A good mixture of easy, difficult and maybe one or two tricky questions for you today.
But if you get stuck you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!
Enjoy and good luck.
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Q. 1: Was the color orange named after the fruit, or was the fruit named after the color orange?
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Q. 2: Approximately how much of the mass of our solar system does the Sun take up?
a) 59% b) 69% c) 79% d) 89% e) 99%
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Q. 3: What is the deepest part of the world’s oceans known as?
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Q. 4: What was the discovery that gave archaeologists the key to understanding modern Egyptian hieroglyphs.
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Q. 5: You’ve seen it hundreds of times at least, but how many stars surround the mountain on the Paramount Pictures logo?
a) 12 b) 22 c) 32 d) 42
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Q. 6: Since the beginning of the modern Olympics, in 1896, what are the only two countries to have participated in every Games. (A point for each correct answer.)
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Q. 7: Who played detective Kojak in the long running TV series?
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Q. 8: Approximately how many bacteria are on each of your feet?
a) one thousand b) one million c) one billion d) one trillion
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Q. 9: What is the name of the lake situated on the border of Peru and Bolivia in the Andes Mountains? (You know it, it’s a very well known name.)
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Q. 10: What was the name of the New York Yankees baseball star who was once married to Marilyn Monroe?
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Q. 11: Which US state has the longest border with Canada?
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Q. 12: Lizzie Borden was an American woman, from Fall River, Massachusetts, who was famously accused of the axe murders of her father and stepmother. It was a famous case memorialized in a popular skipping-rope rhyme: “Lizzie Borden took an axe, And gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one.” How long was her jail sentence?
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Q. 13: Without rearranging any of its letters, how many English language words can you make from the seven letter word “therein”? (You can have a point for each word you can make, so potentially a good score here!)
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Q. 14: They are now worth millions of dollars each and much sought after, but how many of his paintings did Vincent Van Gogh sell while he was alive?
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Q. 15: What is Queensland And Northern Territories Air Service better known as?
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Q. 16: South Africa is the only country with three official capitals, what are they? (A point for each correct answer, and a bonus point if you can correctly name all three.)
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Q. 17: What is a baby eel called?
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Q. 18: What is greater, the volume of the Earth’s moon OR the volume of the Pacific Ocean?
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Q. 19: Which US President pardoned Robert E. Lee posthumously of all crimes of treason?
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Q. 20: Probably the most famous version is by Frank Sinatra, but who wrote the song “I Get A Kick Out Of You”?
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ANSWERS
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Q. 1: Was the color orange named after the fruit, or was the fruit named after the color orange?
A. 1: The color orange was named after the fruit.
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Q. 2: Approximately how much of the mass of our solar system does the Sun take up?
a) 59% b) 69% c) 79% d) 89% e) 99%
A. 2: The correct answer is e) 99%.
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Q. 3: What is the deepest part of the world’s oceans known as?
A. 3: The deepest part of the world’s oceans is known as the Mariana Trench or Marianas Trench, located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Mariana Islands.
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Q. 4: What was the discovery that gave archaeologists the key to understanding modern Egyptian hieroglyphs.
A. 4: The discovery of the Rosetta Stone finally provided the key to understanding modern Egyptian hieroglyphs.
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Q. 5: You’ve seen it hundreds of times at least, but how many stars surround the mountain on the Paramount Pictures logo?
a) 12 b) 22 c) 32 d) 42
A. 5: The correct answer is b), there are 22 stars surrounding the mountain on the Paramount Pictures logo.
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Q. 6: Since the beginning of the modern Olympics, in 1896, what are the only two countries to have participated in every Games. (A point for each correct answer.)
A. 6: The only two countries to have participated in every modern Olympic Games are Greece and Australia.
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Q. 7: Who played detective Kojak in the long running TV series?
A. 7: Telly Savalas.
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Q. 8: Approximately how many bacteria are on each of your feet?
a) one thousand b) one million c) one billion d) one trillion
A. 8: There are about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.
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Q. 9: What is the name of the lake situated on the border of Peru and Bolivia in the Andes Mountains? (You know it, it’s a very well known name.)
