Trivia Archive A1

What was the first ever fast food chain established in the US?

Answer: White Castle is credited as being the first ever fast food chain. Opened in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921 it was distinguished by its speed and efficiency and it's customers placed their orders at a centralized counter.

Winners: ms kat, gqgeorge, & brownsfan

Notable Answers: fronglady33, SnowyRiver, megatha, suzybaby, dakotabill, clsplay, ninahearts, busyrenae, drmblvr40, & raliicatt

Left: Third Class Quarters

Right: First Class Bathroom Facilities in the Stateroom

While surfing the internet, I recently came across a website that said "There were only six toilets on the Titanic." I found this astonishing. Were there only 6 toilets on the Titanic, or was this website giving false information?

Answer: Each first class stateroom had it's own bathroom as one of the four rooms that a stateroom consisted of. However, the third class accommodations were six bunk beds to each quarters area and they shared a toilet as seen above, and there were only two bathtubs to be shared by more than 700 third class passengers.

Winners: SnowyRiver, tlmmh5, & Dwiggie

Notable Answers: drmblvr40, gottawin2, ctrymuziklvr, Dwiggie, cwelch06, imshy1967, ninahearts, Marconis, greatleo, sugarg_559, babes5, & Megatha

What is the tallest building in the world?

Answer: The Burk Khalifa officially became the world's tallest building when it opened its doors on Jan. 4, 2010. It towers over the downtown Dubai landscape at a height of just over 828 meters (2,716 feet) tall.

Winners: DrmBLvr40, budlyjcool, & gramob

Notable Answers: ctrymuziklvr, ninahearts, busyrenae, mdptexdude46, clsplay, twinks82, Wildainae, KAMEKAZE2, babes5, browsfan, & angelomine46

If you were running in a race and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in?

Answer: If you pass the person in 2nd place, that would mean you were in 3rd place and you are now in 2nd place.

Winners: gertom, kidduknot, & dotto13

Notable Answers: Rosie Morin, gramob, mystycgurl, babes5, kitten1956, froglady33, santak, rays, ninahearts, budlyjcool, Wildainae, busyrenae, ms kat, dstepp, raliicatt, drmblvr40, megatha, angelomine46, & shinedown

Animals were sent into outer space before humans dared to venture into the unknown. What was the first animal sent into outer space? (Hint: It wasn't a monkey.)

Answer:The first animals ever sent into space were fruit flies. On February 20, 1947 were launched in a Nazi V-2 rocket and reached an altitude of 68 miles. They were then recovered alive by parachute. Monkeys do hold the record for being the first mammals to go into space.(The image below shows the history of animals in space.)

Winners: ctrymuziklvr, taliea, & chefvjt

Notable Answers: busyrenae, golikej, brownsfan, MY PAW PAW, rays, ninahearts, jetter, & babes5

What two animals can see everything them without ever turning their heads?

Answer: The Rabbit and The Parrot

Winners: HotTracks13, kathsing, & Emraude

Notable Answers: greatleo, shinedown, rays, budlyjcool, gottawin2, busyrenae, Tzurbu, brownsfan, cwelch06, golikej, & ninahearts

You can actually overdose on caffeine. What is the amount of caffeine that is considered to be a potentially fatal dose?

Answer: The estimated fatal oral dose, which varies because of factors like weight, is 5 grams to 10 grams.

Winners: pollydodah, MY PAW PAW, & tambru1

Notable Answers: clsplay, jetter, ninahearts, blue16669, brownsfan, ProzacWoman, ladyjade, & Wildainae

Popular Brand name rivals, Kellogg and Post, have competed against each other for a very long time. Post came out with a breakfast item in 1963 called "Country Squares." Within a very short amount of time, Kellogg had developed their own version that would soon become very popular. What is the name of the Kellogg's version of "Country Squares?"

Answer: Pop Tarts

Winners: dorunrun, crh1958, & shinedown

Notable Answers: drmblvr40, busyrenae, suzybaby, cwelch06, jetter, angelomine46, rays, & ninahearts

Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, never telephoned his wife or mother. Why?

Answer: They were both deaf.

Winners: oneeyedbrie, tjlagace, & tnsnap

Notable Answers: MY PAW PAW, cwelch06, tambru1, clsplay, rays, ninahearts, angelomine46, HotTracks13, samcode, & busyrenae

Answer: Pop Tarts

Winners: dorunrun, crh1958, & shinedown

Notable Answers: drmblvr40, busyrenae, suzybaby, cwelch06, jetter, angelomine46, rays, & ninahearts

Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, never telephoned his wife or mother. Why?

