science trivia questions answers and facts.

science trivia questions answers and facts.

Science trivia questions answers and facts.
What was the first city to be leveled by a plutonium-based atomic bomb?
A: Nagasaki.
What high-level computer language was named after a French mathematician and philosopher?
A: PASCAL.
What Mercury astronaut had a pulse rate of 170 at lift-off-John Glenn, Alan Shepard or Gus Grissom?
A: Gus Grissom.
What type of vessel was powered by a hand-cranked propeller when first used in combat in 1176?
A: A submarine.
What creature proved to be much faster than a horse in a 1927 race in Sydney, Australia?
A: The Kangaroo.
Science trivia questions answers and facts.
What radioactive element is extracted from carnotite and pitchblende?
A: Uranium.
What organ of a buffalo did Plains Indians use to make yellow paint?
A: The gallbladder.
What optical aids was nearsighted model Grace Robin the first to show off in 1930?
A: Contact lenses.

What creature's fossilized leg bone did John Horner discover red blood cells in, in 1993?
A: A tyrannosaurus rex's.
What sticky sweetener was traditionally used as an antiseptic ointment for cuts and burns?
A: Honey.
What computer was introduced in 1984 Super Bowl ads?
A: The Macintosh.
What male body part did Mademoiselle magazine find to be the favorite of most women?
A: Eyes.
What planet is named after the Greek god who personified the sky?
A: Uranus.
What fat substitute got FDA approval for use in snack foods, despite reports of diarrhea and cramps?
A: Olestra.
What plant's meltdown was dubbed "Russian Roulette" by nuclear power wags?
A: Chernobyl's.
What is a single unit of quanta called?
A: A quantum.
What will fall off of the Great Sphinx in 200 years due to pollution and erosion, according to scholar Chikaosa Tanimoto?
A: It's head.
What suntan lotion was developed by Dr. Ben Green in 1944 to protect pilots who bailed out over the Pacific?
A: Coppertone.
What was Friedrich Serturner the first to extract from opium and use as a pain reliever?
A: Morphine.
What substance nets recyclers the most money?
A: Aluminum.
What are you shopping for if you are sized up by a Brannock Device?
A: Shoes.
What animal travels at 25 mph under water but finds it easier to toboggan on its belly on land?
A: The penguin.
What's the itchy skin condition tinea pedis better known as?
A: Athlete's foot.
What uncooked meat is a trichina worm most likely to make a home in?
A: Pork.
How many of every 10 victims infected by the Ebola virus will die in two days?
A: Nine.
What computer company was named after a founder's memories of spending a summer in an Oregon orchard?
A: Apple.
What butterfly-shaped gland is located just in front of the windpipe?
A: The Thyroid.
What's short for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation"?
A: Laser.
What planet is the brightest object in the sky, after the sun and moon?
A: Venus.
What weapon did German gunsmith August Kotter unload on the world in 1520?
A: The rifle.
What type of machine did 19-year-old French genius Blaise Pascal invent to help his dad do taxes in 1642?
A: An adding machine.
What do leukemia sufferers have too many of?
A: White blood cells, or leukocytes.
What Benjamin Holt invention was good news to farmers in 1900?
A: The tractor.
What weather phenomenon is measured by the Beaufort scale?
A: Wind.
What do itchy people call the "rhus radicans" they were sorry they came into contact with?
A: Poison Ivy.
What drupaceous fruit were Hawaiian women once forbidden by law to eat?
A: The coconut.

