Cool Zooms, Part LXI Trivia Quiz

Answer: Join the French Foreign Legion

The French Foreign Legion (FFL), established in 1831, consists of foreign recruits who are willing to serve in the French Armed forces. During World War II, Susan Travers joined the Free French Forces as a driver, having first served as a nurse and an ambulance driver in the French Red Cross and the French Expeditionary Force. After the war, she was formally enrolled in the Legion and subsequently served in the French Indochina War. She published her autobiography, "Tomorrow to Be Brave: A Memoir of the Only Woman Ever to Serve in the French Foreign Legion", in 2000 when she was 91.

This question was mustered in by Phoenix Rising general smpdit and recruit purelyqing.

Answer: Ringo Starr

When the Beatles were recording what was known as the "White Album" in 1968, Ringo Starr was annoyed at the criticism for his drumming and walked out of the group and had a holiday on Peter Sellers' yacht. The other three asked him to return and he did after two weeks but not before "Back in the USSR" was recorded. All three remaining Beatles contributed to the drumming with Paul McCartney contributing the major portion. All three also taped bass guitar tracks. In all, five takes were recorded with McCartney on drums, George Harrison on electric guitar, and John Lennon on bass guitar, but with overdubs and mixes, the three Beatles contributions were somewhat blurred. The song is a parody of Chuck Berry's "Living in the USA" and the Beach Boys' "California Girls".

This question was written by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1 who had had a dreadful flight when he left the west behind.

Answer: Bananas

Yes, you heard correctly, bananas. The climate is certainly not ideal for growing bananas but the secret is that they're grown in large greenhouses. Icelanders make use of the cheap geothermal energy that they are able to generate to heat the greenhouses and to provide them with light when the seasons change and the weather darkens. Bananas have been grown in the country since 1941 and, until the late 1950s, all the bananas that were consumed in the country were grown locally. There is an argument that Iceland is Europe's largest producer of bananas but that would be disputed by the Spanish. However, the pro-Iceland brigade would argue that most of Spain's bananas are grown on the Canary Islands and would point to that being a part of Africa.

This question was produced by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who was bent out of shape in researching this data.

Answer: Formaldehyde

There is something seriously wrong when the phrases "I dissect dead bodies" and "I get really hungry" appear in the same sentence. Seriously! I would have expected the loss of appetite or, at least, a very wobbly stomach. Hannibal the cannibal has nothing on these students. The article is rather creepy as it goes on to explain that the students keep talking about their favourite recipes as a means to combat this urge to eat.

The belief is that this craving is bought on by the exposure to formaldehyde (note, the other three compounds named are all herbicides), a compound that is used to preserve bodies. The validity of this, however, is disputed by the World Health Organisation and they have produced data that the compound should produce the opposite effect.

This question was resurrected by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who, if he were a cadaver, would be most concerned if the coroner called for some fava beans and a nice chianti.

Answer: Emancipation of African-American slaves

Juneteenth is a federal holiday that is celebrated on the 19th of June each year in the United States to mark the day that all slaves in the country were set free. "Hang on a minute" I hear you say. The Emancipation Proclamation took effect on the first of January 1863... why not then? Yes, that was the date that the Proclamation came into effect but it only applied to slaves in states that were in rebellion at the time. It was neither recognized by the Confederate states nor did it apply to slaves in Northern or border states. It was a couple of years later, 19 June, 1865, that some 2,000 troops arrived in Galveston Bay in Texas and declared that some 250,000 enslaved black people in the state were free by executive decree. This was considered the end of slavery in the South but slavery was not abolished in the entire US until the adoption of the 13th Amendment on December 6, 1865.

This question was put forward by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19, who admires a people that never gave up hope.

Answer: Germany

Though Italy and France are likely to come first to mind when mentioning cheese, the top spot in the world list of cheese-exporting countries belongs to Germany. In 2020, Germany exported about $4.8 billion worth of cheese - 14% of total cheese exports. The Netherlands follow with $4.2 billion, then Italy ($3.6 billion), France ($3.5 billion), and the US as a distant fifth, with $1.61 billion. Most of the world's biggest cheese-exporting countries are part of the European Union: Spain, however, is not part of the top 15. In terms of cheese production, the US are number one, with over 5 million tonnes of cheese per year; Germany, which comes second, produces less that half that amount.

Phoenix Rising's Lady Nym produced this question about one of life's greatest pleasures - hoping you will not find it too cheesy.

Answer: Australian beetles

The three species of beetles were discovered in 2020 in the Australian National Insect Collection during a faunistic study on Australian Pyrochroidae, which are fire-coloured beetles. The names are derived from the popular Japanese videogame Pokemon, in which Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres are legendary bird Pokemon that can control ice, electricity, and fire, respectively. Their names were used by the lead author of the study, a Pokemon enthusiast, to refer to the presumed rareness of these new beetle species; at the time of the research paper's publication less than ten specimens from all three species existed.

