Q 01/05

Charles Darwin's earthworms ignored a bassoon but fled when their pots were set on which instrument?

A) Harp

B) Piano

C) Violin

D) Drum

Answer · why

B) Piano

A piano sent its vibrations up through the pots, and the worms shot into their burrows the moment a note was struck. Darwin concluded they are deaf to...

Q 02/05

What wiped out the native earthworms of most northern North American forests thousands of years ago?

A) Wildfires

B) Volcanic ash

C) Glaciers

D) Rising seas

Answer · why

C) Glaciers

Glaciers scraped much of the continent down to bedrock during the last ice age, taking the worms with them. The earthworms in those forests today most...

Q 03/05

Which mammal stocks underground larders with earthworms it has left alive but unable to crawl away?

A) Hedgehog

B) Badger

C) Red fox

D) Mole

Answer · why

D) Mole

Mole larders keep earthworms alive but immobilised, so the catch stays fresh. Researchers have found stores holding hundreds of worms.

Q 04/05

When an earthworm is cut in two, which lost part is it most likely to be able to regrow?

A) Its head

B) Its tail

C) Its brain

D) Its hearts

Answer · why

B) Its tail

Its tail is the part an earthworm can most readily replace, while a lost head is hard or impossible to regrow. That is why a worm cut in half very rar...

Q 05/05

At which ancient English monument did Charles Darwin study how earthworms buried toppled megaliths?

A) Stonehenge

B) Avebury

C) Stanton Drew

D) Long Meg

Answer · why

A) Stonehenge

Stonehenge was worth a special excursion to Darwin, who found some of its outer blocks partly sunk, with the turf sloping up to meet them as worms rai...