Part I:  A Corny Quiz

  1. Each Tuesday between July 20 and October 5, how many ears of corn are delivered from the McLeod farm to the Brownstone?
  2. How many of these ears does Mr. Wolfe eat?
  3. The U.S. is the world's leader in production of corn.  The five main uses are listed alphabetically.  Please rank them in order from greatest to least usage:
    _____ Export       
    _____ Fodder       
    _____ Fuel
    _____ Human consumption
    _____ Production of starch, corn oil, sweeteners
  4. Near the end of Chapter 2, Mr. Wolfe says Sue McLeod is either a cockatrice or a witling (a person lacking wit).  Which of the following best describes a cockatrice?
    _____ A person who has no imagination
    _____ A mythical beast with the body of a serpent and the head of a cock
    _____ A type of dragon lizard found in Hungary
    _____ A bloody-minded fool
  5. The average ear of corn contains approximately how many kernels?
    _____ 300 or less
    _____ Between 300-400
    _____ Between 400-500
    _____ Between 500-600
    _____ 600 or more
  6. Mr Wolfe says that the best way to cook corn is:
    _____ Boil in water
    _____ Low and slow roasting in the husk
    _____ Roasting in the husk at high temperature
    _____ In corn fritters

PART I: CORNY QUIZ ANSWERS:

  1. 16
  2. 8
  3. Fodder, Fuel, Export, Production, Human consumption
  4. Serpent with a cock head
  5. 700
  6. Roasting at high temp

Part II: Picnic questions:

Questions from Death of a Dude

  1. Mr. Wolfe and Archie picnicked at Berry Creek.  What jewelry was Mr. Wolfe wearing that was worthy of note?
  2. What did Mr. Wolfe drink?
  3. When Archie was in jail, Lily sent him a “picnic snack.”  It contained 12 food items as well as utensils, etc.  Name as many of the 12 foods as you can.

    Questions from Please Pass the Guilt
  4. Archie “enjoys” a picnic with a comely female employee of CAN.  Name her.
  5. The picnic is on board a boat, on Long Island Sound.  What was the purpose of the trip?
  6. During lunch, the lady initiates an interesting discussion on words and their origin.  The words she selects begin with what two letters? 
  7. What does she drink?

    Questions from "Fourth of July Picnic"
  8. While driving Mr. Wolfe and Flora Korby to Culp’s Meadows, what did Archie do to annoy Mr. Wolfe?
  9. What did Philip Holt promise to do if Mr. Wolfe gave the speech?
  10. Mr. Wolfe does something very unusual in this story (Archie says it was only the fifth time in his memory) – what is it?
  11. At the picnic only one food item, and one not a usually associated with a picnic, is mentioned.  What is it?

PART I: PICNIC QUIZ ANSWERS:

  1. Emerald cufflinks the size of Robins’ eggs.  (Worth $35,000)
  2. Beer
  3. Pineapple, plums, caviar, milk, bread, bananas, potato salad, deviled eggs, chicken, cheese, pate de foie gras, huckleberry pie.
  4. Sylvia Venner
  5. Fishing
  6. P and V
  7. Four Root Juice
  8. Drove with one hand.
  9. Not to try and get Fritz to join the URWA (Fritz was a consultant at Rusterman’s)
  10. Cut short his afternoon orchid session.
  11. Snails.

Part III:  Cryptograms – by Mark Gorsetman:
Below are ten cryptograms – letter substitution puzzles – each with its own solution.  The first five are recurring characters in the Corpus. The second five are the names of Wolfe novels.

ANSWERS ARE SHADED IN YELLOW

  1. JYJC AEGSU Lily Rowan
  2. IFOW WDFSPR Fred Durkin
  3. RMTXP WMGEEGM Fritz Brenner
  4. IKFHCM EWCAATPE Purley Stebbins
  5. GRYJRGZOA VRBQOB Nathaniel Parker
  6. LXX DVYB EXDGY Too Many Women
  7. UMP HF U CTKKTUM And Be A Villain
  8. JIRSZRQMA BHY HMA Champagne for One
  9. CD LHIAQ HOHT JFHZA If Death Ever Slept
  10. PSK RKUBYW UBYGKRREBY The Second Confession
Quiz Answers