Test Your General Knowledge Trivia Quiz

Answer: Seismograph

Although devices that recorded the fact that an earthquake had occurred are known to have existed as far back as the second century AD in China, the first modern seismographs, that both measured and recorded earthquakes, were devised in the nineteenth century.

In 1875, the Italian physicist Filippo Cecchi (1822-87) devised a seismograph that used pendulums to measure the movement, a design which influenced developments later that century by scientists such as James Ewing and John Milne.

Answer: Cardinal

The game of chess is believed to have its origins in the Indian game of chaturanga. Records of this game can be found over 1500 years ago, although archaeological remains of chequered boards have been found from much earlier periods. Modern chess is played on a black and white chequered board of 64 squares, with each player having 16 pieces, consisting of eight pawns, two bishops, two rooks, two knights, one queen and one king.

There is no piece called a "cardinal", however.

Answer: 7

The traditional rhyme for remembering the number of days in the months goes as follows:
"Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November;
All the rest have thirty-one,
Save February alone,
Which has twenty-eight days clear,
And twenty-nine in each leap year."
So that's four with 30 days, one with 28 or 29, leaving seven with 31.

Answer: Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton (1755? - 1804) served as the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1789-1795. In 1804, he was shot and killed in a duel with Aaron Burr, who was then the U.S. vice-president. The other options also appear on U.S. bills: Jefferson on the two-dollar note, Lincoln on the five-dollar and Jackson on the twenty.

Answer: Blue

The tan (light brown) M&M had itself replaced violet in the late 1940s. Sadly for the inoffensive and harmless tan, it was chosen as the innocent victim of a promotional campaign in 1995, in which consumers were invited to vote for a colour to replace it. Blue won, in what could I suppose be regarded as delayed revenge on behalf of violet. Life can be very cruel, even if you're just a small coloured sweet.

But try not to feel too "blue" about it.

Answer: Cleveland, Ohio

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is located in Cleveland, on the shores of Lake Erie. The building was designed by the architect I. M. Pei (1917-2019), and it formally opened to the public in September 1995. The hall hosts various exhibitions, both permanent and temporary, dedicated to the history of Rock and Roll, as well as hosting concerts, lectures, and film screenings. Every year, influential performers are "inducted" into the Hall of Fame.

Answer: Robin Williams

The film is supposedly based on the life of Doctor Hunter "Patch" Adams (b. 1945), who became well known for using humour alongside traditional medical treatments. However, it made significant changes to his story and character, and the real Adams said that he hated it. Robin Williams's performance was widely criticised for its excessively mawkish sentimentality, and distinguished film critic Gene Siskel voted it the "Worst Film of 1998". You may, of course, disagree.

Answer: Franklin W. Dixon

The "Hardy Boys", two brothers named Frank and Joe, feature in a long series of children's crime and mystery stories. They were created by the publisher and prolific writer Edward L. Stratemeyer and made their first appearance in "The Tower Treasure" in 1927. Stratemayer did not write the books himself, however, but hired various ghost-writers to do the donkey work, and the books were all published under the pseudonym "Franklin W. Dixon".

It is hard to know how many books there are featuring the characters, but most lists agree that just under 200 in the main series were published between 1927 and 2005, plus around 120 "Casefiles" books between 1987 and 1998 that were aimed at older children.

Answer: Hydrogen

Almost all acids contain hydrogen, which has the symbol H. A couple of the best-known include sulphuric acid, which has the chemical formula H2SO4, and hydrochloric acid (HCl). An acid will turn litmus paper red and has the property of neutralizing an alkali.

Answer: Pineapple

Since 1935, each fruit-flavoured "Life Savers" roll sold in the USA had contained a mix of five flavours: pineapple, lime, orange, cherry, and lemon. The story goes that focus groups had indicated that pineapple was the least popular flavour, and Nabisco, which owned the brand at the time, decided to drum up some publicity by running a "public vote" to replace it, by asking the public to vote for either retaining it, or replacing it with strawberry or watermelon.

Things didn't go quite as planned, however, and a resounding 54% of votes came down firmly in favour of keeping pineapple, with 25% of votes for watermelon and a paltry 21% for strawberry. Pineapple therefore survived, although a couple of years later the company quietly replaced three of the other flavours.

Answer: 20

In the world of three-dimensional geometry, a fair percentage of people possibly have some idea that a pyramid is a polyhedron with four faces, and a cube is one with six faces. Beyond that, things get a bit complicated, and only experts could confidently state that one with 20 faces is known as an icosahedron.

Hence the hint, based on the fact that a "score" is a word meaning 20 of something. I hope that helped.

Answer: Bermuda

As you'd expect, most of the Caribbean Islands are located in or around the Caribbean Sea, to the east of Central America. Bermuda is rather more remote, being situated in the Atlantic Ocean about 650 miles east of the US State of North Carolina. It was first discovered in 1505 by the Spanish explorer Juan de Bermudez (hence its name), although the first permanent settlement was not until 1612, when British settlers founded the town of New London (later renamed St. George's town).

Answer: Epsom salts

Epsom Salts are named after Epsom in Surrey (on the outskirts of London), where they were first discovered. They are believed to have health benefits, especially when dissolved in bathwater as a pain reliever and muscle relaxant. They can also be taken orally as a laxative or added to soil as a fertiliser. Disclaimer: please read the packet carefully before use.

Answer: 186,000 miles per second

There are obviously various different ways to express the speed of light. You could say it travels at approximately 671,000,000 miles per hour, or precisely 299,792,458 metres per second. However, 186,000 miles per second is often used because it is relatively easy to remember (being only six digits, three of which are zeros). You could also express the speed of light as 173 astronomical units per day, but as most people don't know what an astronomical unit is, that's not particularly helpful. Likewise, 0.307 parsecs per year.

But feel free to select whichever suits you.

Answer: Song of Solomon

The Old Testament "Song of Solomon", sometimes known as the "Song of Songs", certainly reads like a love poem, and contains much romantic language and imagery. Biblical scholars interpret it as a metaphor of the love between God and His people.

Of the others, "Daniel" and "Zephaniah" are books concerning two of the Old Testament minor prophets, and "One Corinthians" is a New Testament book, consisting of the first of Paul's two letters to Christians living in the city of Corinth.