your own!).

On May 2, 2000, GPS technology was significantly upgraded, opening up the way for GPS users to specifically pinpoint sites within a few feet. The first geocache was hidden by GPS enthusiast Dave Ulmer on May 3, 2000, in the woods near Beaver Creek, Oregon. He called it "The Great American GPS Stash Hunt" and posted the coordinates of his cache on the Internet. The concept caught on, and today there are over 700,000 caches hidden throughout the globe. Geocachers are often individuals concerned with the environment; hence, CITO (Cache In, Trash Out) is an activity supported by the geocaching community to clean up parks and other such cache-friendly places.

The other three options (disc golf, fly fishing, and birdwatching) are indeed sports that might be considered green, but they have all been around long before the 21st century's onset. Disc golf was popularized in the 1960s.

Answer: Spider-Man

The 2002 film, "Spider-Man," stars Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (whose trademarks are a hoverboard and "pumpkin bombs"), Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson (Peter's love interest), and James Franco as Harry Osborn (Peter's best friend). Harry Osborn becomes the new Green Goblin in Spider-Man 3, and vows to avenge his father (who was killed in the first film) by killing Spider-Man. The three Spider-Man films are set in New York City.

This first film in the trilogy tells the story of Peter Parker, a nerdy high-school student who is bitten by a genetically altered spider during a school field trip. He soon discovers that he has developed remarkable abilities, such as superhuman strength & reflexes, "Spidey Sense" (a sort of precognition that alerts him to nearby dangers), and the ability to shoot webbing from his wrists. But, as Peter soon finds, in the wise words of his Uncle Ben, "With great power comes great responsibility...."

Answer: No

In nature, roses lack the necessary gene, delphinidin, for producing the blue hue. However, the blue rose (the "Holy Grail" of horticulturists) has been long sought after by gardeners and rose breeders: in 1840, a 500,000 franc prize was offered by British and Belgian horticultural societies to whoever could produce a blue rose. In 2004, with the help of genetic engineering, a blue rose was finally achieved, thanks to the joint research of molecular geneticists with the Australian and Japanese companies Florigene and Suntory. This was done by adding genes from pansy and iris flowers into the rose, while turning off the "red" and turning off the gene that prevents production of delphinidin.

The U.S. city of Tyler, Texas, with a population of about 83,000, is called "The Rose Capital of America." Beginning in 1933, an annual Texas Rose Festival is held in Tyler. The largest in the U.S., Tyler's 14-acre Municipal Rose Garden contains over 38,000 roses, of 500 varieties.

Answer: Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss first moved to San Francisco in 1853, during the California Gold Rush, where he established a wholesale dry goods business. One of his regular customers was Jacob Davis, a tailor from Reno, Nevada, who invented riveted pants made with cloth purchased from Levi Strauss.

The two became business partners in order to get a patent, which was granted on May 20, 1873. The "Two Horse Brand" leather tag, described in the question, was first placed on Levi's jeans (originally termed "waist overalls") in 1886.

Answer: Green Bay

The state of Texas covers an area of approximately 267,000 sq. miles (692,000 sq. kilometers), and with its population of around 24 million, it holds second place in the U.S. in both of these regards. While Texas has a plethora of state symbols, I will only mention a few: the bluebonnet (state flower), Texas Red Grapefruit (state fruit), mockingbird (state bird), and pecan (state tree). The name "Texas" came from the Caddo Indian word "tejas," meaning friend. Texas became a U.S. state on December 29, 1845.

The Red River forms a boundary between Texas and its northern neighbor, Oklahoma. Not related to Texas at all, the city of Green Bay is located in the state of Wisconsin.