DIVERSITY

The beauties of nature come in all colors.
The strengths of humankind come in many forms.
Every human being is wonderfully unique.
All of us contribute in different ways.
When we learn to honor the difference,
and appreciate the mix, we find harmony.

Culture is...

How we meet; metaphors we use; our humor; our symbols; our stories; our rituals; our use of space; how we communicate; our rewards; how we greet strangers; our sacred cows; time issues; how mistakes are dealt with; our celebrations; our heroes and heroines; how we learn; how we view hurdles; our tribal rules; how we approach new problems; how leaders lead; how we deal with angry customers; how we get better at what we do; how we induct new people; how we deal with deviants; our status symbols.

The Source of Customs Quiz

Here's your chance to test your knowledge about the cultural origins of ideas, traditions and resources that are common parts of every day life throughout the United States of America. Take five minutes to select the cultural/national sources of the 30 items/concepts provided below:

1. Wedding Ring
(a) Germany (b) England (c) Egypt

2.  Halloween
 (a) Ireland    (b) India   (c) France

3.  Central Heating
 (a) Sweden   (b) England   (c) Italy

4.  Clothes Iron
 (a) China    (b) Russia   (c) Greece

5.  Chlorine Bleach
 (a) Sweden   (b) Egypt   (c) Holland

6.  Bathroom
 (a) India    (b) Scotland   (c) Greece

7.  Cough Drops
 (a) Egypt    (b) Belgium   (c) Germany

8.  Sunglasses
 (a) Italy    (b) China   (c) Mexico

9.  Roller Skates
 (a) Belgium   (b) Japan   (c) France

10. Ketchup
 (a) Italy    (b) Russia   (c) China

11. Doughnut
 (a) Holland   (b) Greece   (c) Sweden

12. Yo-Yo
 (a) Italy    (b) China   (c) Greece

13. Home Air-Cooling System
 (a) India    (b) Egypt   (c) Spain

14. Eye Drops
 (a) China    (b) Switzerland  (c) USA

15. Brassiere
 (a) France   (b) Greece   (c) Italy

16. Chewing Gum
 (a) England   (b) Holland   (c) Mexico

17. Pancake
 (a) Egypt    (b) Belgium   (c) Denmark

18. Rosary
 (a) Italy    (b) Greece   (c) India

19. Pretzel
 (a) Germany   (b) Italy   (c) China

20. Cookie
 (a) Italy    (b) USA   (c) Japan

21. Ice Cream
 (a) Holland   (b) China   (c) Spain

22. Toothbrush
 (a) Egypt    (b) India   (c) France

23. Aspirin
 (a) France   (b) China   (c) USA

24. Contact Lenses
 (a) Japan    (b) Switzerland  (c) Russia

25. Eye Glasses
 (a) Italy    (b) Germany   (c) England

26. Suntan Lotion
 (a) USA    (b) Mexico   (c) Egypt

27. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
 (a) Holland   (b) Germany   (c) Ireland

28. "Cinderella"
 (a) China    (b) Italy   (c) England

29. Boy Scouting
 (a) United Kingdom  (b) Africa   (c) USA

30. Toilet Paper
 (a) USA    (b) Egypt   (c) Japan
 
 

The Source of Customs Quiz-Answer Key

1.  Wedding Ring:  2800 B.C. Egypt
 "A circle having no beginning or end, signified eternity-for which marriage
was binding."

2.  Halloween:  5th Century Ireland
 Celtic custom to mark the end of summer-honor the sun God or past
summers harvest and frighten away furtive spirits and roving souls.

3.  Central Heating:  1st Century Rome
 "Hypocaust" = "Tubes embedded in the wallah for directing and spreading a
 soft and regular heat, equally throughout the house" of wealthy Romans
 (writing of philosopher, Seneca).

4.  Clothes iron:  4th Century B.C. Greece
 Smooth, wrinkle-free clothing has been a symbol of refinement, cleanliness
 and status for at least 2,400 years - first iron was similar to a rolling pin and
 ironing was done by slaves.

5.  Chlorine Bleach:  1774 Sweden
 People have been bleaching clothes since 3000 B.C. Egypt - but Swedish
 chemist Karl Wilhelm Scheel, discoverer of chlorine gas - 2 decades later
 another chemist, count Claude Louis Berthollet (Napoleon's scientific
adviser), discovered that chlorine gas dissolved in water produced a powerful bleach.

6.  Bathroom:  8000 B.C. Scotland
 Inhabitants of Orkney islands off of Scotland built first latrine-like plumbing
 systems to carry wastes from the home.

7.  Cough Drops:  1000 B.C. Egypt
 Produced by Egyptian confectioners for physicians to soothe and relax
 coughing muscles in the throat.

