The Misplaced General Knowledge Quiz Vol.6

Answer: It rains

The land needed for the fair grounds was unfortunately an Indian burial ground. The Serrano Indians of the San Bernardino Valley were moved off the land by volunteer militia groups. The Serrano Indians placed a curse on the land that there would be rain on the fair.

It has rained nearly every year since then, despite organizers' moving the date all over the calendar. Despite drought years or weeks of 90 degree weather, the weekend of the fair comes along and it nearly always rains and hard.

Question submitted by Jackslade.

Answer: Mirepoix

A mirepoix consists of onions, carrots and celery cooked slowly in some form of fat. It's important to cook slowly to bring out the sweetness of the vegetables. Usually it's one of each vegetable or a ratio of 50% onion and 25% each of carrot and celery. It's especially good in soups and stews.

A soufflé is a baked, egg based dish. Depending on what you put in it, it can be a main dish or dessert.

A roux is used as a thickening agent for soups, stews and gravies; it's made of equal parts flour and fat.

Consommé is a strong, clear soup made from concentrated broth.

Question submitted by dekeaunt

Answer: Johnny Mathis

The film "Wild is the Wind" was nominated for three Academy Awards and starred Anthony Quinn and Anna Magnani. The theme tune sang by Johnny Mathis reached number 22 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1957.

Johnny Mathis' music career, which started in the '50s, has spanned a number of decades and he was still actively touring into the 21st century. He was a highly rated high jumper, hurdler and basketball player and was a whizz with a golf club too, though his singing voice won through in the end.

Question submitted by philphiphp.

Answer: Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower 1890 - 1969 died aged 78, President 1953 - 1961.

Franklin D. Roosevelt 1882 - 1945 died aged 63, President 1933 - 1945.

Harry S. Truman 1884 - 1972 died aged 88, President 1945 - 1953.

John F. Kennedy 1917 - 1963 died aged 46, president 1961 - 1963.

Question submitted by shipyardbernie

Answer: Unicorn

The Scots have a long affiliation with the unicorn dating back to the 12th century when William I (the Lion) incorporated it into his coat of arms. When James VI of Scotland became James I of England his Royal Coat of Arms varied from having two chained unicorns on the Scottish version to one chained unicorn and a rampant lion after the Acts of Union in 1707. The chains around the necks of the unicorns possibly symbolise the power of Scottish kings over even such an indomitable creature. It has also been recorded that a chained unicorn represents Christ resurrected. April 9th has been designated National Unicorn Day.

The haggis is a savoury Scottish dish of sheep's offal and is the traditional dish on Burns night, January 25th. It tastes much better than it sounds particularly when accompanied with a dram of whisky. Some canny Scots would have us believe that the Haggis is actually a wee beastie that has shorter legs on one side than the other thus enabling it to run very quickly around the tops of mountains to avoid capture. The secret to nabbing them is to suddenly pop up in front of them with a mirror whereupon the shocked haggis will quickly reverse direction, tumble down the mountainside and be caught in nets by waiting accomplices.

The Aberdeen Angus is a breed of beef cattle originating in, as the name implies, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. They have since been introduced into Argentina, Australia, Canada and the U.S. and produce a very high quality of marbled beef.

The West Highland White Terrier or Westie has appeared as the face of products such as Black & White whisky (along with a black Scottish Terrier) and Cesar dog food. A Westie was used in place of a Skye Terrier in the 2005 version of The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby as the director felt the Westie was more photogenic.

Question by donkeehote

Answer: A wasp pollinates and then is eaten by the fig

The seeds in a fig are actually many tiny flowers and to pollinate them the fig wasp must force her way inside, losing her wings and antennae as she does so. She lays her eggs and at the same time pollinates the flowers from pollen carried from the original host fig.

The wasp dies inside the fruit which is actually a synconium (a fruit developed from more than one flower) and the fig digests her body. Thus, every time you eat a fig, you also eat a dead wasp.

Question submitted by Waitakere

Answer: Bent Fork

Cousin Ernie is not really a relative of either Lucy or Ricky. He's Lucy's mother's friend's college roommate's cousin's middle boy, and being from such a small community, everyone there calls each other cousin. As Ernie tells Ricky, "'Course, down in Tennessee, everybody is everybody else's cousin!" He likes the Ricardos and New York so well, he doesn't ever want to leave! Lucy must scheme and plan to get him to finally go home.

Question submitted by kennell

Answer: Hollywoodland sign

Peg Entwistle climbed to the top of the Hollywoodland sign's letter H and threw herself off of it in September 1932. She is now called the Lady in White and is said to haunt the sign and the surrounding area.

The urban legend says the Lady in White will appear to people hiking to the off-limits part of the sign where she had killed herself. Instead of the beautiful Hollywood actress, what appears is a woman with a skeletal face and deep hollowed out eyes. If those hikers are alone, the Lady in White somehow influences them to share her own cruel fate.

Question submitted by Jackslade

Answer: Paul

Paul McCartney had nine number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" (Paul & Linda McCartney), number one for one week in 1971.
"My Love" (Paul McCartney & Wings), number one for four weeks in 1973.
"Band On The Run" (Paul McCartney & Wings), number one for one week in 1974.
"Listen To What The Man Said" (Wings), number one for one week in 1975.
"Silly Love Songs" (Wings), number one for five weeks in 1976.
"With A Little Luck" (Wings), number one for two weeks in 1978.
"Coming Up (Live At Glasgow) (Paul McCartney & Wings), number one for three weeks in 1980.
"Ebony And Ivory" (Paul McCartney with Stevie Wonder), number one for seven weeks in 1982.
"Say Say Say" (Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson), number one for six weeks in 1983.

George Harrison had three number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

"My Sweet Lord", number one for four weeks in 1970/71.
"Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)", number one for one week in 1973.
"Got My Mind Set On You", number one for one week in 1988.

Ringo Star had two number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Photograph", number one for one week in 1973.
"You're Sixteen", number one for one week in 1974.

John Lennon had two number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" (John Lennon with The Plastic Ono Nuclear Band), number one for one week in 1974.
"(Just Like) Starting Over", number one for five weeks in 1980.

Question submitted by shipyardbernie

Answer: No

No, it's not George who does the back flip from the chair or the disco dance, but many people think it is him, which George thought was really hilarious! "I don't dance," he said in an interview. "I'm amazed at how many people think it's me!" (Look closely at the video, the man is younger, heavier and has longer darker and more curly hair than George).

Question submitted by kennell