Trivia 4 Flashcards
Two intersecting features of the pinecone fish
- Has Scutes or armored scales, entire skeleton is armor with spikes poking out sides, armored skeleton on inside, scutes in the outside
- Has 2 bioluminescent light organs,(photophores) on either side of their chin. This light is produced with the aid of a symbiotic bacteria within the photophore.
One species called pineapple fish
What’s the pinecone fishes habitat?
Indian and Pacific oceans, South Africa to Japan, most live in deep, twilight zone reefs, some in coastal reefs. Also an aquarium fish
What is the twilight zone in the ocean?
Between 200 and 1000 meters deep. Layer of ocean under top layer called photic and epipelagic. It’s the barely lit ocean layer also called disphotic zone or mesopelagic. This layer receives only faint, filtered sunlight.
Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Allison Janney, John Spencer and Bradley Whitford are stars of which show?
The West Wing
Who was the creator of The West Wing and what years was it on?
Aaron Sorkin
1999-2006
Alligators and crocodiles have an acute sense of touch how?
Small, pigmented domes that dot their skin all over their body, but are concentrated in the face.
What protective feature makes crocodiles and alligators unique?
They have osteoderms or scutes on their backs, that is bones in their skin, the top of which is pointy and sticks out.
When was the fall of the Greek empire?
146 BC Battle of Corinth, lost to Romans
Greek empire began around?
776 BC
When did Alexander the Great die?
323 BC
How far did the Greek Empire reach?
Greece, Macedonia, Turkey, Middle East by Mediterranean, Egypt, part of Libya (Cyrene) Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan
How far did Roman Empire reach?
Strip of Northern Africa, England, Ireland, all Europe but Germany, Turkey, Armenia, Mediterranean Middle East
When was the height of the Roman Empire?
100-117 AD
When was the first Persian Empire, also called the Achaemenid Empire?
550 BC - 333 BC
Who founded and established the Persian Empire?
Cyrus the Great
How far did Persian Empire reach?
From the Balkan Peninsula to Indus Valley, parts of Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine, Turkey, Egypt, Middle East Strip, Afghanistan, Pakistan, south of Caucasus mountains
What caused the fall of the Mongul empire and when?
Not strong leaders after Kublai Khan’s death. Weakened by disputes over succession, Chinese overthrew Monguls to establish the Ming dynasty. Russians princes started taking land back.1368-15th century
In what year did the Hun Empire officially collapse?
459 AD
Atilla died 453 AD
How did Attila the Hun die?
Choking on his own blood in a drunken stupor on his wedding night.
Who ruled the Huns before Atilla?
King Rugila
What is the name of Spongebob Squarepants’s BFF? (The pink starfish)
Patrick Star
Why is Nevada called “The Silver State”?
After the silver rush of 1800s which drove the economy back then. It was so abundant the ground was covered with it.
Besides “The Silver State” what are Nevada’s other nicknames and why?
The Sagebrush State and the Battle-Born State.
Sagebrush: the stuff is so abundant
Battle-Born: became a state in 1864, during the Civil War
What does B.T.S. (Kpop group) letters stand for?
Bangtan Sonyeondan
Translates to “Bulletproof Boy Scouts”
BTS have been around since…
2013
Who created Star Trek?
Gene Roddenberry (Eugene Wesley Roddenberry)
What does Heterotrophic mean?
It has to eat. That is
: requiring complex organic compounds of nitrogen and carbon (such as that obtained from plant or animal matter) for metabolic synthesis. As opposed to autotrophic, makes its own food as plants do.
In music, what is syncopation?
1 : a temporary displacement of the regular metrical accent in music caused typically by stressing the weak beat.
1 : a temporary displacement of the regular metrical accent in music caused typically by stressing the weak beat.
- Syncopation puts the beat just behind or before where you would expect it
Beats off a metronome ticking clock
Who invented emojis?
Shigetaka Kurita
Where did word “emoji” come from?
Japanese word for picture “e” and character (moji)
Fossils reveal what three membrane layers in pterosaur wings?
