Bit of This and That 9 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Loungewear

Long Johns have been with us since the 17th century. Comprised of a long-sleeved, long-legged men's one-piece set of woollen or flannelette underwear to be worn in colder weather, they certainly did the trick in that regard. Many also came with a back flap that could be undone in order to do the necessary, and of course a front flap for the other. Amusingly though, when Long Johns were first introduced, they were worn as loungewear, visible for all to see, on a regular basis.

It wouldn't be for some years after their introduction, that they retired from public viewing. One is inclined to think this is because those flaps flapped when they shouldn't have flapped.

Answer: True

Amazingly this is the case. Dating back 10,000 years, the Spider Caves in Valencia in Spain depict two people climbing up a ladder to reach a beehive in order to extract honey. The ladder itself appears to be made of reeds or other strong grasses of the time. Ladders have been with mankind ever since, and today there are at least 21 different types, with each one designated a special field. Cat ladders, for example, are used by roof workers and are designed to keep them for slipping off same, hook and turntable ladders which are used by fire fighters, rope ladders which actually require quite some skill to scale, and so on.

Governments, always willing to climb onto the bandwagon when there's a sniff of money to be had in the air, have legislated that these tools now have to be classified into various classes, colour coding and standards, all of which no doubt either require special licences or periodic inspections from portly little men with briefcases to ensure that this remains the case.

Answer: Pepper

Pepper originated in the south of India, and, though it is highly cultivated there today, it is Vietnam that is the biggest producer of this tasty product. There are several different types of pepper, but as far as the average household goes, black or white pepper are the spices of choice. Today, these products account for twenty per cent of the trade in world spices. When it first began to tickle the tastebuds of the wider world more than 2,000 years ago, this "black gold" was so expensive that it was actually used as currency in some countries. In the days of Ancient Rome for example, the price of average grade pepper then would be the equivalent $750 per pound today. By the time of Europe's Middle Ages, when pepper was only available from Italy at enormous prices, this was one of the reasons that saw early seafaring explorers seeking a faster route to India where they could purchase it direct.

Did you know that when Egypt's Ramesses II died and was subsequently mummified, part of that ritual involved placing black peppercorns up his nose? How undignified. This was noted when his body was eventually discovered in a more modern age. Today Ramesses, or what's left of him, is held in Cairo's Egyptian Museum. Descriptions of his features include a strong jaw and an "aquiline nose". That's a Roman or hook nose in the everyday world, and it's not at all surprising that after centuries of having pepper stuffed up his nostrils that the poor old boy's proboscis developed that decided curve.

Answer: Owls

Lord bless us, with the amount of alcohol people from that era were said to consume, it's a wonder that owls didn't die out altogether in that part of the world. Although owls are considered a symbol of wisdom in western cultures today, they were, and are, considered a symbol of death in quite a large number of other world cultures, from the US indigenous people, to the ancient Incas, Mayans and Aztecs, and Canadian aboriginals.

Do you know why owls' beaks have such a decided downward turn? It's to do with their hearing and vision. Because most owls are nocturnal creatures, they rely very much on vision and hearing to locate their prey. Though their vision is excellent, they are unable to move their eyes and have to swivel their head to focus on a target. A protruding beak would interfere with this. The same applies for their hearing. It too is specialised, and this is because of the asymmetrical positioning of their ears in most species. This allows owls to pinpoint sounds with a high degree of accuracy, but it relies heavily on reflecting sound waves. Once again, a large beak would interfere with that reception. Hence it evolved its squat little downward curve. Amazing, isn't it?

Answer: A working class girl in a linen mill

To this day, Ireland is known for the high quality of the linen fabric it produces. Rather expensively priced, only consumers from the top end of the market can lash out on it, so if you happen to possess anything manufactured from pure Irish linen, hang on to it for a family heirloom. Part of the reason for its cost rests in the fact that Ireland imports only the best quality flax from France, Belgium and the Netherlands in order to manufacture these products. Any other fabric sold as linen is not permitted to carry the logo "Irish Linen". This is a Linen Guild trademark held exclusively by the Land of the leprechaun.

And millie was the name given to each of the girls employed in the linen manufacturing mills in Northern Ireland to manufacture these top of the range products. So don't be thanking the companies if you do happen to own a piece of heritage Irish Linen. Some lowly paid Irish girl was the one who made it. Send up a thank you to that little nameless colleen instead.

Answer: A whistle stop in Nebraska

Myrna Loy (1905-1993) was famous for the series of comedy-mystery "Thin Man" films she made with William Powell in the 1930s and 1940s, and fourteen movies she made with him altogether. A whistle stop is a place along a train or bus route which is only pulled into if passengers are waiting there to be collected, or if it has been requested in advance. The one near Broken Bow in Nebraska had a name that appealed to Myrna's rancher father, so he promptly saddled up his daughter with it on her birth. Myrna was probably thankful he didn't take a liking to names such as Columbus, Sioux Falls or Red Oak instead.

