Blunders in Quiz Writing

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. You ask for the capital of Senegal and provide the correct answer, which is Dakar. Your note ('Interesting Information') simply reads, 'The French actress and film star Genevi�ve Kervine was born there in 1931, a "child of love"'. Leaving aside the fact that this is extremely brief, what best describes the problem with this note?

Answer: It is about Genevi�ve Kervine rather than Dakar

Look at the note from a player's point of view. It says almost nothing about Dakar. You could mention that Dakar is the most westerly city on the mainland of Africa, or say something about its climate or its historical role in the slave trade or its present status as a port. You might mention the Island of Gor�e, a UNESCO World Heritage Site just off the coast with its famous House of Slaves and 'Door of No Return'. You could mention the Dakar Rally, which was routed from Paris to Dakar till 2009.

There's plenty of readily available interesting material on Dakar: all that a quiz author needs to do in order to find it is a spot of research.

2. You want to ask a question about Barack Obama's re-election as president of the US. Your question reads: 'Who was re-elected as our president in 2012?' What's the problem?

Answer: The use of 'our'

The question reads as one addressed by an American to fellow Americans. This is an international site, and all questions should be expressed in general terms, not to any specific audience. From time to time 'Americacentricity' gives rise to complaints in the Forums and elsewhere. To Americans, I would say: Imagine a Californian playing a quiz on Maine and finding references to 'our governor'.

3. You ask, 'Who is the oldest person alive today?' You name an individual and give her age as 124 years and 3 months. Is this an acceptable question?

Answer: No

The question is unacceptable for a number of reasons. (1) It is time-stamped. By the time an editor sees it, the person may be dead. (2) 'Today' is ambiguous. Does it, for example, mean on the day I wrote this quiz or on the day you, dear player, are playing this quiz? Or is it used in some vague sense like 'around the present time'?

4. You have what seems to you a simply brilliant idea for a really original quiz on the Tudors. What is the very first thing you should do?

Answer: Find out the correct category and read the guidelines carefully

Quizzes on monarchs and dynasties belong in the People category, and the category guidelines state clearly that the Tudors is a closed sub-category. Unfortunately, from time to time quizzes on closed categories are submitted and have to be rejected simply because the category is closed. For first time quiz authors, in particular, it is a discouraging way to start.

Leaving aside the matter of closed categories, it is in any case important to get some idea of what kinds of quizzes are already online in the area that you want to write a quiz about. Existing quizzes and their categories can be found by using 'Search'.

5. You read on some websites that the lyrics and music of 'Greensleeves' were written by Henry VIII for Anne Boleyn. You suspect that the reliability of your sources is dubious; but you find the idea really charming and you want to ask a question about the authorship, with 'Henry VIII for Anne Boleyn' as the correct answer. Can you do so?

Answer: Only if you include the words 'in English popular culture' in the question

Formulating the question in a way that guards against obvious corrections and queries is an important part of the art of quiz creation.

Sound research is essential and you should not base your answers on unreliable sources. If in doubt about the reliability of a source (or sources) try approaching the issue from another angle. In this case, you could get round the problem by turning the question into one on folk wisdom or popular culture. Clearly, the story that Henry VIII wrote and composed 'Greensleeves' (possibly for Anne Boleyn) is popular.

However, the evidence against this piece of folk wisdom is very strong. The earliest extant versions of the song date from the 1580s and the music is of a variety unknown in England till the second half of the 16th century. However, the notion that Henry VIII wrote the lyrics and music for Anne Boleyn is firmly embedded in English popular culture.

6. You decide to write an English-French quiz, and ask for a French idiom meaning the roughly the same as the English idiom 'to take the biscuit [cake]'. You use an online translating aid and it gives you 'prendre le biscuit [le g�teau]' and you then give this as the correct answer. What's happened?

Answer: You have given a word by word version of the English that doesn't render the meaning

'Prendre le biscuit [g�teau]' in French is about quite literally removing or taking a biscuit [or cake]. It does not translate the sense of the English idiom at all and it will leave French readers puzzled or laughing. If your knowledge of a foreign language is only basic, recognize the limitations of your knowledge and don't ask questions about the language.