- Top: fanlike fibers that helped with folding
- Mid, muscle and connective tissue strengthened the wing.
- Lower, vascular layer
How did pterosaur bones differ from bird bones.
Hollow like birds, but more so. Pterosaur bone walls were thinner, a fraction of an inch thick with crisscrossed thinner laminated bony struts
In mechanics what’s a strut?
Designed to support weight and absorb shock .
In a car, connects the wheels to the vehicle. Looks like a stick with a spring.
Which pterosaur had the big thick tooth lined bulbous bill?
Ornithocheirus
What year was first emoji created?
1999
Why were emojis created?
To enhance digital communication by saying more with a picture rather than a word.
When did emojis become popular outside of Japan?
In 2010 they were incorporated into Unicode and in 2012, seen on iPhones and Android.
What were the names of the two ships from sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to find the Northwest Passage?
H.M.S. Terror and H.M.S. Erebus.
Where’s Gjoa Haven?
Only community of King William Island in the Arctic northern Canada
What’s the significance of the Spiro Mounds?
Outside of the Oklahoma town of Spiro, these mounds reveal a great Native American city that had an approximate population of 10,000.
It was a center of commerce and interacted with tribes from the Rockies to the Virginia Coast, from Florida to the Great Lakes
What Native American tribes built the civilization in Spiro?
Caddo and Mississippi
When did the Spiro civilization exist?
800-450 AD
What is Cahokia?
A 10 story earthen mound comprising 2,200 acres of land (called Monk’s Mound) in Illinois that was built by native Americans and was the center of a large civilization/city that peaked around 1050 AD
When was the second opium war and between whom?
France and England against China. 1856-1860
Which dynasty ruled China during the Opium Wars?
Qing
What do we know about or have found in Cahokia?
Centered around farming of mostly corn. Not peaceful egalitarian idealistic society. Evidence of ritual sacrifice (40 women buried with important man) and decapitation. Stockades and evidence of conflict and weather change that hurt agriculture.
What’s interesting about carbonaceous chondrites and Calcium-Aluminum inclusions?
Found in meteors and rare. CAIs are older than our solar system, have water and amino acids in them.
What’s the technical name for the heal bone?
Calcaneus
What’s a phalanx?
Singular of phalanges (toe bones)
What bones are the phalanges (toe bones) attached to?
Metatarsals
Talus, cuneiform, navicular and cuboid are all…
Foot bones
Each foot has how many bones?
26
What’s the bone in our thigh called?
The femur
Why is root beer called root beer?
“Root” bc it originally was made with sassafras root (now banned bc its harmful) and “beer” bc Charles Hires, the first guy to sell the stuff, found calling beer instead of “root tea” increased sales and the concoction does need to ferment
Traditionally, root beer was made from what root?
Sassafras,
Historic small beers were made from?
Sassafras, sarsaparilla, roots, ginger, wintergreen, hops, birch bark, vanilla beans, licorice, anise, coriander, juniper, burdock root, dandelion root, wild cherry bark, guaiacum chips,…
Where does licorice come from?
The licorice(liquorice) plant
What is Naamkaran/Namkaran?
The Hindu naming ceremony based on astrology according to what month and day the child is born.
What are the three main bones of the arm?
Humerus, ulna and radius
What is the upper arm bone called?
The humerus
What’s the difference between asphalt and bitumen?
Asphalt is made of sand, aggregates and bitumen and creates a longer lasting, more durable material. Bitumen is the liquid material that binds the stuff together.
What is bitumen?
noun
a black viscous mixture of hydrocarbons obtained naturally or as a residue from petroleum distillation. It is used for road surfacing and roofing.
It’s waterproof and flammable.
Difference between tar and bitumen?
Tar liquid, made artificially, different types, used as sealant
Bitumen: can be solid and naturally occurring formed in areas with much algae and vegetation. Used as a binding agent
Is there any life in the super salianated Dead Sea?
No fish or plants. Only microbial.
Where’s the saltiest lake in the world?
