Nectarines are mutant,fuzz- free cousins of peaches that bypassed the peach’s dominant trait for fuzziness. Both fruits originated in China, which grows more than 50% of the world’s supply. In 2015, a road construction project in China unearthed eight fossilized peach pits estimated to be about 2.5 million years old. It was the first tangible evidence that the peach’s history goes back that far.

At the center of a traditional Tibetan Buddhist “Wheel of Life” painting are depictions of a pig, a snake and a bird chasing one another in a circle. They represent spiritual ignorance, anger and desire — what Buddhists call the “three poisons” that prevent people from reaching spiritual enlightenment.

Early QWERTY manual typewriter keyboards rarely had keys for the number 1 or an exclamation point. Typists used a lowercase letter L for the number 1. They typed an apostrophe, backspaced and then typed a period beneath it to form an exclamation point. The QWERTY system — named for the first five letters on the top left of the keyboard — was patented in 1878 by Christopher Latham Sholes, a Milwaukee newspaperman.

1. Which cocktail is traditionally made with sparkling wine and peach puree?

A) Bellini

B) Buck’s fizz

C) Kir royale

D) Mimosa

2. In 2022, which city became the first to have hosted both the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics?

A) Athens

B) Beijing

C) Oslo

D) Sapporo

3. “Father of the American Navy” John Paul Jones commanded (and lost) what ship in the process of capturing the HMS Serapis in September 1779?

A) Bonhomme Richard

B) Endeavour

C) Independence

D) Victory

4. Although he is considered the spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama currently lives in exile in what country?

A) Cambodia

B) China

C) India

D) Japan

5. Sir Isaac Pitman and John Robert Gregg are most closely associated with what old-time office timesaver?

A) Adding machine

B) Carbon paper

C) Postage meter

D) Shorthand writing system

6. Located about 200 light-years from Earth, the planet NASA calls Kepler-16b has what unique feature?

A) Blue soil

B) Krypton gas atmosphere

C) Saltwater core

D) Two suns

Answers

1) The Bellini combines sparkling wine (usually prosecco) and peach puree.

2) In 2022, Beijing became the first city to have hosted both the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics.

3) John Paul Jones’ ship Bonhomme Richard was destroyed in battle and had to be abandoned.

4) Since the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959, the Dalai Lama has lived in exile in India.

5) Pitman and Gregg developed shorthand writing systems.

6) Planet Kepler-16b orbits two suns.

Email Leslie at triviabitsleslie@gmail.com.