Trivia 6 Flashcards
What is Jim Backus known for?
Voice of Mr. Magoo and Thurston Howell on Gilligan’s Island.
Who played Gilligan?
Bob Denver
Where’s the Yungchen Salt Lake?
In China’s Shangxi province, which is in the Eastern middle of China under Mongolia
Why is Xiexchi Lake (Yungchen Salt Lake) so many different colors?
The colors are caused by the algae Dunaliella salina, which turns red when exposed to high salinity and light intensity. When the plant produces protective carotenoid cells in response to the harsh environment, it makes colors. It’s green in normal marine environments.
Why does the Yungchen Salt Lake have more life in it than the Dead Sea?
The Dead Sea is chloride-based whereas Yungchen is Sulfate-based.
What are los penitentes
An outgrowth of Catholicism is Spain. Men do penance by wearing tall conical hoods, colors represent the division on Santa Semana (holy week) They predate and have nothing to do with the clan.
How are the penitentes hoods different from the KKk?
The penitentes hoods are much taller.
Who were the Hermanos Penitentes of New Mexico and Colorado?
A Catholic order of usually Hispanic men who would do penance for their sins by self mutilation such as flogging, cutting their backs, tying cactuses to their backs and kneeling on rocks. They were not endorsed by the Vatican. Outsiders considered them to be a secretive cult. During 1800s
What was Persepolis?
The capital of the Persian Achaemenid empire from Darius I the Great to its destruction in 330 BC
Who destroyed Persepolis?
Alexander the Great
Historical order of 3 main Persian kings?
Cyrus the Great (founder)
Cambyses his son
Darius I the Great (moved capital to Persepolis
Xerxes I Darius’s son
Which Persian emperor allowed the Jews to go home to rebuild Israel?
Cyrus the Great.
Where in Iran was Persepolis located? What’s interesting about where it was?
East of Shiraz and Bushehr off Persian Gulf. Persepolis was in a very remote, hard to reach area and it took the Greeks awhile to find it.
In Star Trek, what are Caitians?
Cat people, appeared throughout the series
Who was the King of England during the revolutionary war?
George III
How many George’s ruled during the Georgian period? They were from the house of …?
Hanover. 3 Georgians, culminating in George the III who lost the colonies. No his grandson George VI, not fondly remembered
Who is considered to be the first King of England?
Athelstan 895-935 of Wessex, first to defeat Vikings and consolidate England
Who invented lava lamps?
Edward Craven-Walker
Oil and vinegar don’t mix because ?
The molecules in each substance have no attraction to one another. They’re immiscible
What makes the globs in the lava lamps move up and down?
Heat causes the globs to be less dense, but once they float to the top, it’s cooler up there, so they loose heat and sink.
What are the floating globs in lava lamps made of?
Mostly paraffin wax
What is «Sauvignon» in French?
Wild vine. Sauvage and vigne
Type of grape that predates domestication of grape vines
What are homophones?
Phones: pronounced alike but with different meanings and/or spellings. (Two, to, too or quail the bird, quail the bird)
What are homographs?
Spelled alike but different in meaning or pronunciation. (Bow & arrow, bow of ship or quail bird quail verb)
What are homonyms?
Either a homophone or a homograph. Any word that sounds alike different meaning or spelled alike with a different meaning.
How can one remember the difference between homophones, homographs, and homonyms?
Greek roots!
Homo = same
Phone = sound phonos
Graph = write grapheine
Nym = name onyma
History of Thanksgiving holiday?
First proclaimed by George Washington in 1789. 1863 Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to officially fall on the last Thursday of November.
What year was the legendary «first thanksgiving» at Plymouth Rock?
1621
Which President tried to move Thanksgiving up by one week to stimulate the economy and was met with much resistance?
FDR in 1939
Was Thanksgiving celebrated in colonial America?
Religious Thanksgiving days were declared to give thanks for a bountiful harvest, but days varied. Second recorded Thanksgiving day feast occurred full two years after first.
Interesting facts about Squanto
Mostly known as the interpreter between pilgrims and Wampanoag
Was forcibly taken to Europe twice
Last of the Patuxet tribe
Real native name Tisquantum
When did Sir John Pringle live? What was his major accomplishment?
1707-1782 founder of modern military medicine. His work led to the Red Cross. He advanced the procedures of army camps and hospitals to improve sanitation.
John Pringle’s famous friend?
