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General Knowledge Quiz #145

Can you answer these random trivia questions?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: March 3, 2021
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First submittedMarch 5, 2016
Times taken49,768
Average score60.0%
Rating4.03
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Question
Answer
What type of plant do shamrocks come from?
Clover
If women are XX, what are men?
XY
Who was famously born in Stratford-upon-Avon?
William Shakespeare
Who invented the saxophone?
Adolphe Sax
Who is Sherlock Holmes's sidekick?
Dr. John Watson
What was first seen at Lowell Observatory in 1930?
Pluto
Of the 5 founding members of OPEC, what is the only one that isn't in the Middle East?
Venezuela
What unit of currency can be divided into 100 kopeks?
Ruble
Who were known as the "Fab Four"?
The Beatles
What was the name of Michael J. Fox's character in "Back to the Future"?
Marty McFly
In what country would you find a kibbutz?
Israel
What was the first year of the 19th century?
1801
Who wrote a series of detective books for adults using the pen-name Robert Galbraith?
J.K. Rowling
What magazine was started by Hugh Hefner?
Playboy
What has the chemical formula NH3?
Ammonia
Who defeated Boris Spassky in a 1972 chess showdown?
Bobby Fischer
What bisexual English poet wrote "Don Juan" and "She Walks in Beauty"?
Lord Byron
What well-defended country has enough nuclear blast shelters to
accommodate 100% of its population?
Switzerland
What is a common word that means "tempest"?
Storm
Who is the richest resident of Metropolis?
Lex Luthor
+2
Level 65
Mar 6, 2016
I went to Stratford-upon-Avon in the summer - very nice place! Saw Shakespeare's grave also, with one of his famous quotes.
+2
Level 61
May 2, 2016
Switzerland one is interesting! Surprised that more folks haven't heard of an exquisite corpse. Finally, is Byron's sexuality really important enough to list in such a short clue?
+3
Level 61
May 2, 2016
Why not mention it as an extra hint?
+15
Level 56
May 2, 2016
I don't know about you, but I take these quizzes to learn things, not just to succeed on them. Didn't know he was bisexual, now I do. Good hint.
+7
Level 38
May 11, 2016
I saw bisexual and thought Byron immediately
+1
Level 56
May 2, 2016
If nuclear war breaks out, everyone will want to be in Switzerland.
+4
Level 82
May 5, 2016
Then they won't have enough shelters for everyone. Probably better off in Vanuatu.
+2
Level 82
May 5, 2016
or maybe Bora Bora.
+8
Level 66
May 5, 2016
Dying a quick may be better than dying a slow death from starvation. Or if B-grade post-apocalyptic movies are to be believed, better to die a quick death than be forced into slavery by psychotic warlords dressed in ski masks and leather. The apocalypse will also usher in a trend of bad hairdos, with 80's new wave perms and dreadlocks seeing a major comeback. Better to be dead before it all happens.
+7
Level 82
May 5, 2016
Many tropical island paradises in the South Pacific will definitely not be targeted by any warheads, will only face a minimum of the worst effects of fallout, and have a shot at surviving a nuclear winter. Some are overpopulated and rely on imports to sustain them but others are self sufficient. You could bring enough rations with you to survive for decades if you didn't want to learn how to farm or fish. Most of the psychotic warlords will be roaming around the Australian outback if the movies are right.
+1
Level 72
Jun 17, 2021
Wow, Kal, you really thought this through! Can I tag along when the time comes? I'll bring beer.
+2
Level 54
May 18, 2016
Am I the only one who didn't know about Robert Galbraith/JK Rowling?
+3
Level 52
Jul 1, 2016
Nope
+1
Level 75
Mar 10, 2021
As of today, 48% of you didn't.
+1
Level 75
May 24, 2021
I had no idea, but I assumed it must be an author famous for writing children's books so I guessed her first.
+2
Level 45
Jul 19, 2016
Shamrocks do not come from clover; they are a type of clover.
+1
Level 75
Oct 20, 2016
My first guess was oxalis, but clover was second.
+1
Level ∞
Mar 3, 2021
Clover is by far the best answer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamrock

The name shamrock comes from Irish seamróg which is the diminutive of the Irish word seamair óg and simply means "young clover".

At most times, Shamrock refers to either the species Trifolium dubium (lesser clover, Irish: seamair bhuí) or Trifolium repens (white clover, Irish: seamair bhán). However, other three-leaved plants—such as Medicago lupulina, Trifolium pratense, and Oxalis acetosella—are sometimes called shamrocks.

