Quizzes & Puzzles 7

Some new problems with which to exercise the brain. But first a look at answers and solutions to Quizzes & Puzzles 6. New problems below the image.

Answer to Quiz 6:1

In mythology, a being, whose name is related to a weather phenomenon, was by a major deity cast down and imprisoned beneath a mountain, a volcano. What is the being called, and what is the name of the mountain?

Urged by his mother, Gaia, to take revenge on Zeus for his imprisonment of the Titans (the older gods), Typhon attacked and initially defeated Zeus. The latter, however, was restored into strength and could finally win over Typhon and trap him underneath the volcano Etna.

So, the answer is Typhon and Mt. Etna. Black_Angel said Vulcan and Etna, so it's half a point, but it is right that Vulcan also had to do with Etna. It is said that he built a smithy beneath the mountain.

There are many stories about Typhon, some of them irreconcilable with one another. But we don't concern ourselves with them now.

Answer to Quiz 6:2

In forensics, there is often the problem of determining the time that has elapsed since the death of a corpse. An animal can be of good help. Which animal?

The answer is the common blow-fly (Calliphoridae). It smells death, or a dead body at a distance of many kilometers. When it arrives, and it is the first insect to arrive, it deposits its eggs into the corpse. Their further development is quite predictable and can be used to determine approximately how long time that has elapsed since the hosting flesh died.

Black_Angel answered maggots, and that is very close, but it is the whole presence of Calliphoridae; in which stage of its life-cycle (eggs larvae, even developed flies of a second generation) it is found.

Answer to Quiz 6:3

As we all know, Russia is involved in a war, and its history is full of wars. If we look at it historically, invading Russia is very difficult. Indeed, from the west, it has not happened many times that Moscow has been taken. So the question this time is how many European military commanders have ever taken Moscow? Who and when?

It has only happened twice. French Emperor Napoleon I conquered Moscow in 1812 – and before that, Swedish Military Commander Jacob Pontusson De la Gardie, in 1622. You can read more details in my old article When Moscow was Invaded - Two Empires: The French & The Swedish.

Answer to Puzzle 6:4

This was really two puzzles.

Brothers and sisters I have none.

But this man's father is my father's son.

How many men are there and how are they related?

There were three individuals. Father son and grandson. "my father's son" is the speaker, and "this man" is his son.

The French dramatist Ernest Legouvé described in his autobiography how he once in a company asked if it was possible for two unrelated individuals to have the same sister. Everyone in the company, including a lawyer, concluded that it is impossible. "But it is really possible", said Legouvé, "and I can name two such persons. One of them is Eugène Sue, I am the other one."

Then he explained how this was possible. Eugène Sue and Ernest Legouvé were unrelated, yet they same woman was the sister of both. Can you explain how this can be possible?

As a special note, I think it is necessary to add that in this reasoning a half-sister = a sister, and a half-brother = a brother.

Ernest Legouvé explained the situation like this:

“Madame Sue and Monsieur Sue have the son Eugène Sue.

Madame Sauvais and and Monsieur Legouvé have the son Ernest Legouvé.

Then Madame Sauvais and Monsieur Sue have the daughter Flore Sue, who would then be the sister of both Eugène Sue and Ernest Legouvé.”

And now some new quizzes and a puzzle.

Quiz 7:1

In legend, dragons were creatures of heat. What, according to Medieval lore, would they need in order to cool down?

Quiz 7:2

Who was the Albanian general of the Turkish Ottoman army who was sent to Egypt in 1801, later to become Turkish “wali” (governor) there? Egypt's last royal dynasty descended from him.

Quiz 7:3

Which is the only snake building nests and incubating its eggs?

Puzzle 7:4

Can you form a perfectly correct sentence where the word "and" occurs 5 times without any other word in between, and a realistic scenario justifying it?

The sentence should be ....and and and and and.... with one or more other words both before the sequence and after it.

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

Quizzes & Puzzles has now 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.)

Selected old articles:

What is an Eye? For What Purpose Do We Have Eyes?

What You Need to Know about Copyright

The Mysteries of the Knights Templar

Rhyme & Reason: Verse, Structure, & Memory

Genuine Ultramarine, Once One of the Most Costly Pigments in the World