Answer: They were both deaf.

Winners: oneeyedbrie, tjlagace, & tnsnap

Notable Answers: MY PAW PAW, cwelch06, tambru1, clsplay, rays, ninahearts, angelomine46, HotTracks13, samcode, & busyrenae

If you were to write out all the names of all the states in the US, what letter would you have NOT written?

Answer: Q

Winners: gottawin2, dakotabill, & blondeeusa

Notable Answers: suzybaby, ProzacWoman, krystle, clsplay, ametallover, cwelch06, MY PAW PAW, & drmblvr40

Leonhard Euler is honored by Google in this homepage doodle. He is remembered for being perhaps the greatest _____________ of the eighteenth century?

Answer: Mathematician

Winners: mellymoo79, jinuwine, & babes5

Notable Answers: angelomine46, misleading1, cwelch06, ProzacWoman, CantDanceToo, TombRaider, tambru1, greatleo, ametallover, ninahearts, babes5, & MY PAW PAW

What percent of the bones in your body are located in your feet?

Answer: Approximately 25% of the bones in your entire body are located in your feet.

Winners: wackyPete, ProzacWoman, & clsplay

Notable Answers: angelomine46, drmblvr40, kitten1956, ninahearts, Pollydodah, CantDanceToo, babes5, cwelch06, LindsayLPN & busyrenae

Many sites claim that "A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why." Does a duck's quack echo?

Answer: Yes, a duck's quack does in fact echo.

Winners: greatleo, SuLyn, & smedley01

Notable Answers: notinmyhouse, angelomine46, rays, babes5, ninahearts, busyrenae, krystle, zulmirab, & Ladytx54

On Google Maps, what is different about the White House than any other typical building that you would view?

Answer: You can go into street view, and take a tour inside of the White House.

Winners: blueone11, jeebee, & dstepp

Notable Answers: ninahearts & ProzacWoman

Albert Einstein stated that he not only lacked the "natural aptitude and the experience to deal properly with people," but also, he was getting old when he declined an offer to become the second president of what country in 1952?

Answer: Israel

Winners: pssttt, ninahearts, & eladmj

Notable Answers: misleading1, angelomine46, TombRaider, CantDanceToo, Wildainae, cwelch06, brownsfan, ladybrandie, babes5, budlyjcool, samcode, drmblvr40, thatgirl, ladyjade, & golikej

2x4s are not actually 2 inches by 4 inches. When the board is first rough sawn from the log, it is a true 2x4, but the drying process and planing of the board reduce it to a smaller size. What is the actual size of a 2x4?

Answer: 1-1/2" x 3-1/2"

Winners: krystle, TombRaider, & angelomine46

Notable Answers: ProzacWoman, CantDanceToo, tambru1, busyrenae, rays, arlcjg, mdptexdude46, dakotabill, babes5, ninahearts, & cwelch06

Who was the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize? Along with her cohorts, she was awarded for her work in Physics for "recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena," in December of 1903.

Answer: Marie Curie

Winners: layda01, raliicatt, & KAMEKAZE2

How many steps are in the Eiffel Tower from the ground level to the top platform?

Answer: 1,710 steps

Winners: LauraMSlattery, suzybaby, & ladyjade

What common household cleaner was recommended for use as birth control in the 1920s?

Answer: Lysol

Winners: dappling, rays, & froglady33

What is the only insect that can turn its head?

Answer: praying mantis

Winners: lilqt294564, misleading1, & mdptexdude46

What was the first novel to ever be written on a typewriter?

Answer: "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by: Mark Twain

Winners: Wildainae, busyrenae, & treysgirl

The Taco Bell Corporation took out a full-page ad that appeared in six major newspapers on April 1, 1996. What were they announcing in that ad that outraged hundred of people and turned out to be just an April Fool's joke?

Answer: They announced that they had purchased the Liberty Bell to help reduce national debt. The ad stated it would be renamed "The Taco Liberty Bell."

Winners: cwelch06, anniemal, & jetter

The world record for the largest chocolate Easter bunny was made by Duracell South Africa in Sandton City, Gauteng, South Africa, on March 19, 2010. The bunny was 12 feet tall, and after confirmation of it's construction, was handed out to underprivileged orphans in Africa. How much did this record breaking bunny weigh?

Answer: more than 3 tons (2721 kilos)

Winners: drmblvr40, uglyhammer128, & rockyd2

The word "jiffy" is used in the logo for Jiffy Lube, what is the actual measurement of time when measured as a "jiffy"?