This question was caught by Phoenix Rising Pokemon trainers smpdit and purelyqing.

Answer: Palindromes

Palindromes are words or phrases which read the same forwards and backwards, usually ignoring spaces, punctuation, capitalisation and diacritical marks. Examples are words like "racecar" and "Hannah" and the Theodore Roosevelt-inspired phrase: "A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!" Etymologically, "palindrome" dates to the 17th century and is derived from the Greek "palindromos" meaning "running back again".

There are named phobias about most things and "aibohphobia" is the appropriately created palindromic term for an irrational fear or distrust of these equivalent forward and backward expressions. Aibohphobia first appeared in written form in "The Devil's DP Dictionary" (1981) by Stan Kelly-Bootle and its successor from the same author: "The Computer Contradictionary" (1995).

Was it a car or a cat I saw? As well as being a self-confessed ailurophile, Phoenix Rising's psnz finds himself firmly in the ailihphilia camp rather than the aibohphobia one.

Answer: The Trials HD

Trials HD was a 2D dirt biking video game released on X-Box in 2009 which included a very intricate riddle easter egg that took nearly two years to be solved by a vast number of gamers around the world. A code was written on wooden boards around the game in varied hard to access places. A collaborative effort took place to transcribe them all and the message was decoded. Following the directions required the code to be analysed by spectral analysis. The resulting information led to another website which led to real life locations. At these locations a treasure chest was found containing little keys.
But it didn't stop there. Trials Evolution, the follow up game, was released in 2012, and the riddle continued, culminating in a instruction that told that one of the keys would be needed to open a box, located under the Eiffel Tower in 2113.
The complexity of the puzzle has strangely not made a lot of public noise. The originator of the puzzle has said that he has made provisions for the result to occur at the appointed time in the future and the feeling is that it will be very lucrative for the person with the key.

smpdit feels it is a real shame that the people who solved the riddle will not be alive to see the results, but is most intrigued and impressed with the ingenuity.

Answer: Yuma, Arizona

There is some scope to argue about the definition of sunniest of course (e.g. most hours of sunlight, most intense sunlight), but according to the World Meteorological Organization, the city of Yuma, Arizona has the highest number of daylight hours with sunshine each year. In this hot desert climate, the sun shines during 90% of daylight hours. Typically in June, the sun shines (i.e. without any cloud cover) for 97% of the day. To address any arguments before they arise, Perth Australia is the sunniest capital city using the same criterion of most hours of sunshine!

This question was delivered in the cooler twilight hours by sun-smart PR member MikeMaster99 who chooses to live in a city (Melbourne) where weather conditions are not quite so consistent!

Answer: It was named after its inventor

The burpee is the namesake of physiologist Royal Huddleston Burpee. It was developed in 1939 as part of his doctoral research related to evaluating physical fitness and during his tenure as the executive director of a YMCA in New York City. The burpee as a full body movement is arguably one of the best exercises a person can do. In its most basic form, it includes the following four steps:

1. Squat down placing both hands on the ground in front of you
2. Pop your feet backward into an extended plank position
3. Immediately return your feet to squat position
4. Stand back up

There are many variations on the burpee exercise. A common variation involves performing a chest-to-ground pushup from the plank position and jumping with hands overhead after standing back up.

This question worked out by Phoenix Rising member JCSon, who is painfully familiar with Mr. Burpee's cruelty as he receives a 30-burpee penalty for every obstacle failed at Spartan Races.

Answer: It has human-like teeth

The sheepshead fish, Archosargus probatocephalus, is a marine fish that can be found along the coasts of the western Atlantic from Canada to Brazil concentrating around Florida. It is about 30 to 50 cm (10 to 20 in) in length with vertical dark stripes over a pale body, earning it the nickname of convict fish. It feeds on invertebrates such as bivalves and crustaceans. The fish's most defining feature, well-defined teeth that remarkably resemble that of humans, aid in crushing its prey. Sheepshead fish are occasionally caught for human consumption although their thick scales and spines make cleaning and preparation difficult.

This question was baited by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing and reeled in by teammate smpdit.

Answer: Trinity of Tedium

"Trinity of Tedium" is an informal, but widely reported, term for the "twinning" of these three particularly uninspiringly named locations. The grouping also became known as the League of Extraordinary Communities. The first connection was made in 2012 when the Scottish village of Dull paired up with the town of Boring, Oregon, USA in a move which resulted in some amusing road signs and an economic boost for both from increased tourism and merchandising. The community of Bland Shire, New South Wales, Australia joined in the fun a year later.

The names of these places shouldn't be taken as a description of life there - Boring and Bland are both named after 19th century residents, while the name Dull is believed to derive from a Pictish word for a water meadow.

This probably less-than-interesting information was doggedly typed out by a yawning Fifiona81.

