Weekend QoD: Saturday, October 25

[wintergreen48]

Resources: Natural and Unnatural

In keeping with this month’s weekend them of stuff related to government and politics and countries, let’s explore the stuff that countries fight over.

Same old, same old: please use spoilers for your answers, and this will be open until noon on Tuesday.


1. Juratė, daughter of the Lithuanian sky god, Perkūnas, lived in a palace beneath the Baltic Sea that her father built for her. Juratė fell in love with Kastytis, a fisherman, and brought him to live with her in her palace. This ticked off her old man, because he (1) wanted her to marry Patrimpas, the water god, and (2) didn’t like the idea of his daughter having the hots for a mortal. So Perkūnas let fly with one of his thunderbolts and blew the palace to smithereens, killing Kastytis and leaving Juratė chained to the ruins forEVER. To this day, fragments of the palace wash up on the Baltic shore, where they are known as Lithuanian Gold (Lithuania doesn’t have any of the real stuff, so this has to do). The fragments are commonly seen as small polished bits that are used in jewelry, but there are some substantial chunks: I have a piece on my wall that is about the size of two large fists. The Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm I gave to Peter the Great a room that was made out of this same stuff; the Russians expanded it, until it covered a space of 55 square meters, and contained something like six tons of this stuff. Alas, the Germans looted it during World War II, and most of it has been lost. If you burn this stuff, it gives a wonderful pine forest smell; it also has electrostatic properties, and the modern word ‘electron’ comes from the Greek word for this stuff, which was, well, ‘electron.’

2. Aphrodite was born on a Mediterranean island famous for a particular metal, so famous in fact that the metal takes its name from the island. The very first Roman coinage, in about the 4th Century BC, was made out of chunks of this stuff (I have one); they later used cast ingots of this stuff in financial transactions (I do not have any of that-- it runs like $25,000 for a nice piece), then they made coins by pouring molten metal into molds, and finally, they struck real coins from ‘blanks’ made of this stuff. The first US coins, minted in 1793, were made from this same metal; somewhat ironically, the US mint had to buy the coinage ‘blanks’ from a British firm, because no one in the US could make them properly; that was a real problem during the War or 1812, such that no coins were made of this metal in 1815.

3. This substance, which is made from a combination of an alkaline metal and poisonous gas, has historically been very valuable. You are probably not paid with this substance, but the word for your pay suggests that, in fact, you ARE paid in this substance, and you darn well better be worth it. Mozart was born in a town that took its name from this stuff: in the early medieval period it was famous for the enormous number of barges of this stuff that passed through (subject to a mighty toll).

4. The oldest treaty in the world that is currently in force dates to 1373. Although it is primarily a political alliance, subsequent treaties that the two countries entered into dealt primarily with one country’s export of a particular product to the other country: the multi-eponymous product (I like to say ‘eponymous’) takes its name from the city from which the product was originally shipped, but then, the exporting country itself also takes its name from that same city, and that city takes its name from a Latin word that means ‘harbor’ or ‘haven,’ and we routinely use the word to refer to harbors (and to refer to the product that was shipped from one country to the other).

5. For a time, Nauru was one of the wealthiest countries in the world, as measured by per capita income (it doesn’t actually take that much income, when you are the smallest island nation in the world, and the least populated member nation of the UN; did you know that Nauru doesn’t even have a capital city?) Where was I… oh, yes, they were loaded, and all because of a particular resource that they exported. But unfortunately for the Nauruans, although this resource is renewable, they took it out much faster than it could renew itself, so it’s pretty much all gone, leaving Nauru pretty much in the toilet. Nauru has more recently become a haven for off-shore banks, money-laundering, tax scams, etc., because Nauru is pretty much just a crappy little island without much going for it.

6. There is an OB/GYN in Northern Virginia by the name of Harry Beaver; I suspect that when his patients have a gynecological problem, they feel comfortable if they can just ‘Leave it to Beaver.’ As everyone knows, there is no such thing as too much beaver. There is a lot of money to be made selling beaver, in fact, the very first American multi-millionaire actually made his fortune selling beaver (and other furs). His family was somewhat legendary for their wealth and social position, although I doubt that they told people ‘We made our money peddling beaver’; the first American mult0millionaire’s eponymous great-grandson was one of the more famous passengers who died when the Titanic sank.

