Word Origins
“Freelance” originally referred to a knight who did this.
What is fight for whoever paid them (a “free lance”)?
The largest animal ever to have lived on Earth.
What is the blue whale?
PHNODIL
What is a dolphin?
Water boils at this temperature on the Celsius scale.
What is 100 degrees?
The Moon causes these regular rises and falls of sea level on Earth.
What are tides?
“Gymnasium” comes from the Greek gymnos, which means this surprising thing.
What is “naked”?
The only mammal capable of true flight.
What is a bat?
FIG FEAR
This part of the cell is known as the “powerhouse” because it produces energy.
What is the mitochondria?
When a star explodes at the end of its life, it’s called this.
What is a supernova?
"Quarantine" comes from the Italian quaranta giorni, meaning this time period.
What is “forty days”?
This insect has the largest brain-to-body ratio of any animal.
What is an ant?
BRIGEL
What is a gerbil?
This gas makes up about 78% of Earth’s atmosphere.
What is nitrogen?
These icy bodies develop bright tails when they approach the Sun.
What are comets?
“Nightmare” once referred not to a bad dream, but to this mythic creature sitting on your chest.
What is a night hag or goblin?
This marsupial is the only mammal known to have fingerprints nearly identical to humans.
What is a koala?
TOES TRIO
What is a tortoise?
Newton’s Third Law states that for every action, there is one of these.
What is an equal and opposite reaction?
The Sun is classified as this type of star, based on its size and temperature.
What is a yellow dwarf?
“Clue” originally meant a ball of thread — a reference to this Greek mythic hero finding his way out of the labyrinth.
Who is Theseus?
This bird’s eyes are bigger than its brain.
What is an ostrich?
OAK ORGAN
What is a kangaroo?
The smallest unit of an element that still retains its properties.
What is an atom?
This mysterious force is thought to be causing the accelerated expansion of the universe.
What is dark energy?