Tuff Quiz: Trivia For Smart People

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  • 1/20 Questions

    The galaxy we live in is called the Milky Way. It is shaped approximately like:

    • A round ball.
    • A doughnut.
    • A flat spiral.
    • A pretzel.
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About This Quiz

Are you really smart? Do you know a lot about the world? Then why don't you try testing your knowledge with this Tuff Quiz, a trivia for smart people? Let's all see how smart you are! Make sure to attempt all the questions on the quiz correctly to get a super high score! Why not play this quiz with your friend & compare the scores for a fun time? Let's get started. Good Luck!

Tuff Quiz: Trivia For Smart People - Quiz

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  • 2. 

    What is the meaning of the adjective otiose?

    • Disgusting.

    • Having large ears.

    • Serving no purpose.

    • Unmarried.

    Correct Answer
    A. Serving no purpose.
    Explanation
    Otiose derives from the Latin otium, meaning leisure, and has sometimes been used in the secondary sense of “indolent” or “idle”. You can pronounce it either “oh-tee-ose” or “oh-she-ose”, but the latter is definitely more high-faluting, and if you’re going to use a word like otiose you might as well go whole hog.

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  • 3. 

    A zoologist studies animal life in general, but a cryptozoologist focuses on:

    • Animals that have been extinct for at least one million years .

    • Animals that inhabit graveyards.

    • Animals whose behaviour is exceptionally puzzling.

    • Animals whose existance has not been scientifically verified.

    Correct Answer
    A. Animals whose existance has not been scientifically verified.
    Explanation
    The best-known targets of cryptozoological research are the various forms of “ape-man”, such as the Himalayan yeti and the North American sasquatch; and the sea and lake “monsters”, such as Scotland’s fabled Loch Ness monster.

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  • 4. 

    The Etruscans were a people of ancient Europe whose civilization was influential for much of the millennium preceding the Christian era. Their homeland of Etruria lay within the borders of which modern country?

    • Franc.

    • Germany.

    • Italy.

    • Spain.

    Correct Answer
    A. Italy.
    Explanation
    The land of Etruria occupied what is now Tuscany in central Italy. The origin of the Etruscan people is a riddle that has engaged the interest of historians since ancient times, and is still not settled. Some have held that the Etruscans came from Asia Minor, others that they were indigenous to Italy. What is certain is that the Etruscans, skilled in seafaring, mining and the arts, possessed a complex, vibrant and outgoing culture, with an elaborate, polytheistic religion and a distinctive language and literature. Unfortunately not much of the latter has survived. The heyday of the Etruscans came in about the middle of the millennium, when Rome was ruled by the Etruscan king Tarquin. Within a few centuries, however, they had been displaced by the Latin people who would soon rule not just Italy but much of the known world of that time.

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  • 5. 

    Which one of the following writer died on his birthday?

    • William Shakespeare.

    • John Cairghhead George.

    • Lemoney Snicket.

    • Mark Twain.

    Correct Answer
    A. William Shakespeare.
    Explanation
    William Shakespeare was born on 23rd April 1564. he died on his birthday in 1616.

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  • 6. 

    What is the southernmost U.S. state?

    • Florida.

    • Hawaii.

    • Puerto Rico.

    • Texas.

    Correct Answer
    A. Hawaii.
    Explanation
    Florida is the former holder of this title, but Hawaii overtook it a few years ago because of volcanic activity, which continually enlarges the southernmost of the Hawaiian islands. Puerto Rico would take the crown if it became a state. Florida is the former holder of this title, but Hawaii overtook it a few years ago because of volcanic activity, which continually enlarges the southernmost of the Hawaiian islands. Puerto Rico would take the crown if it became a state.

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  • 7. 

    Can you tell us how many bytes are there in a kilobyte?

    • 1,000.

    • 1,024.

    • 1,080.

    • It depends on your computer,s operating system.

    Correct Answer
    A. 1,024.
    Explanation
    The prefix “kilo” usually means one thousand: a kilogram is exactly 1,000 grams. For technical reasons, however, computer memories are organized around numbers that are powers of two (numbers that can be obtained by repeatedly multiplying two by itself). 1,024 is such a number (2 raised to the 10th power). The term “kilobyte” is merely a convenient approximation. Similarly, a megabyte is 1,048,576 (1024 times 1024) bytes, rather than exactly one million as the “mega” prefix would suggest.

