Catching some ZZZZZs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Annibale Zoilo

Annibale Zoilo (c 1537-1592) was born in Rome. Little is known of his early years, but he clearly was very talented as he became maestro di cappella of San Luigi de' Francesi by 1862, when he was probably in his mid-20s. A short few years later he became maestro di cappella at St John Lateran in Rome, one of the most coveted positions for a musician at that time. His last position took him to Loreto, Italy, where he remained until his death.

Mikolaj Zielenski (dates unknown) was a Polish composer whose only known works were published in 1611, two polychordal works dedicated to the Archbishop of Gniezno (a city in central western Poland).

Gioseffo Zarlino (1570-1590) was born near Venice, Italy, and was ordained as a priest in the Franciscan order. While he did compose a number of works, his principal contribution to music was in musical theory. He also held the post of maestro di cappella of St. Mark's, Venice.

Nicolaus Zacharie(c 1400-1466) was possibly from Brindisi, Italy. Very little is known about him, but in 1420 he was a singer at Florence Cathedral, then was taken by the Pope to Rome to sing in the Papal choir. His last known position was as a chaplain at the church of Santa Maria in Ceglie Messapico, near Brindisi. His three known works are two motets and a secular ballata.

Answer: Zinnwaldite

Zinnwaldite is very rare, a member of the mica family of minerals. It is pale brown or grey, sometimes running to green, with a whitish streaking, translucent with a pearly lustre. It is found in Cornwall, Germany and California. It has limited use in electrical applications as an insulating material.

Zeunerite is a uranyl arsenate, radioactive and fairly rare. It is found in the vicinity of other arsenic minerals, in particular in Cornwall, Saxony and Arizona. It is translucent, green to yellow in colour, with a paler green streaking.

Zippeite is also rare. It is a goldish-yellowish-brownish mineral with pale yellow streak, and is found in uranium mines in places including Cornwall, western USA and Bohemia. It is radioactive and will fluoresce under a black light.

Zoisite, unlike the others, is not radioactive but is an ornamental stone of which Tanzanite is one variety. It comes in a wide variety of colours and is used in jewelry.

Answer: Zanthoxylum

Zanthoxylum can also be called Prickly Ash. It is often found made into Bonsai, and some of its species produce the fruit used to make Sichuan pepper. The bark of the plant can be used to treat colic, toothache and rheumatism. The plant is found world-wide.

Zaluzianskya is a phlox-like flower of the figwort family (not actually related to phlox). It is found in South Africa.

Zelkova is a tree, related to the elm. It is found in parts of Europe and Asia.

Zigadenus is the name for the Deathcamases or Star Lilies, some of which are highly toxic.

Answer: Zavijava

Zavijava is sometimes also called Alaraph. It is the fifth brightest star in the constellation Virgo, despite it being called beta. It was using this particular star as a 'given' that helped Albert Einstein calculate the speed of light in space.

Zosma is a star somewhat larger than our sun, which sits at the hip of the lion, Leo. In about 600 million years it will become a red giant, then a white dwarf.

Zaurak is Gamma Eridani, its name means "the boat" and it is in the constellation Eridanus, "the river".

Zaniah is also in Virgo. It is not, however, one star: it is a triple star system.

Answer: zorille

The zorille is found in Africa and looks very much like a striped skunk. Unfortunately, it also smells like one....

Zayin is the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Zeatin is a chemical found in Indian corn.

Zebu is the name given to common oxen in India.

Answer: Zander

The Zander has the dorsal fin of a perch and the length of a pike, and it can grow quite large, as much as 44 pounds in weight. It's a tasty fish, but hard to catch. According to Wikipedia, "In July 2009 in Switzerland, a zander attacked tourists in a Lake near Italy, sending two to the Emergency Room with the worst cut being about 10 centimeters long. The zander was later caught by the local police who cooked it and offered it to the tourists for the trouble it caused." Presumably with a bit of butter and on a bed of spinach?

The Ziege is a sabre carp, silvery with a forked tail. It is found in eastern Europe and western Asia.

The Zingel is a long, slender fish found in Europe. There are four species of Zingel, all of which are considered either endangered or vulnerable.

The zebrafish is a minnow-like striped freshwater fish, often found in home aquariums.

Answer: Zythepsarist

A zythepsarist made beer. The name comes from ancient Greek, zuthos for "barley beer" as its root.

A zigarius was a gypsy.

A zitherist played, of all things, a zither.

There was, to the best of my knowledge, no occupation called zopaladist, I just made that up (the only other alternatives were way too obvious...)

Answer: Zambra

Zambra is a form of Flamenco, done by the Romani, or gypsy, people of Spain. It is danced at their weddings. The dance probably has its origins in Moorish belly-dancing, from the period when the Moors occupied parts of Spain.

Zaloggos probably refers to the 'dance' done by the residents of Souli in Greece; when attacked by the Turks, the women danced and then threw themselves and their babies off a mountain to their death. One kind of wonders about the dance part....

The Zorzico is a dance found in the Basque region of Spain, and the Zemba Quecas is probably the basis of the samba.

Answer: Zaysete

Zaysete is spoken by a large number of the inhabitants of the Omo region of Ethiopia, and is in use by people of all age groups.

Zumbun is a Nigerian language with about 2000 speakers.

In 1995 there were only 230 people who spoke Zorop, found in the Papua region of Indonesia.

Ziriya is now an extinct language, once heard in parts of Nigeria.

Answer: Sylvan Zaft

Sylvan Zaft's book starts off "Peter was always interested in learning new things, but they were not always the things that his teachers were asking him to learn." It looks interesting... maybe now that I'm finished with this alpha series I can read it.

Michele Zanini wrote something far more serious, "Countering the New Terrorism", in 1999.

"Diazinon and Chlorpyrifos Loads in the San Joaquin River Basin, California, January and February 2000" was the contribution of Celia Zamora.

John Augustine Zahm gave us "Great Inspirers", but I'm not sure when...