Q 01/05

Which symbol did Welshman Robert Recorde invent in 1557 to avoid 'the tedious repetition' of a three-word phrase?

A) Equals sign

B) Minus sign

C) Division sign

D) Percent sign

Answer · why

A) Equals sign

The equals sign replaced the words 'is equal to', which Recorde was tired of writing out, and he chose two lines 'because no two things can be more eq...

Q 02/05

Which number, a 1 followed by a hundred zeros, got its name in 1920 from a nine-year-old boy?

A) Googolplex

B) Googol

C) Centillion

D) Vigintillion

Answer · why

B) Googol

Googol was the word Milton Sirotta offered his uncle, mathematician Edward Kasner, and an intentional misspelling of it later became the name of the s...

Q 03/05

What is 7 times 8, the question UK Chancellor George Osborne refused to answer from a schoolboy on Sky News?

A) 48

B) 54

C) 56

D) 42

Answer · why

C) 56

7 × 8 = 56, and Osborne, who said he had studied maths at A-level, replied that he had 'made it a rule in life not to answer' maths questions.

Q 04/05

How many squares does a standard chessboard have, laid out as eight rows of eight with the colours alternating?

A) 64

B) 72

C) 80

D) 96

Answer · why

A) 64

A chessboard has 64 squares, and a games book of 1283 argued that eight by eight was the ideal size because a 10×10 board made chess too tiresome and ...

Q 05/05

How many sides does a red stop sign have, a shape chosen so drivers can recognise it from the back?

A) 4

B) 5

C) 6

D) 8

Answer · why

D) 8

A stop sign has 8 sides, and the octagon was standardised in 1922 partly because its outline could be recognised at night before signs were reflective...