It Amounts to This Trivia Quiz

Answer: The number of Apostles of Christ

It amounts to 12 - the number of Apostles, or chief disciples, of Christ. There are 50 states of the USA, 5 points on a pentacle (a symbol frequently used in magic or witchcraft), and 2 legs on a biped (any creature with more than 1 leg and less than 3). Fifty divided by 5 equals 10, and 10 plus 2 equals 12. If you missed this one, perhaps you should have legged it across the States while reading the Bible and a bit of Aleister Crowley.

Answer: The number of goals in a hat trick

It amounts to 3 - the number of goals in a hat trick (a term used in soccer and other sports when a player scores three times in one game). There is 1 hump on a dromedary camel, 4 chambers in the human heart, and 2 moons which orbit Mars (Phobos and Deimos). 1 plus 4 equals 5, and 5 minus 2 equals 3.

Some trivia questions can fill one's heart with fear and terror, but hopefully you had a hunch and kicked a goal in this case.

Answer: The number of dalmatians in a well-known Disney movie

It amounts to 101 - the number of dalmatians in Walt Disney's animated movie 'One Hundred and One Dalmatians' (1961). There were 3 little pigs (initially) in the fable which featured a non-kosher wolf with a large set of lungs and some lessons in hurricane-proofing ('The Three Little Pigs'), 7 dwarfs who lived with Snow White (in the Grimm's fairy tale 'Schneewittchen' and in the animated film 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'), and 80 is the number represented by LXXX in Roman numerals. 7 times 3 equals 21, and 21 plus 80 equals 101. If you picked the answer to this one, well spotted!

Answer: The number of digits on the hand of a gorilla

It amounts to 5 - the number of digits on the hand of a gorilla (the same as on a human hand). There were 300 Spartans which held off the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 BC (according to the ancient historian Herodotus, and the 2007 film '300'), Bob Hope lived to 100 (1903-2003), and Argentina won the FIFA World Cup (soccer) on 2 occasions during the 20th century (1978 and 1986). 300 divided by 100 equals 3, and 3 plus 2 equals 5.

This hairy one might have been a battle against the odds, but I hope you scored with it. If so, you deserve a hand.

Answer: The number of eggs typically laid by a blue whale

It amounts to zero - the number of eggs typically laid by a blue whale (whales are live-bearing mammals). There are 4 Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), 3 witches in the play 'Macbeth' (of 'double, double, toil and trouble' fame), and 7 Deadly Sins in Christian tradition (greed, lust, pride, envy, gluttony, sloth, and wrath). Four plus 3 equals 7, and 7 minus 7 equals 0.

This may well be the only place that you'll ever be served an omelet of gospels, witches, deadly sins, and whale eggs. Enjoy.

Answer: The number of eyes possessed by the mythical Cyclops

It amounts to 1 - the number of eyes possessed by the mythical Cyclops (any member of a race of angry one-eyed giants in Greek mythology). There were 2 U.S. presidents assassinated in the 20th century (McKinley in 1901, and Kennedy in 1963), Elizabeth Taylor married Richard Burton on 2 occasions (in 1964 and 1975), and there were 3 novel-writing Bronte sisters (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne). 2 times 2 equals 4, and 4 minus 3 equals 1. If you have an eye for trivia, you might know that two of the terrible tragedies of the 20th century were the marriages between Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, both of which were sadly shot down from turbulent (or 'wuthering') heights.

Answer: The number of millimetres in standard film gauge

It amounts to 35 - the number of millimetres in standard film gauge (ie, '35 mm film'), which is (or was) used in movie projectors and non-digital cameras. The number of Maxwell Smart in the 60s TV sitcom 'Get Smart' was 86 (ie, Agent 86), the number of his female colleague was 99 (Agent 99), and the number of years in a sesquicentennial is 150. 86 plus 99 equals 185, and 185 minus 150 equals 35. If you got this one wrong, then, 'sorry about that, Chief,' you probably only 'missed it by that much'.

Answer: The number which answers the ultimate question of existence, according to Douglas Adams

It amounts to 42 - the number which answers 'the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything', according to author Douglas Adams and his fictional supercomputer Deep Thought, in the book 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' (unfortunately, Deep Thought also explained that it didn't know what the actual question was, and neither did anyone else).

There are 14 days in a fortnight, Muhammad Ali became world heavyweight boxing champ on 3 occasions (1964, 1974, 1978), and there are exactly zero bones in a true fillet of fish. 14 times 3 equals 42, and 42 plus 0 equals 42. If you got this one wrong, go fishing for a couple of weeks and read some Douglas Adams while pondering your existence and how to use the right hook.

Answer: The number of pairs of human chromosomes

It amounts to 23 - the number of pairs of human chromosomes (the structures containing DNA which make up the genes of cells, and which determine a person's physical characteristics). There are 14 lines in a sonnet (a form of poetry perhaps most famously employed by Shakespeare), 2 atomic bombs were deployed in World War II (both by the U.S. against Japan in August 1945), and there are 7 colours of the rainbow, according to a long-held standard (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, as in the mnemonic, Roy G. Biv). 14 plus 2 equals 16, and 16 plus 7 equals 23. Sorry that there was no rhyme or reason to this one, but all's fair in love and war (and trivia).

Answer: The number of ways to skin a cat, according to an old adage

It amounts to 'more than one' - the number of ways to skin a cat, according to an old adage (ie, 'there's more than one way to skin a cat' - in other words, there is more than one way to solve a problem). There is 1 star in the solar system (the sun), 0 women became Pope in the 15th century, and it is an anatomical certainty that George W. Bush had more than one brain cell when he was U.S. President. 1 times 0 equals 0, and 0 plus 'more than 1' equals 'more than 1'. Each of the other options amount to zero, and therefore cannot be correct. I know, I know, I had quite a 'hide' to pose this one, but there's more than one way to ask a quiz question.