Obscure Science
This gas makes up about 78% of Earth's atmosphere.
What is nitrogen?
This country has the most time zones.
What is France (including overseas territories)?
This punctuation mark is used to indicate a break in thought—longer than a comma, shorter than a period.
What is a dash (or em dash)?
The civilization that built Machu Picchu.
What is the Inca Empire?
The only mammal that can truly fly.
What is a bat?
The branch of physics that deals with very small particles.
What is quantum mechanics?
The only continent in all four hemispheres.
What is Africa?
This 2-letter word can mean “yes” in one language and “no” in another.
What is “si”? (Yes in Spanish, no in Persian)
The first written legal code was from this ancient king.
Who is Hammurabi?
This is the term for a word that sounds like what it means, like "buzz" or "clang."
What is onomatopoeia?
The scientific term for “belly button.”
What is navel or umbilicus?
The city with the most skyscrapers in the world
What is Hong Kong?
A word that sounds the same but has different meanings.
What is a homonym (or homophone)?
The city-state known for inventing democracy.
What is Athens?
The longest English word without a vowel (excluding “y”).
What is “rhythms”?
The rarest blood type in the world.
What is Rh-null (also called “golden blood”)?
The southernmost capital city in the world.
What is Wellington, New Zealand?
The name for a word made from combining two words (like “brunch”).
What is a portmanteau?
The famous general who never lost a battle and conquered Persia.
Who is Alexander the Great?
The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth.
What is −128.6°F (−89.2°C) in Antarctica?
The process by which plants lose water through their leaves.
What is transpiration?
The river that runs through Baghdad.
What is the Tigris?
A palindrome that refers to a mythical creature.
What is “dragon-nogard”? (or prompt another, e.g. “deified” is a real palindrome)
The language spoken by the ancient Mesopotamians.
What is Sumerian (or Akkadian)?
The only U.S. state that’s a one-syllable name.
What is Maine?