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Frivolous Factoids Trivia Quiz

Here's a quiz on some curious facts on a variety of subjects.

A multiple-choice quiz by fdgla. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
fdgla

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
248,250

Updated
Sep 12 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
1161

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. One of the many nicknames given to this city is "The Big Onion", in recognition of the Indian word for the wild onions which grew in the marshes on which this metropolis was founded. Hint

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Seattle, Washington

Chicago, Illinois

Minneapolis, Minnesota

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Question 2 of 10

2. This United States president described himself as "a man of limited talents from a small town". His presidency was marred by numerous scandals, most infamously the Teapot Dome affair. Hint

Calvin Coolidge

Herbert Hoover

William Howard Taft

Warren G. Harding

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Question 3 of 10

3. In the Middle Ages, the seven deadly sins of lust, envy, anger, pride, sloth, gluttony and greed were taken quite seriously. Which of these sins was considered the most severe?

Answer: (One Word)

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Question 4 of 10

4. The region of Patagonia lies between which two countries? Hint

Argentina and Chile

Haiti and the Dominican Republic

Andorra and Spain

Malawi and Zambia

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Question 5 of 10

5. "Good Morning to All", a children's song written by schoolteachers Patty and Mildred Hill in 1893, is better known today under which title? Hint

For He's a Jolly Good Fellow

Happy Birthday to You

Winter Wonderland

Auld Lang Syne

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Question 6 of 10

6. The longest confirmed lifespan is 122 years, 164 days. Which country did this person live in? Hint

Japan

France

Lithuania

Sweden

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Question 7 of 10

7. Which of the following advertising food icons was not based on a real person? Hint

Aunt Jemima

Betty Crocker

Sara Lee

Uncle Ben

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Question 8 of 10

8. Which of the following urban legends is actually true? Hint

Gas tanks have exploded because a cell phone was being used while filling the tank.

If you take LSD more than seven times you're considered legally insane.

Going outside in chilly weather with a wet head can give you a cold.

Eating poppy seeds can produce a false positive result on a drug test.

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Question 9 of 10

9. Adolf Hitler's father, Alois, was born with what last name? Hint

Hiedler

Schickelgruber

Hister

Stammler

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Question 10 of 10

10. Which of the following authors was not a medical doctor? Hint

Anton Chekhov

George Orwell

Arthur Conan Doyle

William Somerset Maugham

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. One of the many nicknames given to this city is "The Big Onion", in recognition of the Indian word for the wild onions which grew in the marshes on which this metropolis was founded.

Answer: Chicago, Illinois

Checagou was the name the Potawatomi gave to this area. Among other nicknames Chicago has acquired are "the Windy City", the "Second City", "Paris on the Prairie" and "Hog Butcher for the World".

2. This United States president described himself as "a man of limited talents from a small town". His presidency was marred by numerous scandals, most infamously the Teapot Dome affair.

Answer: Warren G. Harding

Harding's personal life was also scandal ridden. He was rumored to have been a member of the Ku Klux Klan and involved in numerous extramarital affairs. He was so bad at public speaking, the poet E.E. Cummings commented after Harding's passing that "the only man, woman or child who wrote a simple declarative sentence with seven grammatical errors is dead".

3. In the Middle Ages, the seven deadly sins of lust, envy, anger, pride, sloth, gluttony and greed were taken quite seriously. Which of these sins was considered the most severe?

Answer: Pride

The punishment waiting in Hell for those guilty of pride was being broken on the wheel. Other punishments included being forced to eat rats, toads and snakes for gluttony and being disemboweled alive for anger.

4. The region of Patagonia lies between which two countries?

Answer: Argentina and Chile

Patagonia is a beautiful area that offers a diverse topography. In the western and southern portion lie the Andes mountains, the eastern portions are comprised of plateaus and low plains and at the southernmost tip are the islands of Tierra del Fuego.

5. "Good Morning to All", a children's song written by schoolteachers Patty and Mildred Hill in 1893, is better known today under which title?

Answer: Happy Birthday to You

Considered the most popular song in the English language, "Happy Birthday to You" is under copyright until 2030.

6. The longest confirmed lifespan is 122 years, 164 days. Which country did this person live in?

Answer: France

Jeanne Louise Calment lived her entire life in Arles. At age 14 she met Vincent Van Gogh, whom she described as being "dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable". She took fencing lessons at 85 and smoked until she was 117.

7. Which of the following advertising food icons was not based on a real person?

Answer: Betty Crocker

Aunt Jemima, whose real name was Nancy Green, was born as a slave. Sara Lee was the daughter of a bakery entrepreneur who named a line of cheesecakes after her and Uncle Ben was a Texas rice grower.
Betty Crocker was a totally fictitous character who was portrayed by several actresses on "The Betty Crocker School of the Air", a radio program that was the country's first cooking show. For a time she was the nation's second most famous woman, just after Eleanor Roosevelt.

8. Which of the following urban legends is actually true?

Answer: Eating poppy seeds can produce a false positive result on a drug test.

If you're job hunting you might want to avoid eating that poppy seed bagel or there's a good chance that if you have a drug test you will test positive for opiates such as heroin, morphine and codeine, all of which are derived from the opium poppy.

9. Adolf Hitler's father, Alois, was born with what last name?

Answer: Schickelgruber

Alois wanted to change his last name to that of his step-father's family, Hiedler. Schickelgruber means "sump digger" in the local dialect, so Alois wanted to change it to something more dignified. Huttler was a family name, but to avoid confusion with this relative Alois changed the spelling to Hitler.

10. Which of the following authors was not a medical doctor?

Answer: George Orwell

Orwell battled poverty in his early life, working as a dishwasher, a bookshop assistant and as a policeman before writing two of the most important books of the twentieth century, "1984" and "Animal Farm". He described these rough times in the excellent "Down and Out in Paris and London".

Source: Author fdgla

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LeoDaVinci before going online.
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