Q 01/05

Which background colour did American stop signs carry until 1954, before the switch that drivers know today?

A) Yellow

B) White

C) Purple

D) Blue

Answer · why

A) Yellow

Yellow was the standard because the red pigments of the day faded outdoors; once durable red finishes arrived, the 1954 rulebook made the red octagon ...

Q 02/05

The Moscow–Washington hotline is pictured as a red telephone, but which machines actually carried its first messages in 1963?

A) Fax machines

B) Teleprinters

C) Computer terminals

D) Morse code keys

Answer · why

B) Teleprinters

Teleprinters carried the first hotline message in August 1963, a test sent from Washington: 'The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog's back 12345...

Q 03/05

Which colour did M&M's add in 1976 to replace red, pulled over a scare about a dye the sweets never used?

A) Blue

B) Tan

C) Orange

D) Purple

Answer · why

C) Orange

Orange stood in for red after the Red Dye No. 2 cancer scare and then never left: when red M&M's returned in 1987, orange kept its place in the bag.

Q 04/05

Which seaside town did motorists drive to from London in 1896 to celebrate freedom from Britain's 'Red Flag Act' speed limits?

A) Margate

B) Blackpool

C) Brighton

D) Bournemouth

Answer · why

C) Brighton

Brighton was the goal of the 1896 'Emancipation Run', held as a new law lifted the limit from 4 to 14 mph. The 1865 Act had put a man with a red flag ...

Q 05/05

Why is a matador's muleta traditionally dyed a colour that bulls, being dichromatic, cannot actually make out?

A) To hide bloodstains

B) To show the matador's rank

C) To honour Spain's flag

D) To stand out for judges

Answer · why

A) To hide bloodstains

To hide bloodstains is the practical reason the muleta stays red: bulls charge the cloth's movement, and go for the matador's other cape, the larger c...