The Gushiest, Gustiest Quiz Ever

Answer: A bogeyman

"Fungus the Bogeyman" first saw the light of day in a book by Raymond Briggs. Published in 1977 it looks at a day in his life, including him pondering the reasons why he scares people as it seems rather pointless. It was later adapted into a three part television series by the BBC, with Mark Wilson as Fungus and Martin Clunes as his father.

Question by Christinap

Answer: A stone coffin

In Egyptian burials the sarcophagus was an outer, often elaborately carved, stone coffin. It was primarily a protective device, inside it were several other layers of coffin that required opening before you got to the actual mummified body. The carvings or paintings on them usually depicted a likeness of the person inside, or scenes from their life. Expensive materials such as alabaster were used. They were not exclusive to Egypt. Ancient Greece and Rome as well as medieval England also used them for important people and rulers.

Question by Christinap

Answer: Julius Caesar

August Caesar had the month of August named after him in 8BC. Julius Caesar had July named for him in 44BC. Other Emperors did try to have months named after them, for a while May was called Claudius and Nero changed April to Neronis. These changes did not outlast their namesakes though; only July and August have stood the test of time.


Question by Christinap

Answer: Anthropophagus

'Anthropophagus' is a Latin word, and means 'a person who eats other people.'
If you were telling other people that someone was a cannibal and you didn't want them to know what you were saying that could be quite a handy word to know, provided of course your listener knows some Latin.

'Degustation' means 'eating', 'Esophagus' is part of your digestive tract, and 'Valgus' is an abnormal turning of a bone.

Question by invinoveritas

Answer: Asparagus

Made even more famous by the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical 'Cats', T.S. Eliot's book "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" is full of wonderful, funny poems about cats of all kinds. Gus, the theatre cat, loves to recall how he was the star of many a show in his younger days. A recommended read!

Question by invinoveritas

Answer: A free flowing oil well

A classic sight of a gusher is when the drilling rig, usually on land, hits oil and the pressure from the well is such that it fountains up many feet into the air before it is properly capped.

Question by Christinap

Answer: John Fowles

'The Magus' is a story best read when you are a teenager, but it can appeal to people of any age. It tells of the magical adventures of Nicholas Urfe as the guest of a millionaire on an island in post-war Greece, and incorporates many different stories. Widely regarded as a masterpiece, it's a book you probably either love or hate.

Question by invinoveritas

Answer: A monster with 100 eyes

The Argus's 100 eyes were located all over his body. Hera used him to guard the nymph Io after Zeus turned her into a heifer. Argus prevented him turning her back into her human form. On the orders of Zeus he was slain by Hermes, and Hera then put his eyes into the tail of the peacock.

Answer: Ear

The tragus and antitragus can be found on the external ear as little flaps over the ear canal's entrance, close to the cheek. The tragus points backwards, picking up sounds from behind the head, while the antitragus points forwards. They became popular sites for piercings starting around the 2000s, and they can take over a year to heal as with other piercings in the ear cartilage. The etymology derives from "goat" because a tuft of hair growing over the tragus is thought to resemble a goat's beard.

Question by reeshy

Answer: Wandering

The other eleven cranial nerves innervate areas of the head, while the vagus travels all through the body and innervates the organs. Also known as the pneumogastric nerve (from words meaning "lung" and "stomach"), its main function is to send information from the organs back to the brain. Stimulation of the vagus nerve is used to treat various conditions such as epilepsy either through an implanted device or via maneuvers that the patient can perform, for example coughing or holding your breath. The nerve, of which there are actually two - one on each side of the body - can also be cut in medical treatment, although this is usually as a last resort.

Other words in English that derive from the Latin "vagus" include "vagrant" and "vague".

Question by reeshy