Most people consider themselves pretty smart. When it comes to evaluating our own intelligence, we tend to overestimate it. But when it comes to assessing the intelligence of others, we tend to underestimate it significantly.
So, when it comes to simple questions, how do you deal with them? And it's not just questions about pop culture. These are questions from a wide variety of fields, from geography and cinema to science and business.
The only thing these questions have in common is that most people don't face them in their lives. People think they know the answers to them, but they didn't. For example, which city is further north - New York or Rome? New York, you think? Not right! This is Rome! Check the map: Rome is at 41.9 degrees north latitude and New York is at 40.7 degrees north latitude. You probably didn't expect this?
I wonder how wrong our preconceived ideas about the world around us can be? Today we invite you to figure it out and even learn something new! So, before you - 25 simple questions, answering which most people are wrong!
25. With which country does France have the longest land border?
With Brazil. Because it borders French Guiana, a region of France.
24. How many provinces are there in Holland?
Not at all. Once they were, but now it is divided into North and South Holland. The country in general is the Netherlands, and Dutch people who do not live in either North or South Holland usually do not like to name their country. It would be like calling the US New York.
23. Where is the largest desert?
In Antarctica.
22. Which one is a dinosaur: a chicken or a pterodactyl?
Hen. It may be hard to believe, but birds are more closely related to some dinosaurs than even the dinosaurs themselves were related. For example, biologically and genetically, Tyrannosaurus rex has more in common with a chicken than with a stegosaurus. Moreover, tyrannosaurs lived much closer to the present day than to the period when stegosaurs walked the Earth.
Note: Birds are not descended from dinosaurs, they are dinosaurs. However, pterodactyls were never dinosaurs.
21. Where are Bugatti cars made?
In France. Yes, the founder of this car brand was Italian, but he always lived in France.
20. Which country in the European Union is the northernmost, southernmost, easternmost and westernmost?
Finland, France, France, France, respectively.
Note: France has quite a few overseas regions. Perhaps you are tempted to point out that the UK also has overseas territories, but they are just...territories. They are not 100% part of the UK. Places like French Guiana are not territories or countries. It's 100% France.
19. What is Paul McCartney's middle name?
Floor. His full name is James Paul McCartney.
18. Which city is the capital of Switzerland (de jure)?
In fact, legally Switzerland does not have a capital. The de facto capital of Switzerland is Bern.
17. Which company is the world's largest toy distributor?
McDonald's (1.4 billion a year)
16. Which city was the capital of the Roman Empire for most of its existence?
Constantinople. Initially, Rome was the capital, but then, in 286, the Western Roman Empire moved its capital to Mediolanum (modern Milan), and then, in 402, to Ravenna (Ravenna). This continued until 476, when the Western Roman Empire. Constantinople remained the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire for over 1,000 years until the Ottoman Turks captured the city in 1453.
Note: We are not talking about the Roman Republic, but the Roman Empire.
15. Which is heavier: a pound of gold or a pound of feathers?
A pound of feathers. Because gold is measured in troy pounds.
The fact is, the troy pound is different from the "ordinary" English pound and is lighter than it: 1 troy pound = 373.24 g, and 1 "regular" pound = 453.59 g.
14. Which mountain peak is the farthest from the center of the Earth?
Chimborazo (Chimborazo) in Ecuador. This may surprise you. As the Earth rotates, it bulges out at the equator. And since Chimborazo is more or less at the very top, it is the farthest from the Earth's core.
Note: In terms of altitude, Everest is the highest mountain from base to summit; Mauna Kea in Hawaii is the highest mountain (its base is at the bottom of the ocean).
13. Which US president is featured on the $100 bill?
No. Benjamin Franklin has never been President of the United States.
12. Why did pirates wear blindfolds?
Not because their eyes were injured. They did this so that when they got on deck they could maintain their ability to "see in the dark" below deck. This was useful, because otherwise, when capturing ships, they would have to wait for their eyes to adjust.
11. Which city is located further west: Reno (Nevada) or Los Angeles (California)?
Reno.
10. What is the official language in the US?
The US does not have an official language.
9. What is the only officially monolingual province in Canada?
New Brunswick. The only official language in Quebec is French.
8. How many wings does a flea have? 2, 4 or 6?
Fleas don't have wings.
7. In what month did the October Revolution take place?
For Russia - in October, for the whole world - in November, because in Russia at that time the Gregorian calendar was used.
6. Which weighs more: all the trains passing through the Grand Central Station or all the trees cut down in a year to print US currency? 
Neither one nor the other. Both are zero. The train station that many have thought of is actually called Grand Central Terminal (Grand Central Station is a post office), and American money is not printed on paper.
5. How many animals were in Moses' ark?
Moses did not have an ark with animals. He was with Noah.