Answer: Just like the name implies when used by the companies above, a jiffy is indeed a very short measurement of time. In electronics, a jiffy is the time between alternating current power cycles, 1/60 or 1/50 of a second. In physics, it is qualified as the time taken for light to travel the size of a nucleon, 3 x 10 to the power of -44!

Winners: spike808, force23, & Ale8

What famous US author is quoted as saying, "Be true to your work, your word, and your friend"?

Answer: Henry David Thoreau

Winners: 100zplz, blue16669, & bcrute1224

What were the early stage names of Cher and Sonny Bono?

Answer: Cleo and Caesar

Winners: mrs tweety, wendy8601, & monicmarieb

Why did the company name of "ACME", as seen in the classic looney toons cartoons, become an extremely popular company name in the 1920s?

Answer: In the 1920s alphabetized phone books – like the Yellow Pages – were growing in popularity, resulting in businesses re-branding under a different name in order to get to the top of the list and get seen by more people. ACME was a hugely popular choice for a name at the time, since the letters AC are close to the beginning of the alphabet and the definition of the word (prime) suggests superiority.

Winners: drmblvr40, CantDanceToo, & brownsfan

Does the act of eating celery actually result in negative calories due to the simple action of eating the vegetable?

Answer: Yes it does! Celery has 6 calories per 8 inch stalk, therefore it provides fewer calories than we expend while our body is digesting it.

Winners: megatha, texas61, & sunshinechili

Most of us have suffered through those annoyingly itch bites from a mosquito. Only the female mosquitoes bite and ingest blood to survive. What do the male mosquitoes eat?

Answer: They eat nectar from plants.

Winners: flarob, playerfoxtrot, & Twitch

There are many superstitions that surround what occurs or can occur when you sneeze. Two of the most popular are that your heart stops for a split second when you sneeze, and that if you sneezed with your eyes open the force of the sneeze would cause your eyes to pop out.

a. Do sneezes really cause your heart to quit beating for a moment?
b. If you could keep your eyes open while you sneeze, would they pop out of your head?

Answer: a. It's not true that your heart stops when you sneeze. When your chest contracts because of a sneeze, your blood flow is momentarily constricted as well. As a result, the rhythm of your heart may change, but it definitely doesn't stop.
b. And your eyeballs cannot pop out of your head when you sneeze. Most people naturally close their eyes when they sneeze, but if they are able to keep them open, their eyes stay firmly planted in their heads where they belong.

Winners: shinedown, cspence9, & robbie0783

Where did the nickname "leathernecks" in reference to the US Marines originate?

Answer: The term "Leatherneck" was derived from a leather stock once worn around the neck by both American and British Marines--and soldiers also. Beginning in 1798, "one stock of black leather and clasp" was issued to each U. S. Marine annually.

Winners: Marconis, tnsnap, & Ametallover

What state in the US has the highest percentage of people that walk to work?

Answer: Alaska

Winners: golikej, danstey, & tambru1

What effect did the introduction of color tv have on our dreams?

Answer: People stopped dreaming in black and white and started reporting more and more often that their dreams incorporated color.

Winners: martha24016, winzwinz, & ctrymuziklvr

Regulations have been put in place by the US Mint to regulation certain coins from being removed from the US when people travel abroad. Taking more than $5 of which two types of coins is punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000, or imprisonment of not more than five years, or both without permission from the government?

Answer: pennies and nickles

Winners: Deilasoul, gqgeorge, & babes5

The thump-thump sound of your heartbeat is actually the sound of what?

Answer: The sound you hear is made by the valves inside your heart opening and closing to pump blood throughout your body.

Winners: hot33smoke34, shadeyslady, & yumyum1948

What item found today in most kitchens was the strongest acid commonly known in ancient times?

Answer: vinegar

Winners: santak, zeethree, & lancesbooboo

Which artist painted the Mona Lisa?

Answer: Leonardo Da Vinci

Winners: livletliv, nanajan, & laurashattler

Considered the most beautiful woman in history, she had a face that launched a thousand ships. Who was she?

Answer: Helen of Troy : Her abduction by Paris was said to be the reason for a fleet of a thousand ships to be launched into battle, initiating the Trojan Wars.

Winners: jenniferb, irishlace, & luvnr70cameroinaz

In human reproduction, the X-and Y-chromosomes determine gender. Is the X-chromosome associated with male or female characteristics?

Answer: female

Winners: Compgamer, MY PAW PAW, & budlyjcool

What is the most popular vegetable in America, in terms of number eaten?

