::: Star Weekend Magazine :::

Trivia

Strange Creatures

1. What, according to legend, arises from the ashes of a phoenix's funeral pyre?
*Pegasus
*Another phoenix
*Thunderbird
*Harpies
2. Although mermaids were said to possess great beauty, it is also said they lacked a soul.
*True
*False
3. What legendary creature has been on the Royal Arms of Great Britain since 1603?
*Unicorn
*Phoenix
*Dragon
*Pegasus
4. According to the Maoris of New Zealand, the taniwha, a man eating monster, could take the form of what creature?
*All of these are correct
*Lizard
*Snake
*Fish
5. What was a Myndie (or Mindi)?
*Fire breathing dragon
*Monstrous Snake
*Man-eating spider
*Gigantic half-man, half-crocodile
6. In South Africa, a fabulous legendary diamond mine in Richtersveld is guarded by the Grootslang? What is it?
*Man-eating spider
*40 ft. serpent
*Fanged, two-headed, giant lizard
*Giant vampire bat
7. Which one of these is not a legendary hairy, large, humanoid type of creature?
*Sasquatch
*Skunk Ape
*Ogopogo
*Momo
8. Which of these lengendary creatures, if you can out-smart it, will give you a pot of gold?
*Brownie
*Kobolds
*Pixie
*Leprechaun
9. Japanese legend has it that people who suddenly start to overeat, talk gibberish, and fret about whether their faces are getting longer, are said to be possessed by which of the following?
*Ghost bats
*Cat spirits
*Spirits of evil ancestors
*Goblin foxes
10. What makes the Moravian vampires so different from other blood-suckers of legend?
*They always wear high-heels.
*They attack in the nude.
*They only attack during full moons.
*They can't shape change.

Answers:
1. Another phoenix
As legend has it, no two phoenix birds could live at the same time. Hesiod, a Greek poet of the eighth century BC, said that a phoenix could live as long as nine life spans of a raven. Other legends say that a phoenix could live up to 97,200 years. At the end of its life, as death approached, it built itself a pyre of wild cinnamon and then perished in the flames. However fine its ashes, a new phoenix always arose. The new phoenix encased its parent's ashes in an egg of myrrh and then flew the egg to the Egyptian city of Heliopolis and placed the egg on the Altar of the Sun.
2. True
According to legend, although mermaids possessed great beauty, long flowing tresses, and the tail of a fish, they lacked a soul. The only way that a mermaid could gain a soul was to renounce the sea.
3. Unicorn
Since England and Scotland were united under King James I in 1603, the lion and unicorn have been together on the royal arms of Great Britain. Before this time, the English shield was supported by a lion and a dragon.
4. All of these are correct.
These giant man-eating beasts could take the form of a lizard, snake, or fish. They lived everywhere: in mountains, rivers, lakes, and even in caves. This legend seems to have come from actual man-eating crocodiles in the western Pacific.
5. Monstrous Snake
The Aborigines of Australia believed that the Mindi or Myndie was a snake of monstrous proportions that could extend its length length up to ten miles long. It supposedly ate those who broke tribal laws or intruded into totem boundaries, which were tribal areas protected by their gods.
6. 40 ft. serpent
Anybody who ever discovers the legendary diamond mine in Richtersveld will have to defeat the Great Snake of the Orange River, or Grootslang, who defends the glittering cavern.
7. Ogopogo
The Skunk Ape supposedly resides in the Everglades of Florida. Momo is also known as Momo the Missouri Monster. Sasquatch is said to have set up residence in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. All three have been described as large, hairy, humanoid creatures. Ogopogo is a large, snake-like creature that supposedly lives in the waters of Okanagan Lake in British Columbia.
8. Leprechaun
The Irish Leprechauns are shoemakers for the fairies and possess a pot of gold. If you can capture a leprechaun, you could supposedly force it to give you a pot of gold for its freedom. No one has ever tricked the wiley leprechaun out of its gold, yet. Brownies and kobolds finish household jobs while a family sleeps. Pixies lead travelers astray and are mischievous creatures.
9. Goblin foxes
Goblin foxes are thought to be culprits that cause people to suddenly start pigging-out, talking gibberish, and make them fret about whether their faces are getting longer. Stories of goblin foxes are very popular in Japan. Now you know what to blame if you start to pig-out and stop making sense, yes?
10. They attack in the nude.
Strangely, if anything can be stranger than rising from the dead and blood sucking, Moravian vampires tore off their shrouds before attacking their victims in the nude. I hope you had as much fun taking this quiz as I had making it.