4. Which company produces the most tires in the world?
LEGO (Guinness World Record holder for 318 million LEGO tires per year)
3. What did Darth Vader say to Luke when he admitted he was his father?
"No, I'm your father"
2. What is the northernmost, southernmost, easternmost, and westernmost state in the US?
The southernmost is Hawaii, the northernmost is Alaska, the easternmost is Alaska, and the westernmost is Alaska.
The Aleutian Islands cross the border of the Eastern Hemisphere (the international date line would have to be curved so that all the States were on the same side). It also means that parts of Russia are closer to New York than parts of Alaska.
1. Which city is closer to the north: Rome or New York?
Rome. Just a little bit.
Photos: 25 - google maps, 24-12 - wikipedia, 11 - google maps, 10-7 - wikipedia, 6 - pixabay, 5.4 - Wikipedia, 3-1 - not specified.
Intellectual questions offered to schoolchildren after school hours allow developing the logical thinking of the younger generation. We offer different questions that can be used in the work of the class teacher.
The Importance of Creative Play
Questions for an intellectual quiz with answers offered to high school students contribute to their self-development and self-improvement. Each educational institution in our country has its own special teams of schoolchildren and teachers who take part in various intellectual games.
During joint tournaments, the guys and their mentors not only develop logical thinking, gain new knowledge, but also learn to work in a team.
Intellectual games for high school students
Various intellectual questions for the class team are designed for full-fledged extracurricular activities in grades 9-11. They are aimed not only at specific knowledge, but also at the ingenuity and general erudition of schoolchildren.
The game is an important activity that allows you to develop social communication skills, the emotional environment of the child. Educational games containing intellectual questions give children the opportunity to increase their level of development.
Tournament scenario
The purpose of the event is to develop the cognitive interest of senior students. The teacher creates conditions for the manifestation of children's creative abilities, develops communication skills.
Here are questions for an intellectual game that can be offered to schoolchildren.
Questions for ninth graders
First question. According to folk legends, beings close to humans influenced the formation of writing in Japan and modern hieroglyphs. Who are these beings? (Chickens that have individual paw prints).
Second question. How should Europeans view Arabic miniatures in order to see in them what the Arabs see? (It is customary for Arabs to write from right to left, so you need to use a mirror to appreciate the miniature).
Questions for the intellectual game can be associated with historical facts, art, culture.
Third question. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the cocked hat was a fashionable headdress, it was decorated with feathers and galloon. But they didn’t put it on, but placed it in the left hand, why? (There was a wig on the man's head, so the cocked hat was used only for bows).
Fourth question. What detail of the appearance is missing from the woman depicted by Leonardo da Vinci on his canvas "Mona Lisa"? (She has no eyebrows).
Fifth question. The British and French tried to get the hand of an amazing lady. The conflict turned into a clash between fans, because of which the lady herself suffered. Who is she? (We are talking about the Venus de Milo, whose statue lost its arm as a result of an armed clash between the French and the British).
Six question. What was the name of the lesson in Russia when chocks for wooden spoons were being prepared? (To beat the buckets).
Intellectual questions offered to schoolchildren can be compiled on the basis of the regional component.
Seventh question. What did the Pomors give to newborn babies at birth? (The boy was given a hatchet, and the girl was given a spinning wheel).
Eighth question. What is the relationship between traditional Japanese netsuke miniature art and Japanese kimono? (Kimonos do not have pockets; objects are attached to the belt with the help of counterbalance trinkets, which are netsuke).
Ninth question. In the 14th-16th centuries, such an outfit was used by men. Since the seventeenth century, it has been made a female element of clothing. Kumashnik, curtain, fur coat, motley - all these are his names. What is this outfit? (Sundress).
Intellectual questions with answers can be created based on historical facts considered by schoolchildren when studying a history course.
Eleventh question. The Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich made an inscription, which later became a Russian proverb. What is this inscription? ("Cause - time, fun - hour").
Twelfth question. The national flag of France has three stripes: blue, white and red. Why is the stripe width used in the ratio 30-33-37? (This proportion gives the effect of visual equality of the flag stripes).
Assignments for high school students
We offer various intellectual questions with answers that can be used when conducting horizontal bars among high school students.
First question. Why do workers in Athens scatter pieces of marble around the Parthenon at night? (To save the temple from destruction by tourists, the authorities go to such a trick).
Second question. How are women's wide skirts and mass extermination of whales related? (In the eighteenth century, skirts retained their volume only with the help of frames, which were created from whalebone).
Intellectual questions for schoolchildren can be chosen with a comic meaning, so that in order to find an answer, the guys show their ingenuity, non-standard thinking.
Third question. Why did the Frenchman Guy de Maupassant dine only at a restaurant located on the Eiffel Tower? (The writer believed that the tower disfigures Paris, did not want to see it).
