Q 01/05

Which actor paid to have writer Hunter S. Thompson's ashes fired from a cannon at a private funeral?

A) Bill Murray

B) Jack Nicholson

C) Johnny Depp

D) Sean Penn

Answer · why

C) Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp funded the send-off for his close friend, with the cannon set on a 153-foot tower shaped like a double-thumbed fist.

Q 02/05

After a Japanese cremation, relatives move the bones into an urn using which everyday utensil?

A) Chopsticks

B) Wooden spoons

C) Bamboo tongs

D) Silver ladles

Answer · why

A) Chopsticks

Chopsticks are held by two relatives at once to lift each bone, which is why passing food between two pairs is taboo at Japanese tables.

Q 03/05

At British state funerals, who traditionally pulls the gun carriage carrying the coffin in place of horses?

A) Guardsmen

B) Sailors

C) Airmen

D) Gurkhas

Answer · why

B) Sailors

Sailors stepped in at a royal funeral in 1901 when the horses broke away from the gun carriage at Windsor, and the emergency fix became the custom.

Q 04/05

Which American city is famous for jazz funerals, in which a brass band leads the procession?

A) Memphis

B) Chicago

C) Kansas City

D) New Orleans

Answer · why

D) New Orleans

New Orleans funeral bands play sombre dirges and hymns on the march, then switch to upbeat tunes while onlookers join in and dance.

Q 05/05

In a Tibetan sky burial, the body is left on a mountainside to be eaten mainly by which birds?

A) Eagles

B) Kestrels

C) Vultures

D) Falcons

Answer · why

C) Vultures

Vultures are usually given the whole body, and the bones left behind are ground up with barley flour for the crows and hawks.