Quizzes & Puzzles 49

Some new problems with which to exercise the brain. But first a look at answers and solutions to Quizzes & Puzzles 48. New problems below the image (cartoon).

Answer to Quiz 48:1

In which way does the pupil of a cat differ from that of a human?

A cat's pupil is a slit, becoming round when dilated maximally. A human pupil is round all the time, with only the size changing.

The reason for having a vertical pupil has to do with depth vision and the determination of distance; vertical pupils are for predators. It also affects the ability to adjust the eye to different levels of light/darkness, making it possible to see well in as well strong sunlight as in darkness (or nearly so).

@Sylv_Sylv gave me an answer I chose to accept, although with one reservation. (See comments.)

Answer to Quiz 48:2

If we talk about Ormuzd and Ahriman, which religion are we discussing then?

Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest still practised religions on earth.

Answer to Quiz 48:3

Cobalt is used as a pigment in artist's colours, which colour does it give?

• Red​?

• Yellow?

• Blue?

• Violet?

• Black?

• White?

The right answer is blue. There were several readers who knew that: @fantagira , @Sashaa and @Tomi-Ajax .

Answer to Quiz 48:4

What did Popeye eat to become strong?

He did eat spinach, canned spinach. He always seemed to have a can available. I received right answers from @TheGuy , @fantagira and @Trifecta .

Spinach does, indeed, stimulate the growth of muscles. I quote my article Medicine, Modern Superstition & Flawed Paradigms:

“Incidentally, speaking about eating as a buffalo or a gorilla: Popeye was right; it has been proved that spinach stimulates the formation of muscular tissue. Indeed, most, if not all green leaves do so.”

Further about Popeye:

"Popeye is a cartoon character, turning up for the first time in January 1927, who gets superhuman strength by eating spinach.

Why did Popeye's creator, Segar, choose spinach for his character? He cannot have been aware of scientific results which are still today quite new. Yet he did hardly choose it without any reason.

It has repeatedly been claimed that it was because of its content of iron, although that seems to be a mistake. At least one serious study of the reason has been made, and it indicates that the story about iron is false, and that Segar chose spinach for its content of vitamin A.”

Answer to Quiz 48:5

A writer, in an indirect sense a saintly man, half Chinese, a fact that for a long time blocked him from getting a permanent residence permit in the country where he actually resided. His literary creations belong entirely to the popular culture. It is in no way deep or difficult literature, and perhaps it is more known from a television series than from books. Who was he?

The answer is Leslie Charteris. In his third novel, Meet the Tiger (1928), he introduced Simon Templar, commonly known as “The Saint”.

Charteris was born in Singapore in 1907, but moved to the United States in 1932. However, the Chinese Exclusion Act, prohibited immigration of persons of “50% or greater” Oriental ancestry. Charteris, whose father was Chinese, had to stay on a repeatedly renewed six months visitor's visa. Later, he and his daughter were given permanent residence by an Act of Congress.

In the 1960s, The Saint became a TV-series, with Roger Moore in the role as Simon Templar. A great success. Not at least for Roger Moore, who, for a large audience, came to remain strongly identified with ”The Saint” for the rest of his life. Or, maybe we should turn that around. Roger Moore was also identified with Brett Sinclair and James Bond - but Simon Templar, The Saint, remains permanently identified with Roger Moore.

Answer to Quiz 48:6

Who was the philosopher who became the teacher of Alexander the Great?

It was Aristotle. Right answers came from: @Sylv_Sylv , @Trifecta , @Sashaa and @Danika .

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

Quiz 49:1

Picasso, at one stage of his long life, was one of the two artists who invented and developed cubism. Who was the other one?

Quiz 49:2

In which sport does a match start from a “tee”?

Quiz 49:3

The recently deceased Queen Elizabeth II, was the only crowned and anointed monarch remaining in Europe. All other monarchies have abolished the coronation ceremony and replaced it with simpler rituals. How it will be with her son and successor, Charles III, still remains to be seen.

I think all of you know what a coronation is, it is a well-known procedure from film and literature. But what is anointment?

Quiz 49:4

The stapes is the smallest bone in a human body; where is it located?

Quiz 49:5

Who has written “The Belgariad” and “The Malloreon”?

Quiz 49:6

Artists in the past risked to become (and probably were) poisoned by a metal used for white colour. Which metal was that?

Later on, one started to make white from another metal, a non-poisonous one. It is still used. What metal is that?

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.)

(Popeye image: Fair use or Public Domain, depending on jurisdiction.)