Select the correct answer from the choices provided … if you dare.
Some questions may be in this format:
A : B :: C : ?
This is known as an analogy. It is read as “A is to B as C is to what? So, the answer to the analogy “dog : canine :: cat : ?” is “feline.” Canine has the same relationship to dog as feline has to cat.
This is a challenging quiz, but I can almost guarantee you will learn something from it.
Constructive criticism is welcome. Please rate this quiz. Subscribe to get a notification when I release a new quiz.
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
1.The last commercial Morse code transmission in the U.S. was in what year?
1948
✓
1987
✓
1999
✓
2010
✓
Source: Wikipedia
2.The Great Dark Spot (GDS-89) was a feature of what planet?
Jupiter
✓
Uranus
✓
Saturn
✓
Neptune
✓
Great Dark Spots are anticyclonic storms. The winds around the edges of this storm measured up to 1,500 mph, the fastest ever recorded in the solar system. (Sources: Cool Cosmos, Wikipedia)
3.What is the name of the frog mascot for Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal?
Freddy
✓
Crock-crock
✓
Ribbit
✓
Dig'em
✓
Under its original name (Sugar Smacks), the cereal used some pretty scary-looking clowns as mascots in the 1950s.
4.Suomi : Finland :: Hayastán : ?
Armenia
✓
Azerbaijan
✓
Georgia
✓
Turkmenistan
✓
Armenians call their country Հայաստան, which transliterated into the Roman alphabet, is “Hayastán.” (Source: Omniglot)
5.Anemophobia is a catch-all term for various fears having to do with …
Sea creatures
✓
Iron-poor blood
✓
Air
✓
Mirrors
✓
Anemophobia can manifest as a fear of drafts or gusty winds, or even as a fear of swallowing air or airborne substances. (Sources: Unacademy, That’s Not Canon Productions)
6.How many zeroes are present in the numeric representation of one decillion?
33
✓
100
✓
10
✓
36
✓
Source: thoughtco.com
7.Kiviak is prepared by stuffing a seal carcass with hundreds of dead, raw auk birds, sealing it airtight, covering it in oil to repel flies and maggots, and letting it ferment for three months. Where are you most likely to be served Kiviak for a special occasion?
Greenland
✓
Lapland
✓
Alaska
✓
Nunavut
✓
8.Scientists believe that trepanation (a medical procedure involving making a hole in the skull, usually to relieve pressure) has been around since the Neolithic period. Based on the archeological record, what percentage of trepanned prehistoric individuals are estimated to have survived?
50%-90%
✓
5%-10%
✓
10%-20%
✓
40%-60%
✓
Survival can be determined by how well the hole has healed. There is also possible evidence of ritual trepanation (not done as a medical procedure) in ancient southern Russia. (projectarchaeology.org)
9.Possibly a victim of chronic depression, which U.S. President is believed to have slept up to 11 hours per day, with a one or two-hour afternoon nap?
Franklin D. Roosevelt
✓
Herbert Hoover
✓
Calvin Coolidge
✓
Warren G. Harding
✓
When he missed his nap, Coolidge fell asleep in late afternoon meetings. Source: Library of Congress Blogs
10.What was candy corn called when it was first marketed by the Goelitz Candy Company in 1898?
Chicken Scratch
✓
Sweet Corn
✓
Corn Candy
✓
Chicken Feed
✓
History.com explains that before World War I, corn was not perceived in the U.S. as being fit for human consumption, since sweet hybrid varieties of corn had not yet been developed. Consequently, corn was only fed to chickens and pigs.
11.What was eBay called when it was first launched in 1995?
AuctionWeb
✓
BidIt
✓
BidWeb
✓
Internet Bazaar
✓
Per eBay’s website, it was renamed in September, 1997.
12.A group of badgers is known as …
A cete
✓
A pester
✓
A coit
✓
A bother
✓
Attested to in 1486. The word is thought to have descended either from an Old English word for city, or from the Latin coetus (assembly). A badger’s den is called a set or sett. (discoverwildlife.com)
13.Which of these creatures wraps its tongue around its brain when the tongue is not in use?
Giant anteater
✓
Giraffe
✓
Chameleon
✓
Woodpecker
✓
This ability provides some shock absorption for the brain when the bird is engaged in high-speed pecking. Depending on the species, a woodpecker’s tongue can be up to a third of its body length. (If human tongues were thus proportioned, they would be two feet long.) Source: abcbirds.org
14.Which U.S. state is closest to Africa?
Hawaii
✓
Florida
✓
Maine
✓
Massachusetts
✓
Source: britannica.com
15.How many U.S. state names end in “y”?
2
✓
1
✓
3
✓
0
✓
Kentucky, New Jersey.
16.What symbol did the International Telecommunication Union add to Morse code in December 2003?
@
✓
#
✓
&
✓
\
✓
This was the first change to Morse code since before World War II. Ironically, it takes less time to transmit the word “at” than to transmit the symbol “@.” (Source: Omniglot)
17.In which U.S. state is the unincorporated community of Booger Hole located?
Maine
✓
West Virginia
✓
Arkansas
✓
Wyoming
✓
Wikipedia has a stub article about Booger Hole.
18.Afghanistan Time (AFT) is UTC +4:30 (4-1/2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time). Although Afghanistan Time is only used in Afghanistan, there is one other country that used to use a time zone offset of +4:30. Which one?
Iran
✓
Uzbekistan
✓
Tajikistan
✓
Pakistan
✓
Iran used Iran Daylight Time (IRDT), with an offset of +4:30, for part of the year until Daylight Saving Time was abolished beginning in 2023. (Source: timeanddate.com)
19.In 2017, Ohio became the 41st state to outlaw this.
Wife swapping
✓
Smoking in public
✓
Bestiality
✓
Gender affirming care
✓
Apparently it was still legal in Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia. (Source: nbc4i.com, 21 March 2017)
20.A Turkish court ruled (in 2015) that it is perfectly legal for a male teacher to wear what in class?