Weekend QoD: October 25: Answers & Points

[wintergreen48]

Resources, Natural and Un


1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was AMBER. As it happens, the Lithuanian word for amber, Gintaras, is also a masculine personal name, which is kind of unusual, since most ‘gem’ kinds of names-- Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire, Opal, Jade, and, well, Amber-- tend to be feminine. We had a couple brothers in the Scout Troop who were Jade and Diamond (neither did well), but usually it’s girls who get those names.

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is COPPER (originally called ‘Cyprium’ from its origin on the island of Cyprus).

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is SALT (he was born in Salzburg).

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is GREAT BRITAIN.
b. The country that imports the product is PORTUGAL.
c. The eponymous product is PORT (the wine was traditionally exported through the city of Oporto; Latin ‘portus’ means ‘haven’ or ‘harbor.’

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is GUANO. The phosphate in guano makes for great fertilizer.

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was JOHN JACOB ASTOR(the Titanic guy was John Jacob Astor, IV).

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is GOOD OLD USA.

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of SAND (Saudi sand has too much of the wrong kind of silica in it).

Old Cold War joke: Q: What would happen if the Sahara Desert went Communist?
A: For the first few years, nothing; then they would have a shortage of sand.

9. Midas was king of PHRYGIA, in what is now Turkey. This is near Lydia, which was the kingdom of Croesus. This was a controversial WWTBAM question, WWTBAM was right, but the question was not phrased as well as it might have been.



Points
jarnon - 7
a1mamacat - 4
Marley - 7
Killer Tomato - 6
kroxquo - 3
NellyLunatic - 8
jbillygirl - 7
frogman - 5
jsuchard - 10
weyoun - 10
Confessor - 9
VADame - 8
AndrewJackson - 9
plasticene - 10
tanstaafl - 9
Lyn Payne - 9

[TheConfessor]

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is GREAT BRITAIN.

I wouldn't normally mention this, but I was recently in the middle of an e-mail exchange among proofreaders for a major trivia competition. A British guy insisted that Great Britain is not the name of a country. It's the name of an island.

I'm surprised to learn that Great Britain exports Port. I think you transposed something there.

[wintergreen48]

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is GREAT BRITAIN.

I wouldn't normally mention this, but I was recently in the middle of an e-mail exchange among proofreaders for a major trivia competition. A British guy insisted that Great Britain is not the name of a country. It's the name of an island.

I'm surprised to learn that Great Britain exports Port. I think you transposed something there.

Import/export, tomato/tomahto, whatever.

It is supposed to be The United Kingdom of Great Britain (the big island) and Northern Ireland (the part they stole from the smaller island), but so what.