+2
Level 76
Jun 7, 2021
The shamrock that is the popular symbol of Ireland is almost certainly an Oxalis, with three heart-shaped leaflets. When oxalis didn't work, I tried clover, but it would make more sense to count either answer (also sorrel) as correct.
+1
Level 69
Feb 12, 2017
Clover, various types of oxalis(sorrel), black medick, are all called shamrock here in Ireland and I have seen these and others pinned to people's chests on St.Patrick's day 🍀 😃
+2
Level 76
May 21, 2018
Kept trying "XXX" ... still can't figure out why it won't work :)
+1
Level 68
Jul 9, 2019
Doesn’t Switzerland have enough to accommodate 120% of its population or something? I can’t be bothered to check RLL’S video.
+1
Level 71
Dec 21, 2019
Lol, not every Swiss would agree that we're well defended, although we might survive one nuclear attack, there's still no way winning a war against USA or Russia, or even against Germany.
+15
Level ∞
Mar 3, 2021
Not with that attitude!
+2
Level 76
Mar 7, 2021
'Fun' fact: The Swiss army announced a certain area of the country "undefendable" in case of war. A six-figure lot of population are on their own.
+2
Level 84
Mar 3, 2021
When the one's place changes, it's a new year. When the tens place changes, it's a new decade. When the hundreds place changes, it's a new century. When the thousands place changes, it's a new millennium. It's that simple. Keep it that simple. Yes, that means that there were only 99 years in the First Century. C'est la vie. I'm not the one who decided that there wouldn't be a 0 AD. I just know how numbers work and what is represented by each digit in a year number.
+6
Level 82
Mar 3, 2021
No
+7
Level ∞
Mar 3, 2021
Yeah, you can't just make up your own rules about dates work.
+5
Level 77
Mar 5, 2021
Of course a person can make up rules. That's where all this comes from. It's all arbitrary and means nothing. Why did they decide to start the Common Era at year 1 instead of 0?

Those are the guys who messed it all up with a bad arbitrary rule. Anyway, people ushered in a new millennium on 1 January 2000, and no one really cared about 2001. Is the 19th century 1801-1900 and the 1800s 1800-1899? It sounds so silly! So I say we edit history and push everything back a year. World War I is now from 1913-1917. The War of 1812 now started in 1811! Y2K is now 1999! Who's with me?

+3
Level 74
Jun 9, 2021
Of course its arbitrary what year was allocated as year 1 but you can't change the basic principles of maths: a century is 100 years, and you can't begin the new one until the last one is over...the current millennium technically finished at the end of 2000 but that's no reason why we couldn't have parties at both NYEs
+1
Level 75
Mar 10, 2021
What I want to know is who first said "I know, let's call this year Year 1", and how come everyone else got to agree with him/her?
+2
Level 67
Jun 7, 2021
I think it was backdated by the church (Dionysius, to be precise) about 500 years after the fact. It's not like the people walking around in 1 AD called it 1 AD. The church worked backwards to figure out when Jesus was born, and declared that year to be 1 AD, and just identified every other year (e.g., 323 BC) relative to that point in time. I remember learning that Dionysius was actually off by about six or seven years, so Jesus was actually born in 6 or 7 BC. As for why agreed with the church, well...it's the church, in 500 AD. A major force to reckon with.
+2
Level 75
Mar 4, 2021
Can you accept "Little Billy Shakespeare"?
+5
Level 78
Mar 7, 2021
I honestly thought you were asking for the insanely rich master of Metropolis in the 1927 movie (Joh Fredersen) before Superman came into my mind.
+3
Level 74
Jun 7, 2021
Yes, that's what I was trying to think of too! In vain.
+2
Level 51
Jan 15, 2022
Indeed. I was not aware of any association between Superman and Metropolis (it's a long time since I saw any of the Superman movies). To be fair, I could not remember any name from the actual Metropolis movie either.
+1
Level 41
Apr 15, 2021
I'm fascinated at the amount of people who know what the chemical formula for ammonia is
+2
Level 71
Jun 7, 2021
Learned it 35 plus years ago at school and it just stuck. Never had any reason to recall the information in the meantime
+1
Level 43
Jun 8, 2021
Would it be possible to accept 'Rubel'?
+1
Level 76
Oct 16, 2022
Do you have to use the bisexual label for the one clue? It's more about the books authored. No other clues reference sexuality.