Myth or Fact

General Knowledge · 20 questions

Widely believed falsehoods, and genuinely true things that sound made up.

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1. Why is the belief that Napoleon was unusually short mistaken?

   1. His portraits deliberately shrank him
   2. His nickname was mistranslated
   3. Two different inch measurements were confused
   4. His guards were unusually tall
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   C) Two different inch measurements were confused

2. What is the common error about Viking helmets?

   1. They did not have horns on them
   2. They wore no helmets at all
   3. Their helmets were solid gold
   4. Their helmets were carved wood
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   A) They did not have horns on them

3. Why is it wrong to say medieval Europeans thought the Earth was flat?

   1. No maps were drawn back then
   2. A round Earth had been known since antiquity
   3. Nobody dared sail the ocean
   4. No records were kept at all
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   B) A round Earth had been known since antiquity

4. What is the red liquid that seeps from raw red meat?

   1. Blood from the veins
   2. Lymph from the muscle
   3. Melted internal fat
   4. Water mixed with myoglobin
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   D) Water mixed with myoglobin

5. What does a camel actually store in its hump?

   1. Water
   2. Blood
   3. Salty fluid
   4. Fat
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   D) Fat

6. What has research found about the memory of goldfish?

   1. It lasts three seconds
   2. It can last for months
   3. They have no memory at all
   4. They recall only colours
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   B) It can last for months

7. Why would a coin dropped from a skyscraper not kill a pedestrian?

   1. Air resistance caps its speed
   2. It tumbles and misses
   3. Wind blows it aside
   4. Pavement absorbs the blow
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   A) Air resistance caps its speed

8. Why is calling bats blind inaccurate?

   1. They only see in daylight hours
   2. Their eyes have fully degenerated
   3. Most species can see, some see well
   4. They merely cannot see colour
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   C) Most species can see, some see well

9. What do controlled studies say about sugar causing hyperactivity in children?

   1. They proved it conclusively
   2. It occurs only in girls
   3. They have not confirmed the link
   4. It applies only to chocolate
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   C) They have not confirmed the link

10. Roughly how much of an iceberg sits above the waterline?

    1. About half
    2. About one tenth
    3. About one third
    4. About three quarters
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    B) About one tenth

11. Hair and fingernails keep growing after death.

    1. True
    2. False
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    B) False

12. Chameleons change colour mainly for communication and temperature, not camouflage.

    1. True
    2. False
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    A) True

13. Bulls charge because they are enraged by the colour red.

    1. True
    2. False
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    B) False

14. Lightning never strikes the same place twice.

    1. True
    2. False
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    B) False

15. Octopuses have three hearts and blue blood.

    1. True
    2. False
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    A) True

16. The banana plant is botanically a giant herb rather than a tree.

    1. True
    2. False
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    A) True

17. A tomato is botanically a fruit.

    1. True
    2. False
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    A) True

18. Astronauts grow a few centimetres taller while in space.

    1. True
    2. False
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    A) True

19. We always see the same face of the Moon because the Moon does not rotate at all.

    1. True
    2. False
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    B) False

20. Almost every gladiator fight in ancient Rome ended in a death.

    1. True
    2. False
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    B) False