Q 01/05

In the phrase 'old wives' tale', what did the word 'wife' originally mean?

A) Grandmother

B) Widow

C) Healer

D) Woman

Answer · why

D) Woman

'Wife' meant simply 'woman' in Old English (wīf); that older sense survives in 'midwife' and 'fishwife'.

Q 02/05

The 1611 King James Bible warns against 'profane and old wives' fables' in which book?

A) Proverbs

B) 1 Timothy

C) Ecclesiastes

D) Revelation

Answer · why

B) 1 Timothy

The warning is 1 Timothy 4:7: 'But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.'

Q 03/05

Cracking your knuckles is blamed for arthritis. What has research found?

A) A link only in the thumbs

B) A link only after age 50

C) No link to osteoarthritis

D) A link in one person in ten

Answer · why

C) No link to osteoarthritis

The pop comes from nitrogen bubbles forming and collapsing in the joint fluid, which is why you have to wait about 20 minutes to do it again.

Q 04/05

The 'sit too close to the TV' warning began with 1967 X-ray leaks from whose sets?

A) RCA

B) General Electric

C) Zenith

D) Motorola

Answer · why

B) General Electric

General Electric recalled colour televisions in 1967 after faulty shunt regulator tubes leaked X-rays; the sets were repaired, but the warning outlive...

Q 05/05

According to the myth science rejects, how long does swallowed gum sit in your stomach?

A) Seven days

B) Seven months

C) Seven years

D) Seventy years

Answer · why

C) Seven years

The tale says seven years, but gum base is merely indigestible: it passes through the gut in a few days like any other roughage.