1. Who said this about an outbreak of typhus during the Russian Revolution: “Either socialism will defeat the louse, or the louse will defeat socialism.” Lenin; Marx; Stalin; Trotsky.
2. Starting in 1887, what did miners use to extract gold from ore in a process called leaching? Leaches; cyanide; milk; chlorine bleach.
3. What was the Manhattan Project of the 1940’s? The project that led the Americans to discover the atomic bomb; the conception, design, and landscaping of Central Park in NYC; a coalition of international scientists who collaborated on solving world issues of pollution; the project behind the discovery of the structure of DNA, the heredity molecule.
4. What is dendrochronology? A method of determining the age of wood by examining the tree growth rings; using the well-known format of the family tree to document family histories; the study of the hair and the scalp; a system by which trees are classified.
5. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the fabric Kevlar? Kevlar is used to make bulletproof clothing; Kevlar was developed by DuPont; Kevlar can withstand brief contacts as hot as 1, 400 degrees Celsius; Kevlar is two times as stretchy as nylon.
6. In what year was the hallucinogenic drug LSD developed? 1894; 1925; 1943; 1964; 1979.
7. Indignant is to self-righteous as showy is to ___. Arrogant; pretentious; excessive; ostentatious.
8. Which of the following is the oldest of the Wonders of the Ancient World? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon; The Wall of China; Egyptian Pyramids; Statue of Zeus at Olympia; The Bermuda Triangle.
9. What are red giants, white dwarves, super giants, and middleweights? World-class wrestling classes; stars, in various stages of evolution; planets, in various stages of evolution; classes of insect genre; classes of tomato plant genre.
10. True or false: MSG (monosodium glutamate) is derived from natural ingredients.
ANSWERS:
1. Lenin. 2. Cyanide. 3. The project that led the Americans to discover the atomic bomb. 4. A method of determining the age of wood by examining the tree growth rings. 5. Kevlar is two times as stretchy as Nylon. 6. 1943. 7. Ostentatious. 8. Egyptian Pyramids. 9. Stars, in various stages of evolution. 10. True.