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The Sea Shell Game Trivia Quiz

Among my collections are sea shells. They have been popular for some time now. So gather round, you amateur conchologists!

A multiple-choice quiz by tjoebigham. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
tjoebigham

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
34,081

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
9 / 15

Plays
788

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. Cockles got their name from the Latin for heart.

True

False

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Question 2 of 15

2. What is the animal mussels are named for? Hint

Mouse

Seal

Spider

Mole

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Question 3 of 15

3. And which shell's name shares a root with 'ostracize'? Hint

oyster

nautilus

scallop

murex

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Question 4 of 15

4. What shell supplied a purple dye to the ancient world? Hint

murex

cone

oyster

mitre

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Question 5 of 15

5. Which shells were often used as money in the Pacific? Hint

oysters

cowrie

scallops

clams

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Question 6 of 15

6. What shell gets its name from the Dutch? Hint

wentletrap

volute

nautilus

cowrie

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Question 7 of 15

7. Name the shell that doesn't belong here. Hint

fig

olive

nutmeg

moon

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Question 8 of 15

8. What shell's name is from the Latin for 'roll'? Hint

tun

whelk

volute

conch

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Question 9 of 15

9. What shell may be thought to be named after a Biblical vessel? Hint

Arca noae

Mya arenaria

Cerastoderma edule

Mytilus edulis

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Question 10 of 15

10. Which clam has the name of a goddess? Hint

venus

athena

diana

bellona

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Question 11 of 15

11. And what other clam shares it name with a piece of cutlery? Hint

table knife

bowie knife

pen knife

jackknife

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Question 12 of 15

12. What shell is known for its many chambers? Hint

nautilus

conch

wentletrap

helmet

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Question 13 of 15

13. What American poet penned verse on the above shell? Hint

Bryant

Frost

Holmes

Dickenson

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Question 14 of 15

14. And what other poet also wrote on a sea shell? Hint

Bishop

Merrill

Dickey

Moore

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Question 15 of 15

15. What oil company has a scallop as a trademark? Hint

Shell

Exxon

Phillips 66

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Cockles got their name from the Latin for heart.

Answer: True

So named for their heartlike shapes.

2. What is the animal mussels are named for?

Answer: Mouse

In fact, both 'mussel' and 'muscle' come the Greek for mouse, since the shell and arm muscles resembled a mouse to the ancient Greeks!

3. And which shell's name shares a root with 'ostracize'?

Answer: oyster

Both are based on the Greek for shell or {potshard;} the Greeks used shells and potshards when voting a person to be banished.

4. What shell supplied a purple dye to the ancient world?

Answer: murex

The Phoenicians were the first to extract the dye for royal robes from the yellow fluid Murexes secrete.

5. Which shells were often used as money in the Pacific?

Answer: cowrie

Also used as ornaments and religious totems, cowries were the Pacific equivilent of our Native American 'wampum'.

6. What shell gets its name from the Dutch?

Answer: wentletrap

The name means 'winding staircase' for its spiraling shape.

7. Name the shell that doesn't belong here.

Answer: moon

The three others are named after foods, i.e. a spice and two fruits.

8. What shell's name is from the Latin for 'roll'?

Answer: volute

Volutes share the same root as 'volume', the rolled scrolls of antiquity(as well as the Volvo car line!)

9. What shell may be thought to be named after a Biblical vessel?

Answer: Arca noae

Arca noae literally means "Noah's Ark".

10. Which clam has the name of a goddess?

Answer: venus

Of course you know about Botticelli's picture of Venus being born from a scallop...

11. And what other clam shares it name with a piece of cutlery?

Answer: jackknife

Because they reminded people of a jack-knife's shape.

12. What shell is known for its many chambers?

Answer: nautilus

From the latin for 'ship' or 'sea'.

13. What American poet penned verse on the above shell?

Answer: Holmes

Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote those immortal lines 'Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul!' (used by Eugene O'Neill as a play title)

14. And what other poet also wrote on a sea shell?

Answer: Moore

Marianne Moore wrote 'The Paper {Nautilus';} actually, the 'shell' is the egg case of a cousin to the octopus.

15. What oil company has a scallop as a trademark?

Answer: Shell

Marcus started as a shell collector and eventually started a shell shop of his own, then became an oil magnate; the scallop commemorates his beginnings.

Source: Author tjoebigham

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ozzz2002 before going online.
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