Benjamin Franklin
During what war did John Pringle first improve the condition of the military hospitals?
The War of Austrian Succession
Who was the last English Monarch to lead his army into battle in person?
King George II
How did John Pringle improve the military hospitals?
Improved ventilation
Waste disposal
Overcrowding
Field hospitals place in neutral zones
Each soldier got his own blanket
What was the theory of putrefaction as the cause for the spread of disease?
Cold, damp conditions caused the pores in the body to close, noxious substances would accumulate inducing body humors to turn against blood and organs causing them to putrefy.
When was the War of Austrian Succession?
1740-1748
Who fought who during the War of Austrian Succession?
Austria, England, Hanover, Dutch Republic against France, Prussia and Bavaria
What years did John Pringle improve sanitary conditions in military hospitals?
1742 start of Austrian Succession War - 1750s
What country is the sloth bear’s habitat?
India, some of Nepal and Sri Lanka.
What do sloth bears eat?
Ants and termites and fruit.
Why are there so many sloth bear attacks in India.
Too many people are pushing in on their habitat. Sloth bears react aggressively when surprised because they have to fight off tigers.
What does myrmecophagous mean?
Feeding on ants
Etymology of word “India”
From Sindhu, Sanskrit word for River. Persia and people in between pronounced S as H leading to Hindu then Indus and India. India means “land of or beyond” Indus.
What city is regarded as most holy in Hinduism?
Varanasi in the state of Uttar Pradesh. People go there to bathe or be cremated in the Ganges
What exactly is/was Bavaria?
The largest of the German states and kingdoms when they United in 1871 to form the German Empire. Located in the southeast and ethnically different from the north.
What was Prussia?
Essentially, Germany, mainly the Northern part along Baltic Sea.
When did Prussia become Germany?
1871 after Franco-German War
When did Prussia end?
It’s part of Germany, but it lost its supremacy after WWI. Most of its territories were lost in the Treaty of Versailles.
When was World War I?
1914-1918
What treaty ended World War I?
The Treaty of Versailles
What is Kumbh Mela?
in Hinduism, a religious festival that is celebrated four times over the course of 12 years, the site of the observance rotating between four pilgrimage places on four sacred rivers. Also called Kumbha Mela
What are the four locations considered holy for Kumbh Mela?
Nashik on the Godavari River, Prayagraj on the confluence of the Ganges and Jamuna, and Sarasvati? Ujjain on the Shipra River, Haridwar on The Ganges.
What is the main purpose of Kumbh Mela?
To wash away one’s sins in the sacred rivers.
What does “Uttar Pradesh”
And Andhra Pradesh mean?
Uttar Pradesh = North State
Andhra Pradesh = South
Madhya = Central
What was filth theory?
The theory that bad air or excrement, decaying matter, general dirtiness caused disease. Preceded germ theory.
What does “Devi” mean in Hindi and Sanskrit?
“Goddess” divine excellence
Also title for a married woman
What creatures eat ants?
Anteaters, aardvarks, armadillos, pangolins, sloth bears, people. Ant lion (an insect) birds:Antpittas , antbirds, flickers, sparrows,
Horned lizards
Pitcher plant
What is collagen?
Collagen is a hard, insoluble, and fibrous protein that makes up one-third of the protein in the human body. Found throughout body but mostly in bones, muscles, tendons
Collagen in skin
Fibrils in dermis support upper and new skin cells. When it’s depleted, there’s wrinkles
What is Typhus?
A disease caused by a bacteria called rickettsiae. Symptoms: purple rash, headache, delirium. High mortality during wars and famine. Vectors include mites, ticks, rat fleas, lice
Difference between typhus and typhoid fever?
Both involve fever. Typhus is transmitted through tiny pest bites whereas Typhoid comes from ingestion of fecal bacteria.
Difference between typhus and typhoid symptoms?
Typhus symptoms come on suddenly: headache purplish rash starts on trunk, low blood pressure, delirium
Typhoid: red spotted rash, symptoms gradual over longer period of time, stomach ache, bloating
Rickettsia bacteria versus salmonella typhi?
Rickettsia causes Typhus
Salmonella Typhi causes Typhoid
What was the first written account of typhus?
During the siege of Granada by the Spanish in 1489.
Historical casualties from Typhus?
Granada: 3,000 soldiers died in battle, 17,000 died from Typhus
1759 estimate that 25% of English prisoners died of Typhus
Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow: approximately 100,000!soldiers died in battle, 300,000 died from Typhus.
