How many anapests are in each line in an anapestic tetrameter poem?

In poetry, an anapest is a group of three syllables: two unstressed and one stressed. A poem written in anapestic tetrameter has four anapests in each line. (The prefix tetra means four.) It all sounds very fancy, until you realize that much of the poetry you loved best as a kid — and possibly still do! — was written in anapestic tetrameter. That includes most of Dr. Seuss as well as Clement Clark Moore’s “A Visit From St. Nicholas.” Read them aloud and you’ll see. Trivia question: Dr. Seuss’s Thidwick was what type of creature? A) Cat B) Elephant C) Lidwick D) Moose With a median age of about 15, the African nation of Niger has the youngest population of any country in the world. Uganda is a close second, and eight more African nations round out the top 10. By comparison, the world median age is around 30. The United States comes in with 40; Germany and Japan are nearly 47. Monaco has the world’s highest median age at an estimated 52.4.

In 1849, landscape artist James F. Wilkins made a 151-day journey from Missouri to California, keeping a diary and sketching throughout the trip. His route took him through southern Idaho past spectacular granite formations that were landmarks for westward bound emigrants. In his diary, Wilkins called the area “City of Rocks,” and the name stuck. Since 1988, it’s officially been known as City of Rocks National Reserve, part of the National Park System. The oldest surviving globe of the world is the 1492 “Erdapfel” (earth apple), attributed to German merchant/geographer Martin Behaim. A close second is the Laon Globe made in France and dated 1493. They’re not the first globes ever made. In fact, Columbus probably brought a globe with him when he set sail for India in 1492. (Not that it did him much good.) What makes the Erdapfel and Laon Globe unusual, however, is that they were made before Columbus returned from his voyage. Thus they don’t depict the Americas.

The blackbird singing on the Beatles’ 1968 song “Blackbird” really is a blackbird. Paul McCartney recorded the song solo, playing an acoustic guitar. He wanted the recording to sound as if he were playing outdoors. So sound engineer Geoff Emerick added the birdsong from an Abbey Road Studios sound effects collection. The bird had been recorded by another sound engineer in his backyard a few years earlier.

Trench coats come to us from World War I, where they were worn by officers in the battle trenches. Their characteristic features had practical purposes: Epaulets displayed the officer’s rank; a back placket allowed water to run off the garment; front flaps provided cushioning against the butt of a rifle; gear was clipped to D rings on the belt. Resistant to “wind, wet and mud,” some trench coats also had a detachable fleece lining that could be used as an emergency blanket.

Trivia answer: Thidwick was the “big-hearted moose” in a Dr. Seuss story.

TRIVIA FANS: Leslie Elman is the author of “Weird But True: 200 Astounding, Outrageous and Totally Off the Wall Facts.” Contact her at triviabitsleslie@gmail.com.