Anything Goes Six Trivia Quiz

Answer: Whitening teeth

Though Indian men would undoubtedly use this product as well, Indian women seem to be the greater percentage of its consumers and it is consequently marketed to appeal more to that fairer sex. Creamy snuff is sold in a tube similar to toothpaste and contains "tobacco, clove oil, glycerin, spearmint, menthol, and camphor" (Wikipedia).

It sounds rather potent, but its popularity is testimony to its effectiveness. It has a downside though, which makes one wonder about the ruthlessness of the capitalist drive behind the products ingredients. Because of its tobacco content, creamy snuff is addictive.

Answer: Divination using a rooster

Alectryomancy, a divination art which was practised as far back as Ancient Greek and Roman days, took several forms. One form involved scattering corn in a random fashion on the ground, and then having a diviner interpret all manner of things depending on where the rooster pecked. It had to be a white rooster if used in Europe. African alectryomancy usually involved the use of a black rooster. Another form of rooster divination involved putting the letters of the alphabet on the ground, covering them with corn - and allowing the bird to peck out its message.

Then there was the method of reciting letters out loud until the rooster crowed and using that method to spell out a divine message, or making an anagram out of them. Hopefully the message was short or you'd have one exhausted rooster on your hands. The worst alectryomancy method of all involved sacrificing a rooster, and having the diviner read its organs or bones and so forth to answer questions asked by those seeking spiritual guidance.

Foghorn Leghorn's Daily Horoscope: "Pay attention, I said pay attention now, son - avoid axes today at all costs".

Answer: No

This expression is thought to date back to the 1920s in Australia when that country still used currency names inherited from the United Kingdom, and long before it converted to decimal currency in 1966. At this time as well, wristwatches were still relatively rare, and initially, they were usually only worn by women, while men still favoured pocket watches. Wristwatches, as well, were rather expensive. When they became more popular as an item of wear, though, and if anyone could pick up a cheap one for the rather low price of two bob (20 cents), they were snapped up. "Caveat emptor" prevailed there, however, as many of those cheap timepieces didn't work at all, only worked intermittently, and hardly ever displayed the correct time.

This gave rise to the expression "As silly as a two bob watch" and the term was subsequently applied to any piece of machinery or equipment that proved to be defective or was always breaking town. From there, it became a more general expression applied to just about anything you could name - and including any person who was considered by most to be a bit of a loser or a drip.

Answer: It is soft enough for the spirits to eat

The Chinese believed, and many perhaps still do, that the spirits of long deceased relatives and loved ones have lost their chins and jaws. When visiting their resting places then, it was, and is, traditional to take along freshly made tofu as an offering. This is because tofu is considered to be the only food soft enough for the jawless, chinless spirits to eat.

Did you know that the Japanese have over 100 different recipes for preparing tofu?

Answer: Their ashes converted into diamonds

Several companies now exist throughout the world that provide a service of taking a portion of a deceased person's cremated ashes, and turning them, via high technology industrial machines, into a diamond that can continue to exist forever. This is done be extracting pure carbon from the ashes, converting that into graphite, and then completing the process in high pressure and very high temperature machines. Temperatures there rise to approximately 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit, and the pressure exerted on the product is approximately 870,000 lbs per square inch. By this means, a deceased loved one's molecular structure is converted into pure diamond. It's an amazing idea really, and though some may draw the line at, say, wearing Grandpa as an engagement ring, it's a bittersweet way of displaying a glowing tribute to the memory of love.

Other unusual ways of dealing with the mortal remains of dear ones are turning their remains into artificial reefs for sea life to float through forever; sending their ashes onto the moon or further into space; or, in a service offered by one British company, turning the cremated ashes into a vinyl record with the recorded melody of a tune always associated with that person. Imagine a beautiful Chopin melody for your mother, for example, or, if you didn't really care for the deceased, Al Jolson's rousing rendition of "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum".

Answer: Bumblebees

In a 2019 University of Washington report reprinted into the National Geographic magazine by their senior writer and editor of animals and wildlife information, Douglas Main, scientists have created very small sensor devices to be worn by bumblebees. Their purpose is to give feedback into various receptors back in laboratories, on environmental data such as temperature, humidity, and other climate related factors. Amazing! These devices are being light-heartedly referred to as bee backpacks, and they don't interfere with the bee's ability to fly at all. Well, I'll bee damned.

Answer: Queen Anne

Great Britain's Queen Anne lived from 1665 until 1714. She was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1702 until 1707, and then, following the 1707 Act of Union between England and Scotland, which formed Great Britain, continued to rule as monarch of Great Britain and Ireland until her death. Poor Anne, married to Prince George of Norway and Denmark (1653-1708), had seventeen pregnancies during her marriage but none of her children survived her. Rachel weeping for her children all over again. Anne and George were devoted to one another and she was devastated upon his death, refusing to leave his body until practically forced to by the Duchess of Marlborough, an act which severed the long term friendship between the two women.

In happier times, however, Anne loved horses and driving in her carriage, and it was on such a drive in 1711 that she spotted the perfect location for what would become the famous Ascot Racecourse. Today, Ascot is the only racecourse owned by the monarch of Great Britain.

Answer: Sycophant

A lickspittle describes an insincere flatterer who pretends to falsely admire anything said or done by anyone in a more advantageous position, in order to gain favour or advancement in some way. That person will also laugh over heartily at any comment or joke or sarcastic remark made by a superior about another person, or situation and so on.

It's always cringeworthy watching a lickspittle in action, and one doesn't know whether to be repulsed at such fawning behaviour, or sympathy for the desperation this person must feel to sink to such depths in order to try to advance.

The use of the word "lickspittle" dates back at least to the 1740s in the English speaking language, and that, in turn, goes back another 100 years to the term "lick the spittle", both meaning the same as defined above.

Answer: A bandage around the nose

An accipiter in modern terms is a bird of prey from the avian family Accipitridae. Birds in this group can range in size from the small sparrowhawk to medium sized raptors such as the northern goshawk. Because they hunt more successfully in areas of woodland, accipiters tend to favour that type of terrain. Unusually so, for the animal kingdom, the female of this species is larger than the male.

No longer used as a medical term in the 21st century, but still briefly listed in a United Kingdom encyclopedia, an accipiter was also a term once commonly used in the health field to describe a bandage around the nose - and for some ridiculous reason, an image of anyone wearing a bandage around the nose makes me laugh. That'd be some nose.

Answer: The perfect pool

In late spring for two weeks every year, the endangered Yosemite toad takes up residence in what he hopes will be the perfect setting for lady toads in the immediate vicinity, and then sets about trilling to alert them of his presence. Any passing female, drawn to his call - which is said to be somewhat melodious - will then enter the water and let him have his wicked way with her, but ONLY if she finds the pool he has selected to be suitable.

She will not release her eggs unless the pool has the exact temperature and depth to support the life of her babies. Even though she may allow him to clamp onto her back, if she doesn't like the spot he has chosen, the fussy femme will swim around - still with her male counterpart attached and valiantly trying to get on with things - until she finds the right spot. Have toad will travel, you could say. Once she has the bed chamber of her choice, the mating is completed, and she then leaves, leaving our exhausted hero to resume his trilling call for other females in the area. Quite possibly, by the end of the two week mating window each year, the male Yosemite toad would be just about ready to croak.