Etymology of Typhus
Comes from Greek word typhos meaning smoky or hazy
Greatest number of typhus deaths occurred…?
During World War I in Russia, Poland, Romania and other Eastern European countries.
Why is Jammu Kashmir disputed territory.
When Britain gave India and Pakistan independence and divided them into two countries in 1947 it stated the region can decide for itself. The population was mostly Muslim but let by a Hindu prince. The maharaja wanted to be independent, but Pakistani militants threatened him so he signed an agreement to belong to India. After many battles, certain regions went to both sides and some to China.
Who played the young couple in the first Gremlins movie?
Not Judge Reinhold and Phobe Cates
Zach Galligan
What happened in the Karakoram mountain range in 1989
11 Pakistani soldiers led by Major Abdul Bilal saw two Indian sentries looking at them. He told them to leave. They loaded their weapons so shots were exchanged and one of the Indian men were killed. The battle of Peak 22,158 is the highest lethal ground combat ever recorded.
How did assistant geographer Robert Hodgson fuel the dispute in the Siachen Glacier region in 1968?
The Pakistani/Indian ceasefire line came to an abrupt stop before the Chinese border leaving approximately 40 miles in limbo. He drew a straight line to the border using the Karakoram pass of the ancient Silk Road as a marker. India wasn’t consulted.
What problems arise when drawing boundaries on maps?
A person’s village or property could be widely shown as being in the wrong country. During wartime, the wrong location could be bombed. A misplaced tiny line in The seemingly insignificant place could have major repercussions.
What region did China seize in 1969?
The high desert area of Aksai Chin formerly in disputed Kashmir.
Why did the Indian-Pakistani ceasefire line stop at NJ9842?
NJ9842 is the coordinate that stops 40 miles from the Chinese border. There was no line through the rugged, uninhabited heart of Karakoram. There was no population or natural resources to protect.
What’s the earliest definite outbreak of Typhus?
1489 in Spain. The Spanish army was trying to oust the Moors. The outbreak killed 17,000 of the 25,000 soldiers whereas only 3,000 died in combat.
Three names associated with germ theory
Chemist/Microbiologist Louis Pasteur
English Surgeon John Lister
German Physician Robert Koch
In the 1800s
How would one pasteurize something?
Heat it to kill all microorganisms
Louis Pasteurs contributions
Fermentation is caused by microorganisms
Pasteurization
Molecular asymmetry: molecules can have the same chemical composition with different structures
Contribution to germ theory
Developed vaccines for anthrax and rabies
Jospeh Lister’s contributions
Founder of antiseptic medicine
Applied germ theory to surgery
Reduced post surgery mortality from 50% to 15% approximately
What did Lister use to sterilize surgical instruments and wounds
Carbolic acid (phenol)
Listerine gets its name from…?
John Lister
When was Ireland plagued by Typhus epidemics?
Early part of 1800s. 1816-1819, late 1830s, 1846-1849 (during Great Irish Famine)
What is quercetin
A pigment found in many plants of the flavonoid group. A dietary supplement.
What foods have quercetin
Red Apples, honey, raspberries, onions, red grapes, cherries, leafy vegetables, tomatoes, Kale, red onions, capers, black, green and elderberry teas.
Medical benefits of quercetin?
Anti inflammatory, boost immunity, antioxidant that fights free radicals, improves blood vessel health and blood flow.
What did Robert Koch contribute to Germ Theory?
Discovered the disease cycle of Anthrax including that spores could remain viable for a long time and through hard conditions, (1876) Also discovered bacteria responsible for tuberculosis and cholera.
Pioneered techniques for studying microbes and their effects.
The concept that organisms could be cultivated outside the body was introduced by…
Louis Pasteur
What interesting idea is found in the writings of Roman encylopaedist, Marcus Terentius Varro in 100 BC
Disease was caused by tiny imperceptible particles entering the body.
First person to show that disease caused by microorganisms?
Agostino Bassi, 1808 and 1813, discovered a microscopic parasite fungus that plagued silkworms.
Where is anthrax found naturally?
In soil which is how wild animals get it.
How does one contract anthrax?
It’s not contagious. You get anthrax from breathing, ingestion or entrance into an open wound of spores.
What’s interesting about the Anthrax bacteria?
It’s not contagious, but it forms spores in dry conditions. These spores can be viable for 100 years and withstand very high and very low temperatures.
