Q 01/05

In Japan, what must a visitor do at a home's genkan, the sunken entryway just inside the front door?

A) Wash their hands

B) Remove their shoes

C) Bow to the host

D) Hang up their coat

Answer · why

B) Remove their shoes

Visitors remove their shoes at the genkan and avoid touching its lower tiled floor even in socks, so no outside dirt crosses into the house. Inside, t...

Q 02/05

In Thailand, which part of the body is considered unclean, never to be pointed at a person or a thing?

A) The elbows

B) The knees

C) The back

D) The feet

Answer · why

D) The feet

The feet are symbolically unclean, so the soles are kept from pointing at others when sitting on the floor, and pointing a dangling foot at someone ol...

Q 03/05

Which gesture, common across India, can mean yes, okay or 'I understand' depending on the context?

A) The head bobble

B) The shoulder shrug

C) The eyebrow flash

D) The double clap

Answer · why

A) The head bobble

The head bobble, a side-to-side tilt, is so context-dependent that it can also signal 'maybe' or plain polite acknowledgement. It is found across Sout...

Q 04/05

Which practice, routine in American restaurants, is not a custom in Japan and may be politely refused by staff?

A) Booking a table

B) Tipping

C) Toasting

D) Splitting the bill

Answer · why

B) Tipping

Tipping is not a custom in Japan; where a charge for service exists it is fixed or built into the price, so coins placed on the table mostly puzzle th...

Q 05/05

On 1 April in France, what do pranksters try to attach to a victim's back without being noticed?

A) A paper donkey

B) A cardboard clock

C) A playing card

D) A paper fish

Answer · why

D) A paper fish

A paper fish is the French April Fool, the poisson d'avril, a phrase a poet wrote as early as 1508, long before English speakers wrote of April fools.