Bit of This and That No 6 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Helicopter rescue

This was known as chopper rescue in Australia. A huge helicopter, from which a large open-topped cage of steel bars dangled, was lowered to the ground over and over again. Groups of twenty or thirty sheep at a time were driven into the cage and the gate shut behind them.

Then the helicopter, with its cargo of bleating, bulging-eyed sheep, took off with its woollen load and lowered them onto higher ground elsewhere. On landing, all the sheep seemed very reluctant to leave their improvised aircraft, either because they decided they were now birds, or were too disoriented, or were seething with thoughts of revenge and bloodshed.

It took the hearty efforts of the grazier's excited sheep dogs each time to move them out. As a farmer's daughter, I'm sorry to say I laughed heartily at the whole spectacle, feeling ever so thankful, in between snorts, that I wasn't standing under any of those air borne cages.

When sheep get over-excited, they tend to become very expressive from both ends.

Answer: Helium-3

Physicists believed that this can be utilised in the production of nuclear power generation, in cryogenics, and in "nuclear magnetic imaging of the lungs". Sources of Helium-3 are very rare on the earth. I could quote a whole lot of properties of this product from the article I read on it, but quite frankly, I didn't understand a word of it.

It's scarce here, it's plentiful on the moon, and scientists are therefore eying the moon. It is also believed that the moon will one day escape the ties which bind it to its endless journey above the earth. Perhaps the sooner this happens, the better.

The word nuclear tends to make people nervous these days.

Answer: They were quads

How cute is that? Sam and David Camden were two of the characters on this beloved TV series which ran from 1996 to 2007. They were fraternal twins and the youngest of the Camden family's large brood. When they first appeared in the series, they were played by quadruplets - Lorenzo, Myrinda, Nikolas and Zachary Brino. Once the twins began growing older in the series, however, they were only played by Lorenzo and Nikolas. Myrinda, as you would have realised, is the only girl of the four children. Passing her off as a boy in the long running series wasn't practical.

Not to mention the possibility of the girl developing an identity crisis. Look what happened to Lassie. The poor four-footed hound was a male. He never knew whether to lift his leg or squat.

Answer: Its print edition was discontinuing after 244 years

What a tragedy. Though "Britannica" is by no means ceasing production, it announced that it would only be available on CD-ROM, DVD and the internet after March 2012. Regarded as one of the most accurate encyclopaedias in the world, this wonderful means of reference first appeared in England in 1768. It hasn't always been perfect, of course. An example of this can be seen in its early years when it refused to print Newton's findings on gravity. It insisted, instead, that gravity was caused by the "classical element of fire". I suppose this would indeed be the case if a burning tree suddenly fell on you. An Irish senator has also gone on record with the blunt statement that Britannica's "screwy version of the events (of Irish history) is a gross insult to our people and our history".

By the turn of the 21st century, the "Britannica" contained 55 million words and 120,000 articles, and was employing over 100 staff members to help in its production. And now it is to be relegated to the world of electronics. No longer will we be able to stroke our hands across beautifully bound leather volumes and lovingly flick through its pages. Instead we will have the delight of peering myopically at computer screens instead, hoping that whatever world crisis is currently giving us all ulcers, won't initiate a sudden power failure. The final act of indignity to this great icon was that, in 2010, it announced it was going into partnership with a mobile phone company. How the mighty have fallen! The "Encyclopaedia Britannica" has been toppled as surely and completely as all the other glorious and ancient monuments throughout history. (Please disregard the fact that I am typing this via the very medium being criticised).

Answer: The art of Chinese bonsai

Penjing includes potted miniature landscapes, scenery, trees, rockeries and tiny gardens. It takes a great deal of skill and years of practice to produce these exquisite little worlds. Penjing is considerably more complex than Japanese bonsai because it allows more shape in the tiny trees. The equally skillful Japanese art tends to simplify the shapes of its trees. The Chinese sometimes refer to their art as "three-dimensional poetry" - a delightful name that conjures up all kinds of lovely images.

Penjing, which is more than a thousand years older than the Japanese equivalent, dates back to the first century CE in China. Apart from its beauty, the belief behind its creation is that building these miniature works of nature helps to sharpen one's focus on the normal full-sized world.

Answer: A fish

This is a fish that grows to be approximately a foot and a half long (51cm). It's coloured silver with several slightly darker stripes down its sides. It is usually found along the east coast of the north and south American continents. There's not much else to be said about this fish except that it's supposed to taste reasonably pleasant and is sought after both for commercial and recreational purposes. The most interesting thing about it, in fact, is its name.

