Seven days of questions and answers

Bar Trivia Answers Archive

Review earlier daily rounds, reveal the correct answer, and use the short explanation to learn the fact behind each question. Page 2 of 12 covers seven completed UTC days.

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Daily round

  1. Pub finale round: Which metric unit equals one thousand meters?

    Answer: kilometer

    The prefix “kilo-” means one thousand in the International System of Units.

  2. Pub music round: Which low woodwind instrument uses a double reed and a long folded tube?

    Answer: bassoon

    The bassoon’s long bore folds back on itself, allowing a low register without an impractically tall straight tube.

  3. Pub language round: What term describes a word that imitates a sound?

    Answer: onomatopoeia

    Words such as “buzz” and “hiss” are examples of onomatopoeia.

  4. Pub nature round: Which microscopic animal is nicknamed the water bear?

    Answer: tardigrade

    Tardigrades can enter a dehydrated state called a tun when conditions become hostile.

  5. Pub science round: What boundary around a black hole marks the point beyond which light cannot escape?

    Answer: event horizon

    An event horizon is a boundary in spacetime rather than a solid surface surrounding a black hole.

Daily round

  1. Pub nature round: Which mammal is covered with large protective keratin scales?

    Answer: pangolin

    Pangolin scales are made of keratin, the same protein found in human fingernails.

  2. Pub science round: Which planet has the most visually prominent ring system?

    Answer: Saturn

    Saturn’s rings consist mainly of water-ice particles ranging from dust-sized grains to larger chunks.

  3. Pub science round: Which gemstone is a crystalline form of carbon?

    Answer: diamond

    Diamond’s carbon atoms form a rigid three-dimensional lattice that makes it exceptionally hard.

  4. Pub inventions round: Which early sound-recording and playback device was demonstrated by Thomas Edison?

    Answer: phonograph

    Edison’s early phonograph recorded sound vibrations as grooves on a rotating cylinder.

  5. Pub finale round: Which national capital lies between Sydney and Melbourne?

    Answer: Canberra

    Canberra was selected as a compromise between rival Australian cities Sydney and Melbourne.

Daily round

  1. Pub nature round: Which large flightless bird of New Guinea and Australia has a helmet-like casque?

    Answer: cassowary

    The cassowary’s strong legs carry a long inner toe claw used for defense.

  2. Pub literature round: Who wrote the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four?

    Answer: George Orwell

    George Orwell was the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, an English novelist and essayist.

  3. Pub finale round: Which living animal has the largest heart?

    Answer: blue whale

    A blue whale heart can weigh well over 100 kilograms, although estimates vary by animal size.

  4. Pub history round: Which collection of clay soldiers guarded the tomb of China’s first emperor?

    Answer: Terracotta Army

    The Terracotta Army was buried near Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum in individualized ranks of soldiers and horses.

  5. Pub food round: Which Andean seed is cooked and eaten much like a grain?

    Answer: quinoa

    Quinoa is a pseudocereal related to spinach and beets rather than a true grass grain.

Daily round

  1. Pub music round: Which plucked string instrument is prominent in Hindustani classical music?

    Answer: sitar

    The sitar uses sympathetic strings that vibrate in response to played notes and enrich its resonance.

  2. Pub nature round: Which Arctic whale has a long spiral tusk, usually in males?

    Answer: narwhal

    A narwhal tusk is an elongated tooth containing millions of nerve endings.

  3. Pub art round: Which American modernist became known for large flower paintings and Southwestern landscapes?

    Answer: Georgia O’Keeffe

    Georgia O’Keeffe lived for many years in New Mexico, whose landscape became central to her work.

  4. Pub art round: Who painted Girl with a Pearl Earring?

    Answer: Johannes Vermeer

    Girl with a Pearl Earring is a tronie, a study of a character or expression rather than a commissioned portrait.

  5. Pub music round: Which keyboard instrument creates a bell-like sound with metal plates?

    Answer: celesta

    A celesta strikes metal plates with hammers and was featured memorably in Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker.

Daily round

  1. Pub literature round: Who wrote Mrs Dalloway?

    Answer: Virginia Woolf

    Mrs Dalloway unfolds over one day in London and uses shifting interior viewpoints.

  2. Pub sports round: What color jersey identifies the overall Tour de France leader?

    Answer: yellow jersey

    The leader’s yellow jersey is called the maillot jaune, matching the yellow paper once used by L’Auto.

  3. Pub inventions round: Which machine enabled rapid reproduction of movable-type pages in Europe?

    Answer: printing press

    Movable-type printing made individual letters reusable, lowering the labor needed for repeated pages.

  4. Pub nature round: Which parasitic plant produces one of the world’s largest individual flowers?

    Answer: rafflesia

    Rafflesia lacks ordinary leaves, stems, and roots and lives as a parasite inside its host vine.

  5. Pub nature round: Which tree group includes the tallest living trees?

    Answer: redwood

    The tallest coast redwoods exceed 110 meters and grow naturally along the foggy Pacific coast.

Daily round

  1. Pub landmarks round: Which Dubai skyscraper opened in 2010 as the world’s tallest building?

    Answer: Burj Khalifa

    The Burj Khalifa rises 828 meters and contains offices, residences, and observation levels.

  2. Pub nature round: Which Australian bird is celebrated for remarkably accurate sound mimicry?

    Answer: lyrebird

    Lyrebirds imitate other birds as well as mechanical sounds they hear in their environment.

  3. Pub literature round: Who wrote Frankenstein?

    Answer: Mary Shelley

    Mary Shelley first published Frankenstein anonymously in 1818.

  4. Pub finale round: How many suits are in a standard French-suited deck of playing cards?

    Answer: four

    A standard French-suited deck has hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades.

  5. Pub inventions round: Which rotary engine converts energy from high-pressure steam into mechanical work?

    Answer: steam turbine

    A steam turbine uses expanding steam to spin rows of blades and can drive an electrical generator.

Daily round

  1. Pub language round: Which Japanese verse form is commonly taught in English using a three-line 5-7-5 syllable pattern?

    Answer: haiku

    Traditional Japanese haiku are organized by sound units called morae, which do not map perfectly to English syllables.

  2. Pub history round: Which survey of landholding was ordered by William the Conqueror?

    Answer: Domesday Book

    The Domesday survey recorded land, resources, and obligations across much of England in 1086.

  3. Pub language round: What term describes a word or phrase that reads the same forward and backward when spacing is ignored?

    Answer: palindrome

    “Never odd or even” is a palindrome when spaces are ignored.

  4. Pub food round: What Japanese name refers to young soybeans served in their pods?

    Answer: edamame

    Edamame are soybeans harvested while still green and tender rather than left to mature and dry.

  5. Pub inventions round: Which instrument did Evangelista Torricelli develop to measure atmospheric pressure?

    Answer: barometer

    Torricelli’s mercury barometer showed that air has weight and that atmospheric pressure changes.