Raindrops on Roses Trivia Quiz

Answer: First rose to travel in space

Space Shuttle Discovery STS-95 launched from Kennedy Space Center on 29th October 1998 and made history in several ways. Bill Clinton was the first serving US President to witness the launch of a space shuttle. Pedro Duque was the first Spaniard in space. Senator John Glenn, at 77 years old, became the oldest person at the time to lift off into space.

The mission lasted just under nine days and involved 80 experiments. One of those was to test the "Overnight Scentsation" rose, how it adapted to life in orbit and how the reduced gravity would affect the essential oils in its stems. The results were astounding. Not only did the rose maintain the strength of its smell but it developed a different scent completely.

Answer: Goat

Benjamin Harrison was President of the United States of America from 1889 to 1893. During that time, his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren lived in the White House along with their pet goat, Old Whiskers. Other pets belonging to Benjamin Harrison included Dash the Collie dog and Mr Reciprocity and Mr Protection, the opossums.

This was not the first pet goat to be owned by a US President. Abraham Lincoln had two goats called Nanny and Nanko. William Henry Harrison, grandfather of Benjamin Harrison, also had a pet goat which he called His Whiskers.

Answer: Timpani

Timpani is a set of kettledrums, usually made from copper, but modern varieties can be made from fiberglass. They consist of a large bowl called a resonator with calfskin or plastic stretched over the top using tension rods.

A euphonium is a brass wind instrument very similar to a small tuba. The marimba is a percussion instrument similar to a xylophone. The ocarina is a wind instrument, very like a recorder but with its own distinctive shape.

Answer: Chinese mitten crab

The scientific name for the Chinese mitten crab is Eriocheir sinensis, translated from Greek to mean "Chinese woolen hand". They are native to the rivers and estuaries of the Yellow river in China. Because they are known to migrate at long distances, they have invaded Europe and North America including the River Thames in London, the Hudson River in New York State and the St Lawrence river through to the Great Lakes.

Most of their lives are spent living in fresh water but they migrate to saltwater where the female can hatch between 250,000 to one million eggs. They are also adept at walking on land so can move from one waterway system to another.

Answer: Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn

American friends Larry Hillblom, Adrian Dalsey and Robert Lynn founded DHL in 1969 not long after they left university. They initially created an express courier service, delivering documents by air between San Francisco and Honolulu. A year later, DHL expanded their service to cover Guam, Portland, Ohio and Los Angeles.

During the mid 1980s, and to keep ahead of their competitors, they offered deliveries to countries not covered by other couriers including Russia, China, Vietnam, North Korea, Iraq and Iran.

By 1992, German company Deutsche Post had became the major shareholder of DHL and they took over ownership. DHL delivers to approximately 120,000 destinations in over 220 countries and territories.

Answer: Cremello

The cremello is a horse which has received two copies, or double dilution, of the same cream gene. It can be confused with the perlino which has also received two copies of the same gene. The difference between the two is that Cremello is a chestnut horse with two cream genes whereas perlino is a buckskin horse with two cream genes.

Palomino has a single cream gene based on a chestnut horse. Buckskin has a single cream gene based on a bay horse. There are no true albino horses, only white, grey, cream or champagne colours.

Answer: Whirlpool

Apple strudel, or apfelstrudel, is a deliciously warming pastry dessert. The strudel dough is made with flour, salt, water and vegetable oil. The mixture is kneaded into a ball, occasionally picking it up and then throwing down on to a flat surface until the dough is soft. After leaving the dough ball to rest for an hour, place it in the middle of a floured surface, roll out as much as you can, and then stretch, and stretch....and stretch with your hands until the dough is tissue thin, similar to filo pastry.

The rolled out dough is then brushed with melted butter and sprinkled over with breadcrumbs. Finally, add tart crispy cooking apples which have been thinly sliced or grated, sugar, raisins and cinnamon. The pastry containing the filling is rolled up and placed on a baking sheet. Once cooked, it is best served warm with a sprinkling of sugar.

Answer: Joseph Henry

American scientist Joseph Henry (1797 - 1878) was renowned for his work with electromagnetic induction. The Henry unit of inductance was named after him. Because of his work in the field of engineering and physics, he became the first ever Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C..

How does the doorbell work? When the button is pressed, it activates an electrical current which charges towards a magnet, and this in turn causes an iron bar to be pressed against the chime. Ding! Dong!

Modern doorbells are wireless and can play MP3 tunes. A nearby speaker has a slot for an SD card and tunes can be downloaded on to the card from your computer.

Answer: Mushrooms

Wiener Schnitzel is traditionally cooked with veal slices, pounded thin with a mallet, then coated with beaten egg and breadcrumbs before frying. Wiener is the German name for Vienna. Alternative meats can be used such as chicken, turkey or pork, but the name Wiener Schnitzel is protected by law and only veal must be part of the dish if that name is used.

