Law of the Jungle Trivia Quiz

Answer: Edgar Rice Burroughs

Burroughs (1875-1950) wrote a long series of books about his famous jungle-born Tarzan, raised by apes and thinking he was one until he came upon his parents' cabin, long abandoned. There he deduced that he was human, that he had a family like himself and that his real people used books. He taught himself to read and speak. Tarzan went on to become an American icon, although he was portrayed as English and entitled to be called Lord Greystoke.
Burroughs also wrote science fiction, Westerns and a series about Mars (Barsoom) Venus and the moon. When Burroughs was in his late 60s and living in Hawaii, he became the oldest living WWII correspondent at the time to have witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor.

More on Tarzan: he had a life after the series, you know!
What did Jane call out to Tarzan as he was leaving for work one morning?
"Be careful, honey, it's a jungle out there!"
And on jungle school days?
"Honey, can you swing by and pick up Boy after school?"

Answer: Rudyard Kipling

Kipling (1865 Bombay - 1936 England) was an Indian-born Englishman who grew up speaking both Hindi and English. He wrote novels, stories and poems. The Jungle Book is a series of morality stories featuring Mowgli, the 'man-cub' who was raised by wolves. Rikki-tikki-tavi is featured in one story, a brave mongoose who fights a cobra to the death. Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout movement, was influenced by Kipling's tales. Kipling lived his first five years in India, and then spent the customary several years in England with a couple who boarded children.

He later described those years as horrible, comprised of cruelty and neglect. He returned to India and began writing, and in 1907 was the first English language Nobel prize winner in Literature.

Answer: Joseph Conrad

The plot and theme of Conrad's novel have been used in such films as "Apocalypse Now". The character in question has the same name in the original book and in the film. Kurtz, originally sent to the remote jungles of the Congo to govern and manage trading, has been on his own with too much power for too long and has slipped quite round the bend. "Apocalypse Now" uses the character Kurtz, but the time is many years later, and the country is Vietnam. Joseph Conrad was born in Imperial Russia in 1857 to Polish parents.

When his parents died he went to live in Poland with an uncle and there received most of his formal education. After traveling around the world with both the British and French merchant marines for many years, he used his experiences to write several novels, among which are "Lord Jim" - 1900, "Heart of Darkness" in 1902, and "The Secret Agent" - 1907. Conrad was friends with H.G. Wells, Ford Madox Ford and John Galsworthy.

He retired in England and died there in 1924.

Answer: Evan Hunter

Evan Hunter (1926-2005) is one of the many pen names used by Salvatore Lombino, a graduate of Hunter College in NYC. As Ian McBain, he wrote the "87th Precinct" series of novels, based in a fictional city resembling New York.
In the 1955 film "Blackboard Jungle", based on his book, the song "Rock Around the Clock" (Bill Haley and His Comets) was the theme music and remained number one on the charts for eight weeks. Glenn Ford played the protagonist teacher, Edward Dadier, called "Daddio" by the class. The film also starred Anne Francis, Vic Morrow, Sidney Poitier and Jameel Farrah (later Jamie Farr). The film provoked some rioting and vandalism in youthful audiences as it was a fairly new and volatile subject for the silver screen.
Hunter/McBain wrote sci-fi as well as crime fiction.

Answer: Upton Sinclair

This novel, written in 1905, exposed the Chicago meat-packing industry for its shoddy methods and lack of hygiene. The uproar it caused led to many reforms and safety measures such as the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. In the first year of publication the book brought in over $30,000 in royalties for Sinclair. Sinclair went on to attack the oil industry in southern California as well in his novel "Oil".
"The Jungle" is well worth reading, although it is quite graphic and descriptive, such as rooms laden with stacks of old meat, rat feces and the poisons used to kill the rats. Everything was shoved together into the grinders, including living or dead animals, nails, urine and bacteria. Chemicals were added to cover up rancid smells and colors to make meat look fresh.
Sinclair became a radical socialist and even those who praised his writing, such as Theodore Roosevelt, had trouble with his political stance. Sinclair made many friends and many enemies. He produced almost 100 books in his life (1878-1968).