7. The Hormel company sells Spam, but you will probably never receive an e-mail from them. On the other hand, you probably do receive a lot of spam offering to make you rich, erect and thin.

8. Comparing imports to exports can be a lot of fun: for example, Iran is one of the world’s leader exporters of petroleum, but it is also one of the major importers of petroleum products-- it seems they have no refineries, so they must import gasoline. Saudi Arabia also exports a lot of petroleum, but somewhat surprisingly, it imports another product that is vital to the construction projects that are going on there.

9. King Midas is the main character in several myths, in one of which he was given the ‘gift’ of the golden touch: all that he touched turned to gold. When he found that he could not eat or drink, because all the food and drink he touched turned to gold, he asked for the ‘gift’ to be taken away, and this wish was granted: he was told to wash his hands in the Pactolus River, and the golden touch washed away, leaving rich deposits of golden sands in the river, which enriched Midas’ kingdom. Some of this is true: there actually was a King Midas (several, actually-- it was a dynastic name used for many generations), and the Pactolus was famous for the gold in its bed.



1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was:

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is:

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is:

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is:
b. The country that imports the product is:
c. The eponymous product is:

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is:

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was:

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is:

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of:

9. Midas was king of:

[jarnon]

Spoiler

1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was: amber
2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is: copper
3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is: salt
4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is: Portugal
b. The country that imports the product is: Spain
c. The eponymous product is: port
5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is: guano
6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was: Morgan
7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is: Nigeria
8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of: sand
9. Midas was king of: Sicily

[Weyoun]

4. The oldest treaty in the world that is currently in force dates to 1373. Although it is primarily a political alliance, subsequent treaties that the two countries entered into dealt primarily with one country’s export of a particular product to the other country: the multi-eponymous product (I like to say ‘eponymous’) takes its name from the city from which the product was originally shipped, but then, the exporting country itself also takes its name from that same city, and that city takes its name from a Latin word that means ‘harbor’ or ‘haven,’ and we routinely use the word to refer to harbors (and to refer to the product that was shipped from one country to the other).

Spoiler

1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was: amber

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is: copper

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is:

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is: Portugal
b. The country that imports the product is: England
c. The eponymous product is: wine (of the port variety), I am guessing.

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is: phosphate

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was: John Jacob Astor

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is: the US, I bet. Maybe Russia, but I think the US.

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of: sand

9. Midas was king of: Phrygia

[a1mamacat]

Resources: Natural and Unnatural

In keeping with this month’s weekend them of stuff related to government and politics and countries, let’s explore the stuff that countries fight over.

Same old, same old: please use spoilers for your answers, and this will be open until noon on Tuesday.


1. Juratė, daughter of the Lithuanian sky god, Perkūnas, lived in a palace beneath the Baltic Sea that her father built for her. Juratė fell in love with Kastytis, a fisherman, and brought him to live with her in her palace. This ticked off her old man, because he (1) wanted her to marry Patrimpas, the water god, and (2) didn’t like the idea of his daughter having the hots for a mortal. So Perkūnas let fly with one of his thunderbolts and blew the palace to smithereens, killing Kastytis and leaving Juratė chained to the ruins forEVER. To this day, fragments of the palace wash up on the Baltic shore, where they are known as Lithuanian Gold (Lithuania doesn’t have any of the real stuff, so this has to do). The fragments are commonly seen as small polished bits that are used in jewelry, but there are some substantial chunks: I have a piece on my wall that is about the size of two large fists. The Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm I gave to Peter the Great a room that was made out of this same stuff; the Russians expanded it, until it covered a space of 55 square meters, and contained something like six tons of this stuff. Alas, the Germans looted it during World War II, and most of it has been lost. If you burn this stuff, it gives a wonderful pine forest smell; it also has electrostatic properties, and the modern word ‘electron’ comes from the Greek word for this stuff, which was, well, ‘electron.’

