Elephant Crossing Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hannibal Barca

Hannibal Barca (247 - 183/181 BC) was a general of the Carthaginian army. Upset at the Roman victory in the First Punic War (264 - 241 BC), Hannibal struck back at the Romans by landing in what is now Spain and travelling over land to attack Rome via the "impenetrable" Alps on the northern border.

The crossing was difficult, but Hannibal's army was able to attack Rome to start the Second Punic War (218 - 201 BC).

Answer: Babar

"Histoire de Babar" is a 1931 children's book by Jean de Brunhoff (1899 - 1937). Babar flees the jungle after his mother is killed by a hunter, and ends up with The Old Lady, who befriends and "civilizes" him. He returns to the elephants after the King of the Elephants dies, and assumes the throne due to his time living and learning among men.

Answer: milk

Immediately after giving birth, the milk of an elephant seal is about 12% fat, but that rises to over 50% in a few weeks. And the pups need it: in about a month they can go from 75 pounds to over 300 pounds.

In case you were wondering, cow milk is about 3.5% fat.

And at over 50% fat, elephant seal milk is closer to pudding than liquid milk.

Answer: Denmark

The Order of the Elephant consists of the royal family of Denmark and 30 knights, usually heads of state.

President Dwight Eisenhower (1890 - 1969) was made a Knight of the Order of the Elephant in 1950.

Answer: Horton Hatches the Egg

Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904 - 1991) wrote and illustrated books under the pen name of "Dr. Seuss". While the original pronunciation of this name rhymes with "rejoice", many people pronounced it incorrectly and Geisel saw the benefits of a name that rhymed with "Mother Goose".

Geisel wrote under other names as well. He used "Theo LeSieg" for most books that he wrote but others illustrated, and "Rosetta Stone" for one book in 1975.

In "Horton Hatches the Egg" (1940), Horton the elephant is tricked into egg sitting by a lazy bird. In "Horton Hears a Who!" (1954), Horton protects people living on a speck of dust that only he can hear.

Answer: Timothy

"Dumbo" (1941) is the story of an elephant, Jumbo Jr., who is nicknamed Dumbo because of his large ears. After their drunken night out, Dumbo and Timothy Q. Mouse end up in a tree. According to Timothy, this means that Dumbo can fly.

During production, many of the Disney staff went on strike, which lasted for five weeks. Some of these striking workers are caricatured as clowns who want to get a raise from the boss of the circus.

Answer: Thomas Nast

Thomas Nast (1840 - 1902) was an editorial cartoonist who had a tremendous influence on American politics. His drawings helped bring down the corrupt Tweed Ring in New York and influenced presidential elections.

Nast's images of Santa Claus, along with the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement Clarke Moore (1779 - 1863), solidified what the character looked like. The Coca-Cola advertisements by Haddon Sundblom (1899 - 1976) fixed the red and white color scheme, but were not the first time Santa Claus was depicted in red and white.

Answer: red

Instead of a smooth retina, the eyes have evolved features which focus red light.

Freshwater elephant fish also use electromagnetism as an additional sense, sending out either pulses or waves of electricity.

Answer: Yankee Swap

A White Elephant Gift Exchange is a party gift where participants bring gifts (of a set value), and then draw lots in order to determine the order of who goes when. As each person takes a turn, they can either select an unopened gift or swap for one that has already been opened, which prompts the previous owner of that gift to select or swap.

The term comes from a legend about the King of Siam, who would give a rare white elephant to people who upset him. Unable to refuse a gift from the king, the costs of keeping and feeding the elephant would bankrupt them.

Answer: blowing a trumpet

The musical is based upon the "Elephant and Piggie" series of children's books by Mo Willems, which features Gerald the elephant and Piggie the pig.

Near the end of the musical, Elephant and Piggie realize they are on stage with an audience, and they can get the audience to cheer and clap.