Answer: Saltire and Nordic Cross

Author Roy Gronneberg and, Bill Adams in 1969 designed the flag of Shetland. The date was significant as it commemorated the 500th anniversary of the transfer of the Shetlands to Scotland from the king of Norway and Denmark. The design uses the colours of the Scottish flag (dark blue and white) with a Scandinavian cross pattern. (As such it is a reverse of the Finnish flag).
Gronneberg stated: "Wishing to give equal symbolic weight to the fact that Shetland had been part of Norway for 500 years and part of Scotland for 500 years, we took the national colours of Scotland - blue and white - and inserted them into the offset cross design common to all Scandinavian countries." The flag was officially sanctioned in 2005. It should be noted that while the Scottish flag is called the Saltire, it is not the only national flag that is a saltire (diagonal cross). Jamaica's flag is also, for example a saltire.

This question was hoisted into the quiz by Phoenix Rising amateur vexillologist 1nn1.

Answer: Bolivia

Bolivia's multicultural nature is reflected not only by its official name of "Plurinational State of Bolivia", but also by the enormous number of recognized official languages. The country's constitution, promulgated in 2009 by President Evo Morales, lists a whopping 36 official languages, most of them indigenous; some of them are extinct, while others only have a few hundreds of native speakers left. The most commonly used of these languages, however, is Spanish, spoken by about two-thirds of the population, and also used for all official documents issued by the State and by public and private institutions. Of the indigenous languages, Quechua and Aymara (which are also officially recognized in neighbouring Peru) are the ones with the most speakers; Guaraní is spoken near the border with Paraguay (where it has official status). All of Bolivia's official languages are also taught in schools.

Zimbabwe, with its 16 official languages, and South Africa, with 11, are the runners-up. The three countries listed as wrong answers, for all their huge linguistic diversity, have a much smaller number of official languages: Papua New Guinea has four, India has two, and China only one.

This question was translated and interpreted by LadyNym, PR's resident linguist and language buff.

Answer: Stripe-faced dunnart

The Stripe-faced dunnart is a small Australian marsupial mouse found mostly in the central and northern regions of the country. The small marsupial has a short gestation of around 11 days, and will have a litter of up to eight at a time. Like other marsupials, the young then stay in the pouch for a further period. These joeys will spend 40 days in the pouch and a further 30 days in the nest. Female joeys reach maturity at 4 months and the males at 9 months.

Phoenix Rising's leith90 incubated this question before scurrying it into the quiz.

Answer: Romania

The National Anthem of Romania was written in 1848 by Andrei Muresanu originally as a call to arms during a time of revolution.
"Awaken thee Romanian from your sleep of death
Into which you've been sunk by the barbaric tyrants.
Now or never, sow a new fate for yourself
To which even your cruel enemies will bow!

Now or never, let us show the world
That through these arms, Roman blood still flows;
And that in our chests we still proudly bear a name
Triumphant in battles, the name of Trajan!"

Highly patriotic, it officially became the national anthem in 1990. It has also been compared to "La Marseillaise" with similar themes of a call to action.

smpdit reflects (unlike some legends) that Romania, which incorporates Transylvania, should probably look closer to the lyrics when they deny the existence of vampires.

Answer: Lemon Meringue Penguin

Leucism is the partial loss of pigmentation in animals, which results in patches of white or yellow in skin or feathers. It is not as extreme as albinism, which is the total absence of melanin.

King penguins are one of the larger breeds of penguin, and normally have a white front, dark grey back, and a black and orange head. Our little friend, however, is mainly coloured with various shades of white and yellow. It was found on the remote South Atlantic island of South Georgia and Belgian photographer Yves Adams scored an award-winning picture in 2019.

This question was plucked out of thin air by Phoenix Rising team member, ozzz2002.

Answer: Echidna

The echidna is one of only two egg-laying mammals in the world, the other being the platypus. They are found in Australia and New Guinea. The glans penis of the male echidna is divided into two parts and each part is further split into two rosettes, giving the appearance of a four-headed penis. In the beginning stages of erection, all four rosettes are visible, but as the process continues, two rosettes retract, leaving one pair of fully engorged rosettes that complements the female's reproductive anatomy. This unusual characteristic of the echidna's reproduction was elucidated by zookeepers at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary (Gold Coast, Australia).

This question was posed by Phoenix Rising team member smpdit while teammate purelyqing researched the information.

Answer: Disney World, Florida

A little over one year after his re-election and in the midst of the Watergate scandal, Nixon made the statement in response to questions by AP editors in Orlando, Florida at Disney World. The editors had gathered for their annual conference and Nixon gave a speech to try to quell the growing scandal. The statement came during a question-and-answer session following his speech. Nixon said, "people have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got."

This question was filed by Phoenix Rising's White House correspondent tazman6619 on November 17, 1973.