Old Wives' Tales Trivia
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97 free Old Wives' Tales trivia questions with answers — science & nature quiz, new questions added Oct 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 97 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In the phrase 'old wives' tale', what did the word 'wife' originally mean?
Woman
'Wife' meant simply 'woman' in Old English (wīf); that older 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 warning is 1 Timothy 4:7: 'But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.'
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 04The 'sit too close to the TV' warning began with 1967 X-ray leaks from whose sets?
General Electric
General Electric recalled colour televisions in 1967 after faulty shunt regulator tubes leaked X-rays; the sets were repaired, but the warning outlived the defect.
Q 05According to the myth science rejects, how long does swallowed gum sit in your stomach?
Seven years
The tale says seven years, but gum base is merely indigestible: it passes through the gut in a few days like any other roughage.
Q 06The wartime carrots-help-you-see-in-the-dark story was propaganda hiding which technology?
Radar
The Air Ministry spread the carrot story to hide the RAF's new airborne radar, crediting night-fighter pilots such as John 'Cat's Eyes' Cunningham with carrot-sharpened eyesight.
Q 07For a well-nourished person, does eating carrots improve night vision?
Only if you are short of vitamin A
Only if you are short of vitamin A: the body turns carrot beta-carotene into vitamin A, so extra carrots sharpen night vision only in someone already deficient.
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 09'An apple a day keeps the doctor away' was first recorded in 1866 from where?
Wales
Notes and Queries printed it in 1866 as a Pembrokeshire proverb from Wales: 'Eat an apple on going to bed, and you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread.'
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 can lower core temperature: it dilates blood vessels near the skin, so you feel warm while the body sheds heat faster, and it blunts shivering.
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 23Chocolate and grease get blamed for spots; which statement about acne is actually true?
It is not caused by poor hygiene or fatty foods
The classic tale says wait an hour, but there is no evidence that eating before swimming causes cramps or drowning; studies tie drownings far more to 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
Turkey's tryptophan is about the same as in other meats, roughly 0.3 g per 100 g, comparable to chicken, beef and pork and lower than in some cheeses.
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%
The head is only about 7-9% of the body's surface (the burns 'rule of nines' gives it 9%), so a hat saves no more heat than covering any equal 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 20Caffeine's mild diuretic effect is seen in which coffee drinkers?
Only occasional drinkers
Only occasional drinkers: tolerance to caffeine's diuretic effect builds within days of regular use, and the water in a cup offsets any loss, so habitual coffee drinking does not dehydrate.
Acne is not caused by poor hygiene or fatty foods: it arises from blocked follicles, androgen-driven oil and Cutibacterium acnes bacteria, though a high-glycaemic diet can worsen it.
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
None to speak of: spiders avoid the breath, heartbeat and movement of a sleeping person, and the 'eight spiders a year' figure has no scientific study behind it.
Q 26Which nutrient, taken as tablets, is widely believed to prevent colds despite the evidence?
Vitamin C
Vitamin C, championed by Linus Pauling, does not prevent colds in the general population; regular doses shorten one by only about 8% in adults, and starting after symptoms begin does nothing.
Q 27Chicken soup for a cold is nicknamed what?
Jewish penicillin
Chicken soup is nicknamed 'Jewish penicillin'; a 2000 University of Nebraska study found it slowed the migration of neutrophils in the lab, though no trial shows it cures a cold.
Q 28A fever from infection is widely feared for causing what, which it does not do by itself?
Brain damage
Brain damage: a fever from infection seldom passes 41°C and does not harm the brain by itself; only extreme hyperthermia above about 42°C, as in heatstroke, can.
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 Germany the Candlemas animal was the badger (Dachs): a badger seeing its shadow on 2 February meant four more weeks of winter, a lore Pennsylvania Germans transferred to the groundhog.