Quizzes

Will you be shaken or stirred? Quiz #17

4:38 pm on 22 January 2016

We hope you are enjoying our quizzes. We think you'll find them tougher than others but also more rewarding.

Click on each question to reveal the answer, or click on the 'Show all the answers' link to see how you went and to learn more. Let us know any suggestions you have for improving the quiz by emailing quizmaster@radionz.co.nz.

Show all the answers

Q 1 What is the oath taken by doctors?

A The Hippocratic Oath.

Named after the Greek philosopher Hippocrates, there is no evidence that he actually wrote it. According to PBS, most graduating medical school students swear to some form of the oath. In 1928, only 24 percent of US medical schools administered the oath - these days it is nearly 100 percent.

While there is the classic oath, most medical schools have their own versions.

Q 2 Name the five US shuttles that flew in space.

A Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour.

Six shuttles were capable of flight. The first of these, Enterprise, was used for testing purposes and never entered space.

Columbia was the first to enter space in 1981, and completed 26 missions until it disintegrated while reentering the atmosphere in 2003.

Challenger was second, starting service in 1983 and completed 10 missions before it disintegrated one minute after take-off in 1986.

Discovery flew 39 missions between 1984 and 2011, while Atlantis clocked up 33 between 1985 and 2011.

Endeavour was built as Challenger '​s replacement, and was first launched in 1992, completing 25 missions before retiring in 2012.

Q 3 How many islands does Japan have?

  1. 4
  2. 268
  3. 3937
  4. 6852

In geological terms, Japan is a stratovolcanic archipelago. It is made up of 6852 islands; the four largest make up 97 percent of its land mass and are called Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku.

Q 4 What is the chemical name for baking soda?

  1. Bicarbonate of soda
  2. Sodium bicarbonate
  3. Potassium bicarbonate
  4. Sodium chloride

A Sodium bicarbonate

Baking soda is used as a rising agent in baking. Potassium bicarbonate is also used as a rising agent, but only in commercial baking. Bicarbonate of soda is another name for baking soda, and sodium chloride is common table salt.

Q 5 How many James Bond books were written by Ian Fleming?

  1. 10
  2. 14
  3. 20

A 14

They were:

After Fleming's death, the series was continued by a number of writers.

Q 6 Who was the first band to be stripped of their Grammy Award?

A Milli Vanilli

Milli Vanilli were very popular in the late 1980s, but a technical failure at the Grammy Awards revealed that the artists were lip-syncing. An investigation found that they did not sing the lead vocals on the record, and their Grammy Award for Best New Artist (on 21 February 1990) was withdrawn.

Q 7 Can you name the five basic tastes?

A Sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness, umami

The last of these, umami, was only recognised as a basic taste relatively recently. It can be described as a brothy or meaty taste, and like the other tastes is only palatable with a narrow concentration range, or in the presence of a complimentary aroma.

Q 8 When was Google's Gmail launched?

  1. 1 April 2002
  2. 1 April 2003
  3. 1 April 2004
  4. 1 April 2005

A 1 April 2004

Having been announced on 1 April, and promising one gigabyte of free storage, many people thought it was a hoax. It wasn't.

Q 9 What are the three vows taken by Catholic priests?

A Poverty, chastity, and obedience.

During ordination, priests who belong to a religious order (Benedictine, Dominicans, Franciscans etc) take these vows. Diocesan priests make only two promises: celibacy and obedience.

Q 10 Is glass a liquid or a solid?

A It is a solid

Glass is an amorphous solid.

This detailed explanation says that, "Structurally, glasses are similar to liquids, but that doesn't mean they are liquid. It is possible that the "glass is a liquid" urban legend originated with a misreading of a German treatise on glass thermodynamics."

Show all the answers

The Quizmaster

Is the Quizmaster the source of all knowledge? Or do they just use the internet like eveyone else? Super search skills might not help you with these quizzes - their knowledge comes from outside of time and space. We get these quizzes via courier pigeon each Friday. Enjoy!

Recent quizzes

America's Cup: A quiz to clear the murky waters
Published on Tuesday 30 May 2017

Quiz #38: The great NZ history quiz
Published on Friday 10 June 2016

Quiz # 36: It's business time
Published on Friday 3 June 2016

Quiz # 37 for 3 June
Published on Friday 27 May 2016

Quiz # 34 for 20 May
Published on Friday 20 May 2016

Quiz: How well do you know Harry Potter?
Published on Friday 13 May 2016

Quiz # 32: Dan Carter's stars in your eyes
Published on Friday 6 May 2016

Quiz: May the Fourth be with you
Published on Wednesday 4 May 2016

Quiz #31: Shipwrecks, surnames and Ewoks
Published on Friday 29 April 2016

Quiz #30 for 22 April
Published on Friday 22 April 2016