8.  Sunglasses:  Pre-15th Century China
 Used by Chinese judges to conceal their eye expressions in court until the
 trial's conclusion.

9.  Roller Skates:  1759 Belgium
 Musical instrument maker, Joseph Merlin, created them to make a
spectacular entrance at a party - original skates similar to today's roller blades except
they had only two wheels per skate.
 

(Continued on the back)
10.  Ketchup:  1690 China
 "Ke-TSIAP" a tangy sauce for fish and fowl.

11.  Doughnut:  16th Century Holland
 "Olykoek" or "oil cake" because of its high oil content - hole added by
Hanson Gregory 1847 - to eliminate soggy center.

12.  Yo-Yo Yoyo:  1000 B.C. China
 Toy - later used by 16th century Philipino hunters as a weapon similar to the
 boomerang.

13.  Home Air-Cooling Systems:  3000 B.C. Egypt
 Water placed in shallow clay pots or sprayed on walls and floor produced ice
 via natural phenomenon that occurs in dry temperate climates.

14.  Eye Drops:  3000 B.C. China
 Chinese used extract of the Mahnang plant to create solutions to treating eye
 irritations.

15.  Brassiere:  2500 B.C. Greece
 Minoan women on the isle of Crete wore bras to lift up their breasts entirely
out of their garments; 2000 years later, male-oriented classical world required
 women to wear a bra which minimized bust size.

16.  Chewing Gum:  Ancient Aztec Civilization
 Brought to us by Antonio Lupez DE Santa Ana - commander of Mexican army
 who led the attack on the Alamo..."chictli" was a "chew" from the dried latex
of the Mexican jungle tree the sapodilla - prior to this Americans chewed
paraffin wax.

17.  Pancake:  2600 B.C. Egypt
 A wheaty-flour patty cooked on a flat hot stove, prior to the Egyptian
inventions of leavening and the oven.

18.  Rosary Pre 500 B.C. India
 Indic Priests recited prayers on a string of knots - in ancient Sanskrit.  It was
 referred to as the "Remembrancer" to assist peoples efforts to count and pray
 simultaneously.

19.  Pretzel:  610 A.D. Northern Italy
 "Pretiole" = "Little Gift" created by a medieval Italian monk to reward children
 for memorizing their prayers - shape was derived from folded arms of
children in prayer - Germans called it "Brezol."

20.  Cookie:  3rd Century B.C. Rome
 Thin, hard, square, bland, unleavened wafer called a "Bis coctum" (Latin for
 "twice baked" signifying its reduced moisture compared to a bread or cake).
 To soften the Romans dipped it in wine.

(Continued on the next page)
21.  Ice Cream:  2000 B.C. China
 A favored dish of Chinese nobility, created not long after people began
milking farm animals - originally a paste made of overcooked rice, spices and milk
and packed in snow.

22.  Toothbrush:  3000 B.C. Egypt
 "Chew Stick" - a pencil-sized twig with one end framed to a soft fibrous
 condition.

23.  Aspirin:  1853 France
 "Preparation based on powder made originally from bark of willow tree as a
 painkiller.

24.  Contact Lenses:  1877 Switzerland
 First proposed by Leonardo DA Vinci - First practical lenses developed by
 Swiss physician, Dr. A. E. Fick - covered the entire eyeball and were made of
 thick molded glass.

25.  Eyeglasses:  13th Century Italy
 Optical physician Salvino Armato - turned to glass making to improve his own
 sight.

26.  Suntan Lotion:  1940's USA
 Government intervention to protect American soldiers from sunburning in the
 scorching sun of the Philippines.

27.  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs:  1812 Germany
 Story first's mentioning is in the Italian collection of folk tales called the
 "pentamerone" - originally called "snowdrop."

28.  Cinderella:  9th Century China
 "Yeh-Hsien" - Mistreated by ill-tempered stepmother and aided by a magic
ten- foot-long fish and found by the province's wealthiest merchant with the aid of
a "golden slipper."

29.  Boy Scouting:  Turn of the Century Africa
 While serving his country in the Boer War (that led to the colonialization of
 Southern Africa) Lord Robert Baden-Powell complained that young British
 recruits lacked resourcefulness and strength of character.  He admired
African rites of passage for young men which imbued them with courage, loyalty,
 leadership, stalking and wilderness survival skills.  Upon returning home he
 established the "British Boy Scouts"  Based on Passage Rites he witnessed
 being practiced by Africans.

30.  Toilet Paper:  1857 USA
 Introduced by businessman Joseph Gayety - replaced store catalogues,
fliers, newspapers.