Quizzes & Puzzles 43

Some new problems with which to exercise the brain. But first a look at answers and solutions to Quizzes & Puzzles 42. New problems below the image (cartoon).

Answer to Quiz 42:1

Which king had a stinking chronic infection in his mouth too such a degree that it affected his court protocol (nobody was allowed to come close to the king)? At the time, this king was the most powerful monarch in Europe.

It was French King Louis XIV (1638–1715), "Le Roi Soleil". I quote from my article Dentistry - A Modern Luxury? Why Do We Need It?:

"Louis Quatorze", "Le Roi Soleil", King Louis XIV of France (1638–1715), might have been one of the most powerful men in Europe of his time. But in one way you are probably all more privileged than he was: you have access to adequate dentistry. Of course he had dentists, physicians, and surgeons - but they were not very qualified. The consequences of that deeply affected the king's life.

In 1685, King Louis's doctors removed an aching tooth, resulting in an infection, a dangerous condition, and inflammation of gums, jawbones and sinuses. All his upper teeth had to be removed. This operation damaged his palate and jawbone. The infection became chronic. The king lived the rest of his life with a terribly stinking mouth. That might even have affected the court protocol. Louis, well aware of his problem, wanted to keep people at a distance.“

Answer to Quiz 42:2

What is “the Hammer of Witches”, or “Malleus Maleficarum”?

• A weapon?

• A book?

• An object of worship?

It is a Medieval book, written by Henricus Institor and published in 1486. Although condemned by the Inquisition, it had a profound influence on culture. It dealt with witchcraft and sorcery, proclaimed it as heresy and encouraged the use of torture for confession, and then death penalty. It strongly contributed to the brutality in the prosecution of witchcraft during the 1500s and 1600s.

Answer to Quiz 42:3

Mental health problem, colour, celebration, heavy metal,… to what am I referring?

If I should give you one more clue, it would be “music”.

The answer is “Paranoid” with and by Black Sabbath, which came 1970. The genre it represents is “heavy metal”. There is never an absolute beginning of a musical genre, it evolves gradually, but if we presume to set a borderline for the birth of heavy metal, it was Black Sabbath's Paranoid.

Answer to Quiz 42:4

I have previously written about how not everything called nuts are nuts in a botanical sense, and analogous about berries; this time we will look at fruit. Cultural and botanical definitions sometimes differ; so, which of the following are fruits, in the botanical sense?

• orange

• tomato

• cabbage

• cucumber

• kiwi

• radish

• bell pepper

• blueberry

• carrot

• avocado

Orange, tomato, cucumber, kiwi, bell pepper, blueberry, and avocado are fruits. The simplest way to be sure of that is the observation that they contain seeds. Incidentally, it can be interesting to know that coffee beans (which in reality are berries) are fruit as well.

Answer to Quiz 42:5

Imsety, Qebehsenuef, Hapy, and Duamutef – who was their father?

Their father was Egyptian god Horus.

The image above shows canopy jars, in which removed organs were saved for burial. They are in the shapes of Horus' sons. Each son protected one organ: Imsety protected the liver, Qebehsenuef the intestines, Hapy the lungs, and Duamutef the stomach. Read more in Egyptian Mummies & Mummification. (Photo: lakewooducc/Pixabay. CC0/Public Domain.)

Answer to Quiz 42:6

By which gland is the hormone thyroxine produced?

The thyroid gland.

And now some new exercises for brain & memory...

Quiz 43:1

Titania and Oberon are the largest of something – of what?

Quiz 43:2

Who is the highest deity in Japanese mythology?

Quiz 43:3

Latin is sometimes considered a “dead” language. But although it is not used in everyday speech, it is highly alive and indirectly present in many other languages, as well as within certain disciplines and areas of activity. Some expressions are often used in Latin without translation.

Do you know what these common expressions in Latin mean?

• terra incognita

• magnum opus

• per se

• post mortem

Quiz 43:4

In the retina of the eye, we find the yellow spot (macula lutea). What two pigments make it yellow?

The two pigments, which protect eyes and vision, are carotenoids that need to be regularly replenished, and we get them from our food. I want the names of these two carotenoids.

Quiz 43:5

"I resolved, if possible, to get to the ship; so I pulled off my clothes, for the weather was hot to extremity, and took to the water." ... "I found that all the ship's provisions were dry; and being well disposed to eat, I went to the bread room and filled my pockets with biscuits."

Who is this man, who still had pockets although he was naked? His name is the same as the title of the novel this is quoted from. Without doubt, he is one of the most well known literary characters in the world.

And who is the author responsible for this literary lapse?

Puzzle 43:6

• Form a number consisting of two digits or more (no upper limit, but let's say not more than 8 digits for this example).

• Create a new number by rearranging the digits of the first one, randomly or in any way you want.

• Subtract the lesser number from the larger one.

• Remove one digit from the result (not a zero) – but don't tell me which.

• Tell me the rest of the digits in any order you want.

• Now I can tell you which digit you removed.

But how is it done? How can I calculate which number you removed?

Copyright © 2022 Meleonymica/Mictorrani. All Rights Reserved

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

(All the images are in the Public Domain.)