Are You a "Nose-it-all"? Quiz | Thematic Fun

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The nose is the most prominent part of the face in humans and many animals. What is its function? (The answer to this question is right under your nose).

Answer: All of these answers are correct

The nose facilitates respiration by allowing the intake of air for oxygen and the expulsion of carbon dioxide via the nostrils. Luckily for human beings, we can also achieve this via the mouth, which is very useful when one has a cold. Its role in reproduction is two-fold. Firstly, the nose contributes to the overall appearance of the face and thereby plays a role in visual sexual attraction. Secondly, people and animals can be attracted to a mate by how they smell.

2. The nose filters dust, pollen and other foreign bodies out of the air we breathe. It achieves this by trapping them in mucus. When the mucus dries out, it becomes an irritant which leads people to "pick their nose". Which of the following medical terms means "compulsive nose-picking"? (Don't turn your nose up at this question - it's a serious matter).

Answer: rhinotillexomania

Rhinotillexomania is a medical term which appears to have been invented in the early 1990s and first appeared in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry in 1995. Its exact etymology is unknown but it is believed to be derived from the Greek 'rhinos' (nose), 'tillesthai' (to pull out) or 'tillexis' (habit of picking), 'exo' (outside) and 'mania' (madness, compulsion).

3. Some very respectable people pick their nose - right out of a plastic surgeon's catalogue. (You'll pay through the nose for this procedure). Which Hollywood actor was content with the large nose he was born with and had it immortalised in the cement sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard?

Answer: Jimmy Durante

Jimmy Durante's very large nose and Bob Hope's "ski nose" are both immortalised in the cement sidewalk outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Jimmy Durante's slab reads "Sid, dis is my schnossle. Wish I had a million of 'em. Jimmy Durante, Oct 31, '45". Jimmy Durante was known as "Schnozzola" or just "the Schnoz".

The "Sid" that Durante referred to was Sid Grauman, who built the theatre and whose idea it was to create the sidewalk which is a famous tourist attraction in Hollywood.

4. One of my favourite movies is Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" with its exciting finale at Mount Rushmore. Most of the action took place in the nostril of which of the American presidents? (I was worried Cary Grant would take a nose dive off the monument).

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

The working title for this movie was "The Man in Lincoln's Nose" and was Hitchcock's first choice of title. According to www.imdb.com, the final chase scene was not shot on location because Hitchcock could not get permission to film on a national monument. A studio replica was used instead.

5. Celebrities often get their noses out of joint when they are pursued by the paparazzi. Which Oscar-winning actress found that she was able to go out incognito by wearing a prosthetic nose?

Answer: Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman had to wear a prosthetic nose for her role as Virginia Woolf in the 2002 movie "The Hours". According to www.imdb.com, Nicole Kidman found that the paparazzi did not recognise her when she wore it. As she was undergoing a divorce from Tom Cruise at the time, the nose afforded her some relief from the unwanted media attention.

6. Which of the following television actresses is famous for her rhinolalia? (It's guaranteed to get right up your nose).

Answer: Fran Drescher

Rhinolalia is the condition of having a very nasal quality to the voice; it comes from the Greek "rhinos" (nose) and "lalia" (speech). The kindest thing one can say about Fran's voice is that it is distinctive. She is constantly asked if her voice is real. Her stock answer to this question is "Who would make this up?"

7. The actor W. C. Fields was known for his large bulbous nose. (Now there was a man in need of a nose job). What was the cause of it?

Answer: He had a medical condition of the skin

W. C. Fields' nose was caused by a medical condition called rosacea, a chronic inflammatory skin disease. Its cause is unknown. The signs include acne and rhinophyma (redness, pitting and swelling of the skin covering the nose). It has no PROVEN association with alcohol intake, although Fields cultivated and capitalised on this common misconception.

Some researchers claim a link between alcohol consumption and rosacea, however, many people who never consume alcohol have this condition.

8. What colour nose would you be wearing if you were raising money for Comic Relief? (Hint: it's not a brown nose).

Answer: red

Comic Relief is a British charity organisation founded in 1985. It raises money for underprivileged people in Africa and the U.K. Red Nose Day is their main fund-raising event. In Australia, Red Nose Day raises funds for SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) research and related programs.

9. A popular catchphrase of the 1970s was "up your nose with a rubber hose". Which television comedy did it come from? (The character who said this often thumbed his nose at authority).

Answer: Welcome Back Kotter

This expression was used frequently by Vinnie Barbarino (John Travolta) in "Welcome Back Kotter". It was also used on "Happy Days". The full expression was "up your nose with a rubber hose and twice as far with a chocolate bar". One character's rejoinder was "Well, up your gizzard with a rubber lizard". (The mind boggles!) According to Gabe Kaplan (who played Mr Kotter) the original expression was "up your hole with a Mello roll" but obviously it had to be changed for television.

10. You might know this if you often have your nose in trivia books: what is Matthew Parker's claim to fame?

Answer: He was notorious for his nosiness

According to some sources, Matthew Parker was the original "Nosy (or Nosey) Parker", a term which is used to describe a person who is a snoop or interferes in other people's business. Matthew Parker was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1559 to 1575. Apparently he had a very long nose and a reputation for sticking it into other people's affairs.

Source: Author MotherGoose

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Are You a "Nose-it-all"? Trivia Quiz

The nose is more than just the 'scenter' of your face. Test your nasal trivia to see if you nose-it-all.

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