Q 01/05

The Wright brothers first flew in 1903 and Apollo 11 reached the Moon in 1969: how many years apart?

A) 56

B) 62

C) 66

D) 72

Answer · why

C) 66

Just 66 years separate the two, and Neil Armstrong carried scraps of fabric and wood from the Wright Flyer down to the lunar surface.

Q 02/05

A modern piano has 88 keys, 52 of them white: how many black keys does that leave?

A) 26

B) 36

C) 46

D) 140

Answer · why

B) 36

The 36 black keys complete the standard 88, but the Imperial Bösendorfer runs to 97 keys, its extras sometimes hidden under a small hinged lid.

Q 03/05

On the Fahrenheit scale water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212: how many degrees separate them?

A) 100

B) 144

C) 170

D) 180

Answer · why

D) 180

The gap is 180 degrees, so one Fahrenheit degree is 1/180 of the span. Celsius splits the same span into only 100 steps, which makes each of its degre...

Q 04/05

Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only the Great Pyramid of Giza survives: how many have been lost?

A) 3

B) 4

C) 5

D) 6

Answer · why

D) 6

Six have been lost, and the survivor was already the oldest by far. The Great Pyramid kept its white stone facing until around AD 1300, when locals to...

Q 05/05

The Hundred Years' War between England and France began in 1337 and ended in 1453: how many years was that?

A) 116

B) 124

C) 126

D) 216

Answer · why

A) 116

It lasted 116 years, longer than its name admits, though the fighting was broken up by long truces and is usually divided into three phases.