gold

science trivia facts.
A diamond will not dissolve in acid. The only thing that can destroy it is intense heat.
A lump of pure gold the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court.
Absolutely pure gold is so soft that it can be molded with the hands.
An ounce of gold can be stretched into a wire 50 miles long.
Colored diamonds are caused by impurities such as nitrogen (yellow), boron (blue). With red diamonds being due to deformities in the structure of the stone, and green ones being the result of irradiation.
Free science trivia facts.
Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring substance, and is also one of the most valuable natural substances. Diamonds are crystals formed almost entirely of carbon. Because of its hardness, the diamond is the most enduring of all gemstones. They are among the most costly jewels in the world, partly because they are rare, Only four important diamond fields have been found - in Africa, South America, India, and the Soviet Union.
In 1957, the Shipping port Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, the first nuclear facility to generate electricity in the United States, went on line. (It was taken out of service in 1982.)
In 1982, in the first operation of its kind, doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center implanted a permanent artificial heart in the chest of retired dentist Dr. Barney Clark, who lived 112 days with the device.
Mercury is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature.
Mineral deposits in caves: The ones growing upward are stalagmites, the ones growing downward are stalactites.
Natural gas has no odor. The smell is added artificially so that leaks can be detected.
Prussic acid, in a crystalline powder called Zyklon B, was used to kill in Germany's gas chambers. The gas would paralyze the victim's lungs, causing them to suffocate.
Sea water, loaded with mineral salts, weighs about a pound and a half more per cubit foot than fresh water at the same temperature.
Ten per cent of the salt mined in the world each year is used to de-ice the roads in America.
The air we breathe is 78% nitrogen, 21.5% oxygen, .5% argon and other gases.
The Chinese were using aluminum to make things as early as 300 AD Western civilization didn't rediscover aluminum until 1827.
The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality diamond ever discovered. Found in 1905, the original 3,100 carats were cut to make jewels for the British Crown Jewels and the British Royal family's collection.
The largest gold nugget ever found weighed 172 lbs., 13 oz.
The largest hailstone ever recorded was 17.5 inches in diameter - bigger than a basketball.
The most abundant metal in the Earth's crust is aluminum.
The only rock that floats in water is pumice.
The three most common elements in the universe are 1) hydrogen; 2) helium; 3) oxygen.
The United States government keeps its supply of silver at the US Military Academy at West Point, NY. A diamond will not dissolve in acid. The only thing that can destroy it is intense heat.
A lump of pure gold the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court.
Absolutely pure gold is so soft that it can be molded with the hands.
An ounce of gold can be stretched into a wire 50 miles long.
Colored diamonds are caused by impurities such as nitrogen (yellow), boron (blue). With red diamonds being due to deformities in the structure of the stone, and green ones being the result of irradiation.
Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring substance, and is also one of the most valuable natural substances. Diamonds are crystals formed almost entirely of carbon. Because of its hardness, the diamond is the most enduring of all gemstones. They are among the most costly jewels in the world, partly because they are rare, Only four important diamond fields have been found - in Africa, South America, India, and the Soviet Union.
In 1957, the Shipping port Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, the first nuclear facility to generate electricity in the United States, went on line. (It was taken out of service in 1982.)
In 1982, in the first operation of its kind, doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center implanted a permanent artificial heart in the chest of retired dentist Dr. Barney Clark, who lived 112 days with the device.
Mercury is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature.  
Science trivia facts.
Mineral deposits in caves: The ones growing upward are stalagmites, the ones growing downward are stalactites.
Natural gas has no odor. The smell is added artificially so that leaks can be detected.
Prussic acid, in a crystalline powder called Zyklon B, was used to kill in Germany's gas chambers. The gas would paralyze the victim's lungs, causing them to suffocate.
Sea water, loaded with mineral salts, weighs about a pound and a half more per cubit foot than fresh water at the same temperature.
Ten per cent of the salt mined in the world each year is used to de-ice the roads in America.
The air we breathe is 78% nitrogen, 21.5% oxygen, .5% argon and other gases.
The Chinese were using aluminum to make things as early as 300 AD Western civilization didn't rediscover aluminum until 1827.
The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality diamond ever discovered. Found in 1905, the original 3,100 carats were cut to make jewels for the British Crown Jewels and the British Royal family's collection.
The largest gold nugget ever found weighed 172 lbs., 13 oz.
The largest hailstone ever recorded was 17.5 inches in diameter - bigger than a basketball.
The most abundant metal in the Earth's crust is aluminum.
The only rock that floats in water is pumice.
The three most common elements in the universe are 1) hydrogen; 2) helium; 3) oxygen.
The United States government keeps its supply of silver at the US Military Academy at West Point, NY.

‘Time to polish those very rough edges’- by chetan bhagat

Dear  Chetan Bhagat,

Your column ‘Time to polish those very rough edges’.

I do not venture to write on politics or politicians because it would be better to write about the shape of a cloud at least I can be sure that probably sometime or other I can show to people what type of cloud I was writing about. So at the outset let me make it very clear that I am not a supporter of any particular party or political figure.  

