Kitchen Substitutes
You’ve run out of kitchen cleanser, and your stainless pot needs scrubbing. Use this natural baking ingredient.
baking soda
Make a paste with water and spread it on the pot. Let it sit for a while or overnight and then scrub
What game is played with rectangular tiles that have a line dividing them into two squares, each containing a number of dots?
Dominoes
Dominoes finds its roots in ancient China, with its origins dating back to the Song Dynasty, around the 12th century.
On summer nights, what flying beetle do you often see that intermittently flashes light in a unique pattern?
Firefly (or lightning bug)
A firefly’s flashing pattern helps it find potential mates.
In what game do players act out a word or phrase without speaking, while others try to guess what it is?
Charades
Charades originated in France during the 16th century and has been a staple game around the holidays ever since. The modern version of charades was popularized by the game show Give Us a Clue, which aired from 1979 to 1992.
Which 1940s toy, created as a modeling compound for cleaning wallpaper, became popular as children’s sculpting material?
Play-Doh
Kay Zufall, a nursery school teacher, played a crucial role in the transformation of Play-Doh. She discovered it was excellent for making Christmas ornaments with her students and shared this information with the struggling company
What expression means to take time to relax and appreciate the beauty of life?
“Stop and smell the roses.”
The expression is said to be rephrased from the Walter Hagen quote, “Don’t hurry; Don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way
If you run out of vegetable oil for baking, add this.
applesauce or fruit puree
For this substitute, add half the amount of oil the recipe calls for.
Make buttermilk by adding a little of this ingredient to milk
vinegar or lemon juice
Add one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup and top off to one cup with milk. Let it sit for a few minutes, and you have buttermilk.
What popular number puzzle game is played on a grid of 9 X 9 squares?
Sudoku
In 2006, Italy had the honor of hosting the first-ever Sudoku World Championships.
What insect’s itchy bite is hard to avoid when spending a summer evening outdoors?
Mosquito
Only female mosquitoes bite, as they need blood to reproduce.
What card game is played with a single player and requires the cards to be laid out in a specific order, such as building the deck into a sequence, by suit, from ace to king?
Solitaire
The game of solitaire soared to popularity at the end of the 20th century when the Microsoft company incorporated the game into all of its computers. At one point, solitaire was the most used of all of Microsoft’s programs.
What iconic toy, invented in 1943, consists of a helical spring that “walks” downstairs, stretches, and bounces in various ways?
Slinky
Mechanical engineer Richard James accidentally invented the Slinky while developing springs to stabilize sensitive equipment on ships.
What flower is native to North America and known for its strikingly large yellow bloom, valuable oil, and long stem?
Sunflower
The tallest sunflower on record was found in Germany in 2016 and measured 30 feet, one inch tall
This is the base ingredient of the Italian cookie amaretti.
almond paste
Amaretti cookies come from Serrano, Italy, and they’re Italy’s response to France’s macarons. They’re also gluten-free
Combine these two ingredients to make a substitute for brown sugar.
white sugar and molasses
Keep adding a little molasses to white sugar and mix until you achieve the proper color for the recipe—golden or dark brown.
What puzzle consists of a 3 X 3 X 3 cube with rotating sides, where the objective is to solve it by aligning the colors on each face?
Rubik’s Cube
It’s possible to solve any configuration of a Rubik’s Cube using 20 moves or less.
What tiny arachnids should you check your body for after time spent outdoors in the woods or high grass areas?
Ticks
They are most active in warmer weather and can be infected with bacteria, viruses, or parasites.
What trick-taking game is played with a standard deck of cards and involves two teams of two players each, who communicate through bidding to win tricks and score points
Bridge
Bridge. The world championships of bridge began in 1950
What classic toy originally used real potatoes as a base and featured interchangeable plastic parts to create various facial expressions?
Mr. Potato Head
Mr. Potato Head was the first toy to be advertised on television, and its commercial debut was in 1952
What flower’s botanical name is Bellis perennis and has been used in the homeopathic system of medicine for its anti-inflammatory properties? Hint: It is April’s birth flower.
The daisy
A daisy is two flowers in one. The outer white petals are one, and the yellow cluster, called the eye, are another.
A typical Chinese restaurant dinner in the Western world ends with this cookie
fortune cookie
These cookies were invented in the United States during the 20th century and are not part of a typical Chinese dinner.
This can be used as a sour cream substitute.
Greek yogurt
If you don’t have Greek yogurt, you can strain regular yogurt to remove excess water. If you don’t strain it, it’s not a good substitute because regular yogurt is too thin.
In what word game might players earn a “triple word score”?
Scrabble
It is theorized that oxyphenbutazone is the highest possible legal word one can play that would actually fit on a Scrabble board. Oxyphenbutazone is an anti-inflammatory drug
What insect, sometimes feared by humans for its stinger, flies around collecting nectar and pollen?
Bee
There are about 20,000 bee species with many differences between them. Some don’t even sting or produce honey.
What is the matching card game where the objective is to form sets or runs of cards and be the first to get rid of all your cards?
Rummy
Rummy is a card game with more than 60 variations. Rising in popularity even today, an online rummy platform recently broke the world record for hosting the largest online rummy tournament to date with a staggering 215,000 players in March of 2023.
What classic toy dates to ancient Greece but became widely popular in the 1950s? Hint: It involves a spool attached to a string that is spun up and down to perform tricks.
Yo-yo
What carnivorous plant produces white flowers and is known for its innovative trapping mechanism for catching insects?
Venus flytrap
The Venus flytrap’s lifespan is roughly 20 years, sometimes longer
Who is often called the “King of Rock and Roll”?
Elvis Presley
His dynamic performances, groundbreaking recordings, and charismatic stage presence revolutionized popular music in the 1950s and 1960s
A balsamic vinegar substitute can be made from these two common ingredients that cooks often have in the pantry
vinegar and brown sugar
You can also use cider vinegar and maple syrup
What popular game was originally called “Pretzel” due to the expectation that players would resemble twisted pretzels while playing it?
Twister
The patent for this game is titled “Apparatus for Playing a Game Wherein the Players Constitute the Game Pieces
What spotted insect is believed to bring you good luck and is a symbol of good fortune?
Ladybug
Some think the number of spots on the ladybug indicates how many years of good luck you’ll have. A persistent myth is that the spots show how many years old they are, but in reality they don’t live more than a year or two.
In what game do players take turns drawing a word or phrase while their teammates try to guess it within a time limit?
Pictionary
With the name coming from a combination of picture and dictionary, the game Pictionary was actually invented by a waiter in his twenties. After graduating from college, Rob Abgel suggested to his roommates that they play a game like “charades on paper.” In the year 2000, Mattel bought Pictionary for $29 million.
What popular toy, introduced in 1963, allows children to bake small cakes and cookies using a lightbulb as a heat source?
Easy-Bake Oven
A regular 100-watt incandescent lightbulb originally heated the oven.
What popular summer flower will often bloom blue if grown in acidic soils or pink if it’s in alkaline soils? Hint: They bloom in a ball shape.
Hydrangea
The flower gets its name from the Greek word hydro, meaning “water,” and angos, meaning “vessel.” Its name is meant to stress the need to be watered often.
What British band is often credited with spearheading the “British Invasion” of the United States in the early 1960s?
The Beatles
Their groundbreaking appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1965, marked a significant cultural moment. Over 73 million people gathered at their TVs to watch the Beatles’ first live performance in the U.S., which helped pave the way for other British bands to gain popularity in the States.