Trivia Tidbits Trivia Quiz

Answer: They were four inches longer

Knickerbockers were knee length trousers that came down to the knee and were fastened there onto a band. These had been on the scene in many English speaking countries since the 1800s. Plus Fours, with the extra four inches of material added, still fastened at the knee, but they were baggier and a lot looser.

This allowed for more freedom of movment, and they soon became popular as attire worn by many sportspeople in particular. They were introduced into the United States by Edward VIII of Great Britain when he visited that country in the 1920s.

As that dashing little dandy was considered quite the fashion icon, this style was quickly emulated, and soon the older knickerbocker style was looked upon as quite a thing of the past, my dear. Plus Twos and Plus Sixes were also introduced but these never made it as big on the fashion scene.

Answer: It increases

Oh that calories would vanish in most foods! The process of bletting fruit involves removing it from the tree before it is ripe, or immediately following a bitter frost, spreading it on the ground on some type of absorbent material, and allowing it to become overly ripe over several weeks.

This transforms the inner part of the fruit into a very soft and mushy substance (shudder) so that it can either be spooned out of its skin and eaten like a form of sauce, or made easily into jams and jellies. When bletting occurs, the sugar content of fruit increases, but the acid and tannin content decreases. I'm not sure about you, but I prefer the crunch.

Answer: It is the tree on which the devil hanged his mother

Rowans are trees or shrubs native to cool regions in the northern half of the globe. The tree can grow to a height of twenty metres, and produces lovely delicate white flower and rich red berries that the birds love. In China the rowan produces white berries.

Its wood can be utilised to make small pieces of furniture and in particular was once used widely in the manufacture of walking canes, aids that are now seldom seen around as much as they once were. The rowan's fruit can be turned into jams or preserves, wines, or as a substitute for coffee beans. Mythologically speaking, the rowan once played a big part in the belief structure of old folk tales from England.

It is said to protect people against evil spirits and the power of witches, to help lost people find their way back home, but also is the tree on which that mean old fellow with the pitchfork hanged his poor mother. Such ingratitude.

Answer: True

Kermit the Frog is the dashing gentleman in green who was created by Jim Henson in 1955. He rose to fame in the excellent "The Muppet Show" (1975-1981) which was a series of highly entertaining comedy and song-and-dance muppet productions, and in the absorbing children's show "Sesame Street" which began in 1969 and was still going strong on its fortieth anniversary in 2009. Kermit's genetic structure is comprised of an old coat of Jim Henson's mother, and two half ping pong balls. Kermit, and most of the Muppets are left-handed.

This is because most of the puppeteers who operate them are right-handed, and they use that hand to work the intricate shapes required of the muppet's head and mouth. The left hand works the Muppet's arms, usually the left one of course, or otherwise the puppeteer would be working with his arms crossed in front of his body.

Answer: Brass

This study found that playing a stringed instrument such as the piano, or particularly the violin, prevents the loss of hair, that woodwind instruments only have a minimal effect, but the playing of any brass instrument can have devastating effects on hair growth.

As stated in "Scientific American" on the 29th August, 1896, it was noted that "brass instruments have a fatal influence on the growth of the hair, notably the cornet, the French horn, and the trombone, which apparently will depilate a player's scalp in less than five years...". Such was the effect of playing these instruments by brass bands in particular, that the prevalence of baldness among those men became known as trumpet baldness.

Answer: Square

Who - what - whomever thought to make a note of this startling finding so that it is now recorded in various scientific journals is beyond my comprehension, but the little fat Australian wombat does indeed deliver itself of square shaped productions. The owner of this geometric output is a fluffy fat marsupial that grows to approximately one metre in length. Wombats look adorable but beware of approaching one, particularly if it looks agitated, as it can inflict quite a nasty wound with its teeth and claws.

Another unusual and more palatable fact about wombats is that the females have pouches that face backwards. Because this mathematically inclined animal lives in burrows, the pouch that faces backwards protects the little occupant within from being showered with dirt whenever its mother is digging out her new home.

