The Misplaced General Knowledge Quiz Vol.2

Answer: They are elephants

Komar and Melamid, two Russian born American artists, first began teaching elephants to paint in 1995. When they heard that Asian elephants were nearing 'endangered' status (down from 11,000 to 3,000 in only a few years), they decided to expand their work to Asian countries. Now, elephants paint to raise funds for their own conservation and have raised thousands of dollars.

Question submitted by Waitakere.

Answer: Hubert H. Humphrey Jr.

After Robert F. Kennedy was murdered, Hubert H. Humphrey Jr. became the Democratic presidential candidate in 1968. Robert F. Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan in the kitchen of the Ambassador hotel in Los Angeles, California, U. S. A., in June 1968. As with his bother John F. Kennedy there have been many conspiracy theories surrounding the murder and you can take your pick as to which one you believe.

Question submitted by shipyardbernie.

Answer: Afghanistan and Pakistan

The Khyber Pass connects the cities of Kabul in Afghanistan and Penshaw in Pakistan. It is 53 kms long and has an elevation of 1070 metres and winds through the Safed Koh Mountains. Part of the ancient Silk Road, it is one of the oldest passes in the world and was an important link for trade between India and Central Asia. "Khyber" is a Hebrew word for "fort". The Pass has been used by invading forces by, among others, Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan.

In 1925 Britain built a railway line through the Pass and during World War II anti-tank devices were laid in case Germany invaded India. Even today, the Khyber Pass is a major route for supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Question submitted by wenray.

Answer: C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis was Clive Staples Lewis, a male who wrote in many genres. Some of his more famous works are the "Chronicles of Narnia" series and "The Screwtape Letters".

Currer Bell was the name used by Charlotte Bronte, the author of "Jane Eyre". Her sisters, Emily and Anne wrote using the names Ellis and Acton Bell, among others. They felt that people would not take them seriously as authors because they were women.

A. M. Barnard was a name used by Louisa May Alcott, author of "Little Women". She used her pseudonym when writing in other genres, such as Gothic novels, which subject matter was thought to be unladylike so not proper for women.

Ellis Peters was Edith Pargeter. She was a highly respected author of historic notification and translator of Czech classic works. She used many male pseudonyms when writing other materials. As Ellis Peters she authored the "Brother Cadfael" series of detective stories whose main character is a monk at the Benedictine Abby in Shrewsbury England. It is an historically accurate portrayal of the time during the civil war between cousins Stephen and Maude, both contenders for the English throne.

Question submitted by dekeaunt

Answer: Go Set A Watchman

In this novel, Scout Finch is now grown up. She returns to Maycomb, Alabama, U. S. A., to visit her father. After visiting with him, she comes to believe he's actually a racist, but she's totally wrong. She also learns that their cook, Calpurnia, actually hated all white people, including Scout and her family, although she helped raise Scout and Jem and worked for the Finches for many years.

Question submitted by kennell.

Answer: A sword or dagger

The Kirpan is a ceremonial dagger/sword worn by Sikhs. It is curved with one cutting edge and is between three and nine inches long (what's that in new money?) It must be made of steel or iron.

In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh stated his followers must wear a Kirpan at all times. Kirpan has two meanings: "mercy, grace, compassion, and kindness", and "honour, grace, and dignity." The Kirpan is a symbol of a Sikh's duty to prevent violence and defend the weak.

Question submitted by Waitakere.

Answer: Bangers And Mash

The song "Bangers And Mash" was written by David Lee/Herbert Kretzmer. It peaked at number 22 on the UK singles chart for Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren in 1961. It did not chart in the US.

Bangers and Mash is a meal of sausages and mashed boiled potatoes, it can be served with fried onions and onion gravy, or baked beans, or peas. The song is a comedy song about an English soldier who meets an Italian girl in Naples during WWII. He has a cockney accent and she has an Italian accent but half way through the song they change over and Sophia Loren's cockney accent is very funny. The record was produced by future legendary Beatles' producer George Martin.

Submitted by shipyardbernie.

Answer: Poseidon

Poseidon and Hades were brothers of Zeus. Poseidon was god of the sea and was often depicted carrying a three-pronged spear, called a trident. He was also known for riding in a chariot pulled by horses and it was said that he could turn himself into a horse. His Roman counterpart was Neptune.

Zeus was king of the gods and lord of the sky. He fathered many children and Aphrodite, Apollo and Artemis were just three of them. He was often depicted with a lightening bolt in his hands.

Aphrodite was goddess of love, Apollo was god of the sun, music and medicine and Artemis was goddess of the moon and the hunt.

Question submitted by wenray

Answer: Britney Spears

Britney Spears became a cast member of The Mickey Mouse Club when she was 11. Among the other club members at that time, who went on to fame, were Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Ryan Gosling. Spears' debut album, "Baby One More Time", earned a 14 × platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for sales in excess of fourteen million copies in the U. S. A. It was the best selling album by a teenage solo artist.

Joan Jett was a member of the group Joan Jett and the Black Hearts. Her most famous song is "I Love Rock 'n Roll".

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Michigan and has had a long career. She is considered to be the best selling female recording artist of all time.

Miley Cyrus got her start in a Disney produced TV show but was never a member of the Mickey Mouse Club. Three of her albums reached number one on the US album chart.

Question submitted by dekeaunt

Answer: Gabriele D'Annunzio

Although hardly known abroad these days, or at least in the English-speaking world, Gabriele D'Annunzio was one of the leading Italian writers of the late 19th/early 20th Century and is still as much a part of the Italian literature curriculum as Dickens is the English. Unfortunately, he isn't even much-loved at home these days, arguably because of his Fascist patriotism, but if you can see beyond that, his work stands up to anybody else from the same period. I'd say it is essential reading for anybody interested in the fin de siècle Decadent literary movement. It's also highly entertaining, as is his acclaimed biography "The Pike: Gabriele D'Annunzio: Poet, Seducer & Preacher of War" by Lucy Hughes-Hallett.

It's very probable that the renaming of the sandwich was part of the Fascist ideology of Italianizing all foreign nomenclature. Who better than one of the country's greatest word-smiths, who also happened to be one of the country's greatest patriots, to rid the country of foreign words?

There are several popular versions of the etymology of the name tramezzino. One is that it simply means little-in-the-middle (tra = between, mezzo = middle, diminuative -ino = little), which would be very similar to the original idea, and what the later-evolved English verb means. Another theory is that it means "little in-between" as in between meals, i.e. a snack, which would make a lot of sense since it is generally eaten in that way in Italy.

Most people seem to agree that "il tramezzino" was born in Turin, the city where one of the red herrings, Italian-Jewish author/Holocaust survivor Primo Levi, was born.

Benito Mussolini was the leader of the "Partito Nazionale Fascista" and Prime Minister from 1922 to 1943. He was executed by Italian Partisans in 1945.
The sandwich was named after the Earl of Sandwich, but there was no Conte (Earl) Tramezzino.

Submitted by Thula2.