Let's quiz you on…

Aren't those questions amazing? Titillating? Don't you want to know all about it? It you do, chances are, you're addicted to h2g2. We thrive on stuff like this.

How much of this useless information did you know? We got our factoids from this website, which we just know you'll want to bookmark.

Here are the answers.

1. Before 1895, who always answered the phone by saying, 'Well, are you there?' A telephone operator. Around 1895, somebody thought up 'Number, please?'
2. What is the most common name in the world? Mohammed.
3. Without looking it up, define 'lethologica'. The ability to think of the word you want.
4. What is the literal meaning of the word 'karaoke'? 'Empty orchestra'. (You thought it meant 'suicide singer'.)
5. Why did the Eisenhower Administration require that one in every five miles of interstate highway be straight? So planes could land in an emergency.
6. What medical use did the ancient Egyptians find for crocodile dung? As a contraceptive. (No, we don't know how it was applied.)
7. What is causing the University of Indiana's main library building to sink an inch every year? Heavy books. (And thick engineers. What did they think the building would be used for?)
8. Elephants are the only mammals that can't do one simple thing. What is it? Jump.
9. How far away can a human smell a skunk? A mile. (That's about 1.6 kilometers.)
10. Finally, this one, just for h2g2ers: a how-many-guns salute announces the birth of a British royal baby? A 41-gun salute. Now, complain to your MP.

Spread the joy. Work these trivia questions into your dinner conversation. There's a reason why we're so popular.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

17.03.14 Front Page

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