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December 2003
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Everything Quiz – Answers

  1. There’s one “sport” in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends. What is it?
    ANS: Boxing
  2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?
    ANS: Niagra Falls, since it worn down by nearly 2.5 feet per year by the rushing water.
  3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the two perennial vegetables?
    ANS: Asparagus and rhubarb.
  4. Name the only sports in which the ball is always in possession of the team on defense, and the offensive team can score without touching the ball.
    ANS: Baseball and softball; I don’t know about cricket.
  5. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?
    ANS: strawberries
  6. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn’t been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?
    A bottle is placed over a pear bud on a tree. The bottle and bud are secured with a wire to hold them in place for the entire growing season. When the pear is ripe it is cut at the stem.
  7. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters “dw”. They are all common. Name two of them.
    ANS: dwarf, dwell, dwindle.
  8. There are at least eighteen punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name half of them?
    ANS: comma, period, semi-colon, colon, question mark, exclamation point, hyphen, apostrophe, single quote, double quote, one-en dash, one-em dash, open and closed parentheses, open and closed brackets, and open and closed braces.
  9. Where are the lakes that are referred to in the “Los Angeles Lakers”?
    ANS: The team was originally named after the glacial lakes of Minnesota when it was the Minneapolis Lakers. (Minnesota’ slogan is “The land of 10,000 lakes”.) When it moved to LA it kept the name.
  10. There are seven ways a baseball player can legally reach first base without getting a hit. Taking a base on balls – a walk – is one way. Name the other six.
    ANS: Hit by a pitch, error, catcher interferes with the base runner, catcher drops the third strike, fielder’s choice, and being a designated runner.
  11. It’s the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh. What is it?
    ANS: lettuce
  12. Name six or more things that you can wear on your feet that begin with the letter “S”.
    ANS: sandals, snow shoes, shoes, slippers, sneakers, skis, stockings, sabots
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This page was last updated December 1, 2003.

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Puzzles
December 2003
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