Answer: Your tiny hand is frozen

This takes place in one of the episodes in the fourth year of the show. The very popular comedy "Dad's Army", based around the exploits of the English Home Guard during World War II, ran for nine years between 1968 and 1977. It starred the hilarious Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, the portly leader of a group of bumbling misfits training to defend their local area against attacks from the enemy.

In this episode when the Italian POW falls back in alarm at Private Godfrey's remark, Captain Mainwaring demands of Godfrey to explain what he said.

When informed of this, he barks, "What on earth did you say that for, you fool?" Godfrey's grave reply is "It's the only Italian I know, sir. You see, I'm a very keen opera fan". This is such a funny show, and well worth the watch, even years after it was originally made. Captain Mainwaring gets to me every single time.

He's so short and tubby and full of self importance that one just has to look at him to begin chuckling. "Your tiny hand is frozen" is a line from one of the songs in Puccini's 1896 opera "La Boheme".

It has been parodied mercilessly ever since.

Answer: Imported turf from Ireland to keep out the snakes

Henry Brown Hayes, a comfortably-off sheriff from the town of Cork in Ireland, was transported as a convict to Australia in 1802 for attempting to kidnap the daughter of a wealthy Irish banker and force her into marriage with him. As with many of the early convicts sent to Australia in its early days of European settlement, many were given grants of land, or purchased same, to establish farms to help feed the colony.

The Governor of the time found the rambunctious Irishman to be a bit of a handful, and put Hayes as far away from the main settlement as he could. Nevertheless, he was allowed to buy several acres in the area to where he was sent. Over the following years Hayes purchased more and more of this land in what is today one of Sydney's posh suburbs, and built up a beautiful estate there. With his renowned fear of snakes, a very well founded fear in this country, and bearing in mind the Irish belief that Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland, Hayes imported enough turf and grass from Ireland to help keep these creatures away from his house and family on the other side of the world.

He eventually returned to Ireland, still free of snakes, and died there in 1832, at the healthy old age of seventy. Vaucluse house, filled with its beautiful old furniture and paintings, and still with its Irish turf intact, is now managed by the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales as a museum.

Answer: Her light brown hair has turned grey

The sorrowful Stephen Foster (1826-1864), who gave the world so many exquisite old songs, died in poverty deserted by his wife and child. During his brief marriage however, he composed this song about his wife. It proved to be enormously popular for very many years. Because of a dispute over licensing fees during the war years in the United States, many contemporary songs could not be played over the air until the issue had been settled, so older songs were played in their stead. "Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair" was one of these and it was played constantly, so much so that it drove the editor of "Time" to making his exasperated comment. Such is this song's enduring popularity that even today it can still be seen cropping up, in parody form usually, in the odd cartoon, TV episode, or even film.

For example, the great sportsman Joe DiMaggio had the lyrics rewritten as a tribute to him with the words "We dream of Joey with the light brown bat", and Bugs Bunny sings "I Dream of Jeannie, She's a Light Brown Hare" in two of his cartoons. Is nothing sacred any longer? It's enough to make a person tear their hair out.

Answer: Vegetables

Formed in 1998, this unusual group produces music out of instruments made entirely of vegetables. The blurb on the orchestra announces that it is the "world's foremost exponent of this rare genre". One would imagine that it is the world's ONLY exponent of this genre.

The orchestra does play well-known pieces from time to time, but much of its deeply rooted (oh look, another pun) music is of its own composition. That's hardly surprising. That way no mistakes will be detected by any audience - unless of course the audience is comprised entirely of musical farmers.

The instruments are made afresh every day before a new production begins, using only the very freshest produce of course. At the end of each nightly performance, these are all made into a giant pot of soup.

This is the funniest part of all; to this end, the group always travels with ten musicians, a sound musician (poor creature) - and a cook.