Fun Christmas quiz to keep the grey matter ticking over

IT’S the festive season (in case you didn’t know!) and we’re all a bit tired of all the shenanigans that have been going on in this country, I’m sure.

It’s time to have a break, have fun, forget all the nasties and embrace joy and happiness.

So Chiel today is going to try to make light of the occasion and hope that you are all going to have a happy and blessed Christmas which is what this particular weekend is all about.

Wednesday (December 21) was our summer solstice, when the sun rose and set, for us in the southern hemisphere, at its most southerly point and it gave us more daylight than on any other day this year. It was one day earlier than usual due to 2016 being a leap year.

That’s enough of the serious stuff, let’s have a bit of fun.

As many of you are on holiday, you may be enjoying extra time relaxing. Well, in case you are falling asleep, let’s stretch the grey matter. It’s a quiz for people who know everything. I certainly don’t and that was proven by the number of times I was stumped for answers.

They aren’t trick questions; they’re straight questions with straight answers that you will find at the end of this Chiel column.

1. Name the one sport in which neither spectators nor participants know the score or who the leader is until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All others must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In some liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn’t been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters “dw” and they are all common words. Name two. (South Africa’s dwaal and dwang are not among them!)

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Name at least seven?

8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

9. Name six or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter “s”.

And for holidaying anglers hoping to catch a big one, two prayers: God grant that I may live to fish Until my dying day And when it comes to my last cast I then most humbly pray When in the Lord’s safe landing net I’m peacefully asleep That in his mercy I be judged As good enough to keep. Alf Ogilvie sent me this one which he says was composed by a friend, Dave McGregor: Lord take me where the big fish play And let one bite on that there day, And let me fight and at him play And then O Lord, let him away. And when no longer can I fight As fight I did when fish did play, Help me Lord to tell no lies He was only that size … between the eyes.

Alf says the last line is accompanied by hands demonstrating the size – between the eyes! Answers to quiz: 1. The sport is boxing. 2. The landmark is Niagara Falls. The rim is worn down 75cm each year by water rushing over it.

3. The vegetables are asparagus and rhubarb. 4. Strawberry. 5. How did the pear get inside the brandy bottle? It was grown inside. (Bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left for the entire growing season and when the pears ripen, they are snipped and pear brandy is added.)

6. Three English words beginning with “dw” are dwarf, dwell and dwindle.

7. Fourteen punctuation marks. Full stop, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation mark, quotation marks, brackets [], parenthesis (), braces {} and ellipsis … (three dots).

8. The only vegetable or fruit never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh, is lettuce.

9. Footwear beginning with “s”: Shoes, socks, sandals, slip slops, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts.

Hope you enjoyed those. —