1. People who have elurophobia would not be able to visit my house. Why is that? They have a fear of golf; a fear of stairs; a fear of cats; a fear of cooking.
2. True or false: The blue whale’s heart is the size of a small car.
3. Hoplophobia is the fear of: Rabies; glass; mercurial medicines; firearms.
4. What was the first sport to be filmed? Boxing in 1894; baseball in 1891; football in 1895; horse racing in 1894.
5. Where is the only known place in the world where trees have rectangular trunks? The “Boab” outside the town of Derby, in Western Australia; the Socotra Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Somalia; a few miles north of the Panama Canal Zone; Three Kings Islands off the north coast of New Zealand.
6. The height of the Eiffel Tower varies depending on the temperature. How much can this variance be? By as much as seven inches; by as much as six inches; by as much as five inches; by as much as six-and-a-half inches.
7. I have two cats. Anyone with more than one knows the different sounds they make. How many vocal cords do cats have? Fifty; between 75 and 80, depending on the cat; over 100; between 150 and 180, depending on the cat.
8. A person who suffers from metathesiphobia has: A fear of being contaminated with germs; a fear of being bound or tied up; a fear or hatred of poetry; a fear or hatred of music.
9. Lobsters can live up to: 30 years; 50 years; 75 years; 85 years.
10. How many elevators does the Empire State Building have: 62; 65; 70; 73.
11. The first TV show ever to be put into reruns was: “Lassie”; “The Lone Ranger”; “Sky King”; “I love Lucy.”
12. Scopophobia, or scoptophobia, is the fear of: shadows; school; darkness; being seen or stared at.
ANSWERS
1. People could not come to visit me if they suffered from elurophobia, a fear of cats. 2. True. A blue whale heart is the size of a Mini Cooper and can weigh close to 2,000 pounds. Its heartbeat can be detected from two miles away and a human can easily crawl through its major arteries. 3. Anyone protesting the current NRA bills in the Senate could possibly have hoplophobia. 4. Boxing in 1894. 5. A few miles north of the Panama Canal Zone is the Valley of Square Trees, a unique tourist attraction where trees of the cottonwood family have rectangular trunks. 6. Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7.1 inches) because of thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun. 7. Cats have over 100 vocal cords. 8. A person who suffers from metathesiphobia has a fear or hatred of poetry. 9. 50 years. 10. 70. 11. “The Lone Ranger.” 12. Scopophobia is the fear of being seen or stared at.