GEMS FOR THE SOUL
General Knowledge Quiz From Fun Trivia

By Deanna Mascle

Question: Who were ziggurats?

Answer: Stepped towers or temple towers

Interesting Fact: A temple tower of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.

Question: Who wrote Bambi?

Answer: Siegmund Salzmann aka Felix Salten

Interesting Fact: Bambi, ein Leben im Walde (Bambi, A Life in the Woods) is a book by Felix Salten, first printed in 1923. Bambi is the name of the main character, a male roe deer beginning life as a fawn, then an adolescent spike, and finally a buck. Felix Salten was the pen-name of Siegmund Salzmann, who was born in Budapest, Hungary but grew up in Vienna, Austria. The book was translated from German into English by Whittaker Chambers, who needed to supplement his income while working at a Communist newspaper. Felix Salten wrote a sequel, entitled Bambi’s Children.

Question: What percent of its life does an albatross spend gliding?

Answer: 90 percent

Interesting Fact: Albatrosses are among the most spectacular gliders of all birds; in windy weather they can stay aloft for hours without flappin’ their wings. They drink seawater and usually eat squid. Albatrosses come ashore only to breed, in colonies typically established on remote oceanic islands. Adults of common species attain wingspans of 7–11 feet. Albatrosses live long and may be among the few birds to die of old age. They were once held in awe by seamen, who held that killing one would bring bad luck.

Question: What is the world’s smallest primate?

Answer: Lesser mouse lemur

Interesting Fact: These are one ounce in size and are nocturnal, with correspondingly large eyes, and essentially arboreal, with relatively long tails. The tarsal bones in the heel region of the foot are mildly elongated. The fur is dense and woolly in all species. As a general rule, species inhabiting the eastern rainforest tend to be rufous (reddish brown) in dorsal coloration, while those living in the dryer forests in the west are grayer. In all species, the ventral fur is considerably lighter and varies from white through cream to yellowish brown. The external ears (pinnae) are relatively large and, in some species, very conspicuous.

Question: In Sept. 1925 what safety feature was added to London streets?

Answer: White lines to mark the center of the road

Interesting Fact: The idea of painting a centre white line was first experimented in 1921 in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. Following complaints by residents over reckless driving and several collisions, the Sutton Coldfield Corporation decided to paint the line on Maney Corner in the area of Maney.

Question: How many different kinds of animals are represented in animal crackers?

Answer: 37 in total

Interesting Fact: Animal shaped crackers, first produced in 1902 by National Biscuit Co. as Barnum’s animal crackers.

Question: What creature can see both infra-red and ultra-violet light?

Answer: Goldfish

Interesting Fact: The common goldfish is the only animal that can see both infra-red and ultra-violet light. The goldfish was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated and is still one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish and water garden fish. It was first domesticated in China and introduced to Europe in the late 17th century.

Goldfish may grow to a maximum length of 23 inches and a maximum weight of 9.9 pounds. The oldest recorded goldfish lived to 49 years, but most household goldfish generally live only six to eight years. A group of goldfish is known as a troubling.

Question: Do rocks grow?

Answer: Some do

Interesting Fact: Some rocks do grow. Rocks called iron-manganese crusts grow on mountains under the sea. The crusts precipitate material slowly from seawater, growing about 1 millimeter every million years. The same rate your fingernails grow every two weeks.

Question: Who invented masking tape?

Answer: Richard G. Drew for 3M

Interesting Fact: Masking tape was invented in 1925 by 3M employee Richard Drew. Drew observed auto-body workers growing frustrated when they removed butcher paper they had taped to cars they were painting. The strong adhesive on the tape peeled off some of the paint they had just applied. Touching up the damaged areas increased their costs. Drew realized the need for tape with a more gentle adhesive.

Question: What percent of the body’s energy does the human brain use?

Answer: 20 percent

Interesting Fact: The mature brain consumes some 20% of the energy used by the body, while the developing brain of an infant consumes around 60%.

Question: Big dinosaurs gulped these objects to aid with digestion?

Answer: Stones

Visit Deanna Mascle at Fun Trivia Online and her trivia blog Trivial Topics at  TrivialTopics.net