A. 9: It is called Lake Titicaca.
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Q. 10: What was the name of the New York Yankees baseball star who was once married to Marilyn Monroe?
A. 10: He was Joe DiMaggio.
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Q. 11: Which US state has the longest border with Canada?
A. 11: Alaska.
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Q. 12: Lizzie Borden was an American woman, from Fall River, Massachusetts, who was famously accused of the axe murders of her father and stepmother. It was a famous case memorialized in a popular skipping-rope rhyme: “Lizzie Borden took an axe, And gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one.” How long was her jail sentence?
A. 12: She was acquitted and no one else has ever been charged with the murders.
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Q. 13: Without rearranging any of its letters, how many English language words can you make from the seven letter word “therein”? (You can have a point for each word you can make, so potentially a good score here!)
A. 13: There are ten English language words that can be made out of the word “therein” without rearranging any of its letters: the, there, he, in, rein, her, here, here, ere, therein, herein.
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Q. 14: They are now worth millions of dollars each and much sought after, but how many of his paintings did Vincent Van Gogh sell while he was alive?
A. 14: Vincent Van Gogh sold exactly one painting while he was alive, the Red Vineyard at Arles.
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Q. 15: What is Queensland And Northern Territories Air Service better known as?
A. 15: QANTAS, the name of the Australian national airline.
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Q. 16: South Africa is the only country with three official capitals, what are they? (A point for each correct answer, and a bonus point if you can correctly name all three.)
A. 16: South Africa’s three official capitals are Pretoria, Cape Town, and Bloemfontein.
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Q. 17: What is a baby eel called?
A. 17: A baby eel is called an elver.
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Q. 18: What is greater, the volume of the Earth’s moon OR the volume of the Pacific Ocean?
A. 18: Bit of a trick question here. The volume of the Earth’s moon is the same as the volume of the Pacific Ocean.
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Q. 19: Which US President pardoned Robert E. Lee posthumously of all crimes of treason?
A. 19: Gerald Ford.
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Q. 20: Probably the most famous version is by Frank Sinatra, but who wrote the song “I Get A Kick Out Of You”?
A. 20: Cole Porter. Sorry Frank but this is MY favorite version….
Another twenty brain teasing questions to stimulate those old grey cells.
As usual the answers can be found waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!
Enjoy and good luck.
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Q. 1: Where would you go to look at the Abominable Snowman?
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Q. 2: Who was Jacqueline Lee Bouvier’s second husband?
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Q. 3: Where were Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire and Antony Perkins in the 1959 post apocalyptic movie that they starred in?
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Q. 4: What famous magician shares his name with an equally famous Dickens’ character?
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Q. 5: In which country is Togariro National park with its three volcanoes, including Mt. Ruapahu?
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Q. 6: Very few non Russians appeared on postage stamps in the USSR between 1922 and 1991, but two Americans did. Can you name them? (A point for each.)
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Q. 7: This famous actor starred in a movie being himself, who is he?
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Q. 8: Who was ‘The Once and Future King’?
a) Elvis b) Arthur c) Idi Amin d) Aragorn
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Q. 9: What was the name of the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and who is it’s current chief? (A point for each correct answer.)
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Q. 10: What is the name of the river that rises on the Tibetan Plateau of western China and has flooded more often and killed more people than any other?
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Q. 11: Why were there no registered births or deaths in England on September 3rd 1752?
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Q. 12: The name of which form of literature stems from a Greek word meaning ‘making’?
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Q. 13: Which actor won his only Oscar for his role in the western ‘True Grit’?
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Q. 14: The old name for which island country stems from the Latin word for beautiful?
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Q. 15: What is the real name of The Shark Tank’s ‘Mr Wonderful’?
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Q. 16: What is the capital of Equador?
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Q. 17: Vincent van Gogh is not only a very famous artist with his works now commanding millions of dollars, but he is also well known for an incident in which he cut off an ear. Which one? (Go on, you have a 50:50 chance on this one!)
