Q 01/05

Which famous children's book character has a name often traced to a rare Tuscan word for pine nut?

A) Pinocchio

B) Peter Rabbit

C) Paddington

D) Pippi Longstocking

Answer · why

A) Pinocchio

Pinocchio may take his name from a rare Tuscan word for pine nut, or from the Italian for pine and eye. Geppetto carves the puppet in a Tuscan village...

Q 02/05

Which biblical name was given to a bristlecone pine in California's White Mountains that is over 4,800 years old?

A) Melchizedek

B) Solomon

C) Methuselah

D) Abraham

Answer · why

C) Methuselah

Methuselah is named for the man the Bible credits with its longest lifespan, 969 years. The Forest Service long kept the tree's exact location secret ...

Q 03/05

Pine nuts are one of the traditional ingredients pounded in a marble mortar to make which sauce from Genoa?

A) Aioli

B) Romesco

C) Tapenade

D) Pesto

Answer · why

D) Pesto

Pesto takes its name from the Genoese verb meaning to pound or crush. Cooks abroad often swap the costly pine nuts for walnuts, cashews or almonds.

Q 04/05

Which US state, the most heavily forested by share of its land, is nicknamed the Pine Tree State?

A) Oregon

B) Vermont

C) Maine

D) Montana

Answer · why

C) Maine

Maine made the white pine cone and tassel its official state flower in 1895, even though a pine, being a conifer, bears no true flowers at all.

Q 05/05

Which solid form of pine resin do violinists rub on their bow hair and baseball pitchers keep in a small bag?

A) Beeswax

B) Rosin

C) Chalk

D) Talc

Answer · why

B) Rosin

Rosin is the glassy solid left behind when the liquid part of pine resin is distilled off. On a bow it adds the friction that makes the strings vibrat...