Fourth question. Why, in the sixteenth century, did ladies wear animal skins on a chain, hanging them from their belts? (Fleas gathered on the skin, which wound up in the folds of a magnificent dress).
Themed Tournaments
Questions for an intellectual quiz the teacher can take in special books, as well as compose them on their own. For example, you can propose several tasks that relate to the calendar.
There is astronomical time, and there is its biological counterpart. What are its units of measurement? (Generations).
What was the significance for our country of the record that appeared in the twelfth century: “January 30, Friday. Before lunch, the day is windy and cold ... ”(This is a fragment of the first weather report, we are talking about the creation of a weather service in Moscow).
The father asked his first-grader son to name the largest last number. The child's answer surprised him greatly. What did the boy say? (31 because that's the largest number of days in a month).
In ancient China, this substance associated with the sea was used as a monetary unit. In ancient Greece, it was an integral part of the warrior's armor, what substance are we talking about? (This is salt).
educational football
Intellectual questions for children help to develop the creative abilities of the younger generation, therefore they are actively used by school teachers in pedagogical activities. Intellectual football can be carried out outside the lessons to develop the general erudition of schoolchildren, team building.
The class is divided into two teams, in which midfielders, attackers, goalkeeper, defenders are chosen. The number of participants is not limited, it depends on how many children you need to include and intellectual activity.
Team attacks are carried out in turn, using three combinations.
The corner option involves the full participation of the team. The judge, in the role of a school teacher, reads the question, and his assistant monitors which team has the fastest answer.
The guys give answers to intellectual questions only after they receive the permission of the judge. The correct answer counts as a goal against the opponent. If the answer is incorrect, the right to attack is transferred to the players of the second team.
A free kick involves the participation of two attackers in the game: midfielders and forwards, as well as three defenders (goalkeeper and defenders). The team independently chooses those guys who will participate in the draw. If in thirty seconds they do not give the correct answer to the referee's question, the right to answer is transferred to the opponent.
Penalty involves the participation of only one player of the team - the goalkeeper. He must give the correct answer to the teacher's question in order to "kick the ball" off the goal.
Questions for intellectual games with answers can be compiled together with the children, parents, and other teachers.
Game "Octopus"
This game will require interesting intellectual questions that involve the development of logical thinking. The teacher can come up with his own rules for the tournament, opportunities for getting extra points, considering how strong teams are entering the game. For example, in addition to the main questions, players may be offered additional tasks, with correct answers to which, the team will be awarded "protective" points. If necessary, participants can always use them so as not to lose the course in the game.
What does Gleb have in the back, and what does Boris have in front? (Letter "b").
Grandmother carried a hundred eggs to the market, one (and the bottom) fell. How many eggs did she carry in the basket? (Not a single one, since the bottom fell along with the eggs.)
When will a person be headless in an apartment? (If he sticks his head out the window).
How does night and day always end? (Soft sign).
What clock shows the correct time twice a day? (Those that are broken).
Which is lighter: a kilogram of copper or cotton wool? (They have the same mass).
Why do you go to the sofa when you plan to sleep? (By gender).
What needs to be done to leave four guys in one boot? (Each of them must remove one boot).
When is the easiest time for a black cat to get into a house? (If the door is open.)
In what month does the talkative Masha speak the least? (February as it is the shortest month of the year).
Two aspens grew. Each of them had six cones. How many cones are on the trees? (Not a single cone, because aspens do not grow cones).
What happens to a blue scarf if it is immersed in water for ten minutes. (It will get wet).
How can you write the word "mousetrap" using five letters? (Cat).
What is a horse like when it is bought? (Wet).
A bear has none, a crow has two, and a man has one. What it is? (Letter "o").
A flock of birds flew into the grove. They sat on a tree by two, and one remained free. When there was one bird for each village, not a single one remained. How many birds are in the flock, how many trees grew in the grove? (Four birds, three trees).
A grandmother with cabbage was heading to the capital. Two old men met her, each carrying a sack of potatoes. How many people were heading to the capital? (One grandmother went to Moscow).
Such intellectual questions with answers for adults can be used when conducting joint activities with children, for example, during the decade of the family.
Adults approach the search for answers to questions too responsibly, so they often lose to schoolchildren. Unusual intellectual questions for adults is a great option for a break from everyday problems and fuss.
Examples of joke questions
There were three hollows on the birch trees. Each of them has four branches. Each branch has six apples. How many apples are on the tree? (Not a single apple, since apples do not grow on a birch).
Fifty wolves ran, how many tails do they have on their necks? (Tails do not grow on the neck).
From what fabric are sundresses not sewn? (Clothes cannot be made from railroad tracks.)
When are hands used as pronouns? (When they are you-we-you).
What forests do not have big game? (In construction).
Which of the wheels of the car does not rotate while driving? (Spare).
What do drummers and mathematicians use? (Fractions).
