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Multiple Choice General Knowledge #3

Can you answer these multiple-choice general knowledge questions?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: August 18, 2019
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First submittedAugust 18, 2019
Times taken44,291
Average score56.3%
Rating4.16
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1. What was the first planet discovered with the use of a telescope?
Jupiter
Pluto
Saturn
Uranus
2. What letter is a protractor shaped like?
D
F
L
V
3. In the Bible, what were the Ten Commandments first written on?
Birch bark
Parchment made of sheep skin
Two tablets of stone
A wax cylinder
4. How long does it take light to travel from the Sun to the Earth?
It's instantaneous
About 8 minutes
About 11 days
2 or 3 months, depending on the time of year
5. Is the U.S. Congress unicameral or bicameral?
Bicameral
Unicameral
It is bicameral because it has two chambers: The House of Representatives and the Senate
6. Is it really true that some Amazonian rainforest tribes would collect the shrunken heads of their enemies?
Yes, it's true
No, it's a myth
7. When did Mahatma Gandhi die?
1948
1961
1975
1997
8. Has Toronto ever hosted the Olympics?
Yes
No
9. Which of these noble ranks is highest?
Baron
Duke
Earl
Marquis
10. The U.S. state of New Jersey is named after Jersey. But what is Jersey?
A British island off the coast of France
A Dutch province
A Native American tribe
There are multiple theories - no one is sure
11. Does Mars have any moons?
Yes
No
Mars is orbited by Phobos and Deimos, gods of terror and fear in Greek mythology
12. A triangle has one side with a length of 3 and another side with a length of 4. What is the length of the third side?
4
5
6
Impossible to say
The Pythagorean theorem only applies to right triangles
13. Who is Paul Simon?
A famous lawyer
A playwright
A serial killer
A singer-songwriter
14. Which of these is NOT caused by a virus?
Cholera
Herpes
Measles
Smallpox
15. What do Alvin the Chipmunk and Hester Prynne have in common?
They both have the letter "A" on their clothes
They both have very high voices
They were both born in Sweden
They were both created by Nathaniel Hawthorne
16. Which of the following is a synonym of "benighted"?
Ignorant
Noble
Old
Smitten
+3
Level 80
Aug 18, 2019
I really enjoyed that, and I learned something new, but would it be possible to change 'smitten' for another word? I took it to mean 'struck,' as in by a wrathful god, etc, which seemed most synonymous with 'benighted' in the sense of 'this benighted land.'
+7
Level 74
Aug 18, 2019
Smitten can be a nice thing. Getting smote not so much. This question strikes me as fine the way it is.
+2
Level 69
Aug 18, 2019
Agreed. “Smitten” is no longer used as a past tense of “smite”. It used to be, but language evolves, and the smote/smitten divide apparently started in the mid-17th century. Here’s a cool little write up I found on it, including a guide to when to use which word.
+1
Level 76
Sep 18, 2019
Aside from the modern usage of "smitten", the complaint is that one of the options is tricky? Well, that's part of the game. If you took it to mean something else, then you missed the answer fair and square.
+1
Level 43
Aug 4, 2020
Surely it's just benighted = in the dark = opposite of enlightened, therefore ignorant? That was my train of thought anyway
+1
Level 50
Jul 5, 2022
haha I always thought "benighted" meant unfortunate
+1
Level 69
Aug 19, 2019
Jersey is not a British island. It is a Norman island that is a dependency of the British crown under the function of the Queen (or King) as Duchess (or Duke) of Normandy. Jersey and Guernsey are not part of the United Kingdom as a political entity, and not part of Great Britain as a geographical body (they are Channel islands), therefore they are not British.
+17
Level 88
Aug 19, 2019
"it is a dependency of the British Crown"

Yup, sounds exceedingly non-British to me.

+4
Level ∞
Apr 24, 2022
So a dependency of the British crown, which is also often considered to be of the British Isles, is not British?
+1
Level 69
May 6, 2022
Both kings and queens of Britain take the title "Duke of Normandy" in the Channel Isles.
+15
Level 70
Aug 25, 2019
I feel benighted
+2
Level 60
Sep 18, 2019
Underrated comment
+11
Level 33
Sep 18, 2019
I like the question about the triangle, clever choice of side lengths! I very nearly fell for it
+2
Level 65
Sep 18, 2019
yea and apparently a lot of other people as well, very surprised at how low that one was
+4
Level 68
Jul 5, 2022
I fell for it. Benighted.
+1
Level 75
Jul 5, 2022
I totally fell for the trap. So obvious once I saw the answer and thought about it for a second...
+4
Level 79
Sep 18, 2019
AAARRRGGHHH, mixed up protractor with compass!!!!!
+1
Level 40
Sep 18, 2019
I think we all did and I'm interested as to why!
+1
Level 79
Jul 5, 2022
Did it again!!
+1
Level 76
Sep 18, 2019
Appropriately, only 48% (at time of writing this) knew that Gandhi died in '48. :)
+1
Level 64
Jul 5, 2022
If it makes you feel any better, now only 35% know this
+2
Level 58
Sep 18, 2019
I'm listening to Paul Simon as I do this quiz. He is the GOAT
+1
Level 71
Jul 5, 2022
Hah, I just finished listening to Bridge Over Troubled Water when I clicked on this quiz :) Probably my favorite songwriter
+4
Level 82
Sep 18, 2019
Are we sure that Paul Simon isn't a serial killer?
+7
Level ∞
Apr 24, 2022
Serial killers have middle names.
+2
Level 33
May 11, 2022
This made me laugh, it weirdly works.
+2
Level 71
Jul 5, 2022
Funny and kind of true, because of how crime reporting works, but there are a lot of exceptions and I think Aileen Wuornos, Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgway, Dorothea Puente, Andrei Chikatilo, Richard Ramirez, Ed Gein, and Richard Chase, to name a few off the top of my head, for example are more famous without middle names.
+2
Level 43
Apr 25, 2020
Paul Simon is also a politician who ran for president (I think in '88?). Not a nitpick, just a tidbit.
+1
Level 81
Nov 3, 2023
I was just about to say this... but you beat me by 3 years! He was a liberal Democrat known for his signature bow ties.
+2
Level 77
Jul 5, 2022
Goodness, if this is general knowledge then people are generally knowledgeable trivia masters! It’s sure interesting how much lower the scores are on multiple choice; getting five points without a perfect score is nice, too!
+1
Level 54
Jul 5, 2022
All but the Toronto one YAAY
+1
Level 79
Jul 5, 2022
I think 'marquis' should be changed to 'marquess', if we're using British nobility titles.
+1
Level 66
Feb 10, 2023
In triangle, if one side is 3, and other is 4, then the third side is 5. It doesn't matter what kind triangle is. You don't need Pythagora for that, it's simply trigonometry.

If you know lengths of two sides on triangle, then you now length of 3th side and all angles.

+3
Level 68
Feb 10, 2023
This is false, you need 3 pieces of information to uniquely determine a triangle. If you have a side of length 3 and a side of length 4, the other side could be very small (think of a very thin pizza slice). You are assuming the angle between them is a right angle (90 degrees), which is a false assumption.
+1
Level 62
Feb 23, 2023
Guessed question #8 wrong Toronto has hosted the Winter Olympics

but not the normal Olympics