Alfred Hitchcock didn’t always get along with people, but he loved his Sealyham terriers, Geoffrey and Stanley. They made a cameo appearance with him in “The Birds,” walking out of the pet shop as actress Tippi Hedren walked in. He even named one of his production companies Geoffrey Stanley Inc. in their honor. Sealyham terriers were Hollywood’s “it” dog for a while. Cary Grant and Bette Davis had them. So did Tallulah Bankhead; hers was a gift from Hitchcock.

Dominique-Jean Larrey, Napoleon’s personal surgeon, developed the first horse-drawn ambulances to carry wounded soldiers from the battlefield to mobile hospitals for treatment. Able to carry two patients at a time, the ambulances were fitted with horsehair mattresses and designed with suspension to ease the ride over rough terrain.

Sperm whales eat squid and cuttlefish, whose hard body parts irritate the whales’ stomachs. For protection, the whales produce a waxy substance called ambergris, which coats their stomachs and helps them digest their food. Eventually, the whales poop the ambergris into the ocean, where it may be harvested as an ingredient for making fine perfume.

1. Alfred Hitchcock’s film “The Birds” is based on a short story by which author, who also wrote the novel “Rebecca”?

A) Agatha Christie

B) Daphne du Maurier

C) Ngaio Marsh

D) Muriel Spark

2. In emergency medicine, prioritizing patients based on the severity of their injuries is called what?

A) Dialysis

B) Retraction

C) Triage

D) Whipple procedure

3. Which common word takes its name for the classical Greek word for amber?

A) Celebrity

B) Electricity

C) Jewelry

D) Yellow

4. The finals of the Australian Open are held in an arena named for which tennis star?

A) Evonne Goolagong Cawley

B) Rod Laver

C) John Newcombe

D) Ken Rosewall

5. What architectural feature made Howard Johnson’s restaurants distinctive?

A) Golden arches

B) H-shaped building

C) Orange roof

D) Red door

6. The Greek words for “nose” and “horn” give us the common name of what mammal?

A) Elephant

B) Hippopotamus

C) Pangolin

D) Rhinoceros

Answers

1) “The Birds” was based on a short story by Daphne du Maurier.

2) Triage is the process by which emergency room and battlefield doctors prioritize patient treatment based on severity of injuries.

3) Electricity takes its name from the classical Greek word for amber.

4) The finals of the Australian Open tennis tournament are held at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

5) Orange roofs made Howard Johnson’s restaurants easy to recognize.

6) The name rhinoceros comes from the Greek words for “nose” and “horn.”

Email Leslie at triviabitsleslie@gmail.com.