The closest informal, idiomatic French expression is '�a, c'est le pompon'. There is also the more formal and arguably not quite as close 'C'en est trop'.

If you are a shade skeptical about this, translate the '�a, c'est le pompon' word by word into English. You will get 'That is the pompom'.

7. You want to ask who named the moons of Saturn. Your source gives the name as 'Sir William Herschel, Bart.' You are vaguely aware of the comma but assume it's a typo or has somehow crept in by accident, and you give the correct answer as 'Sir William Bart'. What has happened?

Answer: You have been tripped up by the UK honours system

The postnominal abbreviation 'Bart.' or 'Bt.', almost invariably preceded by a comma, indicates that the person is (or was) a baronet - that is, the lowest hereditary title in the British system.

Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet (1792-1871) is regarded as one of Britain's most outstanding scientists. He was very versatile. In addition to his work on astronomy he made major contributions to photochemistry and also significant contributions to botany. On his death he was buried close to Sir Isaac Newton in Westminster Abbey, where his body was later joined by that of Charles Darwin.

Of course, Bart is also found in Britain as a family name - for example, Lionel Bart (1930-1999), best known for creating the lyrics and music of "Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be" (1960) and "Oliver!" (1960).

It may be some consolation to know that Britons, too, sometimes mistake the postnominal 'Bart.' for a family name. ;)

8. In a popular late 20th century book on military blunders you read that in the Austro-Ottoman War of 1787-1791, during a disorderly retreat by night near Caransebes (in modern Romania) the Austrian army ended up fighting against itself and that as result anything up to about 10,000 men were killed or wounded without any enemy involvement. It is called the Battle of Kar�nsebes. This strikes you as tragi-comical and you want to ask something about it. At the same time you are slightly puzzled that you have not heard about this amazing blunder before: after all, ten thousand casualties, in one night, without enemy involvement is much worse than the Charge of the Light Brigade and would surely be a candidate for The Greatest Military Blunder of All Time. Before writing your question, what should you do?

Answer: Research this alleged incident very thoroughly

'The Battle of Kar�nsebes' appears to be entirely apocryphal. As far as is can be established, there is not even one single primary source for the so-called battle. It seems that the story first appeared in print in the 1840s and has been repeated from time to time as a remarkable incident. To put the matter into perspective: here is a claim that in a well documented war in Europe in 1788 10,000 (!) men (in an army of 100,000) were victims of friendly fire in one night; and there is no known eye-witness account and apparently no archaeological evidence, either. Even if there was a cover up, 'pull the other one!'

9. You ask 'Who invented the helicopter?' and the answer you give as correct is 'Leonardo da Vinci'. Why is this unsatisfactory?

Answer: For all of these reasons

Many questions on inventions are naive and often inaccurate. Yes, Leonardo da Vinci produced some sketches and a diagram, but it was far removed from what is understood by a helicopter. For example, it would appear that the craft had to spin with the rotor.

The idea was not the start of a process of development. What's more, there are ancient Chinese descriptions (from about 400 BC) of a children's toy that could fly a little, using rotor blades and tightly wound leather straps. You need to ask a much more specific question and make it clear exactly what you are looking for. If you mean foreshadowed rather than invented, this must be made clear.

10. China has become the world's second largest economy. You want to ask 'What is the main case against making Mandarin Chinese an alternative to Spanish as the first foreign language in schools throughout the US?' You give the correct answer as: 'Lack of teachers' and your incorrect answers are: a. 'It's too hard'. b. 'Mandarin Chinese does not use an alphabet'. c. 'There is relatively little contact between US and Chinese citizens and China is culturally too remote'. Is this an admissible question?

Answer: No

The key problem here is that you are asking for an opinion: a good case can be made out for any of the answers given. Moreover, there's also the point that the answer 'Lack of teachers' is likely to change over time.

Source: Author bloomsby

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Pagiedamon before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Editors see many recurring blunders in the course of their work on the site. Here are ten questions about some common types of pitfalls that many quiz authors fall into, especially if they are inexperienced.

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