Q 01/05

Which patty size did A&W pitch against McDonald's Quarter Pounder, only for focus groups to judge it smaller?

A) 1/5 lb

B) 3/10 lb

C) 1/3 lb

D) 1/2 lb

Answer · why

C) 1/3 lb

1/3 lb: the Third Pounder won taste tests, but A&W's owner later wrote that focus groups saw the 3 in 1/3, took it for less meat than the 4 in 1/4, an...

Q 02/05

What share of an 18-karat gold ring is actually gold, on a scale where 24 karat means pure?

A) 18%

B) 50%

C) 60%

D) 75%

Answer · why

D) 75%

18-karat gold is 75% gold, because karats count parts per 24 and 18/24 reduces to three quarters. The rest is copper, silver or other metals that make...

Q 03/05

In which fraction of a dollar did the NYSE quote prices until 1997, a habit from Spanish coins chopped into 'bits'?

A) Quarters

B) Eighths

C) Tenths

D) Sixteenths

Answer · why

B) Eighths

Eighths: Spanish dollars were chopped into eight 'bits' to make change, which is why a quarter is still 'two bits', and Wall Street kept its 1/8 tick ...

Q 04/05

What does a '2×4' board actually measure once it has been dried and planed?

A) 1 1/2 × 3 1/2 in

B) 1 5/8 × 3 5/8 in

C) 1 3/4 × 3 3/4 in

D) 2 × 4 in

Answer · why

A) 1 1/2 × 3 1/2 in

1 1/2 × 3 1/2 in: the name once described the rough-sawn board, before planing and drying trimmed it, and today's mills cut it under the nominal size ...

Q 05/05

Which Roman punishment killed every tenth man of a unit that had shown cowardice?

A) Crucifixion

B) Decimation

C) Fustuarium

D) Proscription

Answer · why

B) Decimation

Decimation: in Polybius's account the victims were picked by lot and beaten to death by their own comrades, while the survivors were put on barley rat...