Fun free trivia questions and answers - Miscellaneous Topics

In land surveying, how long--in feet--is a chain?
A: 66 feet.

What synthetic fabric, introduced in the 1970s, is made of Teflon?
A: Gore-Tex.

If we saw the emblem know as a fylfot decorating a Byzantine structure, what would we most likely call it?
A: A swastika. The Nazis adopted the ancient symbol as their emblem.

How did the inch-long 2-penny (or 2d) nail get its name?
A: It was the nail that was sold at the rate of 100 for 2 pennies, or pence, in Great Britain in the fifteenth century, when the sizing  system for nails was fist established. (The d in 2d is the British symbol for pence.)

Approximately how many blades of grass are there in an acre of lawn?
A: 564,537,600--according to the Lawn Institute.

What did Aristotle believe was the main purpose of the human brain?
A: To cool the blood.

In medieval days, how much did the average suit of armor weigh?
A: Between 50 and 55 pounds.

In the children's rhyme that begins "Ding, Dong, Bell," who put Pussy in the well and who pulled her out?
A :Little Johnny Green put her in; Little Tommy stout got her out.

How big is a cord of wood?
A: It is  128 cubic feet and usually measures 4 feet high, 4 feet wide and 8 feet long.

Who was the first person to walk untetherd in space?
A: Navy Captain Bruce McCandless II, 164 miles above the earth, form the space shuttle Challenger on February 7, 1984.

What did movie star Mary Pickford use to christen the first Hollywood-to-San Francisco bus in the early 1920s?
A: A bottle of grape juice. Prohibition made champagne taboo.

In a bid to calm manic and psychotic juveniles, what color did California's San Bernardino County Probation Department paint its detention cells?
A: Bubble-gum pink.

Who said, "The great question...which I have not been able to answer despite my 30 years in research into the feminine soul, is  "What  does a woman want?
A: Sigmund Freud.

What was the first hurricane named after a man?
A: Bob, in July 1979. H put in a brief, blustery appearance on the Louisiana coast and then turned into an offshore breeze.

What great feat made Isaac Ban Amburgh a circus headliner in the late 1830s?
A: He was the first animal trainer to put his head in a lion's mouth.

What incredible adventure did British seaman James Bartley survive while whale hunting in 1891?
A: He spent two days in a whale's stomach after being swallowed alive--and then lived another 35 years to tell about it.

How many seats are there on a standard 747 jumbo jet?
A: 420.

What gem was once considered a charm against drunkenness?
A: The amethyst--which gets its name from the Greek amethystos--which means "remedy for drunkenness."