Science quiz
Space missions, the chemistry of chillies, inventions that started as accidents and the myths science has busted. Ten questions, starting easy.
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Question 1 of 10
"Tranquility Base here": what spot on the Moon did those words just name?
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The answer is The Apollo 11 landing site in the Sea of Tranquility. Neil Armstrong radioed, “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed,” christening Apollo 11’s site in Mare Tranquillitatis. That phrase instantly named the first human touchdown point on the Moon.
Question 2 of 10
Which Microsoft AI teen learned from Twitter, and went toxic within hours?
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The answer is Tay. Launched in 2016, Tay was a Twitter chatbot that began echoing offensive content and was pulled after about 16 hours. The fiasco exposed how quickly AI can be warped by unfiltered online interactions.
Question 3 of 10
Which bar got its "It Floats!" claim after a worker let the mixer run too long?
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The answer is Ivory soap. A worker over-whipped the batch, trapping air so the bars floated; marketing turned the mishap into a slogan.
Question 4 of 10
Botanically, a coconut is classified as what type of fruit?
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The answer is A fibrous drupe. The correct answer is A fibrous drupe.
Question 5 of 10
Surprise: three of these mammals are venomous; which one isn't?
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The answer is Pangolin. Platypuses spur, slow lorises bite, and solenodons use grooved teeth to deliver venom. Pangolins rely on armor-like scales, not poison.
Question 6 of 10
Which robot car first conquered DARPA’s desert race, kickstarting the self-driving boom?
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The answer is Stanley. Stanley, a blue VW Touareg from Stanford, won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge over a 132-mile desert course, proving autonomous driving’s promise. Lead researcher Sebastian Thrun and teammates later helped launch Google’s self-driving project.
Question 7 of 10
Which household spray, named for its 40th formula, first protected Atlas missiles from corrosion?
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The answer is WD-40. WD stands for Water Displacement, and Norman Larsen hit the successful formula on try No. 40 while protecting Atlas missile skins from corrosion.
Question 8 of 10
If chili heat isn't in the seeds, which part brings the burn?
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The answer is The white pith. Capsaicin is concentrated in the pale placenta, the white pith that holds the seeds. The seeds pick up heat by contact, but they're not the source.
Question 9 of 10
Which radium-laced 'tonic' sold as pep water ended in a grisly jawbone scandal?
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The answer is Radithor. Radithor was bottled radium water; a wealthy fan died with radiation-ravaged bones, ending the fad.
Question 10 of 10
Which satellite flew ultra-precise gyros to test Einstein’s frame-dragging near Earth?
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The answer is Gravity Probe B. Gravity Probe B used four ultra-stable gyroscopes to measure geodetic precession and frame-dragging in Earth’s gravity, confirming general relativity.
10 more science questions with answers
Which orbiter flew the very first Space Shuttle mission?
Answer: Columbia. STS-1 launched in 1981 on Columbia, debuting the reusable Space Shuttle era.
Bananas in a bag ripen others thanks to which plant hormone gas?
Answer: Ethylene. Ethylene is a simple hydrocarbon that signals fruit to ripen and flowers to open.
Which terminal’s quirky H‑J‑K‑L arrow keycaps taught vi to move that way?
Answer: Lear Siegler ADM-3A. The Lear Siegler ADM‑3A printed arrow symbols on H, J, K, and L. Bill Joy used one, so vi adopted those keys for cursor movement.
Which kid left a soda with a stick outside and accidentally invented the Popsicle?
Answer: Frank Epperson. At 11, Frank Epperson left a cup of soda mix with a stir stick on a cold porch; it froze overnight. He first called it the “Epsicle” before it became the Popsicle.
Cold weather isn't the culprit: what tiny agents cause most colds?
Answer: Rhinoviruses. Rhinoviruses spread more in winter because we crowd indoors; chilly air just dries nasal passages. Antibiotics don't touch viruses.
On Titan, which “sea” is bigger than all Earth’s Great Lakes?
Answer: Kraken Mare. Kraken Mare is Titan’s largest known hydrocarbon sea, spanning an area exceeding the Great Lakes combined.
Which molecule latches onto TRPV1 to make chilies feel like fire?
Answer: Capsaicin. Capsaicin triggers the heat-and-pain receptor TRPV1; birds barely sense it, so they spread the seeds.
Which Apple ad showed a hammer-thrower shattering “Big Brother” during the Super Bowl?
Answer: 1984. Directed by Ridley Scott, “1984” aired once nationally during Super Bowl XVIII to launch the Macintosh. Its dystopian imagery spoofed Orwell’s Big Brother.
Which inventor, a secretary and a Monkee's mom, first bottled 'Mistake Out,' later called Liquid Paper?
Answer: Bette Nesmith Graham. Bette Nesmith Graham, mother of Monkees guitarist Michael Nesmith, invented correction fluid at her typewriter and first sold it as “Mistake Out” before renaming it Liquid Paper. Her kitchen-table startup became a hit and was later acquired by Gillette.
Which famed military leader wasn’t actually short, his height was recorded in French inches?
Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte. Measured in French inches, he was about 5'6", average for his time. The myth grew from British cartoons and confusion between French and English units.
About this science quiz
The questions come from five DoYouKno topics: physics and space, biology and chemistry, computer science, everyday inventions and common misconceptions.
Each answer has a short explanation, which is usually the most interesting part.
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