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Looks like, sounds like...

By Bill on October 6, 2007 | | Comments (21)

...everybody's sleeping in.

Soooo, just to see if your neurons are still triggering, here's a little quiz: passing grade is 40%.

Well, it's a *surprise* quiz, right?

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?

2) Which country makes Panama hats?

3) From which animal do we get catgut?

4) In which month did the Soviets celebrate the October Revolution?

5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?

6) The Canary Islands are named after what animal?

7) What was King George VI's first name?

8) What color is a purple finch?

9) Where do Chinese gooseberries come from?

10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?


All done? Check your answers in Flash Traffic (I gotta set the example for kat and ry, after all...).

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?

116 years

2) Which country makes Panama hats?

Ecuador

3) From which animal do we get catgut?

Sheep and Horses

4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?

November

5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?

Squirrel fur

6) The Canary Islands are named after what animal?

A dog

7) What was King George VI's first name?

Albert

8) What color is a purple finch?

Crimson

9) Where do Chinese gooseberries come from?

New Zealand

10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?

Orange, naturally.

Sooooooo, how'd ya do?

Yeah, I know this one's a chestnut -- don't change the subject.

Sooooooo, how'd ya do?

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21 Comments

By Instapilot on October 6, 2007 1:50 PM
This reminded me of my Electrical Engineering exams at USAFA...I got one (#10) right...and since this will probably be graded on the curve, I'll get, um, a C. Hey, my 28/100 got a B in a second-year EE course. Maybe that's why my BS was in Psychology.
 
By Barb on October 6, 2007 2:17 PM
I got 2 of 'em ... #3 and #10. Guess I'm not as trivial as I thought I was. Heh.
 
By BillT on October 6, 2007 3:27 PM
I didn't have a clue about #3. I dropped the ball on #4 because I totally forgot the Russians used the Julian Calendar until 1918. Dang. Wish I'd been born rich instead of witty, intelligent and good-lookin'. Now watch BCR chime in with an ace...
 
By Maggie on October 6, 2007 5:05 PM
I'm surprised that you forgot about that Julian calendar thing too. I remember you telling me how when that happened, you were messed up for months!
 
By BillT on October 6, 2007 5:29 PM
Yeah, but that was during the *original* change, back in 1752. Ummmm, anything I goofed up *after* that comes under the heading of Short-Term Memory Loss...
 
By bad cat robot on October 6, 2007 5:30 PM
1) not a hundred years, I remembered that much. Silly Europeans never read the spec. 2)Don't know/Don't care/stupid hats 3)Not cats, I remembered that much. Otherwise there would be a lot more maimed violinists. 4)My first guess was Thermidor. I get these revolutions mixed up. 5)Not camel, I'm pretty sure about this. 6)I thought it was Canary wine which isn't usually classified as an animal although I admit I haven't sampled any of the older years. 7) "Hey You". 8) There are PURPLE FINCHES???? 9) There are CHINESE GOOSEBERRIES??? 10) Orange. See, Bill? Yet another thing you can do better than me. Besides hypnotize a bucket of bolts into flying in formation, that is.
 
By jim b on October 6, 2007 5:45 PM
6) The Canary Islands are named after what animal? Okay was the dog named Canary, or did he just sing well?
 
By Martin Morehouse on October 6, 2007 7:49 PM
The Canaries are named after the canines found there by the Romans. Age helps me remember things like this, but not by personal experience of Roman canines, though.
 
By ry on October 6, 2007 9:11 PM
Only one I got was #4(amazing what you can remember from HS world history class). Knew catgut wasn't made of feline intestines, but not what it actually was made of. Yeah, I suck this week. So sue me.
 
By Justthisguy on October 6, 2007 9:18 PM
I got 2, 3, 4, and 10. I do threaten my kitty with being a tennis racket after death if he's not a good kitty, though. He just yawns. Dammit.
 
