If you have read the nearly 2,000 articles published in Commonplace Fun Facts over the past 7 years, we think you should qualify for an advanced degree. Unfortunately, the accreditation agencies are woefully slow in approving CFF University, so your diploma will have to wait. In the meantime, let’s test your retention of some of the amazing facts that have graced these pages over the past 2,506 days.
The answers to these questions can be found at the bottom of the page, along with links to the articles that offer additional information.
1. Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Which of the following fears did FDR not have?
Delanophobia
CORRECT! Delano was FDR’s middle name; presumably, he was not afraid of it. For more information, see https://commonplacefacts.com/2014/09/09/fdrs-fears/
Phobophobia
WRONG!
Pyrophobia
WRONG!
Paraskevidekatriaphobia
WRONG!
2. In Switzerland, the law forbids having just one of this:
guinea pigs
CORRECT! For more information, see https://commonplacefacts.com/2014/11/12/no-lonely-guinea-pigs/
wife
WRONG!
cheese wheel
WRONG!
bicycle
WRONG!
3. What was John Heidegger’s claim to fame?
He was considered to be the ugliest man who ever lived.
CORRECT! For more information, see: https://commonplacefacts.com/2015/04/22/a-dubious-honor/
He was the inventor of ice cream
WRONG!
He was the first person to swallow a live cat while playing a piano
WRONG! Seriously? Did you think that was really a thing?
He was on the FBI’s Most Wanted List for assault with a deadly parrot.
WRONG!
4. In Battery Park, Manhattan there is a monument dedicated to an event that never happened. What was that fictitious event?
The sinking of a ferry by a giant octopus.
CORRECT! For more information, see: https://commonplacefacts.com/2018/05/03/visit-the-monument-to-the-giant-octopus-attack-that-never-happened/
Martian invasion of earth, starting at Grovers Mill, New Jersey
WRONG!
The first attorney to become a Christian
WRONG!
First perpetual motion machine
WRONG!
5. Which disaster can be linked to the movie “Herbie Goes Bananas”?
Radiation contamination and poisoning in Goiânia, Brazil
CORRECT! For more information, see: https://commonplacefacts.com/2015/05/08/how-herbie-goes-bananas-led-to-a-radioactive-disaster/
The creation of “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier”
WRONG!
The meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
WRONG!
The start of the practice of putting pineapple on pizza.
WRONG!
6. What is the claim to fame of Dr. Robert Liston?
He performed surgery on one person that resulted in the deaths of three people.
CORRECT! For more information, see: https://commonplacefacts.com/2015/06/23/speedy-medicine/
He invented a scalpel that will dissolve if accidentally left inside a patient.
WRONG!
He was the first Surgeon General to condemn the practice of texting while driving.
WRONG!
He performed a lobotomy on himself.
WRONG!
7. What does the Pentagon recognize as MIL-C-44072C?
Its 26-page recipe for brownies
CORRECT! For more information, see: https://commonplacefacts.com/2016/03/18/at-the-pentagon-making-brownies-isnt-as-easy-as-pie/
Its classified plans for how to respond to an invasion by Canada.
WRONG!
A chemical that is rumored to be the cure for the common cold.
WRONG!
The office number for the Secretary of Defense.
WRONG!
8. England’s Henry VI did this during his reign:
He appeared to be asleep for over a year.
CORRECT! For more information, see: https://commonplacefacts.com/2019/05/26/the-king-who-slept-for-a-year/
He became the first head of state to travel in a hot air balloon.
WRONG!
He invented a way to defend castle walls from catapult attacks.
WRONG!
He married his daughter, granddaughter, and great-niece.
WRONG!
9. What distinctive Christmas tradition is observed by the people of Catalonia?
Children whack an anthropomorphic log, enticing it to poop out treats.
CORRECT! For more information, see: https://commonplacefacts.com/2020/12/11/catalonian-children-celebrate-christmas-by-bludgeoning-a-pooping-piece-of-tree/
Naughty children can expect to wake up with a the severed head of a goat next to them.
WRONG!
Parents celebrate the holiday by sneaking away from home and leaving their children unattended for the weekend.
WRONG!
Children write letters to the territorial governor, asking for official pardons from all of their naughty deeds of the prior year.
WRONG!
10. In 2015, photographer Kevin Abosch sold a photograph for €1 million (US$1,095,850). What did the photograph depict?
A potato.
CORRECT! For more information, see: https://commonplacefacts.com/2016/01/29/you-can-buy-a-lot-of-fries-for-that/
Princess Diana’s autopsy
WRONG!
A cloud in the shape of Bugs Bunny.
WRONG!
The first photographic evidence of the Higgs boson.
WRONG!
How did you do?
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