Quizzes & Puzzles 15

Some new problems with which to exercise the brain. But first a look at answers and solutions to Quizzes & Puzzles 14. New problems below the image (cartoon).

Answer to Quiz 14:1

Which author wrote:

“I have great faith in fools — self-confidence my friends will call it.”

This was written by Edgar Allan Poe in his “Marginalia”. You can read more about Poe in my Poe: A Personal View.

Answer to Quiz 14:2

There are many Roman Catholics here; let's see how much you know about papal heraldry... Pope Benedict XVI broke with tradition in a detail concerning papal symbols. He changed something. What?

Pope Benedict XVI broke with tradition in that he substituted a mitre for the tiara in the crest of the papal coat-of-arms. It sounds like a trifle, but was actually a strong marking of a change in the pope's self-image. The present pope chose to follow the same line. You can see the mitre (the headgear at the top) at the coat of arms of Pope Francis. And on this page you can see the coats of arms of the three most recent popes, with the possibility to compare the mitre used by the last two with the tiara used by John Paul II.

Answer to Quiz 14:3

You have all seen or heard of rasta braids, dreadlocks. But why is it called “rasta”? From “Rastafarians”, okay, but what is the origin of that word?

The origin is the original name of Ethiopia's emperor Haile Selassie, who, before he ascended the throne in 1930, was named Tafari Makonnen. He also got the title Ras, a mark of high nobility, and was known as Ras Tafari Makonnen. There you have it: Ras Tafari.

Haile Selassie was seen by the Rastafarians as a sort of Messiah, or the second coming of Jesus, and they believed that he would never die. Haile Selassie himself denied all such claims.

Answer to Quiz 14:4

… look at the following and tell me which of these fruits are berries botanically. And note that I do not say how many they are.

• Blueberry

• Strawberry

• Apple

• Banana

• Raspberry

• Kiwi

• Rowanberry

• Cherry

• Papaya

Botanically, the following are berries: blueberry, banana, kiwi, rowan berry and papaya.

Strawberry and raspberry are aggregate fruits. Cherry is a stonefruit (related to plums and peaches). Apple is a completely different fruit that doesn't belong here at all.

Answer to Quiz 14:5

When is a ring a square?

A boxing ring is a square (as @MD_Tibro correctly answered).

Answer to Quiz 14:6

All of you have read murder stories or seen crime series and movies; what is “rigor mortis” and how can it help in a criminal investigation?

Due to chemical changes in a dead body, the muscles become stiff. Stiffness appears gradually, starting in the face about two hours after death. It develops further through the body until the whole body is stiff about six to eight hours after death. The stiffness disappears about a day after death. This stiffness is called “rigor mortis”. Since the progressing rigor mortis is relatively predictive, the level of stiffness in the body can often be used to determine how long time has passed since death.

In practice, it is not always that straightforward and clear, but it's the principle.

@Sydney2 was on the right track here, even if her answer was incomplete.

Quiz 15:1

Once upon a time, somewhere, a horse was formally made a senator. What was the name of the horse, and where did this take place?

Quiz 15:2

Acute deficiency of certain vitamins (avitaminosis) manifests itself as specified and named illnesses. Which vitamin are you missing if you suffer from:

• Pellagra?

• Scurvy?

• Rickets?

Quiz 15:3

How is “satisfaction” connected with old Egypt?

Quiz 15:4

Who was Akira Kurosawa? What was his profession?

Quiz 15:5

What is Popul Vuh, and with which people/culture is it associated?

Quiz 15:6

This is an anonymous painting showing John of Austria, Marcantonio Colonna, and Sebastiano Venier. (Image is in the Public Domain. The original in Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.)

These three were considered the victors of a famous and decisive battle in history – what battle?

You'll find answers and solutions in the next “Quizzes & Puzzles”.

Quizzes & Puzzles has its own label in my Index, where all issues of the series can be found.

In my INDEX, you can find all my writings on Read.Cash, sorted by topic.

Copyright © 2022 Meleonymica/Mictorrani. All Rights Reserved

(Cartoon by Christian Dorn/Pixabay, CC0/Public Domain

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