Miscellaneous Madness Trivia Quiz

Answer: It was dismantled to build a barn.

The "Mayflower" was most likely a three-masted ship with the approximate dimensions of 90-100 feet long and 26 feet wide. It was filthy and severely cramped as it carried a crew of 30 and 102 passengers. Eighteen of the passengers were women, two passengers died en route to the new world and two children were born.

The Mayflower stayed in Plymouth during the horrible winter of 1620 that killed half of the colonists. Only four of the eighteen women lived through the winter. The Mayflower returned to England and was no longer seaworthy.

It was in ruins and was sold for the lumber. Wood was very scarce in England at that time and the Mayflower was reputedly dismantled to build a barn.

Answer: Edgar Allan Poe

Poe's first fictional detective appears as Auguste C. Dupin in the novel "Murder in the Rue Morgue" - 1841

Answer: Nearer My God to Thee

Usually, during a disaster, people panic and pandemonium reigns. This did not happen aboard the Titanic. Men were the last to board the lifeboats and the crew was described as very heroic. However, probably none was as heroic as the little band that played on and on until the end. Sadly, White Star sent bills to the family members of the band for the lost uniforms.

Answer: Five

Over five million people gaze at the ugly ruby slippers each year at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. One pair even sold for $165,000 in 1988.

Answer: Ode to a Purple Weasel

The great Roger Miller - "King of the Road" that won six Grammy Awards. "Dang me - Dang me - they ought to take a rope and hang me". Roger Miller was born in 1936 but his life was tragically cut short in 1992 from a tumor under his vocal cords. His sense of humor was truly delicious - when asked how he wanted to be remembered, he answered, "I just don't want to be forgotten!" I doubt if this will happen any time soon. No, I don't know if "Ode to a Purple Weasel" is the title to a song, but if it isn't, it is missing a good chance.

Answer: Buddy Ebsen

Buddy Ebsen became deathly ill from the aluminum powder that was used for his makeup and almost died. He was replaced by Jack Haley and the studio issued the news that Buddy Ebsen had pneumonia and could not continue with the film.

Answer: Tom Sawyer

Mark Twain purchased his Remington typewriter in 1874 and the rest is history.

Answer: Chiricahua Apache

There was a legend that Geronimo, who was fleeing on horseback from the US Cavalry got cut off by a very steep cliff over a river far below. The only chance he had of escaping was to make the awful leap which, of course, he did (would he have done anything else?).

He yelled "GERONIMO" all the way down to taunt the cavalry. He did escape - but there was no word on the horse. During World War II, the paratroopers adopted GERONIMO as their war cry when they jumped out of their planes. I would have yelled something different.

Answer: Mongols

So the ferocious Mongolians had a sweet tooth? Hard to picture a Mongol sitting in the shade with a cooling glass of lemonade - but as they say - truth is stranger than fiction.

Answer: Fresca

Well, old Lyndon did love his Fresca and never offered guests anything but Fresca.

Answer: Bubonic plague

The reasoning goes that the plague caused red marks on the body and this led to them sometimes being called "roseys". They did everything possible to keep the plague from spreading and the townspeople would even hold hands around the sick person and from this came "Ring around the rosey". "A pocket full of posies" meant either that the people thought posies would ward off the horrible disease or that it referred to a funeral wreath. It is also thought that flowers were put in the pockets to try to cover the awful smell of disease.

However, the theory founders on the simple fact that the bubonic plague did not produce "roseys" on the skin but buboes, grotesque black blister-like growths on the body's lymph nodes. The plague did not tend to make people sneeze either, although it did make rather a lot of people fall down.

Answer: Wooden

The eggs have a different and interesting design each year and they can be purchased. No, I don't have the address - try the White House.

Answer: Flying Tigers

The Flying Tigers were capable of a high level of surprise, precision flying and they continually moved from one small airstrip to another. They even repainted their planes with different insignia and numbers before a raid on the Japanese.

Answer: Army

School of fish, flock of sheep, gaggle of geese. Have you ever heard of it raining frogs? Hundreds! Maybe thousands! Well, it can happen. Winds are capable of scooping up an entire pond and transporting its contents for miles to be dumped maybe especially on those who detest frogs.

Answer: Start looking for an ivory stake

If I had a vampire looking at me, I don't think I would have time to start looking for a stake, and ivory is not known to have any effect on them, anyway.

Vampires hate ringing bells and a windchime on your front porch is quite effective. Vampires have an obsession about counting seeds and will become so interested in counting that they will lose interest in you and keep counting until the sun comes up. Some say garlic works too. What is YOUR favorite protection?