Animal Kingdom
What do chameleons do and why?
Changing colour for camouflage is a MYTH. Chameleons do change colour, but not to match the background. They change colour when they are frightened or after a fight and they sometimes change colour due to changes in light or temperature.
What man-made artifacts on Earth can be seen from the moon?
No points if you said The Great Wall of China! In fact no man-made structures can be seen from the moon - even continents are barely visible. You can see the Great Wall of China from space (which starts about 100 kilometres from the earth's surface), as well as seas, railways, cities, and even some buildings, but not from the moon.
What do kilts and whisky have in common?
The answer is that neither of them is Scottish in origin! Kilts were invented by the Irish and whisky by the Chinese.
Which African mammal kills more humans than any other?
The hippopotamus. Most attacks occur because somebody in a rowing boat accidentally hits a hippopotamus on the head and it decides to overturn the boat, or because a hippo leaves the water and tramples on people who are walking by the side of a river.
Which metal is the best conductor?
Many people think that the answer is copper, but actually this is the second-best conductor. The best conductor is silver, but copper is more commonly used in electrical equipment simply because it is much cheaper.
What did the American Thomas Edison invent, that English speakers use everyday?
Of course Edison is famous for inventing the electric light bulb, but English speakers also have to thank him for suggesting the word 'hello' as the best way to answer the telephone. Before 'hello' was used telephone operators used to say 'Are you there?' or 'Who are you?' when they answered the phone. And the man who invented the telephone, Alexander Bell, actually preferred "Ahoy! Ahoy!', which is what sailors use to attract attention.
What conclusion did the great biologist Stephen Jay Gould made from a lifetime study of fish?
There is no such thing as fish. A fish has no biological meaning. Biologically speaking, a salmon is more related to a camel than it is to a hagfish (looks like eel). Evolutionary creatures that live in the sea that we call fish have absolutely nothing to do with each other.
What is the world’s biggest river and where is it?
It’s in the sky - atmospheric rivers, which are vast ribbons of water vapor moving water around the world. They are 2000 km long and only a few km wide and a few of them can contain up to 90% of world’s water vapor. The biggest river which is not in the sky is actually 4 km under the river Amazon and has the length of 6000 km, 200-400 km wide (4 times wider than Amazon river) - Rio Hamza, discovered in 2011.
Why is a marathon 42.195 km long?
Many people think that it is because this was the exact distance a Greek messenger ran from Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated by the Greeks. This distance was approximately 40 kilometres, and this is the reason why at the first three modern Olympic Games the marathons were roughly that length. However, the reason why the modern day marathon is exactly 42.195 kilometres is because of the British royal family. In 1908 when the Games were held in London, the starting line was put outside Windsor Castle so that half of the royal family could see it from their windows, and the finish was in front of the royal box in White City, London where the rest of the royal family was waiting. The distance was exactly 42.195 kilometres, and this became the standard length of the marathon.