Cultural attitudes toward silence
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Cultural Attitudes Toward Silence — Daily trivia Thursday, June 4, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01Which Japanese concept, written 間 and meaning 'gap, space, pause', has been called 'the silence between the notes'?
- AYohaku
- BSeijaku
- CHaragei
- DMa
Show answer
Ma
Ma. Western designers would call it negative space: the empty space around and between the subjects of a work.
Q 02Which Catholic order famous for its abbey beers is popularly, but wrongly, thought to take a vow of silence?
- ACarthusians
- BTrappists
- CBenedictines
- DJesuits
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Trappists
Trappists. They speak only when necessary, and developed their own sign language so that talking would rarely be needed.
Q 03In which city did the Remembrance Day two-minute silence begin, as a daily pause signalled by the noon gun?
- ACape Town
- BLondon
- COttawa
- DMelbourne
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Cape Town
Cape Town. Mayor Sir Harry Hands started the pause weeks after learning that his son Reginald had died of wounds on the Western Front.
Q 04John Cage's composition '4'33"' was revolutionary because it consisted primarily of what?
- AA single piano note repeated
- BElectronic static noise
- CSilence and ambient sounds
- DWind instrument sounds
Show answer
Silence and ambient sounds
Silence and ambient sounds. The score tells the performer not to play, so the piece is whatever the audience hears, and its premiere caused an uproar.
Q 05Which Indian spiritual master stayed silent for over four decades until his death, communicating by alphabet board and gestures?
- ASri Aurobindo
- BRamana Maharshi
- CSai Baba of Shirdi
- DMeher Baba
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Meher Baba
Meher Baba. His motto 'Don't worry, be happy' inspired Bobby McFerrin's hit, and The Who's 'Baba O'Riley' is partly named after him.
Q 06What is the deliberately blank expression a card player keeps so nothing about their hand shows called?
- AA stone eye
- BA poker face
- CA dead hand
- DA cold read
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A poker face
A poker face. It hides tells, the small changes in breathing, gaze or chip handling that can hint at the strength of a hand.
Q 07Members of which religious group hold 'unprogrammed' worship, where nobody plans in advance who will speak?
- AAmish
- BMennonites
- CQuakers
- DShakers
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Quakers
Quakers. The meeting sits mainly in silence until someone feels moved to speak, and the name began as a judge's jibe at George Fox's call to tremble at the word of the Lord.
Q 08On which island does the Hindu 'Day of Silence' shut the airport and keep tourists off the streets?
- ABali
- BSri Lanka
- CMauritius
- DFiji
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Bali
Bali. From 6 a.m. to 6 a.m. work, travel and lights are off limits, and village guards called pecalang patrol the streets.
Q 09Which liqueur is made by the French monks filmed in the documentary 'Into Great Silence'?
- ACointreau
- BGrand Marnier
- CChartreuse
- DChambord
Show answer
Chartreuse
Chartreuse. When director Philip Gröning asked to film the monks in 1984 they wanted more time, and let him in, without a crew, more than a decade later.
Q 10Which company's anechoic chamber held the record as the quietest place on Earth until 2021?
- AApple
- BSamsung
- CMicrosoft
- DQualcomm
Show answer
Microsoft
Microsoft. Its chamber in Redmond, Washington, had beaten Orfield Laboratories in Minneapolis, which took the record back in November 2021 at −24.9 dBA.
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