By BillT on October 6, 2007 11:14 PM
There are PURPLE FINCHES???? Yup. Got about ten of 'em that visit the feeder -- I thought they were fox sparrows 'til one of 'em decided to make a nest in the hanging geranium on the porch. Okay was the dog named Canary, or did he just sing well? Heh. The Canaries were named after the dogs (Insulae Canaris) and now the dogs are named after the Islands (Presa Canario). (amazing what you can remember from HS world history class). So you remembered something from last year. Big whoop...
 
By steveH on October 7, 2007 1:01 AM
Missed #1, 4, 5, and 7. My kids will surely mock me now.
 
By John of Argghhh! on October 7, 2007 6:49 AM
First: Maybe that's why my BS was in Psychology. [rimshot] And the Instapilot provides the comedy! I got 'em all. But only because I'd seen this thing before, on the innernuts, about 10 times. I think my original score was about 4.
 
By FbL on October 7, 2007 8:41 AM
I got four. *preens* Actually, very frustrating... I knew some of those weren't obvious but couldn't remember the answers. :P
 
By Pamela on October 7, 2007 8:49 AM
After living 15+ years in the Canary Islands, #6 is a question that comes up frequently. Actually, the dog is the accepted version, but it's not necessarily that straightforward: How Did That Canary Get Its Name?
 
By Boquisucio on October 7, 2007 10:23 AM
Seems like both Ancient Dawggies and a branch of my family both came from the Canaries. My ancestors came to The Island during the early 19th Century to pursue business opportunities in the sugar cane industry. They ended up co-owning a plantation on the grounds of what is now a Petroleum Refinery And though when speaking my natal tongue, I may sound like a Canarian, at least I don't bark like a Plinian Pooch
 
By HomefrontSix on October 7, 2007 6:37 PM
Let's see...I answered correctly (or close enough for government work) on 1,3,4,6,8, and 10. What do I win?????
 
By Murray on October 7, 2007 7:08 PM
BEEEHHHBBB Point of order Mr Speaker. "Chinese gooseberries" in fact came from China, as did a lot of gold prospectors and they now all own fruit and veg shops so it all worked out. Once here they were renamed "kiwifruit" (the Chinese gooseberries, NOT the gold prospectors) by the apple and pear marketing board and are exported as such. You call them kiwi because you are a. victims of marketing & b. Wrong. Hence "Chinese gooseberries" come from China & what comes from New Zealand is "kiwifruit". Don't act all suprised, you knew I'd be jumping in.
 
By BillT on October 7, 2007 11:15 PM
Once here they were renamed "kiwifruit"...by the apple and pear marketing board... So, we've got a Kiwi goosing the Chinese and the Apple and Pear Marketing Board giving everybody else the berries? And why does the Apple and Pear Marketing Board have naming rights over berries? Can they market honey under the name "Trebuchet treacle"? Besides, the question was, "Where do Chinese gooseberries come from?" They may have *originated* in China, but they *come* here from New Zealand. Which is okay, because now the grocers don't have to worry about 'em being recalled for too much lead in the seeds or insufficient tread in the rind or whatever...
 
By Cricket on October 8, 2007 8:53 AM
I got a couple. IOW, I went down in flames.
 
By Murray on October 8, 2007 4:03 PM
Nup, you're on a hiding to nothing there Bill. For a start no one buys Chinese gooseberries from New Zealand, they buy kiwifruit. The A&P Marketing board have naming rights because they're the guys who market our fruit. By the they renamed them again because frankly it pisses us off that they've allowed people to thing kiwi are fruit but the damage is done and no one knows they're suposed to be calling them something else now. If only we could get them to sell some of the fruits in our parliament they'd be of some use to us. Chinese gooseberries come from China and still do. Just that no one buys them. Lead content or formaldehyde or something. Just because you choose to purchase something from one place rather than the source that doesn't make its point of origin. We're just the middle man in this fruit salad. Interestingly France doesn't buy any. Apparently they can't stand the green piece in the middle.