What belongs to a person, but is used much more often by other people? (Name).
When is the vehicle moving at the same speed as the train? (When the car is on the platform of this train).
If one egg takes four minutes to boil, how long does it take to boil six eggs? (Same amount of time).
Which flower has a feminine and a masculine gender? (Ivan da Marya).
Indicate five days, without naming numbers and the days themselves. (The day before yesterday, today, yesterday, the day after tomorrow, tomorrow).
Which bird, having lost a letter, becomes the name of the largest European river? (Oriole).
Which city was named after a large bird of prey? (Eagle).
Which woman mastered the aircraft first in the world? (Baba Yaga).
What year is the most food consumed? (In a leap year).
The name of which city is suitable as a filling for delicious buns? (Raisin).
Which month is shorter than the others? (May, it contains only three letters).
What bird does every physicist know? (Pheasant, since it is she who helps to remember the main colors of the spectrum).
Any intellectual tournament held for schoolchildren or adults is aimed at the development of erudition, the formation of team interaction.
Depending on the age characteristics of the participants in the game, the presenter, in the role of which the class teacher can act, selects questions of a certain level of complexity. Each team chooses a captain who maintains discipline, chooses the correct answer from the versions offered by the players.
One move involves answering one question. If the team gives the correct answer, they get a point. If the answer is incorrect, the opponents get the right to answer.
Among those rules that are strictly observed during intellectual tournaments, we note:
- correctness of the presenter;
- keeping silence.
Conclusion
Recently, there has been an increase in interest in holding various intellectual games and tournaments not only among adults, but also among schoolchildren. What is the reason for this interest? Serious changes are observed in Russian education. The traditional form of education, aimed at acquiring theoretical knowledge by schoolchildren, was replaced by the second generation of the Federal State Educational Standards.
According to the new educational standards, the main emphasis is on the formation of a harmoniously developed personality, capable of self-education and self-development.
Logical thinking, which develops when searching for answers to non-standard questions offered at intellectual games and tournaments, has a positive effect on the development of a creative person.
Society sets the task for educational institutions - the formation of the younger generation, able to make independent decisions, be responsible for their actions and deeds.
That is why such attention began to be paid in educational institutions to the organization of intellectual clubs, holding creative games. Those high school students who answer non-standard questions, in addition to acquiring new knowledge and skills, gain experience in working in a team. Those guys who have been trying to find answers to intellectual questions since school life are much more successful than their peers.
We offer a selection of interesting questions, the answers to which will make our world clearer and more interesting.
1. Do artificial gravity technologies exist?
Yes. According to the general theory of relativity, the forces of gravity and inertia are fundamentally indistinguishable. The g-force that you experience in a car, on a plane, or on a carousel is the same artificial gravity. Moreover, a carousel, unlike a car and an airplane, can maintain "centrifugal" gravity for an unlimited time. It remains to make the space station in the form of a carousel, and it will have artificial gravity.
This is how the pioneers of astronautics imagined cities in orbit. However, such stations are not being built yet, since this is associated with many technical problems. All other "gravity generators" are fiction, and not very scientific.
2. What will happen to a spider if it gets into the web of another spider?
Most likely, they will eat him. True, he may survive if he turns out to be much larger than the owner of the web. Then the owner will break the threads holding the unwanted prey so that the alien falls out.
3. How did the witch hunt begin?
On December 5, 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued a bull against witches, giving broad powers to the Inquisition. Innocent VIII led a far from righteous life, did not hide his illegitimate children and, apparently, expected to earn the mercy of heaven in another way - the fight against witchcraft.
The inquisitors Jakob Sprenger and Heinrich Institoris, the future authors of the Witches' Hammer, a guide to the witches' atrocities and ways to deal with them, while hunting for the devil's minions in German cities, faced opposition from local authorities. Then the zealous Dominicans sent a complaint to Rome to the Pope. He heeded their request and issued a bull, endowing the inquisitors with unlimited powers and the ability to involve the secular authorities of any locality in assisting, and calling for all efforts to eradicate witchcraft.
The bull Summis desiderantes affectibus ("With all the powers of the soul") marked a new stage in the activities of the Inquisition. The terror that unfolded as a result throughout Europe lasted several centuries. In the 17th century, the city council of Regensburg seriously feared that due to the zeal of the Inquisition, not a single woman would soon remain in the city. Surprisingly, the decree of 1484 has not been formally annulled by the Catholic Church to this day.
4. Is it possible to swing on a swing in zero gravity.
You can’t do it on ordinary ones. A swing is a pendulum that swings under the influence of gravity. If this force is not present, then it is impossible to swing. However, you can come up with a spring or magnetic swing. You can swing on them in weightlessness, if the body movements with the desired frequency shift the center of gravity first to one side, then to the other.
