Mixture of General Questions Trivia Quiz

Answer: Choctaw

Born in Mississippi around 1820, Willis took his surname from his owner, Britt Willis, a farmer who was part Choctaw and part Irish. When the Choctaw were relocated to Oklahoma as part of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830, he was one of 300 of Britt Willis's slaves who walked to Oklahoma.

His songs, written some time before 1860, became associated with the Underground Railroad. Some believe there were coded messages in them.

Slavery ended in the Choctaw Nation in 1866. Wallace Willis became a Choctaw freedman. He died c1880.

Answer: Crustaceans

The NYC water supply is of such high quality that it doesn't need to be filtered. Because of this, tiny crustaceans, known as copepods, that live in reservoirs have been found in the drinking water. They are about 1-2mm long and perfectly harmless, although people concerned about eating them - there has been debate about whether they are kosher - have taken to using water filters. Other cities that do not filter their water supply include Boston and San Francisco.

Answer: Speaking Welsh

Mainly used in the 19th century, the Welsh Not was a piece of wood with the letters 'WN' written on it: a stick, or a plaque worn around the neck. It was given to a child who spoke a word of Welsh at school. They then handed it on to the next child they heard speak the language and the child who was left with it at the end of the day received corporal punishment. Going back to the 16th century, the Welsh language had had no official role or protection under law. Welsh was not considered a useful language that was suitable as a medium for education.

The punishment was not official UK Government policy - schools were voluntary, so the Welsh Not policy of a school may have had some kind of parental approval.

Answer: Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin (1888-1989) was born Israel Isidore Baline in Tyumen in Russia.

"White Christmas" is the most recorded Christmas song of all time. Bing Crosby's version is the best selling single of all time and featured in two movies: "Holiday Inn" and "White Christmas".

His other songs include "Alexander's Ragtime Band", "There's No Business Like Show Business" and "What'll I Do".

No slouch himself, Jerome Kern said of him: "Irving Berlin has no place in American music-he is American music."

Answer: Henry Kissinger

During the Vietnam War, Le Duc Tho (1911-1990) represented the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in talks with US Secretary of State Kissinger that resulted in the January 1973 Paris Peace Accords. The ceasefire that ensued meant that they were jointly awarded that year's Nobel Peace Prize. Tho declined the award - the second person to decline a Nobel prize after Jean-Paul Sartre - on the grounds that the US and South Vietnam were in violation of the Accord.

Answer: The name had been changed from "Top Cat"

Hanna-Barbera's "Top Cat", featuring a street-wise cat and his gang, was somewhat indebted to the "Phil Silvers Show" and even included one of that show's cast: Maurice Gosfield. Thirty episodes were made between 1961 and 1962.

The BBC felt that, with its responsibility to avoid advertising, to show a programme called "Top Cat" would be inappropriate, because there was a popular brand of cat food in the UK with the same name.

They therefore scheduled the show as "Boss Cat". They edited the beginning and ending title sequences to remove the words "Top Cat", and added a title card reading "Boss Cat". However, they kept the title song and all of the cartoon dialogue which both referred to the main character repeatedly as "Top Cat" or "TC", so the exercise was pretty futile.

Answer: limestone

Cenotes are a great tourist attraction in the Mexican states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo. They are often circular ponds surrounded by sheer rock walls. One at Chichen Itza, the Sacred Cenote, was used by the ancient Maya for ritual purposes.

Cenotes are also found in countries including the USA, Australia and Belize.

Limestone is partially soluble in water and many years of erosion cause caves to form and collapse.

Answer: Carmen Jones

"Carmen Jones" was a 1943 stage musical based on Georges Bizet's opera "Carmen". It was adapted by Oscar Hammerstein II, and set right up to date in World War II, with Bizet's music more or less retained. It was revolutionary in that it used an all black cast.

For Otto Preminger's 1954 movie adaptation, the lead actors, Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge had good singing voices, but they didn't fit the operatic songs. They were dubbed by LeVern Hutcherson and Marilyn Horne respectively. Horne was twenty and finding her way. Her real breakthrough was to come two years later when her talent was recognised by Stravinsky and she never looked back.

Answer: Frick Collection, New York

The Frick Collection in Manhattan is one of the finest small art museums in the world. It includes works by El Greco, Anthony van Dyck, Diego Velázquez and Francisco Goya.

The collection was put together by Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919), who founded a coke-producing company, chaired the Carnegie Steel Company and played a major role in the founding of US Steel.

Guggenheim's fortune was derived from mining, Henry Tate's from sugar, and Isabella Stewart Gardner's from her husband John's shipowning concerns.

Answer: All Blacks

New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks, first toured outside the southern hemisphere in 1905-1906. This touring party is known as the Original All Blacks, or just The Originals. Their first match, a win by over fifty points against a highly rated Devon side was such a shock that newspapers initially recorded it was a Devon win. They defeated every English team on the tour. Their only defeat was a highly controversial 3-0 reverse against Wales. Their overall record including matches in Scotland, Ireland, France and North America was 34 wins and one defeat, with 976 points scored against 59 conceded. They set the standard for all subsequent New Zealand teams.

The All Black name was acquired on the tour as well. It was claimed by some that a journalist was so overwhelmed by their exciting play which was such a contrast to the one dimensional Northern Hemisphere teams, that he said they were "all backs", meaning they could all pass and run. This was then misinterpreted as "all blacks", an easy mistake because the team played in black. Others claim that this is nonsense - they were called "All Blacks" because of their kit.