1. Why did fire stations originally have spiral staircases?
A. It was aesthetically pleasing to the eye
B. To prevent fire fighters running up and down the steps
C. To keep horses downstairs
D. To save space
E. So they could make a dramatic entrance while entering the fire truck
Answer: C - To keep horses downstairs.
When engines were pulled by horses, horses were stabled on the ground floor
and figured out how to walk up straight staircases. Unfortunately, even though a
spiral staircase may keep the horses from walking upstairs to the bedrooms, it
made exiting the fire house to rush to a fire a very slow process. Eventually the
fire pole made the process a bit faster
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2. Bees drink the sugary nectar from flowers and bring it back to the hive. How many visits
must they make to make one jar of honey?
A. 2,000
B. 20,000
C. 200,00
D. 2 million
Answer: D - A bee must make 2 million visits to a flower to make one jar of honey. Here is a
follow up question. How many visits must you make to buy 1 jar of honey?
Answer: Sometimes two visits if you are waiting for honey to go on sale or you decide to go back home to use a coupon. Think about that the next time you get frustrated with society. One thing we as humans are efficient at is getting food on our table
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3. Who came up with the first cookie?
A. Some woman named Cookie
B. A baker who could only afford flat pans
C. The cookie was invented by accident. Bakers used small amounts of batter to test the
oven temperature before baking large cakes
Answer: C - Which makes you wonder how many years went by before bakers stopped
throwing out the test batter and finally tasted it
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4. What team was the first to form a football huddle and what influenced them to do this?
A. Philadelphia Eagles did not want the opposing team to overhear them discussing
their favorite cheesesteak restaurant
B. The New York Giants did not want the opposing team listening to them chant their
favorite Broadway songs before the next play
C. The University of Miami did not want the opposing team to learn about their sunscreen
secrets
D. Gallaudet University did not want opposing teams watching their quarterback who was
deaf using sign language to communicate their plays
Answer - D- In 1892 Paul Hubbard was the quarterback for Gallaudet School for the Deaf.
He developed the huddle to hide his plays from the opposing players
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5. Why aren't coins smooth and why do they have ridges on the edges
A. One day the mint ran out of sandpaper and a bean counter realized that not sanding
the coins would save time and money
B. The ridges made a beautiful design
C. Coins were made of gold and silver and our ancestors used to shave off pieces from
the sides and melt enough shavings to make a new coin. Well, maybe not your
relatives but it was a poplular form of income in the 1800's.. The ribs were added to show that the coin was not tampered with. Today the ribs are not used to prevent tampering. Think about it. If you were that desperate to shave down the sides of
a penny to make a new penny, you deserved the penny. Today the ribs are still there for tradition but they also work as a form of braille. For those of you inclined to count the ridges we have done that for you. The quarter has 119 ridges and the dime has 118.
Answer C. Though dishonest that was a very ingenious idea
6. Where did the term piggy bank come from?
A. The original banks came in the form of a pig
B. For centuries anyone who would save money was considered a pig
C. In Old English Pygg was a type of clay that was used to make jars and dishes that
held money. The word eventually morphed into "piggy bank"
7. Why are women's buttons on the left side while men's buttons are on the right
A. This is so the woman can multi-task. She can use her left hand to button her
shirt and use her right hand to button his
B. It was the only way to tell the difference between the shirts
C. It was easier for the right handed maids to dress them.
Answer C. Which makes you wonder why the maids shirt did not have right handed buttons
since they had to dress themselves
8. If you are scheduling a job interview and want to be remembered would you
A. Schedule your meeting at the beginning of the day
B. Schedule your meeting in the middle of the day
C. Schedule your meeting at the end of the day
Answer A & C. People remember what happens at the beginning and at the end of the day so if you want to be remembered try to be the first or the last on the schedule for that day. On the other hand if you do not interview well and do not want to be remembered you may be better off interviewing in the middle of the day when everything is a blur
9. If you want everyone to show up on the meeting on time would you be better off scheduling the meeting at
A. 9:00 AM
B. 9.06 AM
C. 9:30 AM
Answer is B. This is called this the Swiss trains approach. When you tell someone to meet you at 9 or 9:30 there is nothing special about this time. The novelty of having a 9:06 meeting will stand out in their mind
10. Were you ever on a plane, train or bus and nobody sits next to you? At first you feel good
about the fact that you have the entire seat to yourself until you start wondering what is
wrong with you. Well I have good news for you. You may indeed be too attractive. There is
a fear of beauty. Some people feel excessive tension next to beautiful people. They may
either feel excitement or a lack of control over their own actions. There is also the fear of
comparison. So the next time you are on public transportation and you are the only one
without a seat mate. Congratulations. You may be the most beautiful person traveling that
day.