My Favorite Things Trivia Quiz

Answer: Vibrissae

The word vibrissa (the plural form is vibrissae) comes from the Latin word 'vibrare', meaning 'to vibrate'. They are specialized hairs found in some animals and birds which are especially sensitive to detecting pressure, including changes of air pressure caused by nearby movement.

The sensitivity of vibrissae is cause by the special type of follicle in which they are located, which amplifies the movement of the vibrissa so as to allow small vibrations to be detected.

Answer: It conducts heat well

Of all metals, copper is one of the best conductors of heat, and pans with copper next to the source of heat produce a rapid and even heat transfer to the food being cooked. Copper is also a good conductor of electricity, which is why it is used for electrical wiring, but that does not affect its used in cooking. Copper pans are usually lined with stainless steel or tin, since copper can be toxic, especially if acid foods are cooked in a plain copper pan. Copper does tarnish, unless it has been given a protective coating - the surface will darken, but heat transfer properties are not affected. Decorative items are usually coated to keep them shiny, and you can restore the shine to your copper kettle by scrubbing it with a mixture of salt and lemon juice.

Answer: Mittens do not have separate openings for each finger

A glove usually has a separate opening and covering for each of the five digits. If there is no covering, it is called a fingerless glove. A glove that extends well up the forearm is called a gauntlet, a term that also refers to a number of other hand coverings.

A glove which has a single covered opening for the four fingers, with a separate one for the thumb, is called a mitten. In the nursery rhyme, the three little kittens lost their mittens, but most cats do not wear mittens!

Answer: Cremello

Horse coat color is controlled by a complex set of genes. The Cream gene, when present, produces a lighter shade of the base color when it appears. If the horse has a single Cream gene, its color will be gold or tan; if it has a double Cream gene, the color will be much lighter, and can appear white. Single-cream colors include palominos and buckskins. Double-cream colors include cremello and perlino. No matter how pale the color, these horses are considered cream rather than white, and often have blue eyes.

Answer: Layered pastry with a sweet or savory filling

A traditional Austrian strudel is made from an elastic dough that is rolled VERY thinly (it has been said that you should be able to read through it). After the filling has been spread on it, the strudel is rolled and baked. The pastry should be crisp and flaky. Variants sometimes use filo or puff pastry. Sweet fillings include the classic apple (apfelstrudel) and soft cheese (topfenstrudel), along with other kinds of fruit and nuts. Savory vegetable fillings such as spinach or pumpkin are also sometimes used, as are meat fillings.

The word 'strudel' is an English loanword from a German word originally meaning 'whirlpool', a reference to the way the pastry appears to form a spiral when the strudel is sliced.

Answer: Noise pop

Sleigh Bells is a duo composed of Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller who released their first album, "Treats" in 2010. Their style is categorized as noise pop, a genre that stretches mainstream pop with the addition of such effects as feedback, distortion and fuzz. They may also incorporate the free-form structures usually associated with jazz music.

Answer: Veal

The traditional Austrian schnitzel (often called a Wiener Schnitzel, or Viennese Schnitzel) is made from a boneless piece of veal which has been pounded until it is quite thin. The meat is coated in breadcrumbs and fried quickly, then served with a lemon wedge.

Other meats, such as chicken and pork, are sometimes presented as schnitzels, but under Austrian law the Wiener Schnitzel must be made from veal. Some variants involve rolling the flattened meat around a filling before cooking.

Answer: They fly both by day and by night

Different species of migrating birds have different flight patterns, some preferring the day and some the night. Birds that soar in flight, rather than flapping their wings in flight, are more likely to fly by day, when thermals offer increased assistance.

A flock of migrating birds in wedge formation flying across a full moon produces a spectacular image - you can see them on the internet. Most people, however, are more likely to notice migrating birds that pass overhead during the day, when they are easier to spot.

Answer: Glossy fabric, originally made from silk

Satin refers to a method of weaving fibres to form a fabric with a high sheen and a smooth texture. Originally the fibre was silk, and some still feel that the term 'satin' should only be applied to such a fabric. Most people, however, are happy to consider any satin-woven textile using long filament fibres (such as silk, nylon or polyester) as satin. Satin-woven fabrics using short filament fibres (such as cotton) are referred to as 'sateen'.

Answer: Refraction of light by the ice crystals

Each crystal of ice in a snowflake refracts the light that hits it. This means that the light's direction is changed. In a large crystal of ice, the result is that all the light travels through, but it emerges traveling in a different direction. The ice doesn't seem to have any color, since the color we perceive is the color of the light that is reflected from the surface of an object.

In a snowflake, the tiny crystals are arranged in complex patterns, and the light has its direction changed so many times that most of it ends up returning in the direction from which it came. Effectively, it has all been reflected. Since all colors are reflected equally, we perceive the color as white. Sometimes ice and snow do seem to have a slight color - ice actually absorbs some of the red frequencies of light, so if there is enough ice it can appear blue.