Bits & Pieces: Trivia Quiz #1 2023

by Paula Johnson

“The time has come,” the Walrus said, “to speak of many things.…”
And so, it is time for another Bits and Pieces trivia quiz.

The kids are back in school for the final crunch of the first semester. This is a good time, also, for adults to have a quiz. Here we go!

Bits and Pieces Trivia Quiz

1. What does “sushi” mean?

2. Is “smidgen” a real measurement?

3. What animal is a common Christmas tree ornament in Germany and Ukraine?

4. What favorite breakfast fruit is radioactive?

5. What sits atop the Washington Monument?

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7. A new invention was created by William Clayton for westward pioneers. What was it?

8. Why can’t crocodiles stick out their tongues?

9. Doc Holiday, famed gambler, gunslinger and friend of Wyatt Earp, was what kind of medical doctor?

10. Abraham Lincoln almost didn’t become President of the United States. What decision did he make that changed history?

Answers

1. Although sushi has many flavorful fillings, it is the rice from which this dish gets its name. “Sushi” translates into “sour rice.” The original dish in ancient China was called “narezushi.” This was a salted fish stored in fermented rice. Months later, the rice was thrown away and the raw fish remained for the meal. The “lacto-fermented” rice is now replaced with rice mixed with vinegar, sugar and salt. Today rice is a key component of the dish. If you want sushi without rice, it is called “sashimi” and results in just raw fish.

2. Although most countries of the world use the metric system and only three countries (Liberia, Myanmar [old Siam] and the USA) use the customary decimal system, old kitchen measurements are still used. A smidgeon is considered larger than a drop and smaller than a pinch.

3. Many of us have heard the tale of hiding a pickle in the Christmas tree, but in Germany and Ukraine the Christmas tale of a poor widow who couldn’t afford tree decorations takes a different spin (pardon the pun). The tale continues that friendly (!?) spiders spun beautiful webs around her tree. These webs caught the morning light and shone like jewels. From that moment forward, the widow enjoyed good luck throughout her life. 

4.  You can be sure it isn’t a berry. The culprit is the banana. Before you become concerned about the amount of radioactivity you might be consuming, don’t worry. Humans are naturally more radioactive than a banana or two. The radioactivity in a single banana is so small that there is even a measurement called a BED (Banana Equivalent Dose). You would need to eat millions of bananas in a sitting for it to be fatal. Of course, you would probably have other issues before it became lethal. However, truckloads of bananas have been known to set off radiation detectors searching for nuclear weapons.

5. Today we take the metal aluminum for granted and use aluminum foil freely. But in the early 1800s, aluminum was a precious metal. The largest piece of aluminum created at that time was used to make a 9-inch pyramidion (small pyramid) and after the 36 years it took to make it, the small pyramid was placed atop the Washington Monument on December 6, 1884.

6. Who would have thought that Donald Duck would have a middle name? It is Fauntleroy. The name comes from the Anglo-French “L’Enfant le Roy” meaning “child of the king” and has become synonymous with being spoiled and pampered.

7. There were many hardships for the early pioneers. One of which was “how far have we gone” or “how much further to the next station stop?” Clayton thought it would be helpful to calculate travel. He created the cog odometer. By measuring the wagon wheel and how many revolutions it took to equal a mile, one could figure distance gone and yet to go.

8. The crocodile is one of the closest animals we have to prehistoric times. It has a second jaw giving it the most powerful chomp in the animal kingdom. To prevent it from chomping on its own tongue, its tongue is attached to the floor of its mouth. The Tyrannosaurus rex also had a tongue fixed in place in the mouth.

9. The doctor was a very important person in early frontier towns. Childbirth and gun shots weren’t the only painful experiences. Doc Holiday was a dentist. With dental hygiene being what it wasn’t, he was often needed. 

10. The 1840s held many reasons to “go West” and hundreds joined the rush. In 1847, reports reached across the county about a group that was trapped in the Sierra Nevada’s for months with little provisions before rescuers could reach them. (Yep, the same range that is now getting about 5 feet of snow.) Nearly half of the Donner Party perished. James Reed, the founder of the Donner Party, was a client of Abraham Lincoln and invited him to join their group. Lincoln was very tempted, but Mary Todd Lincoln with a young son and expecting another, convinced him to stay behind.

Maybe these little pieces will bring fun and joy at the beginning this year. Some of these tidbits might even lead to further investigation. Happy hunting!