2. Aphrodite was born on a Mediterranean island famous for a particular metal, so famous in fact that the metal takes its name from the island. The very first Roman coinage, in about the 4th Century BC, was made out of chunks of this stuff (I have one); they later used cast ingots of this stuff in financial transactions (I do not have any of that-- it runs like $25,000 for a nice piece), then they made coins by pouring molten metal into molds, and finally, they struck real coins from ‘blanks’ made of this stuff. The first US coins, minted in 1793, were made from this same metal; somewhat ironically, the US mint had to buy the coinage ‘blanks’ from a British firm, because no one in the US could make them properly; that was a real problem during the War or 1812, such that no coins were made of this metal in 1815.

3. This substance, which is made from a combination of an alkaline metal and poisonous gas, has historically been very valuable. You are probably not paid with this substance, but the word for your pay suggests that, in fact, you ARE paid in this substance, and you darn well better be worth it. Mozart was born in a town that took its name from this stuff: in the early medieval period it was famous for the enormous number of barges of this stuff that passed through (subject to a mighty toll).

4. The oldest treaty in the world that is currently in force dates to 1373. Although it is primarily a political alliance, subsequent treaties that the two countries entered into dealt primarily with one country’s export of a particular product to the other country: the multi-eponymous product (I like to say ‘eponymous’) takes its name from the city from which the product was originally shipped, but then, the exporting country itself also takes its name from that same city, and that city takes its name from a Latin word that means ‘harbor’ or ‘haven,’ and we routinely use the word to refer to harbors (and to refer to the product that was shipped from one country to the other).

5. For a time, Nauru was one of the wealthiest countries in the world, as measured by per capita income (it doesn’t actually take that much income, when you are the smallest island nation in the world, and the least populated member nation of the UN; did you know that Nauru doesn’t even have a capital city?) Where was I… oh, yes, they were loaded, and all because of a particular resource that they exported. But unfortunately for the Nauruans, although this resource is renewable, they took it out much faster than it could renew itself, so it’s pretty much all gone, leaving Nauru pretty much in the toilet. Nauru has more recently become a haven for off-shore banks, money-laundering, tax scams, etc., because Nauru is pretty much just a crappy little island without much going for it.

6. There is an OB/GYN in Northern Virginia by the name of Harry Beaver; I suspect that when his patients have a gynecological problem, they feel comfortable if they can just ‘Leave it to Beaver.’ As everyone knows, there is no such thing as too much beaver. There is a lot of money to be made selling beaver, in fact, the very first American multi-millionaire actually made his fortune selling beaver (and other furs). His family was somewhat legendary for their wealth and social position, although I doubt that they told people ‘We made our money peddling beaver’; the first American mult0millionaire’s eponymous great-grandson was one of the more famous passengers who died when the Titanic sank.

7. The Hormel company sells Spam, but you will probably never receive an e-mail from them. On the other hand, you probably do receive a lot of spam offering to make you rich, erect and thin.

8. Comparing imports to exports can be a lot of fun: for example, Iran is one of the world’s leader exporters of petroleum, but it is also one of the major importers of petroleum products-- it seems they have no refineries, so they must import gasoline. Saudi Arabia also exports a lot of petroleum, but somewhat surprisingly, it imports another product that is vital to the construction projects that are going on there.

9. King Midas is the main character in several myths, in one of which he was given the ‘gift’ of the golden touch: all that he touched turned to gold. When he found that he could not eat or drink, because all the food and drink he touched turned to gold, he asked for the ‘gift’ to be taken away, and this wish was granted: he was told to wash his hands in the Pactolus River, and the golden touch washed away, leaving rich deposits of golden sands in the river, which enriched Midas’ kingdom. Some of this is true: there actually was a King Midas (several, actually-- it was a dynastic name used for many generations), and the Pactolus was famous for the gold in its bed.

Spoiler

1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was: Amber

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is: Bronze? Don't know how Cyprus translates

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is:Platinum?

