14-Jul-2022 Theme: 'Stone'

(1) What is Australia’s national gemstone?

Answer: Opal.

(2) Remnants of the oldest rocks in the world have been found as tiny zircon grains embedded in ancient rocks in Jack Hills, WA. How old is the oldest of these zircon grains?

Answer: 4.404 billion years.

(3) The Stonefish (Synanceia horrida), found lying camouflaged in coastal shallows in northern Australia, is best-known for what characteristic?

Answer: Its venom (reportedly the world’s most venomous fish).

(4) Which is the odd one out, and why?: (a) Gneiss (b) Marble (c) Chert (d) Slate (e) Schist.

Answer: (c) Chert (chert is sedimentary, the others are metamorphic).

(5) The 1974 Australian cult movie Stone follows a police officer who goes undercover as a what?

Answer: Bikie.

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