Answer: potatoes

Winners: zulmirab, tdhelberg, & elspeth

If you have 1000 pennies, 1000 nickels, 1000 dimes, 1000 quarters, and 1000 half dollars, then how much do you have altogether?

Answer: $910.00 (1000 * .91)

Winners: JENNDAV, taboomaria, & kim111

True or false: According to the Guinness Book of Records, the world's longest automobile is a 100 foot long limousine which includes a swimming pool with diving board and a king sized waterbed.

Answer: true

Winners: georgia123, Tickets, & ProzacWoman

One of the most successful television shows of all time was M.A.S.H. What were these four letters an abbreviation for?

Answer: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital

Winners: taina1313, Pssttt, ms kat, chahu, gopher69, & moccbrat

Clarence Saunders revolutionized the entire grocery industry with his self service grocery stores called "Piggly Wiggly." What did he give as his reason for giving the stores such a unique name?

Answer: Someone once asked him why he had chosen such an unusual name for his organization, and Saunders' reply was, "So people will ask that very question." He wanted and found a name that would be talked about and remembered.(http://www.pigglywiggly.com/about-us)

Winners: velveteen524, jacquemar, & ladyjade

What is the dot that rests on top of a letter "i" called?

Answer: tittle

Winners: djgarcia, DoogieH, & sanderson

What is so delicate that saying its name breaks it?

Answer: Silence

Winners: samcode, kimme, & chefvjt

While doing this make sure you do each step separately.

Write down the number of the month you were born
Multiply it by 4
Add 13
Multiply the result by 25
Subtract 200
Add the day of the month on which you were born
Multiply by 2
Subtract 40
Multiply the result by 50
Add the last two digits of the year of your birth
Finally, subtract 10,500

What do you notice about your answer?

Answer: The result is you birthdate (month,day,year).

Winners: twizzletwacked, kitten1956, & hotrod11

What word becomes a palindrome (a word that is the same forward and backwards) when viewed upside down and backwards?

Answer: SWIMS

Winners: crazyape, tracy3418, & ninahearts

After the loss of her child and husband, Sarah Winchester continuously build onto her house until the day she died. What was she convinced would happen if the construction stopped?

Answer: She was told by a medium that the ghost of all the people killed by the Winchester rifles were after her and that the only way to keep them at bay and stay alive was to never stop construction on her estate.

Winners: dorunrun, tinky26, & julianfry

I was a well known British suspense and psychological thriller director with more than fifty feature films to my name. I appeared briefly in almost all of the films I directed. Who am I?

Answer: Alfred Hitchcock

Winners: kimirp, mamatwink, & pmjm61

Rumors of spiders raining from the sky are all over the internet lately. There is even a facebook page devoted to it. There was a news investigation in which the truth came out. Was the story fact or fiction?

Answer: It was not raining spiders. What appeared to be raining spiders in Santo Antonio da Platna, Brazil was actually a colony of communal spiders spinning a web curtain, which was waving in the wind. The creepy critters are not believed to be harmful to humans but they were working together as a team to build a web big enough to catch large prey, according to a February 9, 2013 article by Fox News.

Winners: aarledge, smokinghot33, & Lilax

How many different animal shapes are made by Nabisco for their popular Barnum's Animal Crackers?

Answer: Currently they only make 19 different animals, however they have had 54 different animals since they began production in 1903.

Winners: mitzi4, Marastotle, & fuzzyhuzzy

Vaseline was invented by accident in 1859 by Robert Chesebrough. How was it discovered?

Answer: The young kerosene salesman discovered Vaseline when he noticed a waxy substance that would build up on the drilling equipment of the oil fields in Pennsylvania. The workers complained about the "rod wax" build up, but noted that the only thing it was good for was healing cuts quickly.

Winners: twobears, angelomine46, & krystle

There is something in the world called Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu. What is it?

Answer: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is the Māori name for a hill, 305 metres (1,001 ft) high, close to Porangahau, south of Waipukurau in southern Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. It is often referred to as Taumata by the locals in conversation.

Winners: enjjjne, monicmaieb, & busyrenae

Does sitting to close to the television really damage your eyesight?

Answer: No, sitting close to the television does not have an impact on your vision.

Winners: Pollydodah, justin24j, & misleading1

The word abracadabra was first recorded in a Latin medical poem, De medicina praecepta, by the Roman physician Quintus Serenus Sammonicus in the second century AD. What was the purpose of the poem (shown right)?

Answer: Serenus Sammonicus said that to get well, a sick person should wear an amulet around the neck, a piece of parchment inscribed with a triangular formula derived from the word, which acts like a funnel to drive the sickness out of the body.

