Mix Me Up No 9 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dragging a hand through a bowl of cheese casserole

Jabba the Hutt is a type of powerful crime lord featured in several of the "Star War" films. He's revolting in appearance, revolting in behaviour and revolting in character. He basically looks like a very large, wrinkled slug. His "work" involves dealings with every strata of criminal society.

He also wallows in gambling, torture, slave girls and eating weird objects. In fact, he's one of the film industry's most revolting creations all up.

Answer: M-theory

String theory has been struggling because there's five main theories to it which tend to disagree with each other. M-theory now incorporates the ten dimensions of the existing five String theories. It then adds another dimension to link them all up so that they now agree and make sense. Edward Witten of the New Jersey Institute of Advanced Study was the brilliant mind who came up with M-theory.

He has been described in the scientific world as having a brilliance greater than Einstein's. He is a theoretical physicist and professor of Mathematics Physics at the Institute.

The problem with M-theory is that it lacks predictability because it can't be tested. So until it can, M-theory belongs more to the realm of philosophy than science.

Answer: To help ensure President Lincoln's re-election

This occurred on October 31st, just eight days before the election on 8th November. Another reason was Nevada's strong mining industry which would prove a boon to the industrial power of the Union. This state is only one of two states which expanded its border after becoming part of the Union.

It did so because gold was discovered to the south of the state in an area of Arizona. Arizona was still a territory at that stage. It wasn't admitted to the Union until 1912 as the 48th state. Officials decided at the time that Nevada (already a state by then) could better manage the population boom associated with this discovery of gold in Arizona's territory. That took place in 1866.

Then in 1868, Nevada expanded again. Dear me, it sounds like my waistline.

This time it incorporated part of the Utah territory. Utah wasn't admitted as a state until 1896 when it became the Union's 45th. The reason given for this second expansion was that the population in that area of the Utah territory wanted to escape Mormon dominance.

Answer: Yes

However, it was cut down to a miniature shaped one to match her size. She was already a star at the time at the ripe old age of six. This amazing little actress, one of the studio's finest money spinners, began her Hollywood career at the age of four.

She was born in 1928. Just a few of her many films included the 1934 "Bright Eyes" and the 1935 "Curly Top". Songs that are forever associated with this little trouper include "On the Good Ship Lollipop" and "Animal Crackers in My Soup". By 1950 she was tired of Hollywood life and announced her retirement from the movie industry.

She would, in her later life, become part of the world of politics. She served on the board of many well known institutions and was appointed over time to several important posts.

These include being made a representative to the 24th General Assembly of the United Nations and a US Ambassador to Ghana. She was also made first female chief of protocol of the United States and a US Ambassador to Czechoslovakia.

Answer: Max Weber

Weber lived from 1864-1920. He believed in structure and hierarchy and wrote that there were five preconditions needed before bureaucracy could successfully become part of a society. These included a money based economy, a growing population, the need for societal efficiency, democracy, and a need for equality.

At the same time, he saw that bureaucracy could become a great threat to personal freedom. He described this possibility thus: "a polar night of icy darkness, in which increasing rationalisation of human life traps individuals in the iron cage of bureaucratic, rule-based, rational control". To prevent this becoming a reality, he said that society needed entrepreneurs and politicians.

Answer: Lobster

The Solent is a strait separating England from the Isle of Wight. Near the village of Bouldnor on the island in 1999, marine archaeological divers noticed a lobster working in its habitation on the seabed. In effect, the lobster was cleaning rubbish out of its burrow. On a closer look by the divers, the "rubbish" was revealed to be prehistoric flint tools. Since that remarkable discovery, an 8,000 year old settlement site that once existed there has been unearthed.

This was at a time when the area, because of low sea levels, was situated in a valley near the shore. One hopes the divers didn't eat the lobster after that great find.

Answer: The irate President had to be restrained as well

This took place on January 13th, 1835, outside the Capitol Building. Jackson (1767-1845) was the seventh President of the US and was in office from 1829 to 1837. Highlights of his time in office included developing America's frontier, particularly that of Tennessee. From all accounts he seems to have been a feisty and hot-headed, but very brave man. During the course of his life he fought thirteen duels.

He was shot so many times in these duels with bullets that couldn't be removed from his body that he said he rattled.

He was given the nickname "Old Hickory" by the media of the day because he was noted for his toughness. Immediately following this assassination attempt upon him, the indignant President, then aged 68, vigorously attacked the attempted murderer with his cane - and HE had to be restrained as well. I think that's awfully funny, and would have loved to meet the gallant old boy.

Answer: Jaws

Marvin (1924-1987) said of the role he was offered, "What would I tell my fishing friends who'd see me come off a hero against a dummy shark?". This straight talking actor specialised in strong, tough characters, such as that of the Major in the 1967 film "The Dirty Dozen". These roles suited his gigantic screen personality to perfection. Ironically though, it was for his very comical role as Kid Shelleen, the drunken gunfighter on a drunken horse, in the 1965 film "Cat Ballou" that he won an Academy Award. When he accepted his award, Marvin said "I think I should be sharing this award with a horse somewhere in San Fernando Valley".

The hard-living Marvin was just as tough as most of his screen characters in real life. He was expelled from several schools for bad behaviour in his youth. Then he hunted puma in the Everglades in his teenage years. Following this, he left school early to join the marine corps as a Scout Sniper during World War II. He was wounded by machine gun fire in the Battle of Saipan in which most of his platoon was killed. As a result of this, he was medically discharged with a Purple Heart and the rank of Private First Class. Of his later film career he was very ambivalent and remarked, "You spend the first forty years of life trying to get in this (deleted) business, and the next forty years trying to get out".

Answer: Dime a Dance girl

These girls were also known as taxi-dancers. The reason for this is, like taxis, they charged per session. The girls could make a good living from this work. Every ten cent ticket that was bought by patrons for a dance with them earned the girls fifty percent.

The other fifty percent went to the orchestra and the management of the establishment. Taxi dancing soon spread to other areas of the US and became very popular. Well, with the men anyhow. In San Francisco, apart from the girls themselves, the dance halls were closed to women.

This earned them the name of Closed Dance Halls, and fast and furious flew the rumours about the dealings behind those closed doors.

Answer: One

Ah, that's what I like - equality. Once this important position was for a term of four years only, but the governors can now be re-elected. Part of the job description of this position includes being the head (commander-in-chief) of the state's military, and having the power to call up the general assembly for a meeting.

It also includes the power to grant pardons for convicted criminals, and to block any proposed laws if they are considered unsuitable. Such is the importance of the governor's work, that it is "considered one of the most powerful state executive positions in the United States".