Don Juan Pond in Antarctica. Over 40% salinity and never freezes
Where is the Dead Sea?
Small lake between Jordan and Jerusalem.
Where’s the lowest point on earth in land?
The shores of the Dead Sea which are about 1,400 feet below sea level.
What does bitumen have to do with ancient Egyptian mummies?
Bitumen was used in the mummification process, some of which came from the Dead Sea where natural bitumen comes up from the ground and floats on the surface.
When did Shaka Zulu rule?
1816-1828
When did the eating of mummies peak in England?
1500, 16th century
12th - 17th centuries
Why did people practice medical cannibalism?
- Mummies were so well preserved, they assumed they were magic.
- Seemed logic that ingesting what was once alive would give you that person’s qualities. Also since body could heal itself
- Bitumen used to preserve mummies did have antiseptic properties
Etymology of word “sarcastic”
From Greek word “sarkasmós” meaning to bite or tear.
Why is a fish called “Sarcastic Fringhead”
It’s rarely more than a foot long but very aggressive, biting anyone who comes near. Sarcastic from Greek word for bite. “Fringehead” bc it has some fringe on its head.
What’s interesting about the Sarcastic Fringehead?
- They have extremely big umbrella like, mouths and pointy teeth
- They open their mouths wide and “kiss” push as each other to establish territory
What’s the Sarcastic Fringehead’s habitat?
California coast, Baja, CA to San Francisco.
How did Schlitterbahn get its name?
Paying homage to the German heritage of New Braunfels, schlitter means “slippery “ while “bahn” means road. It’s a made up word.
Who started Schlitterbahn and when?
Bob and Billye Henry and their three children in 1966.
What is exegesis
noun
critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture.
On average, approximately how salty is the ocean?
3.5% percent
What’s the salinity of Utah’s Great Salt Lake?
5%, 14%, 25/27%
Some parts cut off from others so there’s variations.
What is mesothelioma?
A particularly rare and pernicious form of cancer that affects the tissue that lines the lungs, heart, stomach or other organs.
Most common cause of mesothelioma?
Asbestos exposure
How does asbestos cause mesothelioma?
The fibers travel into the body through respiration or are consumed and make their way into the lining of organs where the build-up can cause inflammation and scarring and DNA damage. The constant inflammation can lead to cancer.
Difference between stalagmites and stalactites?
Mites might reach the ceiling
Tites cling tight to the ceiling.
Significance of Canton Island in 1937
It was an uninhabited island in the South Pacific near Kiribati. Deemed an ideal spot to view the 7 minute solar eclipse US, then Britain set up there. Then came the military during WWII because Japan didn’t like their claiming it. In 1976 became part of Kiribati.
Who was Gary Flandro?
An aeronautics graduate student working part time at NASA in 1965 who calculated a way for a spacecraft to fly by all 4 outer planets using their orbits to propel it. This became the Voyager I and II mission. Launched in 1977?
What is an apogee and perigee?
Perigee is the closest point and orbiting object gets to the thing it’s orbiting.
Apogee is the farthest point in its orbit.
What’s interesting about Buc-ees?
It’s the largest convenience store in the world located in New Braunfels, Texas
What happens if no presidential candidate gets 270 electoral votes?
Then Congress decides. The House of Representatives picks the President and the Senate picks the Vice President.
Why does South Africa have three capitals?
Pretoria is the Administrative capital
Cape Town is the Legislative Capital
Bloemfontein is the Judicial Capital
When South Africa became an independent country, they couldn’t agree on where to have the capital and reached this compromise
When did South Africa become an independent nation?
1910
When was the apartheid?
Began with severe segregation laws in 1948. 1950 forbade mixed marriages
Beginning on end 1990-1994
Definition of deposition in geology?
Deposition is the geological process in which sediments, soil and rocks are added to a landform or landmass. Wind, ice, water, and gravity transport previously weathered surface material, which, at the loss of enough kinetic energy in the fluid, is deposited, building up layers of sediment.
What is deposition with regards to weather and chemistry?
