Q 01/05

Which of these claims about lightning is TRUE?

A) It never strikes the same place twice

B) "Heat lightning" is a separate phenomenon

C) It often strikes the same place twice

D) It only strikes metal objects

Answer · why

C) It often strikes the same place twice

The Empire State Building is hit about 23 times a year, because tall conductive things are exactly what lightning prefers.

Q 02/05

Which statement about the Great Wall of China is TRUE?

A) Even orbiting astronauts need magnification to see it

B) Apollo astronauts saw it from the Moon

C) It is the only man-made object visible from orbit

D) It glows visibly at night from space

Answer · why

A) Even orbiting astronauts need magnification to see it

No Apollo astronaut reported seeing any specific human-made object from the Moon; the myth predates spaceflight entirely.

Q 03/05

Which claim about Napoleon Bonaparte is TRUE?

A) He was unusually short for his time

B) He was born in Paris, France

C) He died in exile in 1815

D) He was not especially short for his era

Answer · why

D) He was not especially short for his era

His "shortness" is partly a confusion between French and English inches, and partly British caricature.

Q 04/05

Which claim about camels is TRUE?

A) Their humps are full of water

B) Their humps store fat, not water

C) They never need to drink at all

D) They have no sweat glands

Answer · why

B) Their humps store fat, not water

The water a camel banks is carried in its bloodstream; the hump is a calorie reserve.

Q 05/05

Which statement about Viking warriors is TRUE?

A) They wore horned helmets into battle

B) There is no evidence they wore horned helmets

C) They drank from the skulls of enemies

D) They never reached North America

Answer · why

B) There is no evidence they wore horned helmets

The horns were a 19th-century costume idea, popularised by opera productions of Wagner.

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