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is: Greece?
b. The country that imports the product is: Italy?
c. The eponymous product is:Pasta?

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is:Pearls?

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was:John Astor

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is: Nigeria

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of: Sand?

9. Midas was king of: Phrygia

[jsuchard]

Spoiler

1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was: Amber

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is: Copper

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is: Salt

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is: Portugal
b. The country that imports the product is: England?
c. The eponymous product is: Port

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is: Guano

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was: Astor

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is: United States (Nigeria would be too obvious, and besides, we've got lots more computers, right?

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of: Foreign Workers

9. Midas was king of: Phrygia Wasn't this a $500k question on WWTBAM?

[tanstaafl2]

Resources: Natural and Unnatural

In keeping with this month’s weekend them of stuff related to government and politics and countries, let’s explore the stuff that countries fight over.

Spoiler

1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was:
Amber? No idea what it smells like when burned but pine scent seems reasonable given that it is pine resin and at least it is a similar color to gold...

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is:
Copper? Clue doesn't help me much but many early coins were copper.

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is:
Salt

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is: Portugal?
b. The country that imports the product is: Great Britain
c. The eponymous product is: Port
No clue but port seems to fit with harbor.

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is:
Guano? Not sure what else a "crappy" little island might have that is renewable...

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was:
Not sure I knew he was so fond of hairy beavers but the clue suggests John Jacob Astor.

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is:
Nigeria??? Might as well go for what seems to be the obvious.

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of:
Sand...

9. Midas was king of: Lydia

[VAdame]

Spoiler

1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was:
Amber. Poland also has lots of this stuff! I have some lovely amber earrings my Mom brought back from her last trip there.

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is:
Copper, from Cyprus

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is:
Salt!

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is:
Portugal
b. The country that imports the product is:
Dunno
c. The eponymous product is:
"Port" wine

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is:
Nope

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was:
John Jacob Astor I.

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is:
Yikes! Probably Nigeria!

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of:
Just because it makes no sense, I'm gonna have to guess "Sand."

9. Midas was king of:
Phrygia

Speaking of that appropriately-named OB-Gyne, did anyone catch this past week's "Law & Order SVU"? The guest star was James Brolin, playing Stabler's Marine Corps mentor, astronaut Dick Finley (the namesake of Elliott's 15 year old son, Dickie Stabler.) There's a little debate going on on the SVU bored about whether anyone younger than Dick Van Dyke actually goes by "Dick" anymore -- and I had to remember my 8th-Grade sweetheart. Whose name is Richard Beaver, and whose parents called him Dickie or Dick when he was little. But the time he reached junior high, he was pretty much insisting on being called "Rich." He still lives in the area & is a veteran, so we run into each other once in a while. He's still Rich Beaver. Which ties in well with the QOD question

[MarleysGh0st]

Spoiler

1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was: Amber

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is: Silver

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is: Salt

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is: Scotland?
b. The country that imports the product is: England?
c. The eponymous product is: Scotch?

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is: Phosphate, processed from bird guano.

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was: Astor

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is: Russia

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of: I would say concrete, but you use of the word "surprisingly" has me narrowing that answer to a particular component of concrete, sand.

9. Midas was king of: Phrygia?

[kroxquo]

Spoiler

1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was: Amber?

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is: Nickel?

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is: Salt

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is: NAC on any of this
b. The country that imports the product is:
c. The eponymous product is:

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is: Breadfruit? I've ever really known what that was but I know they made a big deal about in Mutiny on the Bounty

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was: Astor

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is: Assuming you're referring to computer junk and not meat junk, let's guess Nigeria

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of: Tar?

9. Midas was king of: Minoa

wintergreen48

Posts: 511
Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:42 pm

[frogman042]

Spoiler

This is a killer - there is only a couple I know for sure.

1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was:
WAG: Boxite

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is:
WAG: Silver

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is:
Salt

Going for the absurb on this one:
4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is: Portugal
b. The country that imports the product is: Spsin
c. The eponymous product is: Port

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is:
Holy crap, this I do know - Guano

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was:
Astor

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is:
Nigeria

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of:
Wood?