I would like you not to ignore facts even if you are not willing to accept or approve them. This is the fundamental rule for writing about politics or history. You are at liberty to then give your own interpretations, justifications, opinions etc. So, first notice facts without prejudice, take notes from political correspondents like Paul Johnson or our own M.J. Akbar [ who has incidentally written an excellent article in the same page today] and read history by authors like Will Durant, Dance etc along with reading of social psychology before venturing to write on subjects like Modi. Do your home work before arrogating yourself  to sit on judgment on all matters like TV anchors or act like the feigning petty know-all newspaper or news channel reporters. 

1] “He stands tall but does not work well as a combo meal” It is not a rough edge it is the sharp difference of a great personality and all great leaders are firm and look firm. He did not have greatness thrust upon him either by virtue of any dynasty, sect, class, caste, religion or sponsored by any political party or business house but has become great through showing to India what is governance and what a leader who gives priority to governance over corruption and promoting his family members can do. What is wrong in being a tall leader if you can deliver good governance and achieve something very important for improving the economic conditions of the people like a Margaret Thatcher, Moraji Desai, Vallabai Patel, Martin Luther King, Jothi Basu and E.M.S.Namboodiripad [ from a parties where party ideology {whether right or wrong} and cadre approval matter more than any single personality]

2] On Independence Day remember it was not aggression but it was honest appraisal and evaluation. Come on stop being hypocritical all Prime Ministers, Ministers, Chief Ministers owe their post , position , power ,pelf etc to politics and must and do use all opportunities to play politics. Unfortunately most Prime Ministers and Chief Ministers observe Independence Day and Republic Day as mere calendared observation of rituals rather than an occasion to put across what is required to make the nation a better place to live and acknowledge the mistakes that have led the nation to where it is now and also pointing out who is responsible for the mess [here though not directly- unfortunately the PM is the official face of the present Government]

3] Modi hype. Without PR, publicity or hype nothing sells anywhere. That too in a country where it involves taking on a entire government machinery , paid and biased media and a hoard of sycophants who would do anything to support a single family. Please remember it is only because of hype and promotion by business houses like IBD that your books are in the front racks in most book shops at the Air ports, Railway stations, major book stalls etc and only because of hype an ordinary small time writer like you could become popular enough to migrate from writing very ordinary novels to writing columns in newspapers and they too publish them. Please do not abuse something [hype and publicity] which has given you an identity which probably many better writers deserve in India.

4] Pan –Indian sensitivity. Please define what it is? Probably only economic development, equal opportunities to all, dignified living standards to everyone, national interest above dynastic, family, party ideology etc could be the few things that can be included in that classification called  Pan –Indian sensitivity. We cannot even include common civil code for fear of  losing a particular minority vote which is euphemistically and conveniently termed as Secularism of lately. On this Modi has declared boldly that Constitution is the only religion of a politician.

He talks frankly as all leaders who have with national and economic welfare as a vision and mission combined with  good intentions, initiatives and interest in implementing them like Margaret Thatcher, Dr. B.R . Ambedkar, Vallabhai Patel, Moraji Desai, Kamaraj etc rather than perpetuating a dynasty, promoting their kith and kin or thrusting a political ideology at the cost of economic welfare of all. It was one family which ensured that a great person like B.R. Ambedkar was never allowed to lead the nation as a main leader or sidelined Kamaraj and ultimately pushed him out they want to push aside Modi too because he belongs to very backward Ghanchi caste.

Considering all this I find your write up as highly parochial, prejudiced and perhaps paid up.

Olympic

1] The only Olympian ever to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

 Philip Noel-Baker of Great Britain, who won the silver in the 1500-meter dash in 1920.

2] the FIRST woman to win an Olympic event

 England's Charlotte Cooper, who won the tennis singles in 1900.

3]  FIRST team sport added to the Olympics was

Football in 1900

4] the FIRST black African to win a gold medal was

 Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila, who ran barefoot all the way in Rome, 1960.

5] what is the theme of The 2008 Summer Games Torch Relay

 "Journey of Harmony

6] when did the Olympic flag make its debut

The Olympic Flag made its debut at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium.

7] who adopted the Olympic ring first and when ?

Baron Pierre de Coubertin (founder of the modern Olympic Movement) in 1913 after he saw a similar design on an artifact from ancient Greece.  The five rings represent the five major regions of the world: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

8] why was Rome  not able to host the 1908 Olympics as planned

because Mount Vesuvius erupted!