The classic Jaeger Schnitzel is also known as "Hunter's Cutlets". The original recipe called for thin slices of wild boar or venison, but nowadays pork is more often used. A creamy mushroom sauce is added to the cooked dish.

Answer: Anna Paquin

"Fly Away Home" told of 13-year-old Amy Alden who had recently moved to live with her father (Jeff Daniels) in Ontario following the death of her mother. Amy located an abandoned nest of goose eggs which soon hatched, and they followed her around everywhere. Daughter and father had to act quickly as the geese would die if they did not learn to fly south to their migrating ground. They were successful with the help of an ultralight.

The film was semi crafted on the life of Bill Lishman, a Canadian inventor who successfully experimented with migrating birds using his own ultralight.

When Canadian born actress Anna Paquin was 11 years old, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "The Piano". Since then, she has been seen in the "X-Men" films playing Rogue, a mutant who could absorb the life force and memories from anyone she touched.

Answer: The Seven Year Itch

"The Seven Year Itch" was directed by Billy Wilder. Tom Ewell starred as a man in is late thirties who had just sent his wife and son away for the summer. He befriended a young woman "The Girl", played by Marilyn Monroe, who had just moved into the apartment above his. His imagination ran through different fantasy sequences with the girl, but real life stopped him from pursuing an extra marital affair.

The halter neck dress which Marilyn Monroe wore during the film was designed by William Travilla. He was famed for designing many costumes for films which included "Bus Stop" (1956) and "Valley of the Dolls" (1967). Television credits included "The Thorn Birds" and "Knots Landing".

Answer: Hales Trophy

The Blue Riband was first awarded in 1838 to the steamship Sirius in a time of 18 days, 14 hours and 22 minutes. The race started at the Bishop Rock lighthouse, just off the Isles of Scilly in England, to the Ambrose Light just off New York Harbour. Other famous ships followed suit over the years; Deutschland, Lusitania, Mauretania, Normandie and Queen Mary. The westbound journey was more difficult because of the prevailing Gulf Stream.

The Hales Trophy has been awarded to the fastest commercial sailing craft in any direction across the Atlantic.

The ocean liner slowly disappeared with the introduction of fast airflight and with it the need to race across the Atlantic. That was until Richard Branson unsuccessfully attempted to beat the record in 1986. The Hales Trophy was not awarded to him because he did not sail in a commercial ship. Further attempts were made by other people and another record was set in 1998 by the catamaran, Cat-Link V, with an eastbound journey time of 2 days, 20 hours and 9 minutes.

Answer: 50 Words for Snow

"50 Words for Snow" was released in to the UK Album Chart where it reached number five. Kate Bush became the first female British artist to have a Top 5 album in the UK charts during five consecutive decades. These albums included "The Kick Inside" (1978), "Hounds of Love" (1985), "The Red Shoes" (1993), "Aerial" (2005) and "50 Words for Snow" (2011).

"Roses in the Snow" was a 1980 album released by American country singer, Emmylou Harris. It reached number two in the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The two singles which received the most success from the album were "Wayfaring Stranger" and "The Boxer".

"Songs for Polar Bears" was the 1998 debut album for Scottish rock band, Snow Patrol. The band failed to make any impact with the album so they signed on to Polydor Records in 2002. Their popularity rose and they had worldwide acclaim with their hit single "Chasing Cars" taken from their 2006 album, "Eyes Open".

"Snow on the Sahara" was a 1997 album released by Indonesian singer, Anggun. Her debut single with the same name reached number one in Italy, but failed to achieve great success in other countries. She represented France in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest where she finished in 22nd place.

Answer: Vernal

In temperate regions of the earth, each four seasons are marked with either the spring (vernal) equinox, summer (estival) solstice, autumn (autumnal) equinox or winter (hibernal) solstice.

An equinox happens twice a year in spring and autumn when the length of day is approximately equal to that of the night. A solstice also happens twice a year but in summer and winter when the sun is farthest or closest away from the earth, bringing us the longest and shortest days of the year.

The word "vernal" is used less than the word "spring". It pertains to anything that relates to spring, spring like or youthful.

Answer: False

Although the parody version of "My Favourite Things" does exist, it is not a version which Julie Andrews ever sang. Her very successful career in musical films came to an end in 1997 when she lost her singing voice after an operation to remove non cancerous tissue from her throat. She continued to remain in films, and can be best remembered for her roles in "Mary Poppins" (1964), "The Sound of Music" (1965) and "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (1967).

So you want to see the lyrics to the parody version of "My Favourite Things"?

Okay...here goes:

"Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favourite things.

Cadillacs and cataracts and hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favourite things.

When the pipes leak, when the bones creak, when the knees go bad. I simply remember my favourite things, and then I don't feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets, and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heat pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favourite things.

Back pains, confused brains, and no fear of sinnin',
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short shrunken frames, when we remember our favourite things.

When the joints ache, when the hips break, when the eyes grow dim. Then I remember the great life I've had...and then I don't feel soooooo bad."