True or False? "Apatosaurus liked to live in swamps and shallow water."
-
False
-
True
Will the world end in 2012?
-
Yes, the world will end in 2012.
Is the cancer risk for Americans increasing or decreasing?
-
Decreasing (less cancer)
How much is customary to tip bartenders?
-
12%
Where did the Moon come from?
-
A planet-sized object crashed into the the earth and the debris formed the Moon.
-
The Moon and the Earth condensed separately from solar system gas cloud.
-
The Moon separated from the earth and spun off.
-
The Moon was captured by the Eathr's gravity.
Can stress make your hair turn gray?
-
No
Did the Mayans predict that 2012 would be the end of the world?
-
Yes
When was the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees?
-
5 million years ago
If you go swimming after a big meal, is there a risk that you will get a cramp and drown?
-
No, swimming after a big meal is perfectly safe.
-
Yes, swimming after a big meal is dangerous.
Do Eskimos have a very large number of words for "snow"?
-
Yes, Eskimos have a lot of words for snow.
Are babies born with kneecaps?
-
Yes, babies are born with kneecaps.
How many megatons was the Tunguska asteroid impact explosion in 1908?
-
15 megatons
Is life elsewhere in the universe common or uncommon?
-
Common
-
Uncommon
Are anti-oxidants beneficial to your health?
-
Yes
Does menstruating increase your chance of being attacked by a bear?
-
No
How much blood does the average person have?
-
5.6 liters (12 pints)
How fast can a polar bear run?
-
35 miles/hr
How many exoplanets (planets beyond our solar system) are known?
-
About 300
Will Apophis Asteroid collide with Earth on April 13, 2036?
-
No
True or False? "Cracking your knuckles too often will cause arthritis."
-
True
Is the Great Wall of China visible from space?
-
No, the Great Wall of China is not visible from space.
What was the yield of the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima?
-
15 kilotons
True or False? "Redheads are going extinct."
-
False
Should humans drink at least eight glasses of water per day?
-
No, you don't need to drink 8 glasses per day.
True or False? "Eating chocolate or fried foods will give you acne."
-
False
Who is more intelligent, on average: men or women?
-
Men and women are equally intelligent.
Whose brains are a greater proportion of their body weight: men's or women's?
-
Men's brains
True or False? "People with bigger brains are, on average, smarter."
-
True
What is the speed of a sneeze?
-
90 miles/hr
Are boys or girls better on average at language skills?
-
Girls have better language skills.
Is the Flu Vaccine safe for pregnant women?
-
Yes
How much did the Stegosaurus weigh?
-
2 tons
What is the tallest mountain in the world?
-
Mauna Kea
Are lefties better than right handed people?
-
Yes.
How long can a camel live without water?
-
7 months
How big was the asteroid that caused the Tunguska explosion in 1908?
-
100 meters
True or False? "Hummingbirds mate while flying."
-
False.
HowStuffWorks "Hummingbird Sex in Midair?"
Appearances aside, hummingbirds don't actually mate in midair.
Their legs may not be able to walk or bounce, but they can perch.
Hummingbirds are able to stand on branches, and that's where they copulate.
Appearances aside, hummingbirds don't actually mate in midair
Is the tongue divided into different areas that perceive different tastes?
-
No, every part of the tongue perceives each of the different tastes.
Do Epsom Salt baths have any health benefits?
-
Yes
How fast can an ostrich run?
-
40 miles/hr (65 km/hr).
When will the world end?
-
The world will end in 2012.
How long can a person live without water?
-
4 days
Is waterboarding torture?
-
Yes
Are boys or girls better on average at spatial reasoning?
-
Boys are better at spatial reasoning.
Are boys or girls more likely to be autistic?
-
Boys are more likely to be autistic.
Does drinking alcohol kill brain cells?
-
It damages but does not kill them.
-
No.
Does extraterrestrial life (aliens) exist somewhere in the universe?
-
Yes
True or False? "Marco Polo went to China."