5. What is a smoking room?
Luchina. A smoking torch is a smoldering torch, it gave the name to a children's game. The players passed the board from hand to hand, saying: “Alive, alive, smoking room, thin legs, short soul,” etc. Whoever had the torch in his hands went out, he lost. Over time, a smoking room began to be called a person who seemed to have disappeared, but suddenly showed up again.
6. Are there immortal beings?
There are potentially immortals. There are no creatures that cannot be killed. But for some, death is not the natural and necessary end of life. Thus, the life cycle of bacteria and many other unicellular organisms ends with division; as a result, two equivalent organisms are formed, also capable of unlimited reproduction. Potential immortality is also possessed by plants, including higher ones, which can restore the whole organism from separate parts.
In Sweden, a spruce is known that has grown from the root several times over 9.5 thousand years, and in California, a whole oak grove was discovered, which was once a single tree that grew back many times after fires over 13 thousand years.
7. Did ancient people have caries?
Yes. Examination of the remains of 52 people who lived 13,700-15,000 years ago in what is now Morocco showed that 49 of them had caries-marked teeth, and many of them were badly damaged. True, such a frequency of the disease is unusually high for that time. Scientists attribute this to the specifics of the diet of this tribe, in the diet of which acorns and other seeds accounted for a large proportion. In communities that consumed less carbohydrate food, tooth decay was less common.
8. Do animals kiss?
Yes. Animals quite often touch each other with their lips or beak, expressing caress or affection. However, for a full kiss, soft and mobile lips are needed. They are found only in some mammals, including monkeys. Many of their species during family and social contacts kiss for real, sometimes mutually. In most other mammals, the role of kissing is performed by licking or light biting.
9. Why do surgeons treat their hands with 70% alcohol and not 96% alcohol?
This is enough for sterility. Alcohol at a concentration of 70 degrees disinfects almost as effectively as 96 degrees, while it tans the skin less. In addition, 70-degree alcohol is cheaper.
10. Why are there pimples on cucumbers?
These are the remnants of thorns. Many types of wild cucumbers are covered with impressive thorns. They prevent animals from eating the fruits before the seeds ripen in them; then the thorns dry up and break off. However, in the ancestors of the cultivated cucumber, growing in a humid tropical climate, the thorns have been transformed into organs through which excess water is discharged in droplets. Thus, only tubercles remained from the spikes.
11. What exploded in the Big Bang?
False vacuum. According to modern concepts, empty space (vacuum) can be in different energy states. Our habitual space seems to be the lowest energy state of the vacuum. However, before the Big Bang, the vacuum could be in a much more energetic state, which is called a false vacuum. According to the theory of cosmological inflation, this state is unstable. It was the decay of the false vacuum that could become the source of energy for the Big Bang.
12. How does a whale not suffocate if it is born in water?
He is quickly pushed to the surface. Cetaceans do not have hind limbs, and the pelvic bones are reduced and are not connected to each other and to the spine, so the birth canal consists almost of soft tissues. Childbirth passes very quickly. Whale emerges tail first, head comes out last. Immediately after birth, the mother or other members of the flock push the newborn to the surface of the water so that he can breathe. Of the mammals in the water, sirens also give birth.
13. Is it true that a person's nose grows all his life?
No. Nose growth usually ends by the age of 18-20. In the future, only its shape changes due to a decrease in the firmness and elasticity of the skin or under the influence, for example, of dehydration of the body. But with some pathological processes in adults, the concentration of growth-regulating hormones increases. In these cases, the nose and ears can actually increase.
14. Does the laser pointer shine far?
For hundreds of thousands of kilometers. On a wall illuminated by the sun, the spot from the pointer is difficult to see even from 10 meters, and at night it is visible from a hundred meters. If the beam hits directly into the eye, then it can blind from 10 km. The maximum distance from which one can theoretically see a pointer signal in space in the absence of interference is hundreds of thousands of kilometers. At a million kilometers, too few photons would reach the eye due to the divergence of the beam.
15. How is the police different from the gendarmerie?
Gendarmes are military. The phrase gens d'armes is translated from French as "people with weapons." In France, the gendarmerie is part of the armed forces and is subordinate to the Ministry of Defence. That is, they are military personnel performing police tasks. In addition, the gendarmes are entrusted with duties related to the armed defense of the country.
The police, on the other hand, is a civilian formation subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. It provides public order in the broad sense of the word. In modern Russia, the analogue of the gendarmerie is the internal troops.
16.Where is "in the middle of nowhere"?
It is not known where, but obviously very far away. Once in this phraseological turnover, the word “kulizhki” was used, which gradually began to be replaced by “kulichki”. Back in the 19th century, this replacement was considered erroneous. So, in the explanatory dictionary of Vladimir Dal, it says: “In the middle of nowhere (incorrect: in the middle of nowhere), no one knows where.” "Kulizhka" is a diminutive of "kuliga".
