50 free Old Wives' Tales trivia questions with answers — science & nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
47 free Old wives' tales trivia questions with answers. Old wives' tales trivia for anyone who was told to wait an hour after eating before swimming. Each question takes a piece of folk wisdom - cracking your knuckles causes arthritis, swallowed gum stays for seven years, carrots help you see in the dark, going out with wet hair gives you a cold, toads give you warts, shaving makes hair grow back thicker, sugar makes kids hyper, turkey makes you sleepy - and asks what is really going on. There are questions on where the sayings came from too: the RAF propaganda that started the carrot story, the German badger behind Groundhog Day, why 'red sky at morning' works in Britain but not the tropics, the doctor who cracked one hand's knuckles for sixty years, and what the 'wives' in the phrase actually meant. It suits a family quiz, a classroom or a pub round, and nobody needs any special knowledge, just a willingness to be surprised. Every answer is checked against a reference page - mainly encyclopaedia entries that cite the underlying medical studies - and each question shows its source once you have answered.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In the phrase 'old wives' tale', what did the word 'wife' originally mean?
Woman
The same old sense survives in 'midwife' and 'fishwife'.
Q 02The 1611 King James Bible warns against 'profane and old wives' fables' in which book?
1 Timothy
The tales were passed on orally, often to scare children away from doing something dangerous.
Q 03Cracking your knuckles is blamed for arthritis. What has research found?
No link to osteoarthritis
The pop comes from nitrogen bubbles forming and collapsing in the joint fluid, which is why you have to wait about 20 minutes to do it again.
Q 04What gas, dissolved in joint fluid, forms the bubbles that make a knuckle crack?
Nitrogen
It takes roughly 20 minutes for the gas to redissolve, which is why a joint cannot be cracked twice in quick succession.
Q 05According to the myth science rejects, how long does swallowed gum sit in your stomach?
Seven years
The gum base is indigestible, but it simply passes through like anything else.
Q 06The wartime carrots-help-you-see-in-the-dark story was propaganda hiding which technology?
Radar
Beta carotene only improves night vision in people who are actually deficient in vitamin A.
Q 07For a well-nourished person, does eating carrots improve night vision?
Only if you are short of vitamin A
The RAF encouraged the tale in the Second World War to disguise its new radar.
Q 08Going out with wet hair or getting chilled is said to give you a cold. What actually causes colds?
Viruses
Colds do spread more in winter, but because of dry air, closed windows and more time indoors.
Q 09Which of these is NOT among Wikipedia's reasons that colds spread more easily in winter?
Snow on the ground
Low temperatures may somewhat weaken the immune system, but they do not create the infection.
Q 10You catch warts from toads, says the tale. What really causes them?
A papillomavirus
The bumps on a toad are glands, not warts, and the virus that causes human warts affects only humans.
Q 11Shaving is said to make hair grow back thicker and darker. Why does regrowth feel coarser?
The cut end is blunt, not tapered
Short hairs are also less flexible than long ones, adding to the stubbly feel.
Q 12Sugar makes children hyperactive, parents say. What have double-blind trials found?
No difference in behaviour either way
A 2019 meta-analysis did find lower alertness and more fatigue within an hour of eating sugar, the 'sugar crash'.
Q 13How long does the unsupported classic tale say to wait after eating before swimming?
An hour
Q 21Despite the tale that brandy warms you, what does alcohol do to core body temperature in the cold?
It can lower it
Alcohol dilates blood vessels near the skin, so you feel warm while actually losing heat faster.
Q 22'Beer before liquor, never sicker.' What effect does the order of drinks have on a hangover?
None
The total amount drunk is what counts.
Q 23The tale says chocolate and greasy food give you spots. What does Wikipedia say causes acne?
It is not caused by poor hygiene or fatty foods
One study did find a link between drowning and something else entirely: alcohol.
Q 14Turkey's tryptophan is blamed for Thanksgiving drowsiness. What is more likely to blame?
A big, carb-heavy meal
Turkey's tryptophan content is typical of poultry; chocolate, oats and cheese are all richer sources.
Q 15How does the tryptophan content of turkey compare with other meats?
It is about the same
A 100-gram serving of turkey breast has about 279 mg of tryptophan, low compared with its other amino acids.
Q 16Reading in dim light will ruin your eyes, the tale goes. What does it actually cause?
Eye strain, not permanent damage
The strain is temporary and goes away with rest.
Q 17Roughly what share of the body's surface is the head?
7-9%
A hat is no more effective than covering any other equally sized patch of skin.
Q 18Milk makes you produce more mucus when you have a cold, says the tale. What is the truth?
Dairy does not increase it
Milk mixed with saliva does briefly coat the mouth and throat, which is probably where the feeling comes from.
Q 19You must drink eight glasses of water a day, according to the rule. What does the evidence say?
It is not needed; needs vary by person
Tea, juice, soup, fruit and vegetables all count toward what you need.
Q 20Coffee dehydrates you, says the tale. For whom, if anyone, is that true?
Only occasional drinkers
Neither coffee nor spicy food has any significant effect on peptic ulcers, another old belief.
A carbohydrate-rich diet or certain medications can make it worse, but grease on the skin is not the cause.
Q 24Hair and fingernails keep growing after death, says the tale. What creates that impression?
The skin dries and shrinks back
Growth needs a living blood supply, which stops at death.
Q 25According to science, not the internet, how many spiders does the average sleeper swallow a year?
None to speak of
The 'eight spiders a year' figure was itself a hoax about how easily false facts spread.
Q 26Which nutrient, taken as tablets, is widely believed to prevent colds despite the evidence?
Vitamin C
Taken daily it may slightly shorten a cold, but it does nothing once the cold has started; echinacea fares no better in trials.
Q 27Chicken soup for a cold is nicknamed what?
Jewish penicillin
A University of Nebraska study found it slowed the movement of some white blood cells, but the New York Times concluded none of the research was conclusive.
Q 28A fever from infection is widely feared for causing what, which it does not do by itself?
Brain damage
Febrile seizures look alarming but are usually harmless.
Q 29Popeye's spinach was 'packed with iron'. What does Wikipedia say of spinach as an iron source?
It is not a particularly good one
The plant's non-heme iron is also absorbed less readily than the iron in meat and fish.
Q 30In the German Candlemas lore behind Groundhog Day, which animal did the Germans watch?
The badger
In Hungary the bear did the forecasting, and badgers were consulted only when no bear was about.