The Joy of Knowledge 10 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Magnolia

Mississippi uses the state nickname of magnolia as its magnolia trees provide wonderful scents from their blossoms. The state honours the beauty of these trees. Mississippi is also known as the Bayou state because of its sluggish streams, which meander through marshes, along the Mississippi river.

Answer: Rice

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) acquired his middle name of Rice after his colonial ancestor, Deacon Edmund Rice (1594-1663). Edgar was born in Chicago, Illinois and was the son of a retired Civil War veteran and a rich whisky distiller. He wrote 'Tarzan of the Apes' in 1914. Tarzan was the son of a British lord and lady.

They were marooned by mutineers, on a remote coast, off Africa. Tarzan was called John Clayton and had the title of Lord Greystoke. During his infancy his parents died so he was raised by Kala, his ape mother.

The very first Tarzan movie was called 'Tarzan of the Apes'(1918) and tells the Greystoke tale. Tarzan, which means white skin, went on to feature in a further 23 Tarzan adventures.

Answer: Glasgow

After London and Budapest, Glasgow was the third city in the world to open an underground transport system. On 14 December, 1896, it was opened originally as the Glasgow District Subway with fifteen stations. In 1935, its name was changed to the underground and the whole system was electrified.

In 1980, after much refurbishment of the track, power supplies and the stations, it was reopened by Queen Elizabeth II. It was nicknamed the Clockwork Orange as its new fleet of trains were painted in a very bright orange paint.

Answer: Me

'Love (Me) Do' reached No 4 in October 1962.
'Please Please (Me)' reached No 2 in January 1963.
Their first British No 1 was 'From (Me) To You' in April 1963.

Answer: George Burns

George's other pearls of wisdom include,
(1)"It's nice to be here, when you're ninety-nine years old, it's nice to be anyplace".
(2)"Retire? I'm going to stay in showbusiness until I'm the only one left"
(He said this when he was 90 years old)
(3)"I look better, feel better, make love better and I'll tell you something, I never lied better".

Answer: Puffin

The puffin has a colourful bill during the summer months. After the breeding season and during wintertime, its bill is smaller and duller. Its large bill allows it to carry both fish and shellfish to its nest, near cliff tops. This member of the auk family waddles clumsily on land.

Its short wings hinder the bird when trying to fly in the air. These undesirable attributes, along with its orange legs, give it the cruel nickname of 'the clown of the sea'.

Answer: Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali became a leading figure in Surrealism. This type of art allowed an artist to express humour, dreams and imagination to create a fantasy world. Edward James (1907-84) inherited a fortune when he was only an infant. This allowed him to overindulge in making his home into a fantasy world, complete with a practical lobster telephone and Mae West sofas.

Answer: George Burns

George Burns was born Nathan Birnbaum in 1896 and lived until 1996. This cigar puffing American comedian was married to Gracie Allen from 1926 to 1964.
1) Old is when your doctor doesn't give you x-rays any more, but just holds you up to the light.
2) Old is when your wife says, "let's go upstairs and make love", and you answer, "Honey, I can't do both".
3) Old is when your friends compliment you on your new alligator shoes and you're barefoot.
4) George Washington said to his father "How can I get to be president if I never tell a lie"?

Answer: Monty Python's Flying Circus

John Cleese perfected the silly walk which appeared in Monty Python sketches. Apparently he hated the skit as he found it dull and, at times, painful to do. The same skit appeared in Fawlty Towers in the episode 'The Germans'. Here he tries to entertain his German guests by goosestepping around the dining room. Fawlty Towers was a Torquay hotel ran by Basil Fawlty and his wife, Sybil. Basil's ability to patronise the guests, his cutting sarcasm and his frequent bouts of rage, contributed to the shows success. Even the hotel's name plate were often changed from Fawlty Towers to Fatty Owls, Watery Fowls or Farty Towels, at the beginning of each episode.

Answer: Sculptor

A banker supports a sculptor's work while the artist works on a figure. This wooden workbench is often fitted with a turntable, enabling the work to be easily turned. The banker can also be used solely to display the sculptor's work.

Answer: Red Skelton

Red Skelton (Richard Skelton) was a red-haired American comic who was at his best as a radio comedian. He is credited in saying, "My doctor said I looked like a million dollars, green and wrinkled". Alas, he died from pneumonia in 1997.

Answer: Elephant

A man has a heart which beats about 70 times a minute, when he is resting. Smaller animals generally have a faster heartbeat than larger animals. A mouse has a heartbeat of around 500 beats a minute whereas an elephant, of about 28 beats a minute. However if your heart rate should change to that of a mouse or an elephant, you should see your doctor immediately.

Answer: Scold's bridle

During Victorian times, the scold's bridle was employed to prevent nagging women from excessive talking. The branks, which it was also known by, was a form of punishment which was attached to a woman's head. A muzzle and a tongue plate made sure the victim was totally humilified, while being paraded through the streets. Passers-by would be seen to heckle and scoff.

This was a barbaric, cruel and totally inhuman form of punishment. I've tried E-bay for one of these, but to no avail. Only kidding girls.

Answer: Albert Edward Ladysmith Steptoe

The creators and writers of this wonderful television programme were Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Albert and his son, Harold Albert Kitchener Steptoe, ran a scrapyard. Harold, played by Harry H. Corbett, still lived at home with his dad, played by Wilfrid Brambell, although he was in his late thirties.

He often dreamt of a life far away from the squalid, junk-filled house they called home and frequently tried to indulge in cultural interests. Albert was a vulgar and a dirty old man who even resorted to emotional blackmail in order to keep his son's feet, firmly on the ground. Harold did his rounds, collecting junk on his cart, which was pulled by Hercules, the carthorse, while Albert did the cooking and generally ran the house. Sanford and Son was an American version of this show.

Answer: Allan Sherman

The song reached No 2 in America, in the Billboard Hot 100, on 24 August, 1963. Here are the first four lines of the song, just to jog your memory.
'Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah,
Here I am at camp Granada,
Camp is very entertaining,
And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining'.
A parody mimics the style of another composer. The song was sung to the tune of 'Dance of the Hours' by Ponchielli.
The song reached No 14 in the British singles charts in September 1963. I can vividly remember this song being continuously played on the radio, during my childhood, when I was aged five years old.
Hope you found the quiz both educational and entertaining.