Q 01/05

Which racquet sport was invented on Bainbridge Island, Washington, with leftover badminton and ping-pong kit?

A) Racquetball

B) Pickleball

C) Padel

D) Platform tennis

Answer · why

B) Pickleball

Pickleball was improvised by Joel Pritchard, a future congressman, and a friend to entertain their bored children, using whatever equipment was lying ...

Q 02/05

Which novel, turned down by over twenty publishers, was finally issued by a printer of car-repair manuals?

A) Dune

B) Stranger in a Strange Land

C) The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

D) Foundation

Answer · why

A) Dune

Dune was published by Chilton Books, which treated it as a write-off and fired the editor who championed it; the book then won the first Nebula Award ...

Q 03/05

Which fibre did DuPont's Stephanie Kwolek create while hunting for lighter tyres in a petrol-shortage scare?

A) Nylon

B) Lycra

C) Kevlar

D) Rayon

Answer · why

C) Kevlar

Kevlar now lines bulletproof vests, but getting it made took persuasion: Kwolek had to talk a reluctant technician into spinning her thin, cloudy solu...

Q 04/05

Which winter sport grew from the 'Snurfer', which Sherman Poppen built for his children's amusement on Christmas Day?

A) Skeleton

B) Skibobbing

C) Freestyle skiing

D) Snowboarding

Answer · why

D) Snowboarding

Snowboarding grew out of a toy: Poppen lashed two skis together for his daughters, his wife named it the Snurfer, and Brunswick sold about a million o...

Q 05/05

Which country ran up a new flag on 15 February, retiring its Red Ensign after a rancorous 'Great Flag Debate'?

A) Australia

B) Canada

C) New Zealand

D) South Africa

Answer · why

B) Canada

Canada's maple leaf was inaugurated on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and 15 February is now National Flag Day. Prime Minister Lester Pearson had forced t...