Q 01/05

Why did the Michelin brothers hand their first guide to hotels and garages free to French motorists?

A) To sell more tyres

B) To promote their hotels

C) To advertise a fuel brand

D) To map the new roads

Answer · why

A) To sell more tyres

To sell more tyres: the free guide coaxed motorists into longer trips that wore out their rubber. Michelin began charging after André Michelin found c...

Q 02/05

Olympic gold medals must carry at least six grams of gold; the rest of the medal is mostly which metal?

A) Copper

B) Tin

C) Nickel

D) Silver

Answer · why

D) Silver

An Olympic 'gold' is at least 92.5% silver under a thin plating of gold; the last solid-gold medals were handed out in 1912.

Q 03/05

Which actress won a Razzie for All About Steve the night before taking the Best Actress Oscar?

A) Halle Berry

B) Sandra Bullock

C) Reese Witherspoon

D) Julia Roberts

Answer · why

B) Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock turned up to collect her Worst Actress Razzie in person, wheeling in a wagon of All About Steve DVDs for the audience, then won Best Ac...

Q 04/05

Which Canadian singer won the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland by a single point?

A) Céline Dion

B) Lara Fabian

C) Shania Twain

D) Alanis Morissette

Answer · why

A) Céline Dion

Céline Dion trailed the United Kingdom going into the final jury, but Yugoslavia gave Switzerland six points and Britain none, so 'Ne partez pas sans ...

Q 05/05

How did chemist George de Hevesy hide two Nobel medals from the Nazis in occupied Copenhagen?

A) Dissolved them in acid

B) Buried them in his garden

C) Melted them into coins

D) Posted them to Sweden

Answer · why

A) Dissolved them in acid

He dissolved them in acid, aqua regia, and left the jar on a lab shelf; after the war the gold was precipitated out and the medals of Max von Laue and...