In a Pickle! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gherkin

In fact, gherkins are often known as cornichons in the English speaking world. This is just another example of the massive influence French has on English culinary language. Fast food chains also make use of gherkins with McDonalds using them as an ingredient in their Big Mac sandwich. Is it just me who likes to eat gherkins straight from the jar?!

Answer: Football (soccer)

The trophy, which was named after a former FIFA president, had a turbulent history. It was stolen on two occasions, first in 1966 and again in 1983. In 1966, Pickles the dog came to the rescue and retrieved the highly sought after sporting trophy. However, in 1983 the stolen trophy would never be seen again.

Brazil was the last winner of the Jules Rimet trophy in 1970. This was the nation's third victory in the FIFA World Cup and this allowed the Brazilians to keep the trophy forever. They therefore had the trophy in their possession for 13 years (unlucky perhaps) before it was stolen. The three victories by Brazil prompted those in power at FIFA to make a new trophy which was first won in 1974 by West Germany.

Answer: Rugrats

This extremely popular animated TV programme for children was based on the idea of babies being able to understand adults as well as being able to communicate with each other. Tommy Pickles was the one year old leader of the 'Rugrats' gang which included Chuckie and the twins, Phil and Lil.

Answer: San Jose

The San Jose Sharks were a team found in the Pacific division of the National Hockey League (NHL). Some teams that the Sharks played in the Pacific division included the Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings.

Marc-Édouard Vlasic was nicknamed 'Pickles' after 'Vlasic Pickles', a company that emerged during World War II selling, well...pickles!

Answer: Conservative Party

Eric Pickles was a Conservative MP representing the constituency of Brentwood and Ongar for well over a decade. Eric Pickles' constituency is found in Essex, England and has been Conservative since its establishment in 1974. In the 2005 general election, Eric Pickles' job was noticeably safe after he received 23,609 votes (53.5%).

As can be seen by the percentage (over 50%), Pickles had more votes in Brentwood and Ongar than all other candidates combined.

Answer: Acid

In fact the pickling of metals is similar to the pickling of foods in that both use acid, though to pickle a metal much stronger acids are required than those used in food preservation. Vinegar (acetic acid or ethanoic acid) is the substance of choice in pickling foods whilst hydrochloric acid is often used in conjunction with metals.

In some cases, a mixture of acids can be used to remove impurities and rust from the surface of a metal.

Answer: Baseball

Now do forgive me, I am a Brit who is quite ignorant to the details of American sport but I shall amuse you all with my woeful attempt to describe this situation:

A base runner leaves a certain base in an effort to get to the next when he finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. The rock is the defensive player on the runner's desired base and the hard place is the defensive player on the base from which the runner is sprinting. Carrying on with the rocks and hard places, the base runner finds himself running to the desired base but the rock has the ball in his hand. If the rock touches the base runner, the latter is out! In an effort to avoid the ball-possessing rock, the base runner will change direction to try to reach his starting base. The rock and the hard place will keep throwing the ball back and fore and the base runner will keep switching directions. This is a pickle! All very confusing.

Answer: Branston

As well as Branston Pickle containing swede and cauliflower, the relish consists of carrots, onions and gherkins. The spices added include cinnamon, pepper and nutmeg. It is a lot nicer than it sounds, even kids eat it! Branston Pickle is used in the ploughman's sandwich and can also be found in a sandwich alongside cheese. Branston Pickle is also a nice accompaniment to corned beef and that combination makes mean toasties (known as jaffles to our friends in Australia)!

Answer: William Shakespeare

'The Tempest' is believed to have been written by William Shakespeare in the early 17th century, possibly around 1610. The phrase "in (such) a pickle" is uttered by the character Trinculo in response to a question posed by Alonso. Alonso asks, "...How camest thou in this pickle?", to which Alonso responded:

"I have been in such a pickle since I
saw you last that, I fear me, will never out of
my bones: I shall not fear fly-blowing."

Answer: Japanese

The English translation of the Japanese word 'tsukemono' is 'pickled things'. The foods aren't pickled with vinegar (acetic acid) but with the salt solution, brine. Some of the Japanese delicacies you could try include pickled Chinese cabbage and pickled daikon radish, the latter known as takuan in Japanese.