Interestingly, during Myrna's childhood, ill health saw her mother moving to California for treatment. Once there, she convinced her husband to buy a large plot of land, which was sold shortly afterwards, at a hefty profit, to none other than Charlie Chaplin, for the purposes of building his film studio. Here's another bit of film history for you: When Myrna was just sixteen, her face and figure were considered so perfect that she was asked to pose for the central figure in the famous sculpture "Fountain of Education" which stood for decades at the front of an education centre in Los Angeles. If you look closely at the 1978 film "Grease" starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta, this sculpture can be seen in the opening scenes of that movie.

Answer: Up a tree

Lady Sybil Grant, nee Primrose (1879-1955) was the eldest daughter of the 58th (more or less) Prime Minister of Great Britain. I say more or less because half way through that long list, England became Great Britain, and some of its Prime Ministers are not considered Prime Ministers at all. It's a bit confusing, in fact. However, Lady Sybil's father was Archibald Primrose, the 5th Earl of Rosebery, and her mother was Hannah de Rothschild, the richest woman in England. The marriage itself was altogether quite odd, but very fascinating - and Lady Sybil grew up in that atmosphere. During her quite long life she was known as wife, mother, a popular writer and artist, horse and dog breeder, a fervent patriotic and a generous philanthropist.

However, the older she grew, the more Bohemian in outlook she became. She also took to wandering around in very unusual clothing similar to that of a gypsy, many of whom she befriended. On the death of her husband in 1950, poor Lady Sybil appeared to lose the plot altogether. Turning her back on her fine homes, jewels, furs and furniture altogether, she moved initially into a caravan to live - and from there up a tree. Perched regally in its branches, she would only communicate with one servant, her butler, through a megaphone.

Lady Sybil: Jeeves, Jeeves, I say, my good man (through her megaphone)
Jeeves (shouting): Yes, Madam? (Peers up into the branches)
Lady Sybil: I would like an egg with my lunch, Jeeves.
Jeeves (hoarsely): Certainly, madam. Will that be fried, coddled or scrambled?
Lady Sybil: Scrambled suits me nicely, Jeeves - and please speak louder next time. I can hardly hear you.
Jeeves (bellowing): Very well, Madam.

Answer: True

Not that giraffes were native to Europe in the 1400s to begin with. The Medici giraffe was known as such because it was given to the Italian statesman Lorenzo de Medici by an Egyptian leader as a gift of friendship (while also hoping for the support of that powerful family). The arrival of that stately animal caused great interest in Florence when it arrived. Prior to that, the only example its inhabitants had seen of one was a model of same. People painted the Medici giraffe, created frescoes featuring it, and even wrote poetry about it. But did they look after it carefully? Alas, no. Though Lorenzo had a special stable to accommodate his giant gift, and even included interior heating to keep in warm in the cold Italian winters, he failed to allow for the height of his magnificent animal. The four-legged Medici died after its head got stuck on the overhead beams of its luxurious accommodation, and it broke its neck trying to free itself.

A sorrowful tale indeed, but a nicer end that that of the previous giraffe Europe had known. That was back in the days of Julius Caesar when he brought home a huge menagerie of animals from Egypt after his campaigns. And what did that horrible person do to his giraffe? In order to demonstrate his power over his enemies, he had the poor helpless creature torn to pieces by lions in an arena. All things considered then, there's a poetic justice in his own death in 44 BC. Following the death of the Medici giraffe, another giraffe wasn't seen in Europe until 1827 when Egypt gifted one each to Austria, France and Great Britain, but they didn't last very long either, and all died within two years. Perhaps Europe should be removed from the giraffe list of holiday destinations.

Answer: The Fat Man atomic bomb

Sydney Greenstreet (1879-1954) was a fine British-American actor who didn't take up the many offers he received to appear in film until he was in his sixties. By then he was more than portly, having stacked on the weight over the years, and he weighed in at some 350 pounds. Unfortunately this usually only saw him being offered anti-hero or comedic type roles when he finally found himself in front of the cameras. He handled these with great skill and aplomb however, along with that menacing smile, bulging eyes and harsh evil laugh that he made so famous. His debut film role was as the shady character Kasper Gutman, aka the "Fat Man" in the 1941 film, "The Maltese Falcon", which starred Humphrey Bogart. Along with that film's other shady character, Joel Cairo, played so ably by Peter Lorre, these two actors would go on to make nine more movies together.

Who knows where else this tubby but brilliant actor's life could have taken him on the silver screen, but sadly, after only eight years at the top of his trade, Sydney's kidneys (oh look, a rhyme) packed it in, and he went to that great screen in the sky, remembered mostly today for being the inspiration behind the name of the "Fat Man" atomic bomb dropped over Nagasaki on 9 August, 1945. A dubious honour indeed.

Answer: She thought it was a loin cloth

Princess Elizabeth of the UK married Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, on November 20, 1947. This was only three months after India gained its independence from Great Britain, and could have played a part in the Queen Mother's shocked reaction to Gandhi's gift to the young married couple.

She thought the lovely piece of hand-crafted lace sent by him was a loin cloth and positively seethed with indignation at his indelicacy. Try as I may, I simply cannot imagine Prince Philip in a loin cloth.