Aha, here's something else: it belongs to the fish family Sciaenidae. There are more than 270 species of fish in this category and all are known by the more common names of croakers, drums or hardheads. They are noted for the croaking or drumming sounds they are capable of making. They do this by beating their stomach muscles against their swim bladder. Goodness, if I did that, I'd wet myself. In a fish however, this bladder is an organ filled with gas. Its purpose is to aid in the buoyancy of the little critters.

Answer: Ramesses had 160 children

Julius Schmid was born in Germany, of Jewish parents, in 1865. Actually he was born before Germany was one united country. That didn't take place until 1871. Schmid emigrated to the United States when he turned seventeen. Amazingly so, by the following year he had founded the Schmid Laboratories there. That's quite astonishing for an eighteen year old. Not only was Schmid so young at the time, but he was also semi-paralysed. What a remarkable person.

His first work had been in a sausage making factory - and from there he went on to make his condom making business an international name. What an association of ideas! He manufactured these out of the lower part of sheep gut. To compensate for their sheepish origin, Schmid gave his condom brands fancy names such as Ramesses and Sheik. The packets featured romantic Egyptian images surrounding these two main themes. This association between Egypt and condoms can be traced back to the early history of the device. Egypt is the first country known to have started using early condoms. That was in 1356 BC. Schmid's business was the first condom manufacturing endeavour in the United States. They helped prevent unwanted pregnancies and the spread of venereal disease.

When asked about her illustrious connection to birth control devices, Dolly, the famous cloned sheep, replied "Baaa, I wouldn't know anything about that nasty ramming business, sir. My parents were sterile, very clean, test tubes bottles".

Answer: True

True it is. It only consisted of 50 entries. This took place in Connecticut, USA in 1878, and the names listed on a single piece of cardboard were all businesses. The telephone had only been invented in 1876, with Alexander Graham Bell being awarded the first patent for one. That's so historically fascinating, isn't it? Would that today's telephone directories were still that size. They weigh a ton now, and the size of the font used to list all the names contained therein is so small as to be virtually non-existent. However, now that we are well into the 21st century, many directories are also available in CD-ROM or on sites on the Internet itself. Indeed, in Switzerland, all pay phones now come equipped with an electronic telephone directory instead of a paper one. You are charged for the search, however.

The first British directory came out in 1880. It listed almost 250 individuals and businesses for London. France was the first country to place its directory on the internet. That took place in 1981. Australia went online with theirs in 1994 and the USA in 1996. 1999 saw Britain follow suit. Most paper directory now come in two colours - white for individual numbers and yellow for businesses. There is another directory used in some areas known as the Gray Directory. This lists numbers instead of names - and supplies the address for each number. These are mostly used by "law enforcement and other emergency services to determine the origin of any request for assistance". They include both listed and unlisted numbers.

Answer: Roger Federer

Swiss Tennis player, Roger Federer, was born in 1981. His world ranking in the Association of Tennis Professionals was at number one for an amazing 285 weeks in a row. In 2012, he was still listed as number three in the world. He's a brilliant player to watch, smooth, even and classy. He doesn't grunt, or squeal or swear, but just gets on with the job in hand, in a manner which truly justifies his long ranking at the top of the world tennis tree. He's won an amazing sixteen Grand Slam singles titles during his career and is considered, in the world of tennis experts and commentators, as the "greatest tennis player of all time".

Such is his quiet and dignified behaviour that he's also won the ATP Fans Favourite Award for nine consecutive years and the "Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award...voted by the players themselves...seven times". He also was awarded the "Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award in 2006"; and of course he was runner-up to Mr Mandela in 2011 as the "most trusted and respected person in the world". He supports a large number of charities for under-privileged people, and set up the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to further these causes. This thoroughly lovely man married former tennis player Mirka Vavrinec in 2009, and the tennis duo are parents to twin daughters who were born that same year.

(The 2011 study was conducted by Reputation Institute.)

Answer: True

How amazing is that? This is a row of teeth in their jaw that look exactly like a modern comb that we use today. The fascinating thing about this is that these animals all evolved to develop this feature separately. This is known as convergent evolution. I'm so impressed. If you look it up in Wikipedia, you'll see a drawing of it.

It's so astonishing. The toothcomb "is formed by fine spaces between the teeth". The teeth have also evolved into the most suitable angle for each animal to allow them to comb their teeth through their hair or fur to groom and straighten it. I'm SO impressed.

They're like little mammal hairdressers. And this is even more impressive: To clean their comb, the animals either use their normal tongue, or, in some cases have developed an additional tongue, known as an under-tongue, especially to do so. How's that for Mother Nature at her most efficient?