Deposition refers to the process in which a gas changes directly to a solid without going through the liquid state.
What is Karate Kid, Miyagi’s first name?
Nariyoshi
When was the Industrial Revolution? Where did it begin?
1760-1840
Began in Britain
Who popularized the term “Industrial Revolution “?
English economic historian, Arnold Toynbee
The Industrial Revolution is when…?
The change from an agrarian and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing.
When was the industrial Revolution in the USA?
First: latter 1700-early 1800
Second: after Civil War
When/where was toilet paper first used?
China, as far back as 2nd century BC, but toilet paper was being manufactured in China by the early 14th century.
What is Joseph Gayetty known for?
Sold first toilet paper in the US called “Medicated Paper for the Water Closet” in 1857.
What did Americans use for toilet paper before Gayetty?
corncobs, Sears catalogs, farmers almanacs, magazines, newspapers
What’s a tersorium and a pessoi?
Tersorium: a sponge on a stick, used communally 😳
Pessoi: pieces of ceramics used as toilet paper by Romans
Ostraca: broken bits of pottery with enemies names on them
In ancient times, what did people use as toilet paper?
Stones, moss, animal fur, sea shells, snow, bamboo or wood spatulas, corncobs, sponges on sticks, pieces of pottery.
What is a “viral load”
The amount of a virus in an infected person’s blood.
What does the H.M.S. Stand for in ship names?
Her Majesty’s Ship
Where does the name of Iowa’s capital city come from?
Many think it’s the French word “of the monks” des moines (River there was called) demoin, but area and river has no connection to monks, so it’s probably the native word “moingona”
Trappist monks from France settled there
What was the first English colony in America and when was it founded?
Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, named after King James I
Spain’s St. Augustine came first
What city is considered the oldest in the United States?
St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 1565 by Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles of Spain
What year did the Lost Colony of Roanoke reach America?
1585
Significance of Virginia Dare?
First English baby born in America. Her fate is unknown because Roanoke was lost. There is a legend that she was turned into a white deer by a witch doctor she rejected. Then shot with arrows by two Indians, died human in arms of the one who loved her. White deer roam area till this day it is claimed.
What was the first French colony settled in North America?
Quebec on the St. Lawrence River. Founded by Samuel de Champlain in 1608.
What was Stadacona?
The Huron Indian village that existed where Quebec is now. In 1541, Jacques Cartier tried to establish a colony there, but it was abandoned after a couple of years.
What country successfully settled in North America before Jamestown?
Spain (St. Augustine)
What was interesting about the pterosaur, Jeholopterus (Cookie Monster pterosaur)?
Jeholopterus didn’t have a long scary beak or any beak, just a round face up and was small. (Slightly smaller than a seagull)
In French, à means …?
At
In
To
Until
Where’s the Okavango Delta? What’s interesting about it?
Botswana
Doesn’t empty into ocean, it’s an inland delta
One of most pristine water systems in world
Where are the Cuito and Cubango Rivers?
Why are these rivers of interest to scientists and conservationists?
Angola
One of most pristine, clear and clean water systems in world
What happened in Angola in 2002
27 year civil war finally ended with UNITA rebels defeat. Angola is now a stable country
Order of the four major prophets’ books
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
History of the Weissman Score
The Weissman Score was a fictional algorithm to measure data compression created for the show, Silicon Valley. Vinith Misra came up with an actual algorithm. He was one of the consultants along with Stanford professor Tsachy Weissman the show brought in.
What is Pteromerhanophobia?
Fear of flying (in airplanes)
Terro merhayno phobia
What’s the fear of needles called?
Trypanophobia
What is Ophidiophobia?
Fear of snakes
Ō’ fuh DIE ō phobia
What is the fear of dogs called?
Cynophobia
Sign a phobia
What is turophobia?
The fear of cheese
What countries border Botswana?
South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Not Angola bc of Caprivi Strip
What and where is the Caprivi Strip
A Namibian panhandle north of Botswana which is why Botswana doesn’t directly border Angola NW
