Liar Liar Trivia Quiz

Answer: Fast-food restaurants

Fast-food restaurants are least likely to use polygraphs because the food industry is not about catching criminals, conducting investigations and so forth.

The police force, law enforcement agencies and government are three groups that are mostly likely to use the polygraph machine. The police force is always out there trying to catch criminals, the law enforcement agencies need it to test those who don't abide by the law and the government also needs it to test suspects of major crimes.

Answer: An experienced operator

An operator who knows how to read the results properly controls the test. These people are highly trained. The results are shown in a series of wavy lines on graph paper.

Answer: To measure the rate of breathing

The witness or suspect is seated in a chair. This is to minimise moving. Large straps are placed on their chests to measure the rate of breathing. The speed of breathing going in and out shows nervousness. This may mean the person is worried or trying to hide something.

Answer: Monitor the perspiration of the witness/suspect

Wires are also fitted to the fingertips. These react to change in perspiration during the test. Most people seem to sweat more when they are nervous. If perspiration lifts in certain questions, the operator makes a note on the graph.

Answer: True

One measure used is blood pressure band. This is placed around the arm to show the small changes in blood pressure. If this increases, it will give as another sign of nervousness, and can give the operator clues to tell if a person is lying.

Answer: Baseline questions

The first questions that the witness or suspect is asked are baseline questions. This gives the operator an idea of how a person answers normally. Standard questions may be asked like their name, age, address and so forth. Sometimes, they will be asked to lie on purpose so that the operator will know what a false answer sounds like. This makes it easier to see when they are lying.

Answer: False

The polygraph is not always correct. Some people become nervous, just sitting in a room, plugged into a lie detector. Others are able to control themselves so that they give a false result. In other words, they beat the machine.

Answer: Many writings

The word poly is Greek for many. For example, Polynesia means many islands. The word graph comes from the Greek word graphein, meaning to write. For example, graphology means the study of handwriting. Therefore, polygraph means many writings. This is because everything is recorded during a polygraph test, so there are 'many writings'.

Answer: John Augustus Larson

Freddie Mercury - Lead singer of the rock band, Queen.
Winston Churchill - Former prime minister of the United Kingdom.
Johannes Brahms - German composer and pianist.

John Augustus Larson was a police officer in Berkeley, California, USA. He invented the polygraph to be used in many investigations. He was born in 1892 and died in 1965.

Answer: True

A lot of people say that the polygraph is unreliable. And I can't blame them for believing that. Several double-agents and spies have gotten away with their answers. These spies include Aldrich Ames, Karl Koecher, Ana Belen Montes, and Leandro Argoncillo.