Answer: The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Mbube is the Zulu word for lion, and some theories are that it refers to the sleeping king of the Zulu (Shaka) who will arise when he is needed. The song was written and recorded by Solomon Linda and four friends in 1939. By 1948 it had become a big hit and sold over 100,000 records in South Africa.

The song was covered by many singles and groups, The Tokens producing the 1961 number one hit in the U.S. Pete Seeger and the Weavers used it as a standard piece, and it was soon covered by the Kingston Trio, Miriam Mekeba, Yma Sumac and many others.

The Disney film "The Lion King" is thought to have generated about $15 million from the use of the song. It was also used in the 1951 film "Cry, The Beloved Country". Although it is difficult to credit a song comprised from a known folk tune, the original recorder's descendants sued for monetary rights, as most were living in poverty.

Answer: Zaire

Promotor Don King gave the fight its name, and Muhammed Ali allowed George Foreman to pummel him for several rounds before Ali knocked him out in the 8th. The fight began at 4:30 am in Kinshasa, and was highly publicized, especially as it was Africa's first heavyweight championship. The battle reached the Americas during prime time for TV watchers. To ensure publicity, President Mobuto Sese Seko gave each contestant $5 million just to show up.
Ali was 25 at the time and Foreman 32. There remained a great deal of mutual respect between them.

Answer: The Asphalt Jungle

Starring Sterling Hayden, Sam Jaffe, James Whitmore, Peter Finch and Jean Hagen, this film noir was directed by John Huston. The plot concerns a jewelry heist and the resultant mayhem. The film garnered many awards and in 2008 was inducted into the National Film Registry. It also inspired the 1955 French film "Rififi", the 1958 "Badlanders" and 1977's "Cool Breeze", among others.
Marilyn Monroe was an unknown at the time and pleased just to appear in a film. She went on to become the 'blonde bombshell' of her time whose short life was filled with tragedy and highlights.

Answer: Carl Stephenson

Carl Stephenson (1893-1960s) wrote this gruesome story that takes place in the Brazilian jungle. Leinigen has been warned by a Brazilian official that a massive group of advancing ants is nearing his plantation. He is told to flee, but feels that he has the power to stop or divert them, though when he sees the horde he realises that it covers about 20 square miles. Though the species is not named, the ants are described as a thumb's length with large mandibles and numbering in the millions.

The moat around the plantation is 12 feet wide and shaped like a horseshoe, meeting and running into a fast flowing river.

His workers are given a pep talk, and since they fear the boss more than the ants at the time, they want to believe they can avert the peril and survive. Water is first used as a barrier, forcing the ants into the river, but the masses of bodies piling up and the ability of the ants to use shredded leaves to carry them across allows them access to the plantation. Petrol and other means are used, and while Leinigen himself is frightened when he sees a large stag devoured to the bone within six minutes, feels he can outwit the enemy. Carl Stephenson was a German author, often confused with a German historian of the same name who lived from 1893-1954.

The author of 'Leinigen' also wrote under the pseudonym Stefan Sorel. The story was published in 1938, and aired in a radio play in 1948. The 1954 film "The Naked Jungle" was based on the story and starred Charlton Heston as Leinigen.

Answer: Herbert Spencer

In nature, the strong, healthy and fit are generally the survivors. The very young and old, the sick and frail are more vulnerable and do not always survive to breed. This leaves the 'best genes' to be carried forward by the genetically well-endowed, which in turn leads to survival of that species. Though Darwin's work in 'natural selection' related more to individuals in relation to their local environment, Spencer (1820-1903) took natural selection a step further, and, as the two were contemporaries, Darwin tended to agree that survival included far more than genetic endowment and local influence, and, while the philosophical discussion still rages, just as 'nature versus nurture', it is generally accepted that those members of a society who tend to prevail have much more to depend on than good genes, physical and mental strengths and benevolent surroundings. Adaptability is a necessary trait and covers much more than merely the physical.