Very good Shaun, I'm impressed.   Yeah the Noah one got me as well, I said two as well.  FWIW I got 8 out of 17.  (3 were my favourite ones from that quiz in 2008 and I can't remember any of the others but they were good) 

So two questions remain unanswered, 17 and 18.  With Q18 imagine there are more than two in the race and treat each question separately.

Mary's mum is my favourite and catches a lot of people out

abacus12345 wrote:

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Late to the party - 17) second 18) ??? Same position

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Mumble, mumble, doing it when you're awake is cheating. mumble.

Time for some pedantry, then... :p

Firstly, scanning through the questions, my answers are pretty much the same as Shaun's (even down to getting confuzzled between Noah and Moses, but I have an excuse; see below) - with the exception of where I'm going to add in some needless pedantry. So I'll concentrate only on those particular questions.

1. Name an ancient invention still in use in most parts of the world today that allows people to see through walls.

I'll go with 'glass' rather than Shaun's answer of 'window' - glass is the invention; a window is just a hole that's filled with glass. (And if you try to be clever, John, and suggest the answer is 'hole' you'd better build a nuclear bunker in your back garden!)

2.   A five letter word becomes shorter when you add two more letters, what's the word

The correct answer is probably meant to be 'short' - however, 'shore' would also be a perfectly valid answer because the question doesn't specify that the two letters must be added to the end.

 3.   How many animals of each species did Moses take into the Ark?

This one had me confuzzled as well, because I didn't spot the Moses/Noah substitution. However, I'm an atheist and an antitheist - so I'm not particularly inclined to remember the details of religious mythology and the characters therein. (And that also means my real answer is none, because it didn't happen!)

And the pedantic (with a strong hint of atheistic) answer is that you used the word species...

I'm not sure that taxonomy level is specified in the myth. Doesn't it just say animals or creatures or something like that, without specifying a taxonomy level?

The higher up the taxonomy (say genus, or family) the fewer animals overall would be taken onboard, so the smaller (and more believable) the ark itself could be. However, then you need to account for diversification into what we have now (and new species are still being discovered even today).

So (if you fully believe creation over evolution), Noah must have taken a lot *more* animals on board - not just two ants, for example, but two of each different species of ant - and the people of his time must therefore have known about a great deal more species than any literature (or verbal stories passed down, as they would actually have been) indicates - and the size of the ark thus increases to a ridiculous size.

4.   In what sport are the shoes made of metal?

Shaun said any sport involving horses. I'll add any motor or bike sport. (Hint: brake shoes).

6.   A man was pushed out of a small aeroplane, without a parachute but survived with no injuries apart from a few bruises. How was this possible?

Shaun suggested what is probably the intended answer: That the plane was on the ground.

However, fun fact: It's possible to fall out of a plane at height and survive - there are numerous cases of people having done just that. (But I don't recommend trying this at home, folks!)

7.   How can you throw a ball as hard as you can, and make it stop and return to you, without hitting anything and with nothing attached to it?

Again, Shaun has suggested the answer that is intended as the correct one: Throw it straight up.

However (you knew that was coming, didn't you?)

I challenge anyone to successfully do that following the instructions in the question fully. The problem you'll have is throwing the ball "as hard as you can" - if you do that, you'll not throw it straight up.

Even more pedantically, I could point out that you also need to take into account the planet's rotational speed - although in practice, the person standing on the ground and throwing the ball is unlikely to even register that speed.

That rotation, though (coupled with gravity, which is what causes the ball to come back) is going to lead to my alternative answer:

You can throw a ball horizontally (relatively speaking) if you are standing on a body small enough that the amount of force you can put into the throw will be enough such that gravity will be strong enough to trap the ball and prevent it flying off, but low enough that the arc described by the ball won't bring it to the ground, but instead cause it to continue all the way around the body on which you are standing. The direction you throw it in will help, here - you can do it with a marginally higher gravity if you throw with the body's rotation than if you throw against its rotation. (Either way, with a body small enough to allow that - the right asteroid, for example - air resistance almost certainly won't be a problem, so you won't have to take it into account; it probably won't have an atmosphere).

8.   What can you hold in your right hand, but not in your left?

Shaun suggested your left hand. I'd add your left wrist, forearm, elbow and upper arm.

13.  A 6-foot tall man was holding a glass beaker above his head. He let it drop to the carpet without spilling a single drop of water.  How could he manage to drop the glass from a height of six feet and not spill a drop of water?

Shaun suggested it was empty. It could also be filled with something other than water, or sealed shut - and the question didn't specify that the carpet was at his feet; he may have only dropped it a few millimetres onto the carpet.

17.  You are running a 100m race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?

If by "the second person" you mean the person who is (was) in second place, you are now in second place.

However, that was not specified - so it could mean the second person that you have passed, in which case it depends on what your position was before you passed both of them; if you were fourth, you are now second, but if you were sixth you are now fourth, and so on.

If you'd simply said 'passed' rather than 'overtake' I might have questioned whether you were referring to spectators!

18.  In the same race, if you overtake the last person, then you are in what position?

Again, the wording is ambiguous "the last person" could mean the last person it's possible to overtake, putting you in first place. But it could also mean the last person you are going to overtake, so you are simply in one position better than you were before.

And to both questions, position could be a trick: You are not in "a position" because you are in motion, running, your position is constantly changing.

Also: "You are running a 100m race" - if not for 'overtake' I'd wonder if you were referring to the person organising it.

Then I might question the 'm' - m is the abbreviation for metre, and mile is usually abbreviated to 'mi' - but in the past, people often used 'm'. So if it's a 100 mile race, the answer needs knowledge of the type of race; the mode of transport.

Bored now.

VinceH wrote:

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 3.   How many animals of each species did Moses take into the Ark?

This one had me confuzzled as well, because I didn't spot the Moses/Noah substitution. However, I'm an atheist and an antitheist - so I'm not particularly inclined to remember the details of religious mythology and the characters therein. (And that also means my real answer is none, because it didn't happen!)

And the pedantic (with a strong hint of atheistic) answer is that you used the word species...

I'm not sure that taxonomy level is specified in the myth. Doesn't it just say animals or creatures or something like that, without specifying a taxonomy level?

The higher up the taxonomy (say genus, or family) the fewer animals overall would be taken onboard, so the smaller (and more believable) the ark itself could be. However, then you need to account for diversification into what we have now (and new species are still being discovered even today).

So (if you fully believe creation over evolution), Noah must have taken a lot *more* animals on board - not just two ants, for example, but two of each different species of ant - and the people of his time must therefore have known about a great deal more species than any literature (or verbal stories passed down, as they would actually have been) indicates - and the size of the ark thus increases to a ridiculous size.

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And what did they feed the carnivores on whilst they were out at sea... Pretty sure I know what happened to the Unicorns!

The answers are as Shaun's post, except for Q3, 17 and 18  Great work there Shaun.

Q3 was Moses didn't build the ark, Noah did.   Good spot Joanne

Q17 was if you overtake the second, you then become second, well done Johnny for getting that one 

Q18 which threw everyone was you can't overtake the last person in a race, unless you've lapped them (not possible when running in a straight line)

Hats off to Vince for his replies too 

My time at a Convent school wasnt completely wasted then?!