Mix Me Up No 3 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cattle tallow

Dental caries is a disease in which sugar, left on teeth from eating junk food etc (tsk, tsk), is turned into the acid which eats away at tooth enamel, eventually leading to holes and cavities in your chompers. Then the dreaded dental visit is upon you, and the awful, shuddering sound of that drill as it buzzes away in the recesses of your mouth. Olaflur is a substance containing fluoride which prevents these dental caries occurring. Too much of it however is toxic, if overuse takes place over long periods of time.

However, don't stress. Calcium is the antidote should this happen - good old milk, for example. The production of olaflur begins with the tallow (beef fat) obtained from cattle, and after undergoing several chemical treatments, the end result helps protect your pearly whites. How amazing is that? You're cleaning your teeth with cow fat.

Answer: Lean back past the vertical

He runs a real risk, in doing so, of completely toppling over backwards if he gets too excited. Not only then does he fail to complete the task on hand, but he leaves himself stranded on his back, legs waving vainly in the air, while his unsympathetic lady love wanders off elsewhere to find another male with a better sense of balance. I'm sorry to say I find this awfully funny.

Answer: Dickin Medal

The Dickin Medal was established in Britain in 1943, for the sole purpose of honouring animals for their war work. The first recipients were three pigeons in World War II. They were awarded the medal for helping in the location and recovery of a crew from a downed plane in 1943.

A total of 63 animals had been awarded this medal by 2011, including Treo, a Labrador dog, for his heroic efforts as an explosives search dog in Afghanistan. Known as the Animal Victoria Cross, this is an excellent idea. Recipient animals, if they have survived their brave efforts, may tend to object somewhat when the medals are pinned on their chests, though.

Answer: Queen Victoria

Photography came into being in France in 1839 with the genius of Louis Daguerre, and in Britain from William Fox Talbot. Victoria's reign spanned the time period 1837 to 1901. We are very lucky indeed to have a few precious photographs of this grand old lady and her family from this period, gems really, for anyone who loves history. Even more amazing is the very rare movie image of the queen at the close of her reign travelling along in her carriage and bowing her head graciously at all the cheering crowds on either side of the road. Because of the lack of sophistication and development of those early movie cameras, this film, like all old films, is sped up, and the poor old queen's gracious head bowing makes her look instead as if she has an uncontrollable head wobble.

Answer: Potatoes

Potatoes originated in the area we know today as southern Peru from one single parent plant. Today however there are over 5,000 varieties of the potato. They began to be cultivated for domestic use between 7,000-10,000 years ago, which is quite remarkable when you really think about it.

The Spanish took the humble spud from South America in the 16th century and introduced it to Europe, where initially farmers looked on the vegetables with suspicion. What's to suspect for goodness sakes - it's a potato.

But suspect it they did, so much so that in England, a society was even formed to prevent its development. The French however were more appreciative. Queen Marie Antoinette even wore a headdress made of potato flowers to a ball on one occasion. Mrs Potato Head, oui? From Europe the pratie then spread to Asia. Today China is the world's largest producer of the spud, cornering almost one third of the world's production of this humble, nourishing and delicious little vegetable.

Answer: "Drown Sally with Wally with the aspidistra on top!"

Gracie was the darling of troops in the Second World War when, at the height of her popularity, she took many trips overseas to where they were based to entertain them. This great old singer, comedienne and actress was born over the top of a fish and chip shop in Lancashire, England, in 1898.

Her stage career began when she was only seven years old and she toured Britain until she was twenty-six, before switching to dramatic acting and recordings of her songs. She became one of Britain's highest paid stars and wherever she performed, tickets were sold out.

She gave large amounts of her earnings to charity, particularly to an orphanage she set up for children of those who had been in the theatre, and was so familiar to the little inhabitants there that they all called her "Aunty Grace." In 1938 she was made an officer of the Venerable Order of St John for her charity work and Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her work in entertainment.

Her films included "Sally in Our Alley" (1931) and "A Murder is Announced" (1951) in which she played Agatha Christie's Miss Marple.

After receiving yet another award in 1979, that of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Gracie died seven months later, after performing in an open air concert. Adorning the top of the headstone on her grave are the simple words "Our Gracie".

Answer: Juno

Juno's mission is to study Jupiter's gravity and magnetic fields and polar magnetosphere. It will also attempt to find any clues about Jupiter's formation, whether or not the core is solid, and any presence of water in the atmosphere. Before all that however, it has to actually reach the planet first.

The name Juno was chosen for this mission because the Roman god Jupiter hid himself in a veil so nobody could see what he was up to. His wife Juno, as all good wives should, was able to find a way to peer through those clouds and discover his mischief. Oh my I'd hate to be a fly on the wall of the Temple then. Romans used to seek Jupiter's intervention in their lives with the offering of a white, castrated ox. I strongly suspect after Juno caught Jupiter up to no good, that the ox may have had some competition in that area.

Answer: Stack them

Well, neatness is all very well and good, but this is ridiculous. Oh, but what a delightful present to give to a five year old for Christmas. Or even the local undertaker. Apart from that grim aspect of the game, of which there are twenty-four levels, players must move their spaceship through ice, deserts, snow and caves of different planets to reach their destination. Along the way they attack enemy robots with their own robot and so forth. Criticisms of the game by the experts include its lack of "customisation...eye candy...lipstick and blusher".

The dead bodies, on the other hand, seem to be perfectly acceptable.

Answer: A measuring device to ensure constructions are vertical

Plumb-bobs are described as weights, each with a pointed tip, that are suspended from lines and used as a vertical reference line in the construction of various buildings to make sure the buildings are plumb. They are also used in surveying in helping to establish various points in space.

The name came about because the originals were made of lead, and the Latin for lead is "plumbum". That's kind of cute, don't you think? The use of this device, believe it or not, dates right back to ancient Egypt. Moving through time, many ancient cathedrals still have a small brass inlay in their floors that indicate the centre of the structure over them, and all brought about by the use of the humble little plumb-bob.

As buildings grew taller through time, weights hung from high up were centred over elevator shafts, and placed in a container of oil to prevent any swinging momentum taking place. Today, of course, the chemical symbol for lead is Pb.

Answer: Stew

Slumgullion, as we have come to know the meaning of this quaint old word, is just plain old stew, made from any leftover meat, potatoes, carrot, onion and any other vegetables on hand. The thin broth thus produced is then thickened with flour and served up as a nourishing and delicious meal.

The old Irish families in particular were known for this dish. That then is the most common meaning of the word. The word in its original meaning however meant any cheap beverage or sludge, or fish offal, or the watery blood and oil which drained out of blubber (I think I'm going to be ill).

It then evolved further to be that of the muddy slush found at sluices of the old mines - before finally this delightful word came to mean those yummy old stews we know and love. If you like to wave your pinky in the air though and disregard its common roots, you may like to describe it as a casserole. Only, do try to remember Moby Dick when you do so.