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Q. 18: What aliases did Hannibal Hayes and Kid Curry use in the long running television series?
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Q. 19: Who was hailed as the founder of the Mongol Empire?
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Q. 20: What was Elvis Presley’s first number one hit single in the USA?
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ANSWERS
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Q. 1: Where would you go to look at the Abominable Snowman?
A. 1: The Himalayas.
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Q. 2: Who was Jacqueline Lee Bouvier’s second husband?
A. 2: Greek shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis.
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Q. 3: Where were Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire and Antony Perkins in the 1959 post apocalyptic movie that they starred in?
A. 3: On The Beach.
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Q. 4: What famous magician shares his name with an equally famous Dickens’ character?
A. 4: David Copperfield.
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Q. 5: In which country is Togariro National park with its three volcanoes, including Mt. Ruapahu?
A. 5: New Zealand.
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Q. 6: Very few non Russians appeared on postage stamps in the USSR between 1922 and 1991, but two Americans did. Can you name them? (A point for each.)
A. 6: They were Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain.
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Q. 7: This famous actor starred in a movie being himself, who is he?
A. 7: He is John Malkovich, who starred in the movie ‘Being John Malkovich’.
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Q. 8: Who was ‘The Once and Future King’?
a) Elvis b) Arthur c) Idi Amin d) Aragorn
A. 8: b) Arthur.
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Q. 9: What was the name of the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and who is it’s current chief? (A point for each correct answer.)
A. 9: J Edgar Hoover was the first, the current director is James Comey.
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Q. 10: What is the name of the river that rises on the Tibetan Plateau of western China and has flooded more often and killed more people than any other?
A. 10: The Yellow River.
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Q. 11: Why were there no registered births or deaths in England on September 3rd 1752?
A. 11: There was no September 3rd 1752. The British government adopted the Gregorian calendar. It was decreed that the day following September 2nd 1752 should be called September 14.
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Q. 12: The name of which form of literature stems from a Greek word meaning ‘making’?
A. 12: Poetry.
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Q. 13: Which actor won his only Oscar for his role in the western ‘True Grit’?
A. 13: John Wayne.
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Q. 14: The old name for which island country stems from the Latin word for beautiful?
A. 14: Formosa (the modern name is Taiwan.)
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Q. 15: What is the real name of The Shark Tank’s ‘Mr Wonderful’?
A. 15: Kevin O’Leary.
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Q. 16: What is the capital of Equador?
A. 16: Quito.
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Q. 17: Vincent van Gogh is not only a very famous artist with his works now commanding millions of dollars, but he is also well known for an incident in which he cut off an ear. Which one? (Go on, you have a 50:50 chance on this one!)
A. 17: It was his left ear.
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Q. 18: What aliases did Hannibal Hayes and Kid Curry use in the long running television series?
A. 18: They were ‘Alias Smith And Jones’.
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Q. 19: Who was hailed as the founder of the Mongol Empire?
A. 19: Genghis Khan.
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Q. 20: What was Elvis Presley’s first number one hit single in the USA?
Because this Sunday there is a test for you. They’re no good unless they sneak up on you by surprise. This way there’s no time get a sick note or prepare another excuse.
Some of the questions are easy, some of them are hard, some of them are tricky, and some are a combination of one or more of the above.
So sharpen your pencils and whatever else you need to do and begin when you are ready.
(As usual the answers are waaaaaaaay down below, but no cheating!)
Enjoy!
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Q 1: Launched on February 1, 1958 what was the name of the first American satellite in orbit?
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Q 2: Most people know what a bibliophile is, but what is a bibliopole?
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Q 3: Train ‘A’ leaves from New York City heading toward Los Angeles at 100 mph. Three hours later, train ‘B’ leaves from Los Angeles heading toward New York City at 200 mph. Assume there is exactly 2,000 miles between Los Angeles and New York City. When they meet, which train is closer to New York City?
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Q 4: There is the only royal palace in the United States of America – where is it?
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Q 5: What sort of paper are US dollar bills made out of?
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Q 6: What does the ZIP in “ZIP code” mean?
