Top of the Muffin to You! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Oreos

Other countries have similar cookies (or biscuits, depending on where you are) with similar eating traditions, especially among children. The preliminary separation may be followed by eating the plain half first, scraping the cream filling off, eating the cream and chocolate half as a whole, or other. Sometimes children use Oreos competitively, each holding one side and trying to get the most filling on their half after separation. And so on - it's both food treat and entertainment in a single package!

There have been many varieties of Oreo produced over the years, including strawberry or mint fillings, chocolate fudge coating and vanilla cookies instead of chocolate. But chocolate with vanilla filling remains the classic nearly a century after they were first produced.

Answer: M&Ms

As the only multi-colored candy in the list, it had to be the M&Ms. We won't discuss how this same slightly-obsessive approach to eating multi-colored sweet treats has transferred to licorice allsorts, Smarties, etc. At least playing with them makes me eat them more slowly!

M&Ms have been produced by the Mars company since 1941. Brightly-colored hard shells, with an 'm' on one side, cover a milk chocolate filling. At least, it was milk chocolate back in the 50s, when the only option was with a peanut in the centre or plain. Fillings at various times have also included dark chocolate, minted chocolate, orange chocolate, and almonds in the centre, among others. While the only difference between the colors is due to colored food dye, every child has a favorite color, and many claim to taste the difference. Red was always my personal favorite.

Answer: In China, it is common to rest one's elbows on the table while eating.

Chinese dinner table etiquette is markedly different from what is expected in most cultures based on European customs. Elbows on the table, talking with the mouth full, extremely animated conversations, and slurping of liquid foods are among the accepted behaviors that may seem rude to a foreign visitor.

In many parts of the world where food is eaten without utensils, it is expected that only the right hand will be used, as the left hand is unclean. In Asian countries where chopsticks are used, it is considered extremely rude to place them standing in a dish of food; they should always be placed horizontally and parallel to each other, on your plate or bowl. There are some places in the world where it is polite to leave some food uneaten on your plate, to show that you have been offered more than enough food. This is not the case, however, in most countries where you usually serve yourself from a communal dish - in these places, it is a sign that you have greedily taken more than you can eat. Now that's a mealtime ritual you will want to check out before traveling!

Answer: Caramello Koala

The other three Cadbury products are basically bar shaped. The Caramello Koala looked like a koala (vaguely), and there were two schools of thought about eating them: either bite off the head, or chew your way up from the feet. Freddo Frogs were the subject of similar debate, while advertisements for a chocolate resembling Yogi Bear urged consumers to "start at the knees, please".

Answer: As a straw to drink a hot beverage

To perform the Tim Tam Slam, you bite off the diagonally-opposite corners on each end, insert the Tim Tam into the hot drink, and suck like mad. Since the outer coating melts, and the biscuit layers dissolve, the challenge is to finish your entire drink before the 'straw' collapses, at which point the remnants are eaten. Connoisseurs often have a preference for particular styles of Tim Tam, claiming that the outer chocolate layer is thicker and therefore more stable on some versions, or that the caramel centre of some helps hold things together. Refrigeration can also help the chocolate coating maintain its integrity for longer. Coffee or tea is the usual beverage of choice, but anything is possible! And other similarly-structured biscuits can be used in the same manner.

Answer: Liver

The poison in the pufferfish is thought to have originated in the eating of other fish which carry bacteria carrying the chemical. Over time, the pufferfish population developed to include predominantly those members who are resistant to the bacteria's poison, so they are not themselves affected by it. However, it does get concentrated in their livers, as well as other organs such as the gonads and skin. Tetrodotoxin is a powerful neurotoxin, the consumption of which can lead to paralysis and death from respiratory failure, although the victim may not lose consciousness until the very end. There is no known antidote, but supportive treatment can help some people survive while their body deals with the poison.

Because of the danger of consuming the high concentration of poison in the liver, it is illegal to serve it in restaurants. In private, however, people go to the effort of removing the liver not to prevent consumption, but to allow them to use it to create a taste-tempting (and life-threatening) dish.

The first step of preparing fugu to avoid contaminating the meat to be used with any of the poison must be conducted very carefully. Commercial fugu chefs undergo several years of training in this single art. The flesh may be served raw as sashimi in extremely thin slices, or deep fried. The roe is often served grilled, while the skin can be used to make the salad called yubiki if the spines are first carefully removed.

Answer: 3

Candy corn was shaped vaguely like a kernel of corn, and had three colors - a white apex, orange midsection, and yellow base. The coloration was irregular, so that each piece had the shapes of each color slightly different, and some only had two colors.

But the norm was three colors, and the ritual involved trying to bite off one color at a time, making a clean break. Much harder than it sounds, this challenge made the candy last longer than might otherwise have been the case, and the amusement value made up for the fact that they didn't really have much flavor other than being sweet.

Answer: Turkey

Opinions are strong and divided as to which part of the bird is the most desirable. This applies to chicken and other poultry, not just turkey, but the holiday gathering at which there are only two legs available and more people who want one is a common scene of negotiations after this question has been asked.

It is indeed a lucky family in which the fans of various portions of the bird match their availability! Of course, the turkey is often associated with another ritual conducted after the bird has been devoured - the breaking of the wish bone to get a wish.

Answer: Lick, sip, suck

A shooter refers to a drink served in a shot glass. For a tequila shooter, salt and slices of lime are also required. The drinker pours salt on the back of their hand or the top of their fist, licks the salt, drinks the tequila, and takes a bite of lime, all in an uninterrupted flow of actions. This is sometimes called a tequila slammer, but that term properly refers to a drink made by mixing tequila with a carbonated drink (soft drink or champagne) and slamming the glass down to make it fizz before drinking it rapidly. The carbonation increases the rate at which the alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream.

A more sophisticated presentation of tequila is the margarita, consisting of a mixture of tequila, triple sec and lime juice served in a wide-rimmed glass whose top has been dipped in salt.

Answer: Toasting

The reason behind the clinking of glasses as part of a toast is not clear (although you can find plenty of authoritative-sounding reasons given). It is unlikely to have originated in a way of proving that the drinks were not poisoned, nor in an attempt to ward off evil spirits with the noise, both popular explanations. Similarly, the origin of the use of the term 'toasting' to describe the gesture of drinking in an act of congratulations or goodwill is shrouded in the mists of time, with multiple explanations offered. Traditionally the drink involved in a toast is alcoholic, often champagne, but that is not necessarily the case - fruit juices and even water can be substituted.

The words of benediction (well-wishing) involved in a toast may take many forms. In a formal situation such as a wedding they can be speeches lasting several minutes; in more intimate situations they tend to be short and to the point. "Cheers", for example, has a rough equivalent in a number of languages, including "Salud" (Spanish), "Skaal" (Danish), "Prost" (German), "L'Chaim" (Hebrew), "Chia" (Vietnamese), and "Ganbei" (Mandarin Chinese).