Mink's Miscellany Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka (also formerly known as Ceylon) was known in the 18th century as Serendip. The word serendipity was coined in 1754 in a letter by Horace Walpole from the title of a book - "The Three Princes of Serendip" whose heroes were always making discoveries by chance of things they weren't seeking.

Interestingly, Horace Walpole was a cousin of Lord Nelson and although he was known as Horace, his real name was also Horatio.

Answer: On the insides of the legs

The chestnuts are horny calluses on the inside of the knees and hocks which have no hair covering, unlike the rest of the leg. They are said to be the remnants of the bones of fingers and toes that have atrophied as horses evolved to run on just the middle digit of each limb.

Answer: Surrey

In Shakespeare's Richard the Third he commands his men to "saddle white Surrey for the field tomorrow". Richard seems to have been fond of things white - his personal emblem was the white boar and he fought under the emblem of the white rose of York. Surrey was also the name of one of his supporters.

Answer: The Iditarod

The Iditarod was originally a mail and supply trail for the miners working in Alaska. In 1925 there was an outbreak of diphtheria and part of the trail was used to take medical supplies and serum into the people affected. The race commemorates this and its other history, is run over 1150 miles from Anchorage to Nome and takes 10 - 17 days to complete. I checked my facts on the official Iditarod web site so if you want to know more, visit here http://www.iditarod.com/2-0.html

Answer: Henry VII

Lambert Simnel was put forward as a boy as being Edward, Earl of Warwick, one of the "Princes in the Tower" supposedly murdered in the Tower of London. He was lucky to survive as there was a failed rebellion based on his claim to the throne but Henry VII eventually pardoned him and gave him a job in the royal kitchens. When he grew older he became a royal falconer.

Perkin Warbeck claimed to be the Earl of Shrewsbury, younger son of Edward IV and was not even English, but Flemish. He made several attempts to take the throne and was even supported by James IV of Scotland. He was not as lucky as Lambert Simnel however and was eventually captured and hanged as a traitor at Tyburn. Interestingly, he is said to resemble Edward IV physically so some people believe he may have been an illegitemate son.

There is a lot of scholarly debate about exactly who these two people were and what their claims may or may not have been and so it is difficult to pin down facts.

Henry VII was the king who succeeded Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, was the first of the Tudor kings and reputedly found the crown hanging in a thorn bush after Richard was killed.

Answer: Exeter

Isca Dumnoniorum was the name given by the Romans to the city now known as Exeter. It is in the county of Devon and straddles the River Exe. In the past it was an important port but the river has long since silted up and now it is not possible to reach the city from the sea in anything larger than a dinghy or canoe. There has been a cathedral since 1050 on the site of the camp of the Roman Army's Second Augustan Legion and there are many other links with the Romans.

Under the city are mediaeval passageways which can be explored on foot. They were built originally to house pipes taking fresh water to the houses of the city. Today, people say they are occupied by the ghosts of Roman soldiers - another Roman connection!

Answer: Farrier or blacksmith

A pritchell is used by a farrier when he is making horseshoes. It is a pointed implement and is used to clear out the holes made to take the nails which hold the shoe on the horse's foot. Simple as that!

Answer: A coin

A quarter angel was a gold coin which started life as a quarter of a coin called an angel noble. In 1544 Henry VIII issued a gold version of the quarter angel which was worth 24 pence or 2 shillings. By Elizabeth I's time the value had risen to 2 shillings and sixpence and in 1600 it was replaced by a silver halfcrown.

The coin had a design of St Michael slaying Satan in the form of a dragon on one side and ship on the other.

With thanks to this website

http://www.tclayton.demon.co.uk/coins.html#index

for the information on the history of the coin.

Answer: A show-jumping fence

An oxer is a type of show-jumping or cross-country fence. It consists of two rails or sets of rails which can be set at various heights. The rails may be parallel - or not! It usually provides a square, wide fence which tests the abilty to jump height and width.

Answer: Silicon carbide

Carborundum is a trade name for a form of silicon carbide used in precision grinding. The product was patented in the US on February 28th 1893 by Edward Goodrich Acheson, who went on to patent another 70 inventions.

For those who haven't come across the phrase before, "Illegitimi non carborundum" means "Don't let the bastards grind you down" and it originated during World War II.