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Q 7: Nowadays they go for tens of millions of dollars each, but how many paintings did Vincent Van Gogh sell during his entire life?
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Q 8: A certain five letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it. What is the word?
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Q 9: What is the only planet in our solar system that rotates clockwise?
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Q 10: What is a rhinoceros horn made of?
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Q 11: Name an English word that ends in “mt”
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Q 12: What was the first novel ever written on a typewriter?
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Q 13: If an electric train is traveling northwest at 95 miles per hour, and the wind is blowing southwest at 95 miles per hour, in which direction does the smoke blow?
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Q 14: Who was the first U.S. President to be born in a hospital?
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Q 15: How long would you have to hold your breath before you kill yourself?
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Q 16: What are the six official languages of the U.N.?
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Q 17: “Big Ben” in London, England is what?
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Q 18: There are 10 human body parts that are only 3 letters long. What are they? (And you know them all)
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Q 19: Who is Robert Zimmerman?
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Q 20: While on my way to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives. Each wife had seven sacks; Each sack had seven cats; Each cat had seven kittens. Kittens, cats, sacks, wives; How many were going to St. Ives?
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ANSWERS
Q 1: Launched on February 1, 1958 what was the name of the first American satellite in orbit?
Explorer
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Q 2: Most people know what a bibliophile is, but what is a bibliopole?
A bibliophile is a collector of rare books, and a bibliopole is a seller of rare books.
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Q 3: Train ‘A’ leaves from New York City heading toward Los Angeles at 100 mph. Three hours later, train ‘B’ leaves from Los Angeles heading toward New York City at 200 mph. Assume there is exactly 2,000 miles between Los Angeles and New York City. When they meet, which train is closer to New York City?
Two answers are allowed to this one, either
When they meet, they’re both exactly the same distance from New York City.
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if you consider “meeting” to be nose to nose, the one that left from New York City is closer to New York City by a train length.
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Q 4: There is the only royal palace in the United States of America – where is it?
Honolulu, Hawai
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Q 5: What sort of paper are US dollar bills made out of?
US Dollar bills are made out of cotton and linen.
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Q 6: What does the ZIP in “ZIP code” mean?
Zoning Improvement Plan.
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Q 7: Nowadays they go for tens of millions of dollars each, but how many paintings did Vincent Van Gogh sell during his entire life?
Vincent Van Gogh sold exactly one painting during his lifetime, “Red Vineyard at Arles”.
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Q 8: A certain five letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it. What is the word?
Short
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Q 9: What is the only planet in our solar system that rotates clockwise?
Venus
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Q 10: What is a rhinoceros horn made of?
Compacted hair
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Q 11: Name an English word that ends in “mt”
Dreamt
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Q 12: What was the first novel ever written on a typewriter?
Tom Sawyer
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Q 13: If an electric train is traveling northwest at 95 miles per hour, and the wind is blowing southwest at 95 miles per hour, in which direction does the smoke blow?
Smoke? It’s an electric train, there ain’t no smoke!
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Q 14: Who was the first U.S. President to be born in a hospital?
Jimmy Carter
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Q 15: How long would you have to hold your breath before you kill yourself?
You cannot kill yourself by holding your breath, with the best will in the world, even if you held you breath long enough to pass out your body reflex would then take over and you would start to breathe again involuntarily
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Q 16: What are the six official languages of the U.N.?
English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Arabic
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Q 17: “Big Ben” in London, England is what?
Many people mistakenly think it is a clock. Actually, it’s the bell.
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Q 18: There are 10 human body parts that are only 3 letters long. What are they? (And you know them all)
Eye, hip, arm, leg, ear, toe, jaw, rib, lip, gum.
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Q 19: Who is Robert Zimmerman?
Bob Dylan’s real name is Robert Zimmerman
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Q 20: While on my way to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives. Each wife had seven sacks; Each sack had seven cats; Each cat had seven kittens. Kittens, cats, sacks, wives; How many were going to St. Ives?
Read it again, it was only you who was going to St Ives, so the answer is one
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