9. Midas was king of:
Since this quiz is making me feel like a Cretin, I'm going with Crete

---Jay

[LynPayne]

Spoiler

1) amber, 2) copper, 3) salt, 4) a) Portugal b) England c) port (wine), 5) guano, 6) John Jacob Astor, 7) China, sand. Wonderful questions!

[NellyLunatic1980]

1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was:

Spoiler

amber

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is:

Spoiler

copper

, which I'm guessing would come from

Spoiler

Cyprus

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is:

Spoiler

salt

, which I'm guessing would come from

Spoiler

Salzburg

and gives us the word

Spoiler

salary

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is:

Spoiler

Portugal

b. The country that imports the product is:

Spoiler

England? (Portsmouth is the city, maybe?)

c. The eponymous product is:

Spoiler

port (wine)

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is:

Spoiler

silver?

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was:

Spoiler

John Jacob Astor

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is:

Spoiler

Nigeria

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of:

Spoiler

concrete?

9. Midas was king of:

Spoiler

Phrygia

, which I remember from MissKittyandboos' PTBAM show

[JBillyGirl]

Spoiler

1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was: amber

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is: copper?

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is: salt

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is: Portugal
b. The country that imports the product is: Spain?
c. The eponymous product is: port

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is: guano (given all your "crappy" language)

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was: John Astor?

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is: Nigeria (I get most of my spam at work in German)

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of: grease?

9. Midas was king of: Lydia

[TheConfessor]

Spoiler

Resources: Natural and Unnatural

1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was:
Amber

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is:
Copper

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is:
Salt

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is: Portugal
b. The country that imports the product is: Spain
c. The eponymous product is: Port wine

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is:
Guano

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was:
Astor

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is:
Russia

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of:
Sand

9. Midas was king of:
This is embarrassing, since I was in the ring of fire when this question was asked for $500K and the contestant (who used to post here) missed it, and I understand she then launched a big protest with the show about the question, but I forget whether I'm remembering her answer or the one the show said was correct. Based on the country name that sticks in my head, I'll say:
Phrygia.

[andrewjackson]

1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was:

Spoiler

Amber

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is:

Spoiler

Copper

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is:

Spoiler

Salt

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is:

Spoiler

Portugal

b. The country that imports the product is:

Spoiler

England

c. The eponymous product is:

Spoiler

port wine

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is:

Spoiler

guano

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was:

Spoiler

John Jacob Astor

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is:

Spoiler

United States

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of:

Spoiler

cement

9. Midas was king of:

Spoiler

Lydia?

[KillerTomato]

Edited to Spoilerize

1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was: Amber?

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is: Copper?

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is: Salt

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is: I'm gonna kick myself when I read the answer to this. I'll go with the Ivory Coast
b. The country that imports the product is: France
c. The eponymous product is: Ivory (and yes, I know all three have to be wrong, since we don't call harbors "Ivories")

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is: Bat Guano

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was: John Jacob Astor

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is: I'm gonna guess this is a trick question, and go with the United States.

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of: Steel?

9. Midas was king of: Crete?

[plasticene]

Spoiler

1. The substance that Perkūnas used to build Juratė’s palace was: Amber.

2. The metal that takes its name from Aphrodite’s birth place is: Copper

3. The substance that was transported on barges through Mozart’s hometown is: Salt

4. a. The country that exports the eponymous product is: Portugal
b. The country that imports the product is: England?
c. The eponymous product is: Port

5. The natural resource that once made Nauru wealthy is: Guano

6. The beaver-peddling multi-millionaire was: Astor. (John Jacob, if prompted)

7. The country that is the biggest source of non-Hormel spam is: Russia?. I'm tempted to say Nigeria, of course, but I think Russia probably has the edge. Most of the spam I get on my work e-mail account is in Russian. The filters probably only work for English.

8. Saudi Arabian construction products have caused Saudi Arabia to import a lot of: OMG, is it sand? If so, that is one very cool piece of trivia.

9. Midas was king of: Phrygia?