That Can't Be Right Trivia Quiz

Answer: Netherlands

Truth be told, judging by the name of the island, you might be tricked into thinking that it belongs to Brazil, since "Curaçao" is Portuguese for "healing"; however, it doesn't, and it's actually not even part of any Portuguese-speaking country.

Curaçao was formerly a part of the Netherland Antilles, until its dissolution in 2010. After that, it became a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with Sint Maarten and Aruba (which had left the Antilles back in 1986). It has full autonomy on most matters, except in defense and foreign policy, which are still responsibilities of the Kingdom.

Answer: Chocolate can be lethal to dogs

I hope Tommy doesn't feed chocolate to his dog (if he has one). Theobromine, an alkaloid present in chocolate, is very toxic for dogs, and can cause severe health problems for them, even when ingesting small portions, with fatal results in extreme cases. Keep it away from dogs at all costs, and rush to the vet in case your dog happens to eat some.

Answer: No

Under the current set of rules, draws are not possible in basketball. If the score is tied at the end of the regulation time, additional periods of play, called overtimes, are played until a winner emerges. This can lead to very long games if the overtimes also finish with the scores tied.

There are some historic cases of basketball games that ended in a draw in the US (at college and high school level; there hasn't been a draw in the NBA), but they were because of refereeing or scoring errors.

Tennis is another example of a sport that can't end in a tie.

Answer: Mayonnaise

Traditionally, the recipe for mayonnaise includes egg, which makes it unfit for vegans.

Currently, egg-free alternatives can be found in markets (though they're not labeled as mayonnaise, as they don't fit into its definition), which cater not only to vegan consumers, but also to people who are allergic to egg, or that require a low cholesterol diet. In these products, egg is replaced with other proteins such as soybeans or peas. We can only hope that Tommy used one of these for his salad!

(By the way, that recipe is completely made up. If it sounded tasty, you're more than welcome to try making it yourself :) )

Answer: Elephants cannot jump

Elephants are one of the few animals that are completely unable to jump, so Tommy might feel a little bit relieved to know this.

That's not to say that one should not be wary of elephants, though. In certain circumstances, they are known to attack and even kill humans (some sources estimate around 500 yearly deaths by elephant attacks). They are also quite fast runners, despite their size, reaching speeds up to 40 km/h (25 mph). And, quite obviously, you wouldn't want to be stepped on by one of these massive creatures!

Answer: Piano

Frederic Chopin was a very skilled piano player and composer, often regarded as the greatest pianist in history.

A notable figure of the Romantic period, he composed a wide variety of pieces, mostly for solo piano, all of them of great difficulty and sophistication.

His works are still popular up to this day, and performed by numerous contemporary pianists. Every five years, the Warsaw Chopin Society awards the "Grand Prix du Disque de Chopin" to the most notable recordings of his works.

Answer: India

Aside from India, the other countries that use the rupee as their currency are Pakistan, Nepal, Mauritius, Seychelles and Sri Lanka. Indonesia and Maldives have the rupiah, which shares the same root. Many Arab countries used it as well in the past, but have changed their official currency since.

China uses the renminbi instead, though it is very common to hear it being referred to as yuan, which is actually the basic unit of the renminbi. Uzbekistan uses the sum, St. Vincent uses the Eastern Caribbean dollar, and Djibouti uses the Djiboutian franc.

Answer: Charles Dickens

Victorian literature, as one would imagine, refers to the literary works created during Queen Victoria's reign (1837-1901). Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was the most famous English novelist of this period, with many of his works ("A Christmas Carol", "Great Expectations", "Oliver Twist", among others) being regarded as classics.

Shakespeare is considered one of the finest writers of English literature (if not *the* finest), so Tommy's advice is a pretty good one. However, Shakespeare lived from 1564 to 1616, so his work falls within the Renaissance period.

Of the other choices listed, Chaucer wrote during the Middle English literature era (1066-1500), Milton was part of the Restoration Age (1660-1700), and Blake was one of the leading authors of the Romantic period (1798-1837).

Answer: Driver

There are a considerable number of movies called simply "Taxi" (notably, the 5-part French comedic saga), but none of them has Robert De Niro in the cast.

Tommy was most likely referring to Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" (1976), which is indeed praised as a classic, even though it received some criticism at the time because of its graphic violence. The film received four nominations to the Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Score, Best Supporting Actress (Jodie Foster) and Best Actor (Robert De Niro).

Answer: Non-Muslims are generally restricted from touching the Quran.

Islam follows very strict rules regarding their sacred text, the Quran. Namely, it states that "This is indeed a Holy Quran, in a book well-guarded, which none shall touch but those who are clean..." (56:77-79).

One of the implications of that passage is that, in general, non-Muslims can't handle the Quran freely, except when it's a translated copy, or an exegesis.