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  • 8. 

    A bathyscaphe is:

    • A map of the ocean bottom.

    • A small bathtub used on sailingships.

    • A submersible craft.

    • What early explorers call the baleen whale.

    Correct Answer
    A. A submersible craft.
    Explanation
    The first bathyscaphe was created in 1953, when Swiss physicist Auguste Piccard hung a round diving chamber called a bathysphere from a submersible balloon. More people have gone to the moon than have reached a depth of 10,000 feet, and the ocean depths are still largely unexplored.

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  • 9. 

    The first coin-operated vending machine dates from at least the first century BC. What product did the machine dispense?

    • Healing crystals.

    • Holy water.

    • Honey wine.

    • Horoscopes.

    Correct Answer
    A. Holy water.
    Explanation
    The holy-water vending machine was invented by the Greek mathematician Hero, or at any rate was first described by him. Visitors to temples in Alexandria, Egypt placed a five-drachma coin in the machine and received a measured amount of holy water for ritual cleansing before joining in the rites conducted within. The machine depended on the weight of the coin to open the valve that allowed the water to flow. Given the relatively simple mechanism, it is quite likely that the first vending machine fraud also occurred at that time. Hero is also credited with devising the first steam engine, although given the widespread availability of slaves it was not put to practical use.

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  • 10. 

    How much of the moon's area can be seen from earth's surface?

    • 35%.

    • 50%.

    • 59%.

    • 74%.

    Correct Answer
    A. 59%.
    Explanation
    When the Moon is full, half (50%) of its area is visible. Since the far side remains permanently hidden, that would seem to be that. However, irregularities called librations in the Moon’s orbit cause the satellite to wobble slightly.

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  • 11. 

    Hyraxes are small furry mammals of Africa and South Asia, whose diet consists of plants and fruit. Oddly enough, the nearest relatives of the hyrax among other mammals are the:

    • Bear.

    • Elephants.

    • Giraffes.

    • Lions and Tigers.

    Correct Answer
    A. Elephants.
    Explanation
    There are two species of rock hyrax and six of tree hyrax. The latter are also known as “dassies”. The common ancestor of both elephants and hyraxes also gave rise to the sea cows (dugongs and manatees). With such imposing kindred, it is perhaps not surprising that some extinct hyraxes were as large as oxen, a far cry from the rabbit-sized species of the present day.

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  • 12. 

    In the famous Warner Brothers cartoons, a fast-moving bird called a “road runner” makes life difficult for a not-so-wily coyote. The real road runner is actually a type of:

    • Cuckoo.

    • Pheasant.

    • Stork.

    • Turkey.

    Correct Answer
    A. Cuckoo.
    Explanation
    There are two species of road runner, both native to Central America. They are poor flyers, but — as the name suggests — good runners, attaining sprint speeds of up to 25 kph (15 mph). Although they are cuckoos, road runners do not lay eggs in other birds’ nests.

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  • 13. 

    Around 480 B.C., a Greek philosopher advanced scientific knowledge by working out the true cause of astronomical eclipses. His name was:

    • Anaxagoras.

    • Anaximander.

    • Anaximenes of Lampsacus.

    • Anaxmenes of Mitelus.

    Correct Answer
    A. Anaxagoras.
    Explanation
    Anaxagoras believed that there is an infinite number of elements, and that all things include the essence of all other things. This was in contrast to Anaximander, who a century earlier had concluded that there was only one indeterminate primordial substance from which all things are derived. Anaximander is believed to have been the first person to attempt mapping the entire world, which he thought of as a stubby cylinder. Anaximenes of Miletus, a contemporary of Anaximander, had taught that all things ultimately consisted of air at various densities. Anaximenes of Lampsacus (c.380-320 B.C.) was a writer and historian who accompanied Alexander the Great on his Persian campaigns.

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  • 14. 

    According to legend, St. Brendan and a group of monks sailed from Ireland to the Bahamas in the sixth century. The boat they used would have been of the type called a:

    • Knorr.

    • Canoe.

    • Galley.

    • Coracle.

    Correct Answer
    A. Coracle.
    Explanation
    Coracles (or “currachs”) are rowing boats made of wood or wicker with a waterproof covering. The knorr was a Norse voyaging ship, while canoes were used by North American aboriginals. A galley was a Greek or Roman vessel, usually rowed by slaves or criminals.

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  • 15. 