In the eastern dialects of the Russian language, this word meant a forest cleared, uprooted or burned for arable land. Kulizhki were, as a rule, outside the villages, on the outskirts, they were swampy places, moreover, according to popular beliefs, inhabited by evil spirits. By the way, Moscow also has its own “kulizhki” (more precisely, Kulishki): this is the name of the area of \u200b\u200bthe current Slavyanskaya Square and Solyanka, where there were once fish and salt markets (hence the name).
When the word "kulizhka" began to fall out of wide use, the expression was rethought and turned into "in the middle of nowhere." However, its meaning has not actually changed: indeed, where can you find the devil with Easter cakes? According to some linguists, initially the expression "to hell with the middle of nowhere" was the answer to the question: "Where are you going?" Superstitious people avoided directly answering this question, so as not to invite trouble along the way.
17. Who made the parachute?
In 1783, the Frenchman Louis-Sebastien Lenormand made the first successful parachute jump, confirmed by witnesses. Lenormand jumped from a 15-meter observatory tower in the city of Montpellier using a wooden-framed parachute he designed.
18. When was the first dollar printed?
The monetary unit of the dollar (from the German taler) was announced on July 6, 1785 by the Continental Congress. At first, the dollar was a silver coin. And since 1861, the first banknotes were put into circulation, which were printed on special linen-cotton paper with green paint. One edge of the bills was uneven. A spine was kept in the mint, the opposite edge of which was an exact copy of a banknote of a certain series. According to him, the reliability of banknotes was established.
In August 1862, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing began its work. Four women and two men in the basement of the Treasury Department's main building began sorting and stamping $1 and $2 bills, which were printed by private companies. Government money printing began in 1863, and by 1877 all US currency was printed by the Bureau.
Today in the United States in circulation there are banknotes with an issue date not earlier than 1928 - in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000 dollars. True, banknotes with a denomination of more than $100 are prohibited from being exported outside the country. $10,000 notes have not been printed since July 1944, and by the end of the 1980s, there were only 348 such bills in circulation. In 1969, the US Treasury announced the cessation of further issuance of banknotes in denominations above $100. The last $2 bill was printed in 1976.
On the face of the $500 bill is a portrait of McKinley, 25th President of the United States, $1,000 - Stephen Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President, $5,000 - James Madison, 4th President, for 10,000- dollar bill - financier Samon Portland Chase.
The common "bucks" comes from buck (English) - deer. It was deer antlers or skins that served as the monetary equivalent in Great Britain. This word took root in the New World, as the British also settled it.
19. Does the hedgehog change its spines?
Yes, gradually. A certain number of needles fall out from a hedgehog throughout the year. And when the hedgehog wakes up from hibernation, it loses about a third of the needles, in the place of which new ones immediately begin to grow. Therefore, the animal is not defenseless. If a hedgehog's spines fall out faster than they grow back, then most likely he is sick.
20. Why does Chomolungma have a second name - Everest?
Because the former was not known to surveyors. In the 19th century, the British conducted geodetic surveys in the Himalayas. They could not enter the territory of Nepal, then closed to foreigners, and took measurements from India at a distance of more than 200 km from the Nepalese peaks.
At that time, Kanchenjunga, on the border of Nepal and India, was considered the highest mountain. But in 1852, the Indian mathematician Radhanat Sikdar, based on measurements made by the British, calculated that the mountain, codenamed Peak XV, should be higher than Kanchenjunga. She needed to be given a name by which she would be recognized in the world.
Not knowing the Tibetan name of the mountain (Chomolungma), the head of the British India Geodetic Survey, Andrew Waugh, named the peak in honor of his predecessor in this post, George Everest.
21. When did the light appear?
During the big bang, but became visible immediately. Visible light is electromagnetic radiation in a certain wavelength range. Radiation existed in the Universe from the very moment of the Big Bang, but in a dense hot plasma, photons could not move freely: electrons constantly absorbed them and emitted them again, the substance was opaque.
Light began to travel freely through space only 300,000 years later, when the temperature of the universe dropped, electrons merged with nuclei, and the gas became mostly transparent. The light emitted then is now visible as microwave background radiation.
22. Where did the asteroid that supposedly killed the dinosaurs fall?
Near the Yucatan Peninsula. A crater with a diameter of 180 km was formed during the fall of an asteroid 65 million years ago. According to one hypothesis, the dust and soot raised by him reduced the flow of sunlight and heat. The death of plants led to the extinction of dinosaurs. But many paleontologists point out that the extinction began long before the asteroid hit. And even a serious catastrophe would not have led to the rapid death of the dominant fauna if the dinosaurs did not experience evolutionary competition from mammals.
