Q 01/05

Which Jamaican sprinter's father told reporters that Trelawny yams explained his son's speed?

A) Yohan Blake

B) Usain Bolt

C) Asafa Powell

D) Nesta Carter

Answer · why

B) Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt grew up in Trelawny, Jamaica's yam-growing heartland, a parish credited with at least half of the island's crop.

Q 02/05

Hormones first made cheaply from wild Mexican yams paved the way for which medical breakthrough?

A) Injectable insulin

B) The polio vaccine

C) Oral contraceptives

D) Kidney dialysis machines

Answer · why

C) Oral contraceptives

Oral contraceptives grew out of chemist Russell Marker's discovery that a compound in Mexican wild yams could be turned into cheap synthetic hormones,...

Q 03/05

Which West African country grows roughly two-thirds of all the yams harvested worldwide?

A) Ghana

B) Benin

C) Senegal

D) Nigeria

Answer · why

D) Nigeria

Nigeria harvests about two-thirds of the global crop, and in its growing regions a farmer's social standing has long been judged by the size of his ya...

Q 04/05

Candied yams, a sweet potato dish of American Thanksgiving, are often topped with which confection?

A) Marshmallows

B) Peanut brittle

C) Candy corn

D) Gumdrops

Answer · why

A) Marshmallows

Marshmallows crown a dish whose name is a misnomer: true yams grew rare in American kitchens, so the candied yams on the table are really sweet potato...

Q 05/05

What is the Tagalog name for the purple yam that flavours Filipino ice cream and cakes?

A) Gabi

B) Kamote

C) Pandan

D) Ube

Answer · why

D) Ube

Ube shares an ancient root with uwhi, the Maori word for the same yam, a trace of the seafarers who carried the plant across the Pacific.