Bit of This and That No 5 Trivia Quiz

Answer: His tail

They fashioned it into a whisk if you please. How undignified for such a great horse - to have part of his bottom immortalised in such a way. Thormanby was a successful racehorse, winning fourteen of his twenty-four starts. Matthew Dawson (1820-1898) was the very successful trainer who managed him. Following Thormanby's retirement, he became a more than successful sire of champions. Today, part of his pedigree is found in "almost all modern thoroughbreds". Not too bad for a horse known as "the champion of his order, the best horse in the world" - who ended up as a glorified duster.

Another amusing fact about a racehorse was that, following the completion of the Derby Stakes (1819), the horse that won the race didn't stop, but jumped the fence and galloped right on into town. It must have been in a hurry to celebrate.

Answer: Penicillin

This fruit was found at the markets in the city of Peoria, Illinois. Cantaloupes originally came from Africa and India, and from there gradually spread to the rest of the world. They contain antioxidants and chemicals said to be good for the heart, veins and immune system.

The skin of the fruit however can also contain harmful bacteria for humans, so it is advised to wash the fruit very carefully before opening and consuming it. The production of penicillin was still in its very early stages in 1941 and proving very difficult to manufacture. Bearing in mind the terrible Second World War going on during that period in history, with its associated injuries, there was an urgent need for a much faster way to produce the drug.

It is believed the name cantaloupe came from an Italian city called Cantaloupo where the papal gardens were located.

Answer: Firearm

The earliest known depiction of a firearm was found in a cave in China during the 12th century. The oldest gun that has survived was also found in China. That was in 1288, and it was made from bronze. Between the 14th and 16th centuries, firearms spread to the rest of the world, and the world has been busy ever since killing people with them.

James Stewart was the ilegitimate offspring of James V of Scotland. Mary, Queen of Scots, was his half-sister. In spite of Mary awarding him many honours and positions, and placing her trust in him, he turned against her, the ungrateful swine. When she escaped from her imprisonment at Loch Leven where she had been placed by the Scots, various nobles rallied to her cause. Moray organised similar forces against her - and Mary's supporters were beaten. She fled to England, hoping to find refuge and friendship there, but was imprisoned instead. Out of the frying pan into the fire. For this and other acts of betrayal of Mary, the traitor Moray was awarded the regency of Scotland till James VI (Mary's son) was old enough to take over. However, in 1570, one of Mary's supporters, James Hamilton, shot him. He must have been a crack shot. He potted Moray from a window, some distance away from where Moray was trotting along below in the street. Mary, after a long imprisonment by the English, was beheaded in 1587.

Answer: A large sculpture of half a shark on the roof of a house

In 1986, this hideous looking thing was stuck on the roof of a house owned by a local radio presenter, Bill Heine. He hired the sculptor, John Buckley, to depict "someone feeling totally impotent and ripping a hole in their roof out of a sense of impotence and anger and desperation...It is saying something about CND, nuclear power, Chernobyl and Nagasaki". Half a shark that thinks it's a chimney says all that?

The Headington Shark is an absolutely revolting looking, 25 foot long sculpture, of a shark's bottom in fact. Who wants a shark's rear end protruding through the roof of their house? Picture if you will this monstrosity sticking up out of your own roof, and then decide for yourselves whether you think it's a remarkable piece of art depicting the nuclear age; a puzzling piece of work by an intoxicated angler; a deeply meaningly work of futuristic art; or an incredible piece of codswallop.

Answer: Barack Obama

That's astonishing, isn't it? And it's not all. He's also connected through the same lines of George Washington, Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Woodrow Wilson, John Tyler and Jimmy Carter right back to English royalty. Through them he shares a common ancestry with English kings Edward I, Henry I, II and III, John, William the Conqueror, several French and Danish kings, and even today's Elizabeth II of England. He's a man for all seasons in fact. And that's just through his mother's side. So amazing.

44th President of the United States, Barack Obama (born 1961) remarked of his roots and genes the fact that his father "was as black as pitch - my mother white as milk - barely registered on my mind" as a child. It was when he reached his young adult years that he struggled for a while with "social perception of his multi-racial heritage". If only they knew.

