Strange Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ulnar nerve

"Funny bone" is possibly intended to be a play on the name of the bone involved, the humerus. But the sensation is more strange and painful than amusing!

So, what actually happens when you hit your funny bone and your arm strangely goes tingly and numb? Your ulnar nerve is the responsible party: it runs through your elbow and down to your hand and fingers, and its location near the surface leaves it protected only by skin. When you hit your elbow, the ulnar nerve can get pinched between the skin and the humerus, a bone that spans from the shoulder to the elbow, causing the weird sensation. Since the hyoid bone is in your neck, the hamstring is in your knee, and the coccyx is your tailbone, they are unlikely to be involved in hitting your funny bone.

Answer: Frick and Frack

What's in your curio cabinet? Why not help the new phrase catch on by making sure that your miscellaneous "odds and ends" are more hodgepodge in nature than strange.

A term likely originating from lumberyards where it referred to leftover pieces of sawn wood, "odds and ends" can be a variety of bits and bobs, objects or fragments. Bric-a-brac, derived from a French phrase, and knickknacks include collectible or display objects, and pieces valued for uniqueness or sentiment. Some odds and ends, bric-a-brac, and knickknacks might be considered tchotchkes (or chachkas), a Yiddish word for inexpensive decorative baubles and trinkets. Frick and Frack, however, were Swiss skaters who performed in the Ice Follies beginning in the 1930s; their names became a slang term for two people who seem inseparable.

Answer: Monkey

"Curious" can also mean "inquisitive," its most probable definition in this case, but I don't want people scared off thinking this monkey is strange!

The first book in a series for children, "Curious George" (1941) was written and illustrated by H.A. and Margret Rey, who carried the manuscript out of war-torn Paris on bicycles. In their story, the inquisitive monkey named George with a penchant for getting into scrapes is taken from Africa to a zoo by the Man with the Yellow Hat. Eventually, the Man with the Yellow Hat takes George to live at his home. The husband-and-wife co-authors wrote seven "Curious George" stories. The final one, in which George has an operation after swallowing a puzzle piece, was published in 1966.

Answer: Cleaning countertops

In all likelihood, S.C. Johnson was only thinking about the "wonderful" meaning of "fantastic" when they named their all-purpose cleaner -- they should've realized how bizarre the name sounds!

The history of S.C. Johnson & Son, "A Family Company," reaches back to 1886. Since then, the company has been handed down from its founder, Samuel Curtis Johnson, Sr., to four successive generations of the Johnson family. The company produces many brands that are household names across America, such as Ziploc storage bags, Windex glass cleaner, Glade air fresheners, and OFF! insect repellent. S.C. Johnson's Fantastik is an all-purpose cleaner that is much better suited to disinfecting greasy counter-tops than deodorizing underarms.

Answer: They are not divisible by two

Odd numbers aren't strange or rare -- every other number is a so-called "odd" number! However, some folks consider certain odd numbers unlucky. Perhaps the new name will help to dispel that notion.

Odd numbers are easily differentiated from even numbers, since they are not divisible by 2 without a remainder. Odd numbers also make up the majority of prime numbers, which are identified by their trait of being divisible only by 1 and themselves. For instance, 19 is a prime (and odd!) number; the only natural numbers that are factors of 19 are 1 and 19. The only even prime number is 2, since it is divisible by 2, yet its only factors are 1 and 2. And remember, if you have two odd numbers, you can always add them together to get an even number!

Answer: William Shatner as Capt. Kirk

"Strange new worlds"? Really? I have a sneaking suspicion they're just Hollywood sets, and that's well-trodden territory indeed.

The opening sequence of every "Star Trek: The Original Series" episode (1966-1969), save its two pilots, featured the voice of Captain James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner, describing the Enterprise's mission to explore strange new worlds and seek new life. Grammarians scoff at this narrative for its use of a split infinitive in, "...to boldly go." Some twenty years later, the introduction was altered for the sequel series, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994), to be more gender-neutral. Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard ended it this way: "...Where no one has gone before."

Answer: Bay rum

Since I've never smelled it, I couldn't say whether "bay rum" smells more "rum" or "everyday." But surely the latter name will make it more approachable, hmm?

Native to the U.S. Virgin Islands, the leaves of the West Indian Bay Tree, also called the Bay Rum tree, provide the fragrant bay oil that is a key ingredient in many perfumes and colognes. The bay oil or leaves containing unextracted oil are distilled with alcohol such as rum, and ingredients including citrus oils or cinnamon, to make bay rum, a requisite cologne and aftershave at barber shops in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Answer: The Phantom of the Opera

"The Phantom of the Opera" really has it in for me: the aforementioned "strange duet" from the main theme, a song called "Stranger Than You Dreamt It," and the whole "strange affair"! Sigh.

Based on an early 20th-century story by French author Gaston Leroux, "The Phantom of the Opera" succeeded "Cats" in 2006 as Broadway's longest-running show, having debuted there in 1988. Can't make it to Broadway? You're in luck: Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical has been adapted to film several times. In 2004, "The Phantom of the Opera" came to the big screen with rich and lavish visuals to accompany beautiful melodies and the resonant organ music of the title theme. The film starred Gerard Butler as the "ghost" and Emmy Rossum as his protege.

Answer: Madder

"Madder" can mean angrier, or crazier! But I think that to call it "more normal" instead is the saner choice, by far.

The roots of the madder plant have as history of being used in natural dyes for many centuries. In India and Turkey, they were mixed with a disgusting array of animal products to create a shade called Turkey red. In the mid-18th century, the dye was brought to Europe, and was used in making the red coats of British soldiers. The red dye was later created via more sanitary means, and in 1804, an English dye maker found that adding mordants such as alum to madder root produced a more colorfast dye. Madder's heyday came to an end, however, when alizarin, the dye found naturally in madder, became the first pigment to be synthesized in 1869.

Answer: Weird

All right, so my new phrase is just as likely to confuse those not familiar with archaic terms as the original. I shall thus "dree my weird," and surrender to the strangeness of this saying.

In Scottish and Old English terminology, to "dree" means to endure suffering, and "weird" is akin to destiny and the fates. Interestingly, the three Fates of mythology were called the Weirds. Also, the word's Scottish association with witches led to the term "weird sister," such as the three witches or Weird Sisters in Shakespeare's "Macbeth." But, what does it mean to "dree one's weird"? Simply put, it is to face the consequences of one's actions and accept destiny.