Lord Of The Fleas Trivia Quiz

Answer: Adult

The Adult stage begins when the flea emerges from the cocoon and this can be triggered by a number of factors.

They can sense shadows passing by, or the temperature of the immediate surroundings increases, or a change in the air currents, the presence of carbon dioxide or even by vibrations created by movement.

Answer: 6 months +

Once the flea decides to hatch it only takes it one second to do so and will appear as a hungry adult. If it jumps onto an unwilling victim straightaway it can begin feeding after three seconds.

If no source of food is instantly available the flea can jump up to 40,000 times without a break in its search for sustenance.

Answer: Two to seven days

Fleas that either cannot locate a host, or find themselves deprived of one, will eventually die of starvation.

The problem does not end with the death of the flea, especially if it was female, as she can lay any number of eggs before dying, and it is these eggs which invariably present the next problem to the unwary.

Answer: Mountain beaver

The Mountain beaver, which isn't actually classed as a beaver, can only be located on the Pacific coast of America.

The flea (Hystrivhopsylla schefferi) was first discovered in the state of Washington in 1913.

In case you were getting worried about the human flea it has now become extremely rare to see one on humans (or even cats and dogs), in the UK at least, due to the increased hygiene standards.

Answer: 14th century

The nursery rhyme first appeared in print in 1881 and it is known that the current tune was being used as early as 1790, however folklorists reject the notion that the nursery rhyme is linked to the plague as it does not describe the symptoms connected to the disease. However, as with most nursery rhymes, there is no conclusive proof one way or the other as to its origins and is still debated today.

However, what is known is that fleas from the Black Rat Flea (Xenopsylla cheopis) were the guilty culprits in spreading the diseases in Europe during the 14th century where being bitten by the flea caused an infection of the lymph glands to develop, which wiped out over 25 million people - over 1/3 of the continent's population.

The drastic reduction in population numbers meant that the balance of power shifted from landowner to farm worker as survivors found them in demand and were able to command higher wages, which is seen by historians as a turning point in European economic development.

Answer: Yes

The first records of flea circuses described watch makers who would demonstrate their skills in making miniature items which would be attached to the fleas. In 1578 Mark Scaliot managed to attach a lock and chain to one.

Such circuses were first advertised from as early as 1833, in England and continued to be popular until 1930.

There is still one genuine flea circus performing today which can be found at the annual Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany.

Answer: False

Actually it is the female that is the larger if only by half a millimetre - size matters!

The females are quicker on the uptake and can begin feeding within a few minutes of locating a source, but cannot lays eggs until after their first blood meal, and can begin laying eggs within 36 to 48 hours afterwards.

The female flea can, in an average day, consume up to 15 times her own body weight in blood, and in a typical lifetime, can lay up to 2,000 eggs - as many as up to 50 eggs per day (usually in clumps of 20) dependant on the species.

Whilst there are over 2,000 known species of flea in the world, it is the cat flea that accounts for almost all the fleas found on cats and dogs in the US.

Answer: Tiddlywinks

Tiddlywinks is an indoor game often thought to be a simple childish game. However, there is a modern competitive adult game with more complex rules that uses consistent high-grade equipment.

A squidger is a disk (which can be made from a phone card) which is used to press down on a wink, thus making it travel through the air with the intention to land in a pot in order to score points. A squop is a shot where the intention is for the wink to land on an opponent's wink in order to stop it from contributing to the score of its owning player. A Gromp is to attempt to jump a pile (with the bottom wink protruding out at the back) onto your opponent's wink, and a Crud is a deliberate forceful shot whose sole intent is to destroy an opponent's pile.

Yes, the other answers are all legitimate English games. Aunt Sally has a ball placed on a spiked wooden plinth and the object is to knock it off using sticks. Dyke Jumping is akin to pole-vaunting but attempting to cross a dyke instead, and Welly Wanging is the throwing of a Wellington boot either as far as possible, or at a specific target.

Answer: Harrods

The rather optimistic Lydia Banot (Born Mario Kerr) decided upon this course of action after receiving a course of electrolysis treatment at the store to remove facial hair which she claimed left her face scarred afterwards.

She began her blackmail attempt in November 1995 by sending a note to the owner Mohamed al-Fayed for £5 million, threatening to plague Harrods with mice as well as fleas in addition to poisoning the food at the restaurant.

During negotiations she relented and reduced her demands to £50,000.

She was jailed for eight years on 18 June 1996.

Answer: On a Flea on his Mistress' Bosom

John Donne was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England and is considered to be the most prominent member of the metaphysical poets.

An excerpt of the poem is taken from Bartleby.com

"Madam, that flea which crept between your breasts,
I envied that there he should make his rest;
The little creature's fortune was so good
That angels feed not on so precious food
How it did suck, how eager tickle you!
Madam, shall fleas before me tickle you?"