9] Youngest Female Gold Medallist
Nadia Comaneci of Romania was 14 years and 252 days old when she took gold medals in three events - all-around, balance beam, and uneven bars - at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games.

10] Youngest Female Gymnastics Medallist 
Luigina Giavotti was 11 years and 302 days old when she won a gymnastics silver medal in 1928 as a member of the Italian gymnastics team.

11] Most Career Gymnastics Medals for Women (18)
Larisa Latynina holds the all-time Olympic record for medals won in any sport with 18, won in a twelve year three Olympic Games (1956, 1960, and 1964) gymnastics career for the Soviet team.

12] Most Gymnastics Medals in One Olympics for Women (7)
Maria Gorokhovskaya won seven medals at the 1952 Helsinki Games for the Soviet Union.  She won a silver medal in a team event using a hoop that was a  forerunner to modern rhythmic gymnastics.

13] Oldest Gymnastics Female Gold Medallist
Agne Kelleti of Hungary was 35 years and 332 days old when she won medals on floor, balance beam and uneven bars in 1956

14] What country fielded 1996 Olympic women's teams that won gold in basketball, soccer and softball?
A:  The U.S.

15] which game was allowed to play in Olympics from 1900 - 1920 only. Later on it was removed from Olympics

Tug of war

16] what is the size of Beijing  Olympic medals

 70mm in diameter and 6mm in thickness.

 

gem stones

»   Most gemstones contain several elements. Except the diamond – it's all carbon.

»   Most landfilled trash retains its original weight, volume, and form for 40 years.

»   Most plant pollen is highly inflammable. It will ignite and explode when placed on an extremely hot surface. In the early days of modern theater, artificial lightning was produced by throwing pollen grains of the club moss onto a hot shovel.

»   The highest ordinary type cloud is the cirrus, which occurs at an average altitude of 27,000 feet.

»   The highest rating given a top quality diamond is D-flawless.

»   The highest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 136º Fahrenheit on September 13, 1992, in Azizia, Libya.

»   Most precious gems are actually colorless. Their color comes form impurities in the stone than act as pigmenting agents.

»   The highest tides in the world are in the Bay of Fundy in southeastern Canada. Tides have reached 70 feet at the head of this bay.

nature facts

»   More than 71 million gallons of water pass over Victoria Falls in Africa every minute.

»   The greatest snowfall in the world belongs to Mount Rainer in Washington, for the 1971-1972 season. During that time it accumulated 1,224 inches of snow.

»   More than 75 million people are estimated to have been killed by earthquakes in the history of our planet.

»   The Gulf Stream travels 111 miles across the Atlantic Ocean each day.

»   Morning glory seeds are poisonous, and can be fatal if eaten in large amounts.

»   The guppy gets its name from the man who discovered it and presented specimens to the British Museum, naturalist R. J. L. Guppy of Trinidad.

»   Most dangerous of all avalanches, snow avalanches occur about a million times a year.

»   The heaviest hailstones on record, weighing 2¼ pounds, are reported to have killed 92 people in the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh on April 14, 1986.

cashew,aluminium,tree

Living as long as 40 years, cashew trees can grow up to 50 feet tall. Surprisingly, though, one entire tree only produces around 10 pounds of edible cashews a year, which is why cashews are so costly.

»   The fiber of the stinging nettle was used to make the fine linen sheets upon which Mary, Queen of Scots, slept.

»   Living creatures create tiny weather systems called microclimates in their nests and burrows. For instance, bees fan their wings at the hive entrance during hot weather. This makes a cooling draft blow through the hive.

»   The first hurricane given a male name was "Bob," in July 1979.

»   Long before it was used as a "kiss encourager" during the Christmas season, mistletoe had long been considered to have magic powers by Celtic and Teutonic peoples. It was said to have the ability to heal wounds and increase fertility. Celts hung mistletoe in their homes in order to bring themselves good luck and ward off evil spirits.

»   The first known item made from aluminum was a rattle – made for Napoleon III in the 1850s. Napoleon also provided his most honored guests with knives and forks made of pure aluminum. At the time, the newly discovered metal was so rare, it was considered more valuable than gold.

»   Many parts of a tree can die without killing the whole tree. In fact, much of a normal, healthy tree is dead — the wood in the center, for example.

»   The flower of the Calla lily is 8 feet high and 12 feet wide. It is grown in Sumatra.