We Stole That from the Native Americans Quiz

Answer: Piranha

The Tupi People are native to Brazil, primarily along the Atlantic Coast. The Tupi word for tooth is "sainha" which relates to the piranha's biting ability. Additionally, the word piranha may come from the Tupi word "anha" which means cut, slash, evil and devil.

Answer: Mukluk

The Yupik People are Inuit people who live in Alaska and parts of Siberia. Mukluks are a kind of warm boot originally made from seals, hence the Yupik word "maklak", meaning bearded seal, being used as the name of the boots.

Answer: Toboggan

The Mikmaq people were a native tribe who lived mostly in Canada. The Mikmaq word for "to drag" is "topaqan". The Mikmaq used toboggans for transportation. Today, toboggans are used like sleds for recreational purposed.

Answer: Manatee

The Carib word for a woman's breast is "manati" which was corrupted to manatee. There is a legend that pirates in the Caribbean mistook manatees for mermaids. Manatees are also called sea cows and sometimes cowfish, even though they are mammals similar to dugongs.

Answer: Opossum

The Powhatan word for opossum or possum is "apasum" which means white dog because of the marsupial's resemblance to dogs. Despite common belief, the opossum is not the same animal as a possum, but the two are closely related. Opossums are native to North America while possums live in Australia. Opossums have white faces with silver bodies and possums tend have the same color faces as their bodies.

Answer: Skunk

The Massachusset word for urinate is "squnck" for which the animal was named because of the way it sprays when agitated. The word skunk may also come from the Algonquin word "sekakwa" which means urine fox.

Answer: Chocolate

The Aztec language is Nahuatl and their word for chocolate was "xocolatl", meaning bitter water. The Aztec drank chocolate similar to the modern day hot chocolate but only bitter and watery.

Answer: Eskimo

The Montagnais or Innu language is spoken by Cree people who lived along what is now the U.S.-Canada border. Their word for snowshoe-netter is "ayaskimew". An alternate meaning of "ayaskimew" is "eater of raw meat".

Answer: Caribou

Caribou are large members of the deer and moose family who live primarily in cold climates. The Mikmaq word from which the caribou gets name is "qalipu" or "qalipi", which means "it shovels snow", referring to how the caribou walks through the snow.

Answer: Tequila

Although the word tequila has its roots in the Nahuatl word "tequillan", the drink is actually named after the town in Mexico where it first made. Tequila is made from agave and has a high alcohol content anywhere from 30% to 55%.