Marlon Brando and Carnivorous Marsupials

ProetryPlace Blog 12

Marlon Brando and Carnivorous Marsupials

Or, What I Learned from Today’s Crossword

        Besides reminding me that I am not the best speller in my age group, crossword puzzles often challenge my general knowledge of a wide variety of subjects—e.g. sports, history, mythology, language, geography, mathematics—a sort of trivia with hints. Completing an interesting puzzle, I sometimes dig further into some of the less obvious clues. Following my nose, I may end up far afield from the original subject on a page in Wikipedia where few have gone before.

    Take today’s 25-down: New Zealand Discoverer, 6 letters.

    I surmised the answer was Tasman after filling two of the letters with horizontal clues and associating New Zealand with nearby Tasmania and its well-known Devils. Abel Janszoon Tasman was the Dutch merchant/seafarer who discovered New Zealand in 1642 as well as Fiji and the island-state of Australia that is now called Tasmania. I expect he is the only historic figure to have an island, a sea and a devil named for him.

    The living devil is a dog-sized carnivorous marsupial that apparently eats everything in sight or out of sight. The cartoon version, Taz, adorns a banner my wife hangs on my office door each Christmas. He stands, arms akimbo, wearing a snarl and a Santa hat. The caption states Bah Humbug.

    Jump to 11-across: Second Largest Nation, 6 letters and 16-across: Third Largest Nation, 5 letters.

    The answers are Canada with 10 MMSKM (10 million square kilometers) and China with 9.7, just larger than the good old USA with 9.6. Russia is far in the lead with 17 MMSKM. Antarctica would come in second, way larger than Canada, with 14 MMSKM except it is not a nation. (What is it then? Another interesting piece of research.)

    Then I wonder: How do the populations of these large nations compare? Surprising to me, the US, 4th in size, is 3rd in population with 316 MM in residence. Number one in size, Russia, is 9th in population. Remember that old Custer joke about “look at all them fornicating Indians”? We might make a similar observation now about China with the largest population of 1.36 billion, even though they are limited by law to two offspring or fewer. India sports almost a billion and a quarter citizens, while second-in-size Canada comes in 36th with a population of 35 MM.

    Don’t worry, there will not be a test on a future blog, but this may come in as handy as an extra bag of nachos at your next trivia party.

    But what is the smallest population? The Pitcairn Islands, a nation of the British Commonwealth, takes the low-ball prize with a population of 66. No, not 66 million. Just 66. At one time the Anglo-Tahitian population had actually dropped to zero when the entire nation moved to Norfolk Island (where those nice, little trees come from?). They are back up to 66 after a handful returned, but finding them isn’t easy. The island, in the mid-Pacific, is one of the least accessible places on earth—a perfect place to hide out. Some did just that in the past. The inhabitants include the great, great, great grandson of Fletcher Christian. Remember the Marlon Brando role in the movie Mutiny on the Bounty?

    Then there was 32-across: Waring God and 21-across: Angers.

    The answers are Ares and ires, but let’s not start down those paths today.

Richard Allen Anderson      < : - \     ProetryPlace at http://richardandersonblogs.blogspot.com