Winners: queent, babes5, & Crazyape

Which popular blond actress with an IQ of 154 said... "I am fiercely intelligent, which most people find threatening. We Barbie Dolls are not supposed to behave the way I do?"

Answer: Sharon Stone

Winners: ProzacWoman, diamondgem, & 2003qb1poy

What is the largest rodent in the world?

Answer: the capybara

Winners: DRMBLVR40, elspeth, & Richard1960Lisa1979

What is really making the "sound of the ocean" when you hold a conch shell to your ear?

Answer: The noise you actually hear is made by ambient noise from around you. Other theories such as the blood rushing through your ear have been dis-proven by science.

Winners: andreariggs, megatha, & brownsfan

According to the World Heath Organization, which two countries have the highest life expectancy in the entire world?

Answer: San Marino & Japan (Both have an average life expectancy of 83 years.)

Winners: nricket, nanajan, & bcrute1224

What is the only state in the United States that has only one syllable in its name?

Answer: Maine

Winners: suzybaby, ladyjade, & Toupi

What classic 1990's seek and find children's book was placed on the ALA’s Top 100 Banned Books list for much of the 1990’s?

Answer: Where's Waldo

Winners: CantDanceToo, jetter, & ninahearts

What is the most commonly used metal in the world?

Answer: iron

Winners: sayr811, lissa97124, & mjebc

The ostrich lays the largest egg of any land animal, however the largest egg laid by any animal belongs to what sea dwelling creature?

Answer: The whale shark lays the largest eggs in the world.

Winners: Wildainae, golikej, & sugarcat3

In 1876 on Valentine's Day, Alexander Graham Bell applied a patent for what famous invention?

Answer: The telephone

Winners: amber123, robertbreyes, & geminthemoon

During NASA's Apollo program there were 9 missions sent to the moon, how many men actually had the opportunity to walk on the surface of the moon?

Answer: 12 men

Winners: speshalt, mammaduck, & daleinwi

Name a word in the English language that has four letters or more in which all those letters are in alphabetical order.

Answer: Any word that's letters are in alphabetical order. The winning entries were: accent, ghost, & Aegilops

Winners: FE52YFN, darcchaos, & szaniboni

What percent of a jellyfish is water?

Answer: 95%

Winners: busyrenae, gqgeorge, & dotto13

How many different ways are there to make change for a dollar?

Answer: 293

Winners: juicyfruit, gresugrbrtchs, unicorn17731, Paddygal, mdptexdude46, & Wendy8601

Grapes and Raisins are poisonous to what common household pet?

Answer: a dog

Winners: ANGEL61383, froglady33, & zeethree

In 1911, China banned this common hairstyle, which they felt was to reminiscent of their past. San Francisco had also banned the same hairstyle with an ordinance in 1873. It banned prisoners from donning the style in hopes of cutting down on the population in local jails. What was that hair style?

Answer: the pigtail

Winners: Tickets, velveteen524, jskidzo

What animal cannot move its tongue, but its digestive juices are so strong that it can digest a steel nail?

Answer: a crocodile

Winners: ladytx54, dallas1981, & livletliv

In a human body, which is true?

The left lung is smaller than the right.
The right lung is smaller than the left.
The lungs are exactly the same size.

Answer: The left lung is smaller than the right. This makes room for the heart on that side of the body.

Winners: j0hnk45, brywats, & tdhelberg

Two brothers accidentally left a pot of boiled grain on the stove for several days. The mixture turned moldy but the product that emerged was dry and thick. Through experimentation they eliminated the mold part and created a new cereal. What cereal that is still popular today did they invent?

Answer: Corn Flakes

Winners: Paddygal, dorunrun, & filicheez

Giving a "thumbs up" also represents the American Sign Language symbol for what number?

Answer: 10

Winners: gramob, Lilax, & flarob

What element on Earth is lighter as a liquid than as a solid?

Answer: water

Winners: dlcama, latti2de, & mjebc

How many vertebrae are in a giraffe's neck?

Answer: 7

Winners: danste, deb61157, & twizzletwacked

Howard Hughes was a brilliant aviator, movie producer, and business tycoon worth billions of dollars, however he suffered from a mental illness that wasn’t known to many people at that time of history. What was that mental illness?

Answer: Howard Hughes was a brilliant individual that contributed much to the world, however he was also suffering from a fear of germs, codeine addiction, reclusive behavior, and all this was symptomatic of his obsessive compulsive disorder.

Winners: misleading1, eladmj, & KingLouis