-
True
Does exposure to rain or cold weather increase your chances of getting a cold?
-
No, exposure does not increase your risk of getting a cold.
How much is customary to tip bellhops?
-
$1 per bag
Can evolution by natural selection result in new species?
-
Yes
What is the origin of the word "tip" meaning "gratuity"?
-
A verb meaning "to hand over" or "to give"
HowStuffWorks "How Tipping Works"
One holds that in the 17th century, the word was used as a verb to mean "hand it over" or "to give."
True or False? "Drinking coffee will help you to sober up."
-
False
Does drinking a lot of water good for your complexion?
-
No, drinking lots of water does not help your skin.
How many species of ants are there?
-
10,000 species
Does eating turkey make you sleepy?
-
No
True or False? "If you touch a baby bird, the parents will abandon it, and it will die."
-
False
Is it true that people only use 10% of their brains?
-
No, people use more than 10% of their brains.
Is antigravity technology possible?
-
No
True or False? "Nazi Germany had anti-gravity as early as 1939."
-
False
Do vaccines cause autism?
What is the largest animal ever to live on Earth?
-
Blue whale
Do children get hyper when you give them sugar?
-
No, sugar has no effect on the behavior of children.
How much does the Earth weigh?
-
6.0 x 10^24 kg (1.3 x 10^25 pounds or 6.6 x 10^21 tons)
What percentage of American women dye their hair?
-
75%
Is it possible to blow your eyeballs out when you sneeze?
-
No
True or False? "It is best to starve a fever and feed a cold."
-
False
what is the customary tip for average service at a restaurant?
-
18%
Do men or women have more white matter in their brains?
-
Women have more white matter.
True or False? "Marco Polo introduced pasta to Italy."
-
False
Do women or men have more gray matter in their brains?
-
Men have 6.5 times as much gray matter as women.
Is a very large proportion of body heat lost through the head?
-
No, you lose the same amount of heat through your head as anywhere else.
What vitamin makes polar bear livers poisonous to humans?
-
Vitamin A
Who were the first Old World navigators to land in the Americas?
-
The Chinese
-
The Irish
Was "Pong" the first video game?
-
No
True or False? "The charred bits of grilled meat can cause cancer."
-
True
Is depression more common among men or women?
-
Depression is more common among women.
Do whales have tongues?
-
Yes
Is the Great Wall of China the only man-made object visible from space?
-
No, Great Wall is not the only man-made object visible from space.
What causes tides?
-
The gravitational pull of the moon causes tides.
What percentage of the earth is covered by water?
-
70%
True or False? "If you swallow gum, it will take years to pass through your digestive tract."
-
False
True or False? "Humans have five senses."
-
False -- we have more than 5
Is the glass in old windows uneven because over long periods glass flows?
-
No
Is it possible to shrink your pores?
-
No
Does reading in dim light damage your eyesight?
-
No
True or False? "Anti-oxidants are harmless, even in large quantities."
-
False
How many stars are in the Milky Way galaxy?
-
200 billion
True or False? "An asteroid the size of a football field hits Earth about every hundred years."
-
True
True or False? "NASA estimates that there are 100,000 asteroids orbiting dangerously close to Earth right now that are big enough to cause a problem, and the agency is only tracking 4,000 of them."
-
True
True or False? "The Chinese invented pasta."
-
True
True or False? "An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain."
-
True
True or False? "Is spanking effective?"
-
No
True or False? "The cracking sound in the knuckles is caused by the bones moving apart and forming a gas bubble – the sound is the bubble bursting."
-
True
How many people lived in the Amazon rainforest when Columbus landed in America?
-
10 million
True or False? "The idea that Columbus was endeavoring to attempt the unimaginable, defy all existing scientific precedent and become an international celebrity for not toppling off the world is false."
-
True
True or False? "Basically, the veins are blue thanks to a trick of the light, not the color of what's inside them."
-
True
True or False? "Chameleons change color to blend in with the environment."
-
True