Quizzes & Puzzles 64

Some new problems with which to exercise the brain. But first a look at answers and solutions to Quizzes & Puzzles 63. New problems below the image (cartoon).

Answer to Quiz 63:1

Does the fly agaric belong to the plant kingdom?

No, the fly agaric is a poisonous mushroom. Mushrooms are not plants, they are fungi, which is a separate kingdom. Read more about this in The Third Kingdom.

Answer to Quiz 63:2

If you suffer from acromegaly, what's wrong with you then?

Your body produces too much growth hormone.

Answer to Quiz 63:3

In which country took the events place which posterity calls “Chushingura”?

In Japan. I quote my article Chushingura – The 47 Ronin.

“Chūshingura is an entire genre in Japanese art and includes as well literature, film and theatre as visual arts. The word is usually translated into English as "The Treasury of Loyal Retainers" and includes stories and pictures based on the famous story of the 47 ronin, a real historical event. Indeed, it is one of the most well-known stories from Japanese history.

A "ronin" is a masterless Samurai, a very troublesome situation. In feudal Japan, one must have a place in the hierarchy to really exist. Without a lord, a samurai was nothing at all.

The 47 ronin were masterless because their daimyō, their feudal lord, Asano Naganori, was ordered by Shogun to commit seppuku, ritual suicide, after which Asano Naganori's feudal lands and estates were completely confiscated. It was a punishment for trying (but fail) to kill Kira Yoshinaka, who was the Shogunate's ceremonial master.

The 47 ronin avenged their lord. On December 15, 1702, they killed Kira Yoshinaka, cut off his head, washed it, and laid it on an altar in front of their dead master's grave, after which they were also ordered by Shogun to commit seppuku. They were buried alongside Asano Naganori.”

If you want to know more about Chūshingura as a genre in Japanese art and popular culture, please read the full article. You can also read details about seppuku or harakiri, Japanese ritual suicide, in Seppuku - Ritual Suicide.

Answer to Quiz 63:4

Which playing card is ”the curse of Scotland”?

The curse of Scotland is the nine of diamonds. In Playing Cards - Origin, History, Legends & Oddities, I wrote:

“The origin of this symbol is disputed and several explanations have been suggested. The most likely is the story of Sir John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair. According to legend he wrote the orders for the Massacre of Glencoe in 1692 on a nine of diamonds.

Another widespread suggestion is that the Duke of Cumberland used this card to write an order that the Scottish prisoners from the battle of Culloden, in 1746, should be given no mercy.”

Answer to Quiz 63:5

Which author created the Cthulhu Mythos?

It was Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937). I quote two paragraphs of my article about Lovecraft: Lovecraft was More than Horror.

“Lovecraft's most important work is the creation of the so-called Cthulhu Mythos. An important part of this mythology is The Great Old Ones, unfathomable cosmic deities from space, presently resting in a deathlike slumber.

Other authors also came to write about the Lovecraftian universe of the Cthulhu Mythos. One of the best of them was Robert Bloch (American author, 1917-1994).”

Answer to Quiz 63:6

Nobody really knows if Lemuria has existed or not. But whether it was fictitious or real, what was it?

@Duvinca knew that Lemuria is a lost continent. I have written about this before. I quote my Continents - Real & Mythical, in which I wrote:

“Lemuria is a lost continent in the Indian Ocean (sometimes in the Pacific), analogous to Atlantis. It has some importance in various occult systems. It is also part of Tamil nationalism, where it is associated with Kumari Kandam, a sunken kingdom which would have been the origin of the Indus civilisation. It is also identified as the sunken land in Akilathirattu Ammanai.

Devaneya Pavanar (1902–1981), also known under other names, a Tamil author, claimed that the Tamil language is the oldest in the world and that it was created in Lemuria. His ideas are a general glorification of the Tamils and Tamil culture, and are based on a conspiracy theory. He suggests that Sanskritists deliberately and systematically suppress Tamil history and origin. His attempts to derive Sanskrit from Tamil is interesting, however. If nothing else, it shows how difficult etymology is, and how much it depends on subjective judgement.

I shouldn't fail to mention that the origin of Tamil script is uncertain. While it is commonly held to originate from the Brahmi script, from which all other Indian alphabets except Kharosthi are derived, some scholars claim it is based on the script of the old Indus culture. This is not entirely impossible; but even that would provide no evidence of a connection with Lemuria, or even the historical existence of such a continent. [The script of the Indus civilisation is still undeciphered.]”

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

Quiz 64:1

What is a prefix?

Quiz 64:2

In the comic/cartoon Asterix, what is the name of Asterix's big, very strong, but not so clever friend?

Quiz 64:3

What is Kallocain? (A clue: we are now in the realm of literature.)

Quiz 64:4

In which foodstuff do you find vitamin U?

Quiz 64:5

Islamic years are counted Anno Hegirae. But what happened at the point in history that marks the beginning of this chronology?

Quiz 64:6

Painters Monet and Manet, composers Debussy and Ravel - four representatives of a style/direction in art that is called... what?

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.

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