Amazon River Trivia

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Jane

The Amazon River Basin remains one of the most unchanged and undisturbed areas on the planet. The Amazon River itself, is a mecca of animal, plant and fish life. There are very few people who live on the Amazon and life there has changed very little in the past hundred years. There still remains much to be learned about and from this wonderful unique area of the planet.

The Amazon river is the second longest river in the world. It is 6280 km (4080 miles) in length. The only other river that is longer is the Nile River in Africa.

The width of the Amazon varies between 6 and 11 km. It is among the widest rivers in the world.

The river was named by Spanish explorer Francisco Orellana. Francisco was part of an expedition that was exploring the interior of South America. He and his men began their journey on the Coca River and followed it until it joined the Napo River. Francisco and his crew continued tracking the Napo River eastward, and discovered that it merged in to the Negro River and then into the Rio Grande (what is now called the Amazon).

The Amazon River is known to be the home of more than 2500 species of fish. New varieties are still being identified. Continue reading →

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Oyster Trivia

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Jane

Oysters which used to be considered a poor man’s food are now one of the world’s delicacies. There are hundreds of ways that an oyster can be prepared and eaten. They are also the subject of many myths and old wives tales. What are the facts about oysters?

Casanova ate oysters every day.

Oysters are able to change their sex. Most oysters are male for the first year of their lives and then become female by the age of two or three.

An oyster eats by taking nutrients out of the water. It does this by filtering the water. An oyster is capable of filtering 60 gallons of water every day.

Oysters may contain viruses. Special care is needed to handle and eat oysters.

One common virus carried by the oyster is norovirus. The norovirus can cause gastroenteritis, or stomach flu. The most common symptoms of this are diarrhea, vomiting and cramps. This condition can be fatal.

Oysters can be eaten year round. There is an old wives tale that says you should only eat oysters in months that have a “r”. in them. This a myth. Continue reading →

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Potato Trivia

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Jane

Potatoes are probably one of the most versatile vegetables on the planet. They are grown on every continent except Antarctica, and they are able to grow in almost any condition. There are also countless ways of cooking and preparing them. The potato can be baked, boiled, broiled, fried, scalloped and the list goes on and on. Potatoes are one of the world’s most important crops.

Potatoes were first cultivated in Peru. Potatoes were an important food source for the ancient Incans. They could grow and store potatoes at elevations over 10 00 feet. Potatoes could be frozen and stored and would not spoil or lose their food value.

The potato had become a staple of the Irish diet by the early 1800s. In 1845 and 1846 the potato crops in Ireland were destroyed by a fungus. The result of this devastation was a widespread famine, which became known as the Irish Potato Famine. During this time many families immigrated to the New World.

The space shuttle Columbia took potato plants into space in 1995. This was the first time that food was grown in space. Continue reading →

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Stonehenge Trivia

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Jane

Stonehenge is one of the world’s oldest mysteries. Why was this huge monument built? Was it a simply a burial mound? Was it built perform rituals and ceremonies, as the alter stone suggests? It is perfectly aligned to match the mid summer solstice, Why? Was it used as an observatory or part of an astronomy festival. And just as mysterious, how was it built? These riddles are still puzzling the world’s best scholars today. And, while the mystery remains thousands flock every year to visit this incredible wonder of the Neolithic and bronze age.

Stonehenge is owned by the crown, but. the land around Stonehenge is owned by the National Trust. Management of Stonehenge is handled by the English Heritage. Millions of tourists every year visit Stonehenge.

Stonehenge is without a doubt the most famous of Britain’s stone circles but it is by no means the only one. Over 1000 different stone circles are known to exist in Britain and other parts of Western Europe. Avebury, Arbor Low, Long Meg and her Daughters are among the more well known circles.

Stonehenge was constructed during the Neolithic and bronze age. Continue reading →

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Board Game Trivia

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Jane

Board games have been played for thousands of years. Almost every ancient culture played some kind of game. Games can be as easy as Tic Tac Toe or as complex as Risk. Games can be strategy oriented, luck based or a combination of the two. They have steadily grown in popularity over the years as more and more people have the leisure time to enjoy them and also because they are becoming more available and there is a much greater variety. There is a game for everyone.

Senet may be the world’s oldest board game. The first known record of this game dates back to about 3500BC. It was played in the area which would later become ancient Egypt.

The Jiroft civilization, which was an early bronze age civilization, is also known to have board games. This culture was located in the area which is now Iran. Their games date back to 3500BC.