23. If diamond is the hardest material, then how is it processed?
Diamond is the same. First, jewelers must study the structure of the stone in order to understand how to process it. Cutting the crystal in the direction of greatest hardness is practically useless. It is sawn in the direction of lower hardness, usually with the help of the thinnest (hundredths of a millimeter) circular saw, into the blade of which diamond chips are pressed.
So, essentially, a diamond cuts a diamond, albeit very slowly, over many hours. Recently, lasers have also been used for cutting. They cut and polish stones with the help of disks with the same diamond dust. Unfortunately, up to half of the diamond's original weight is lost during processing.
24. Why is Baikal famous?
Lakes are water bodies with a slow water exchange, occupying about 1.5% of the land surface, which are characterized by the absence of a direct connection with the oceans. Hydrogeologists believe that there are about 5 million lakes on Earth, the total water supply in which is 230 thousand km 3, of which 123 thousand km 3 is fresh.
On a global scale, the drinking water supply of Lake Baikal, located on the territory of Russia, is 1/5 of and exceeds the volume of water of the five Great Lakes of North America combined. In order to imagine how large the water reserve of this lake is, it is enough to say that in order to fill the lake basin, the deepest point of which lies 5-6 thousand meters below the ocean level, all the rivers of the world would have to drain water here for 300 days.
Baikal is one of the oldest lakes on the planet. Its age is estimated at 25 million years. Despite such a venerable age, he does not show signs of aging. 336 rivers flow into Baikal, but the main role in the water balance of the lake, namely 50% of the annual inflow of water, is played by the waters of the Selenga River. Once in Baikal, its upper 50-meter layer is repeatedly cleared by epishura crustaceans living in it (endemic to Lake Baikal), saturated with oxygen and settling for years.
Water exchange in the northern basin of the lake occurs with a frequency of 225 years, in the middle - 132 years, in the southern - 66 years, which makes it suitable for drinking water without any additional purification.
Hello dear readers! "Interesting questions and answers" - this information will interest you. A successful person never rests on their laurels. He continues to read cognitive literature and does not get tired of asking questions: why? why?
Curiosity makes our life more interesting. Just don't say you know everything. Our knowledge is a grain of sand in the ocean of science and art. Every day, ask yourself interesting questions and you will find no less interesting answers. The article contains interesting questions and answers for you.
If you ask a question without an answer, then an inquisitive person will find the answer on the Internet, now there are no problems. In order not to waste your time looking for answers, interesting questions and answers are published together.
Question #1
Question #8
What is the universe made of?
This is one of the biggest mysteries to be revealed in the 21st century. Ordinary matter is made up of atoms. The universe, in turn, consists of only a few percent of this substance.
For the most part, the universe is made up of what is known as cold dark matter. Such a mysterious and strange name is explained by the fact that astronomers simply have no idea what it is.
Question #9
Why is the Vatican called the Vatican?
Question #10
The indigenous people of Burma raise pigs, sell them to the Chinese, and then buy pork from them. Why do they need such disadvantageous manipulations?
Buddhism forbids them to kill.
Question #11
Thanks to which island was the proverb born: "Russia is the birthplace of elephants"?
Solovki (under I.V. Stalin, the Solovetsky Special Purpose Camps were located on it. (Abbreviation - SLON).
Question #12
There is an island in the Strait of Gibraltar, which in ancient times could not be bypassed during the crossing. This was cleverly used by its inhabitants, charging everyone a fixed fee.
The name of this island is Tarifa.
Question #13
Who invented email and where did the symbol come from @
Question #14
Name the capitals of two countries: Singapore and Tunisia. Answer: Singapore and Tunisia (the capital and the country have the same name).
It will be great if readers ask interesting questions and answers in the comments. Friends, leave feedback and interesting questions in the comments to the article: "Interesting questions and answers." 😉 Thank you!
October 18 at 14:30 in the reading room of the Nizhny Tagil State Social and Pedagogical Academy (NTGSPA) will be held Freshman Cup-2012 on the game "What? Where? When?".You can apply for participation at the CDPS until October 18 inclusive. No more than one team can participate from the faculty. Only first-year students can play.
The winning team will be awarded a Challenge Cup.
Upd. The tournament is over. Congratulations to the winner and runners up!
1st place— IEMI team
2nd place— IFMK team
III place- SGI team
In total, 30 questions of the main package and 1 additional one were played to determine the winning team.
A small photo report from the championship:,.
Results of all teams:
| Team | 1 round | 2 round | Outcome | Rating |
| IFMK | 10 | 5 | 15 | 360 |
| IEMI | 8 | 8 | 16 | 398 |
| SGI | 7 | 7 | 14 | 338 |
| FSIBZH | 4 | 3 | 7 | 154 |
| FSI | 7 | 6 | 13 | 340 |
| IHO | 7 | 4 | 11 | 254 |
| IOPS | 6 | 2 | 8 | 182 |
| FSF | 6 | 5 | 11 | 262 |
| Team NTGSPA (out of standings) | 8 | 9 | 17 | 427 |
Upd. In anticipation of this, we offer to practice on the questions of the Freshman Cup-2012 on-line.
