Following the trend started by the food writers of Le Monde, I have decided that a bit of trivial knowledge is sometimes a "fun" thing to share. Knowing the answers to the questions that follow will demonstrate nothing whatever about anyone's intelligence but I agree with the spirit of Robert Courtine, the Le Monde critic who once wrote such trivia lists, "in the firm belief that the absolutely useless knowledge my readers will gain from such nonsense can only endear me to their hearts".

Questions:

1. In what country was vodka first made?

2. It is said that people were afraid to dine at the homes of Lucrezia and Cesar Borgia because this brother and sister team were notorious for occasionally poisoning their diner guests. How many people did the Borgias actually poison?

3. By the time Queen Elizabeth I of England was 40, all of her teeth had turned black. Why?

4. Composer Hector Berlioz insisted on eating the same dish every night for more than thirty years. What was the dish?

5. For many years the books of the Marquis de Sade were banned in the United States. His books are now readily available but another product carrying his name has been forbidden for import. What is that product?

6. Many believe that raw oysters have aphrodisiac power for males. Is this belief true?

7. Pasta originated in Italy or in China?

8. Why do so many people hesitate before eating the fish known as "fugu"?

9. Austrian chef-conditore Franz Sacher was the first man to make the world famous Sachertorte. How many Sachertortes are sold today by the conditoria in the Viennese hotel that now carries Sacher's name?

10. Who is the man most often credited with discovering the process of how to make Champagne?

Answers:

1. Cyprus, in the 16th century, nearly two hundred years before Russians learned to make it.

2. None. They killed their enemies in many ways but never by poison. In fact, they had a splendid reputation for the fine food they offered at their table.

3. Elizabeth had an uncontrollable passion for sweets and the fact that she consumed more than 1 kilo of sugar every day was responsible for her dental problems.

4. Chicken fricassee, which he is said to have sampled in more than 320 restaurants.

5. The product is Marquis de Sade Champagne which was banned not because it was bad, but because the original label showed an illustration of a naked, very young girl being whipped.

6. Yes, but to increase his sexual prowess a male of average height and weight would have to consume at least 240 oysters at a single three hour sitting and no one could possibly even think of making love after eating that many oysters.

7. Neither. The probability is that the ancient Egyptians were dining on pasta about a thousand years before it was introduced to either China or Italy.

8. Simple enough. Even though the fish itself is delicious, its liver is so poisonous that eating it is a reliable way of committing suicide.

9. More than 3,000,000.

10. Dom Perignon, who was a Benedictine monk in the Abbey of Hautvilliers near Eperney, in 1688. During his lifetime, most of his colleagues considered him quite mad. The truth is, however, that the charming monk's claim to fame is in doubt because the Portuguese had discovered a similar system to his nearly 100 years earlier.

© Daniel Rogov