Assorted General Trivia VI Trivia Quiz

Answer: Journalist

In the early 1870s, an American journalist for the New York 'Herald' named Henry Stanley made an incredible expedition in unexplored sections of Africa to locate presumed-lost explorer Dr. David Livingstone. Nearly everyone in his party died. He finally reached Lake Tanganyika in 1871, where he met the Scottish doctor Livingstone, who had been living there for over 30 years.

Answer: Blue

According to the legend, Paul rescued an oxen calf he named Babe from drowning during the winter of blue snow. Babe grew to be a little more than twenty-four axe handles between the eyes and as a snack would eat thirty bales of hay, including the wire. It is said that it took a crow a full day to fly from the tip of one horn to the other.

Answer: A fungus

Accusations of 'possessed' young girls led to the deaths of twenty Massachusetts men and women and two dogs in the infamous Salem Witchcraft Trials in 1692. It is now theorized their convulsions were caused by ergot poisoning, resulting from a fungus on rye grain grown in a wet, marshy environment (archeological research, historical accounts and diaries tied this environment to actual cases). Rye grain infected with the fungus was baked into bread, and in the process the fungus produced mind-altering compounds similar to LSD.

The girls may simply have been on bad-acid trips, something that the Woodstock generation learned about almost 300 years later. This theory is described in the April 1976 issue of Science magazine.

Answer: Diamond

In a 1941 short made for the National Film Board of Canada (using reworked animation from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"), the dwarfs invest the proceeds of their diamond mine into Canadian War Bonds.

Answer: Marfan's Syndrome

In 1960 it was determined that Lincoln and a man diagnosed with Marfan's Syndrome had an ancestor in common-Lincoln's great-great-grandfather. In addition, photographs, written descriptions and medical reports suggest Lincoln had many Marfan-like symptoms.

They indicate that Lincoln was both tall (6 ft, 4 in) and thin. He had long arms and legs, with large, narrow hands and feet. Contemporary descriptions of his appearance indicate that he was stoop-shouldered, loose jointed, and walked with a shuffling gait.

However, researcher John Sotos, MD has diagnosed the disease that made Lincoln tall, long-limbed, thin, and homely as multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2b (MEN 2B). He feels Lincoln would not have lived another year had he not been shot.

Answer: 'Wild Bill' Hickok

Wild Bill was shot from behind by Jack McCall and was killed while playing poker in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, on Aug. 2, 1876. McCall was tried by an illegal miner's court in Deadwood on August 3 and was found not guilty. Later, he was tried in Yankton, Dakota Territory, and this time he was found guilty. He was hanged on March 1, 1877.

Answer: Popeye

In the 1980 movie "Popeye," Robin Williams played Popeye, Shelley Duvall played his girlfriend Olive Oyl, Paul Dooley played hamburger-lover Wimpy, and Paul L. Smith played enemy Bluto.

Answer: Seasoning

Adobo seasoning is popular in Spanish-speaking cultures. Two of many recipes for it: (Recipe 1) a blend of black pepper, oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper and garlic. A popular blend in Mexico, use it in beans and guacamole. (Recipe 2) 4 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon peppercorns, half teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt. Grind all the ingredients together in a mortar and pestle to make a paste.

The building material commonly used in the southwestern U.S. is adobe.

Answer: Monica Lewinsky

President Clinton at first denied any sexual relations with "that woman," but later was forced to admit an "inappropriate relationship." The U.S. House of Representatives impeached him, but he was not convicted.

Answer: 1990

Just prior to the reunification of Germany in October 1990, Checkpoint Charlie was officially closed (in June 1990) and the Berlin Wall was officially open. Checkpoint Charlie was perhaps the best known of the several checkpoints erected after World War II where you could pass from the American sector of Berlin to the Russian sector.