Answer: Guam

When the Americans took this island during the Battle of Guam in 1944, Shoichi Yokoi and ten other soldiers in the Japanese Imperial Army went into hiding. This number dwindled down to three over the years, as seven of the refugees took off elsewhere. Of the remaining three, these separated and set up their own little hideaways, but continued to visit each other regularly. In 1964, on one of Yokoi's visit, he found the other two soldiers had died in the interval between visits.

Yokoi survived by making clothing and bedding and other necessities out of jungle materials. He hunted his food at night to avoid "the enemy" (who were apparently remarkably quiet), and he continued to live completely on his own until 1972. When he was found by two locals in 1972, they had to subdue him to carry him back to civilisation because he fought them all the way, the poor man. On his eventual return to Japan, he remarked during an interview that "It is with much embarrassment, but I have returned". This became a common expression in Japan from that time. In his later life, Yokoi met the emperor, became somewhat of a television celebrity, got married, and, comically, even became "an advocate of austere living".

When asked why he didn't come out of hiding, even after reading dropped pamphletts from the air stating that the war was over, Yokoi looked even more embarrassed and replied that he thought they were all allied propaganda tricks. This remarkable man, who was born in 1917, eventually died in 1997. Oh, and how much back pay did this determined little soldier receive after all that time of hiding from the enemies of the Imperial Japanese army? A mere $300.

Answer: Sleeping upside down

This fish is also known as the 'upside down sleeper'. It sleeps or swims upside down when it chooses to do so. Its scientific name is 'butis butis'. I think it should be called "Buttis Uppis". A predatory fish, it uses its unusual behaviour to confuse prey either by reclining upside down or in an upright position on any surface nearby.

These fish can be consumed by humans, but only if such humans are also reclining upside down on a flat surface. Just kidding.

Answer: Vincent Van Gogh

How absolutely amazing is that? Someone who died in 1997 at the age of 122, actually met the brilliant, but troubled, Vincent Van Gogh. That was back in 1888, when she was thirteen, when Vincent was living in France. Poor Vincent (1853-1890) didn't impress the young girl favourably however.

She described him years later as "dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable...very ugly, ungracious, impolite, sick". She sold the great artist some coloured pencils. At the age of 114, Jeanne also appeared very briefly in the 1990 children's film "Vincent and Me" as herself.

This amazing old lady who touched history is the oldest person on record to reach 120 years of age (well, discounting those in the bible, that is). Even more amazingly, Jeanne mentioned casually one day that she had watched the Eiffel Tower being built!

Answer: Sea cucumber

Found in the Atlantic ocean, this is largest of the sea cucumbers. It was given its name because it looks like "an elongated cyclinder with rounded ends and can reach two metres long". It also is covered in streaks resembling those of a tiger's colouring. You'll be pleased to know however that it doesn't roar.

Known as a scavenger, it shoves everything it can find into its mouth with its tentacles, and ejects what it cannot digest out the other end. Amazingly so, it wasn't discovered until 1980. This is because, like its namesake, it is an expert at camouflaging itself.

Answer: A cockfight

Of all the ridiculous things to have a civil war over! The events, so it goes unfolded in the following manner:

The son-in-law of the Sultan (Pengiran Mudu Bungsu) was jeered at by the son of a high-ranking official (Pengiral Abdul Momin) because Bungsu's rooster lost a cockfight. Bungsu killed Momin's son as a result - talk about a bad loser. Momin's followers then strangled the poor old sultan, who was minding his own business, in revenge. Momin then became Sultan, along with his triumphant rooster. Eventually the dead Sultan's grandson and his followers commenced a long civil war against the usurper Sultan. One presumes there were a lot of Sultanas floating around as well.

The grandson, who was getting worried about the length of this war, then asked the Sultan of Sulu to help, and promised him a large area of land (part of Malaysia) if he did so. The war eventually ended with the death of Momin, and the grandson took over. However, ever since, Brunei has denied it offered that part of Malaysia to Sulu, and this continues to be a sore point between the two countries well into the 21st century.

I imagine that the triumphant rooster, who started this longlasting barnyard brawl in the first place, was probably eventually eaten. Talk about a cock-up.