IZ #24.293 - [#ShelfAware] 1000 days of IZ and my Bento Quiz

#ShelfAware #FloraFauna

Put one foot in front of another and hey! You can get pretty far. Today is the 1000th day of IZ In its new (still new!) Substack avatar, and I’m happy to share this with you.

I’m going to be needy and ask if you could give IZ a testimonial that we can use on social media. Please reply with a line or two, and let me know if I can quote you in public. But if you just want to send me a note with suggestions and feedback, go for it.

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On Saturdays, I post “Shelf Aware” is a weekly series from IZ, featuring questions on one book, movie or artefact from my collection. Today, I’m going to be egotistic and post a quiz of mine. This featured in a new children’s magazine called Bento. (More about Bento in the #interludez.)

The theme: “Where the Wild Things Are”. 

1. Most countries have a National Animal. However, Scotland’s choice is a fictional animal! Which imaginary animal, popular in young children’s books?

2. These insects use visual landmarks to find and remember flowers. To share information with others, they perform a 'waggle dance'. Which insects?

3. In 2024, the African Union group of countries banned the killing of these pack animals. Their skin was being sent abroad for use in Chinese medicine. These animals are very important to poor families. Which animal?

4. Vultures are an endangered species. Which is bad news for an Indian religious community which depends on vultures and other scavenger birds to dispose of its dead. Which community?

5. Stick insects are famous for the ability of 'thanatosis'. This means they can pretend to be what?

6. James Corbett was a famous hunter and conservationist. A sub-species of which type of animal has been named after Jim Corbett?

7. At the very bottom of your spine is the tailbone. This is also called the ‘coccyx’ which is the Greek name for a bird. From one angle, the tailbone resembles the beak of that bird. Which bird?

8. Rufus is a hawk who works at a famous tennis tournament many years. His duties are to scare away pigeons so that they don't leave any unwanted white marks on the playing surface! Rufus is so popular, someone even tried to kidnap him once. At which tournament is he found?

9. The Indian state of Nagaland celebrates an annual festival named after a bird with a very large bill. Which bird?

10. Which animated series features a puppy and her family? They are of the Blue Heeler breed, a type of Australian Cattle Dog.

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#interludez

“Bento” is a magazine by Peerbagh, run by Upasna Kakroo, who went to COEP a few years after I did. Peerbagh is based in the US, and was the brainchild of Vatsala (Upasna’s sister). Vatsala, unfortunately, passed away in 2024. The creation of Bento is partly a tribute to her. The publishers aim to make Bento in the spirit of the great mags of the past, such as the likes of Target.

If you live in North America, you can get Bento every 3 months, with no shipping charges. The magazine is also available to subscribe in India.

Visit Bento’s homepage for more details.

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Answers

1. Unicorn

2. Bees

3. Donkeys

4. The Parsis

5. Pretends to be dead

6. The tiger

7. The cuckoo

8. Wimbledon, which is a grass court tournament

9. Hornbill

10. Bluey

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Previously on “Shelf Aware”