Questions of the Freshman Cup-2012:
1.
Let's start ab ovo. British designer Kyle Bean did not think about philosophical questions, and laid out the FIRST of the remnants of the SECOND. Name both the FIRST and the SECOND.
Answer:
chicken, eggs.
Note: in any order.
Comment: philosophical question - "what came first - the chicken or the egg?". Ab ovo (lat.) - literally translated “from the egg”. A stable phraseological phrase meaning "from the very beginning."
Source: http://www.kylebean.co.uk/portfolio/#whatcamefirst
2.
The dog of the Labrador breed, unlike some other breeds, got its name not from the name of the place where it was bred. Name the island where the Labrador was bred.
Answer:
Newfoundland.
Note: correct answer.
Comment: I already had a Newfoundland dog.
Source: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B0%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%BE%D1%80_%D1%80 %D0%B5%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%80
3.
In order for a certain hero to be disenchanted, HE, according to the cartoon, had to see with his own eyes how his friend was served on the table. What was the name of this friend?
Answer:
Martin (goose)
Source: cartoon "The Enchanted Boy" (based on "Nils' Journey ..."
4.
According to the report of the inspector for the Kherson province dated May 31, 1872, in public schools of that time, the following was used: 1) leaving students in the classroom after school without lunch; 2) mocking expressions in the treatment of students, especially hurting the national feeling of students; And what was applied according to paragraph 3?
Answer:
5.
All of us could repeatedly see how the three stand next to each other. At the same time, the best often cries, the second is sad, and the third rejoices. Where does it happen?
Answer:
6.
There are sure signs on the internet that you are watching this movie too much. Among these signs is that you:
- jump from one nine-story building to another without any problems;
-You are often named by some bald black man.
“At work, you get a large needle stuck in the back of your head several times a day.
Name the movie.
Answer:
7.
Write a certain sequence (indicate the beginning of new lines)
B P O
W T M Y
H I O V S D
Finish this sequence with 6 elements.
Answer:
Ch K O V K R.
Commentary: “The lonely sail turns white
In the blue fog of the sea
What is he looking for in a distant country
What he threw in his native land.
Source: M.Yu. Lermontov. "Sail"
http://www.litera.ru/stixiya/authors/lermontov/beleet-parus-odinokoj.html
8.
Doublet. Two questions for 30 seconds of discussion.
1. One of the heroines of Yulia Rada's book “The hostel. Lolitas and Humbertas "used to solve everything with the help of money. According to the author, she had three virtues. First, rich dad. Name the second and third.
Answer:
rich dad rich dad
2. One of the heroines of Yulia Rada's book “The hostel. Lolitas and Humbertas "used to solve everything with the help of money. The first, second and third word in her vocabulary as a child was the word "give", and the fourth is a four-letter word. Which?
Answer:
want.
Source: Julia Rada. Dorm. Lolitas and Humberts. M., 2007. S. 131
9. In 2010, a monument in the form of a huge bottle was erected in Trafalgar Square in London. What is inside this bottle?
ship.
Credit: according to the word "ship" without incorrect clarifications.
Comment: in addition to this monument, there is also a column of Admiral Nelson on this square. A model of the battleship Victoria, on which the admiral died, was placed in the bottle.
Source: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafalgar_Square
10.
In the TV series "Matchmakers", maternal grandparents and paternal grandparents fight for influence over their granddaughter. As a result, when they reconcile, the granddaughter forces them (3 words are missing), although at first they did not want to sell her something without which this final rite would not have taken place. What are they doing?
Answer:
smoke the peace pipe.
Source: series "Matchmakers"
11.
One of the heroines of the film "Europe-Asia" says to a drunk driver who is about to get behind the wheel: "Slipping onto (a pass), you risk saying goodbye to (a pass)." Fill in each gap with one adjective.
Answer:
red, white.
Source: movie "Europe-Asia"
12.
Fill in the gaps in Peter Orlov's poem dedicated to God.
Rain poured down from the sky like a bucket.
The old women hid in the houses.
The world is your merry (... pass ...),
We are Your magic (…pass…).
Answer:
game, toys.
Source: P.V. Orlov. Through the eyes of the soul. Kyiv., 2010. S. 120
13.
Finish the joke with two words.
The ship is sinking. The Englishman, with a pipe in his mouth, addresses the captain:
“Sir, which of the boats…”
Answer:
for smokers?
Source: Anecdotes (humorikon). Number 11 for 2010. S. 24
14.
In a scene from the humorous program "6 Frames", two people walk around the station and ask the people there where they are going. Some answers work for them and some don't. What are these two doing?
Answer.