Senet games were often found in the tombs of ancient Egyptians. The Senet game board is made up of a grid of 30 squares, 3 rows by 10 columns. The actual rules of the game are unknown, but their have been many suggested theories as to how it might have been played. Continue reading →

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Science Trivia

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Jane

Science is truly wonderful. Thanks to science we have travelled to the moon and back, we have sent probes into deep space that will reach the outer limits of our solar system. Science has given us ways of communicating with people all over in the world in just fractions of a second. It has enabled us to understand and eliminate many diseases. However, there is the other part of science, the strange, the weird and the just plain odd experiments that really make you wonder.

One such strange study was done by the Institute of Coastal Research in Sweden. Their study involved listening to the sounds that herrings make. More specifically, actual herring farts. Yes, they were listening and recording herring farts.

Belly button lint (BBL) was the subject of another research project. Some of the final conclusions of the study were that males have more BBL than females and older hairy males had more BBL than their younger counter parts. The study was also able to conclude that people who had outies had virtually little or no lint. They also determined that the color of the lint had a direct relationship to the color of clothing worn by the person.

One study compared the distance that a dog flea can jump vs. the distance that a cat flea can jump. Continue reading →

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Halloween Trivia

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Jane

Halloween is celebrated on the 31st of October. Halloween is actually a short form for the name, All Hallow’s Eve.

In Canada and the US, Halloween is celebrated by wearing costumes and trick or treating. Many of the traditions and games associated with Halloween come from Ireland, Germany and England. Popular Halloween traditions also stem from both pagan and christian beliefs.

The colors of Halloween are black and orange.

Seeing a spider on Halloween is said to be very lucky. A spider on this day is believed to be the spirit of a loved one watching you.

Every year in the US, about two billion dollars worth of candy is purchased for Halloween. Halloween candy is given out as part of trick or treating. Children dressed in costumes go from door to door, saying the words trick or treat. According to custom if a person gives a treat to the child, the child will go to the next house but if they do not give a treat, the home owner may discover that a prank or trick has been played on them.

On Halloween if you want to meet a witch, you have to wear your clothes inside out and walk backwards.
Continue reading →

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Shark Trivia

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Jane

An unthinking, savage killing machine, a predator who has roamed the seas unchanged and unchallenged for hundreds of years, that is how Hollywood would have us think of the shark. Films have portrayed this creature as something to be feared and hunted. Certainly, as the top of the food chain, a shark is deserving of respect but it is also deserving of understanding. The more we learn about these fish, the better we will be able to move and function in their world.

Jacques Cousteau once said that the most dangerous kind of shark was the white tipped shark. Jacques claimed that the white tipped shark was “the only species of shark that is never frightened by the approach of a diver, and they are the most dangerous of all sharks.”

You are more likely to be hit by lightening than get bitten by a shark.

Other experts have argued that the tiger shark is the most dangerous kind of shark on the planet. They are responsible for more unprovoked attacks than any other type of shark.

Sharks are found in all the oceans of the world. They have been found at depths of over 9 000 feet.
Continue reading →

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J. R. R. Tolkien Trivia

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Jane

J. R. R. Tolkien is viewed by many as the Father of Modern Fantasy Literature. Ronald, as he preferred to be called, was honored by Queen Elizabeth II with the Order of the British Empire n 1972. Tolkien’s works included far more than just the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, although those are probably his best-known novels. Tolkien and his many works have inspired countless young authors and writers to reach beyond the normal bounds of writing, and create not just characters but completely new worlds and lands. Ronald is truly one of the greatest creative authors of the 20th century.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on the 3rd of January in 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Although his first name was John, most people called him Ronald.

When Ronald was 16, he met Edith Mary Bratt. Edith was not only three years older than Ronald, she was also a protestant. Ronald was a Catholic. They were married in 1916 on the 22nd of March. At that time Mary converted to the Catholic faith.

Ronald was an orphan by the age of 12. His father died of Rheumatic Fever while the rest of the family was in England visiting relatives. His mother died of acute diabetes while they were renting a small cottage in Rednal.

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Candle Trivia

Posted on February 2, 2010 by Jane

Candles have drastically changed over the years. In past times candles were more functional than decorative. The most common candles were made right in the home and often used as the primary light source. They were made from tallow, were an off white color and would burn with a lot of smoke. Today’s candles are colorful, scented and decorative. They are made from numerous different materials which provide not only beauty but wonderful aromas.

Chinese Proverb
It is better to light a candle
then to curse the darkness

– People who are buying candles for their home use three main factors when making their selection. Their first consideration is fragrance, shape and color are a far distant second.

– Americans spend close to 2 billion dollars every year on candles.

– Candles have been used as clocks by many different cultures. Candles were an effective way of keeping time on a cloudy day or at night.

– In India, temples would make candles from cinnamon. They would boil the cinnamon and extract the wax.

Continue reading →

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