Those Tricky Ts Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tajikistan

Tajikistan was once part of the USSR, and became independent in 1991. It is bordered by China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan, and the majority of the population are Tajiks, an Iranian ethnic group who speak a variety of Persian. Gorno-Badakhshan is an autonomous region in the Pamir Mountains, a part of the Pamir-Alay range which also includes the Fann Mountains.

Its main exports are aluminium and cotton, and some of the country's major rivers are considered to be great sources of hydroelectric power.

Answer: The Tunguska Event

Conspiracy theorists and sci-fi/fantasy writers alike had a field day with the Tunguska Event, with its causes suggested as everything from alien spaceships to black holes and nuclear tests. The event gets its name from the nearby Podkamennaya Tunguska River.

The exact cause of the event is not known, but the most likely cause given by scientists is an asteroid or comet exploding as it reached Earth's atmosphere; no impact crater was left because the explosion is thought to have happened at least 5-10km off the ground. Eyewitnesses reported a fireball and powerful winds, and three people at least are thought to have died. Large amounts of forest around the area were flattened, but the trees were charred, rather than burned, as it has been suggested that any fires caused by the explosion would have been extinguished by the blast wave that followed it.

Answer: Tammy

Or, to give him his full name, Kevin Oghenetega Tamaraebi Bakumo-Abraham. Tammy Abraham joined Chelsea as a child and grew up training under the club's academy system. An FA Youth Cup winner with Chelsea's youth squad, he made his senior debut for Chelsea under Guus Hiddink in 2016, when he came on as a substitute against Liverpool at Anfield.

He also spent loan periods with Swansea City, Bristol City and Aston Villa. Although he is also eligible to play for Nigeria through his father, he chose to play for England, and made his senior debut in a friendly against Germany in 2017.

Answer: Tl

Thallium is the element of the Periodic Table, and is a poisonous substance. It is a post-transition metal and does not occur in nature; it was discovered in 1861 by William Crookes and Claude-Auguste Lamy, a pair of chemists, in residue left when producing sulphuric acid.

In the past, it was used in insecticide and rat poison, and even as a ringworm treatment for humans. The fourth 'Darwin Awards' book tells of a group of Russian soldiers who found a mysterious white powder, and added it to their cigarettes, rubbed it on their feet and even snorted it! The powder turned out to be thallium, with the consequence that several soldiers became ill, lost their hair and had to be rushed to hospital. (As for the other answers, Tm is thulium, Ta is tantalum and Ti is titanium.)

Answer: Tommy Tutone

Tommy Tutone were founded by singer/guitarist Tommy Heath and guitarist Jim Keller. '867-5309/Jenny' peaked at Number Four on the Billboard Chart, and had the unfortunate side effect of people phoning the number in the song and asking for 'Jenny'. People who had the number had to change it as a result. One Alabama resident said, "When we'd first get calls at 2 or 3 in the morning, my husband would answer the phone. He can't hear too well. They'd ask for Jenny, and he'd say 'Jimmy doesn't live here any more.'... Tommy Tutone was the one who had the record. I'd like to get hold of his neck and choke him." Heath claimed that 'Jenny' was a real person and he wrote her number on a toilet wall in a motel, but Alex Call, who co-wrote the song, debunked this, saying he came up with the name and number at random.

(Tappi Tíkarrass, incidentally, were an Icelandic punk band fronted by one Björk Gudmundsdóttir. The English meaning of their name is far too rude for this site!)

Answer: Timmy Turner

Timmy Turner, an unhappy and neglected little boy who is bullied by his evil teenage babysitter, has two fairy godparents, Cosmo and Wanda. The theme tune describes him as 'an average kid who no-one understands'. Unfortunately, while Cosmo and Wanda can grant wishes, it often ends up going horribly wrong. Cosmo and Wanda later have a child, Poof, and become godparents to Timmy's neighbour Chloe as well.

A live-action film, 'A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!' was released in 2011, and saw Timmy (played by Drake Bell) as a child trapped in an adult's body, as he didn't want to grow up and lose his fairy godparents.

Answer: Trogon

Trogons are birds in the Trogonidae family, which also includes quetzals. 'Trogon' is the Greek word for 'nibble' and refers to the way in which the little birds make their nests; they dig holes with their beaks in wood, or wasp or termite nests. Because of this, deforestation is a major threat to their welfare.

Their diet consists of insects, fruit, arthropods and the odd lizard, and they are mainly found in subtropical and tropical forests in the Americas, Asia and Africa. They often have brightly coloured feathers, which can vary between the males and females.

Answer: Tavuk gogsu

Yes, tavuk gögsü is a real food - it's made from shredded chicken breast, milk, sugar, rice, cinnamon for flavouring, and resembles blancmange. The meat has to be boiled first and separated into thin fibres, or ground into powder. It was considered a delicacy in the days of the Ottoman Empire, and served in massive spoons shaped like shovels.

The other answers are also Turkish dishes: tulumba is a dessert similar to churros, tantuni is a dürüm or wrap containing minced beef or lamb, and tatar böregi are pastry parcels filled with beef, garlic and parsley.

Answer: Taven

Tapu Lele, the Land Spirit Pokemon, is one of the four Alolan guardian deities from Generation VII, the other three being Tapu Bulu, Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini. Tapu Lele is the guardian of the island of Akala, and is a Psychic/Fairy type. It is a humanoid Pokemon with a pink and black colour scheme. Trapinch, the Ant Pit Pokemon, is a Ground Pokemon from Generation III, looks like an orange insect with sharp teeth, and evolves into Vibrava and then into Flygon. Turtwig, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon, is a Generation IV Pokemon, and is a Grass type. It looks like a small turtle with a twig on its head, and evolves into Grotle and then Torterra.

Taven, on the other hand, is the player character in the story mode of 'Mortal Kombat Armageddon'.

Answer: Tarantella

The tarantella is the collective name for a group of Italian dances with a fast tempo, often in 6/8 time, which got their name from the Italian word for 'tarantula' and originated in the Apulia region. It was once thought that the bite of the spider would cause the victim to dance madly, a condition known as 'tarantism'.

Although tarantism is an urban legend, it may have its roots in the dance mania which gripped parts of Europe, Italy included, between 14th and 17th centuries. Some tarantellas are danced solo, others in pairs; they are usually accompanied by a guitar, tambourines, accordion and drum, and sometimes by woodwind as well.