    In 1856, English chemist William Perkin, hoping to improve the treatment of malaria, set himself the task of producing artificial quinine in his home laboratory. Although the effort failed, Perkin succeeded in creating quite a different product instead. What was it?

    • The first commercial bug reppelant.

    • The first food preserative.

    • The first synthetic dye.

    • The first transparent plastic.

    Correct Answer
    A. The first synthetic dye.
    Explanation
    Chemists in the mid-1800s often created new coloring agents in the course of their experiments without realizing their commercial value. Perkin reacted aniline with potassium dichromate. When the product of the reaction was added to alcohol, it turned pinkish-purple. Instead of discarding this accidental product, Perkin used it to dye a piece of silk. It worked so well that he went on to patent the discovery which he named first “mauveine”, then “Tyrian purple” and finally “mauve”, after the French name for the mallow plant, which has purple flowers.

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  • 16. 

    Which of the following famous children’s books was illustrated by its author?

    • Alice in Wonderland by lLewis Carreol.

    • The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

    • The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

    • Winnie-The-Pooh by A.A. Milne.

    Correct Answer
    A. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
    Explanation
    The original illustrator of Alice in Wonderland was John Tenniel. Winnie-the-Pooh and one well-known edition of The Wind in the Willows were illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard.

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  • 17. 

    To whom was the first patent for a technical invention awarded?

    • Christiaan Huygens, mathematician and engineer .

    • Filippo Brunelleschi, architect and engineer.

    • Leonardo da Vinci, artist and inventor .

    • Sir Christopher Wren, architect and scientist .

    Correct Answer
    A. Filippo Brunelleschi, architect and engineer.
    Explanation
    Brunelleschi (1377-1446), trained as a goldsmith and sculptor in his native Florence, but from the outset displayed a talent for mathematics and technical innovation. From a lifetime of achievements he is most celebrated for rediscovering and enlarging upon the engineering principles used by the architects of ancient Greece and Rome, for developing the science of artistic perspective, and for the monumental engineering feat involved in the construction of the Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral of Florence. In 1421, Brunelleschi devised a barge with a hoist to be used for bringing marble blocks up the river Arno to Florence from the quarries at Carrera. However, he refused to construct the vessel until the city granted him the exclusive right to use his design for a period of three years, and thus was awarded the first technical patent in history.

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  • 18. 

    When was plywood invented?

    • 3500 B.C.

    • 200 B.C.

    • 675 B.C.

    • 1835 B.C.

    Correct Answer
    A. 3500 B.C.
    Explanation
    Plywood today consists of layers of veneer glued together in such a way that the grain in adjacent layers is mutually perpendicular, which confers additional strength. The ancient Egyptians crafted objects from such laminates nearly 6,000 years ago.

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  • 19. 

    What was the name of the first motion picture to win the Oscar for “Best Picture”?

    • Cimarron.

    • Mutiny on the Bounty.

    • Wings.

    • The Wizard of oz.

    Correct Answer
    A. Wings.
    Explanation
    Wings won the 1927/1928 award for Best Picture (Production). It was the only silent movie to win Best Picture, and the only movie ever to win the award for Engineering Effects, which was dropped the next year. The plot of Wings centers around the adventures of two World War One pilots, both in love with the same girl.

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  • 20. 

    Alexander Graham Bell is best known for inventing the telephone, but he was a man of many interests. Another product for which he received patents was:

    • A cement-burning kiln.

    • A hydrofoil boat.

    • A "magic lantern" projector.

    • A vaccum cleaner.

    Correct Answer
    A. A hydrofoil boat.
    Explanation
    In later life, Bell lived in Nova Scotia, Canada, where he worked for years with Casey Baldwin to develop a practical hydrofoil watercraft. A hydrofoil has a wing-like structure on its hull that raises the boat out of the water when it is moving; the consequent reduction in drag allows the boat to achieve much greater speeds. In 1919, Bell’s hydrofoil, the HD-4, set a world marine speed record of over 70 miles (110 km) per hour that stood for ten years. The cement-burning kiln was patented by Thomas Edison, the vacuum cleaner by I.W. McGaffers, and the “magic lantern” projector by Henry R. Heyl.

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  • Current Version
  • Jul 17, 2023
    Quiz Edited by
    ProProfs Editorial Team
  • Aug 21, 2009
    Quiz Created by
    Stylish.dude
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