Atheism

Politics

Memes

Mind

Matters

Quiz

Interact

Feedback

Email

Links

Forum

Home

Entry Fee Question

I ask every player to contribute one question with each set of answers.

The advantage for the player is that they know one answer, and if another can get the answer as well they can score a point for it. If you set an impossible question you don't deserve a mark for knowing the answer. The skill in quiz setting is to ask a question that some people will be able to answer and some will not, and if the people who can get the answer feel better for doing so then so much the better. These quizzes are supposed to be fun and rewarding in some way, as I can't afford to give away prizes the best way to have fun is to set stimulating questions.

I reserve the right to modify questions, or combine two to make a better version. If I do not use your question the next time it does not follow that I never will, I keep a collection in reserve.

Test the Best

You don't have to enter answers in order to set a question. Some people enjoy setting questions more than finding answers. If you have a good question or two feel free to let me know about it.

Explain yourself!

I'm bright but I don't know everything. When you send me a question and answer (oh yes, always include the answer!) I may need an explanation of it, perhaps with a quotation or reference to help me. I will need to be able to understand whether an answer is right or not and I will need to be able to explain the answer as well. Sending in a question with an answer I don't understand is simply a waste of effort, I can only use a question if I feel confident to mark it.

Variety

I need variety in questions. Some subjects are easy to ask about because I know about some things in great depth and detail, but the quiz would get very dull if I only asked about the things I am seriously interested in. Variety is essential. Don't send me more of the same, fill in the gaps.

The quiz is not limited to one format. Logic puzzles are just as welcome as trivia and general knowledge. I am not very good at mathematics or physics, if you are please help me with some good questions.

Remember the Format

This is a web quiz. People can use search engines, encyclopaedias or ask friends; and they have several days to do it. Avoid asking questions that a moron could answer by typing key words into a search engine. Questions need a bit of a twist, a bit of circumspection, a layer or two of obscurity.

Remember the audience.

This is a world wide quiz. It has to appeal to English speaking people across the world. While being totally free of cultural bias is impossible I want the rest of the world to have more chance than they do in the World Series...

Half a question?

If you think you have half a question or some ideas that need polishing feel free to contact me by email or instant message and I'll try and thrash the ideas into shape. Some of the best questions I have come up with have been amalgamations of two simpler questions, both of which have been too easy but when combined they make a seriously taxing question.

Lists can be excellent raw material for common links or odd ones out.

Not only hard ones!

I also need some easier questions, some that will be easy for some people but not for everybody.

Quiz Question Case Studies: what makes a good question?

A triangle that is not scalene has one side that is five metres long and one side that is twelve metres long. What are the three angles?

A two part question, first you have to know what scalene means. Scalene triangles have all three sides of different lengths. If it is not scalene two or more sides must be the same, as we know two are different we can work out that the other side must be either 5 or 12, 5 would be impossible (picture it, two five metre longs sticks jointed at one end twelve metres apart could never meet to form a triangle, the third side must be more than 7 metres). With all three sides logically deduced you then have to do the trigonometry. I could have simply asked what the length of the third side was, but I'm a sadist.

Who was orphaned by an unfortunate cream of mushroom soup incident?

Not actually difficult, searching for the unusual phrase "cream of mushroom soup incident" would yield the answer, but it looks so funny. It is OK to break the rules, but only when it's funny.

What disparaging term is named after a character in the first million selling novel?

Two part question, you have to find out or guess what the first million selling novel was and then recognize which character name has been used as a disparaging term. (Uncle Tom, of Uncle Tom's Cabin.)

A child could have understood it, but it baffled the Japanese military, much to the relief of Uncle Sam. What kind of child?

This one could have you baffled even if you knew the information on which it is based, and if you didn't know about Navajo code-talkers it could keep you puzzled all week. Very much a two part question relying on knowledge and lateral thinking. Very difficult to crack without both keys.

It meant nothing to him. Where?

Very similar to the one above, general knowledge and lateral thinking are essential. It cannot be looked up in a search engine because all the words are so very common and I translated the original this means nothing to me out of first person present tense into third person past tense. If I asked this means nothing to me, where? Then a lot of people would instantly go ohhh! Vienna! But with the twisted tense several of the people who would have answered that one straight away would kick themselves when I reveal the answer.

Groans are often signs of a kind of pleasure, to sadistic question setters at least.

Tom took it and lost it on the same day. Art had it twice for just over a week each time. Malcolm held it nine times. Gary held it for 13 years. Richard held it for 14 years. But John held it for even longer. John who?

A classic case of using simple raw data with a heavy twist. It requires lateral thinking to work out what I am going on about and who those men were. Held, took, lost? What can be lost, held and taken, several times? Then you need to check your hunch against the names and see if it fits. From the same data I could have asked much more straightforward questions such as who was the first man to travel on land at 400 MPH or which country has held the World Land Speed Record for the longest, but that would be very dull, don't you agree?

Which rock band never has to send out for Noodles?

Lateral thinking and general knowledge.

"As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.." Where was this line uttered?

Only when it's funny...

If you know it you are reminded of a very funny incident. But you can also look it up, and discover the joke for yourself.

Which is the odd one out and why:-

Lech Walesa

Robert Mugabe

Adolf Hitler

Charles de Gaulle

Nelson Mandela

Václav Havel

This one was hard work, I collected a list of people who fitted a certain criteria and waited until I had 5, then I had to slide a sixth into the list without it standing out. To solve it there is no substitute for running through biographies in your head and looking for patterns. Hard work on both ends. Later I found out Charles de Gaulle had been a prisoner after all, but not in his native land, so the question still works. And why did I include Hitler? Because it annoys the politically correct crowd by alluding to certain issues and people, and that's good enough for me.

A democratic country with over a billion citizens, a sport, a drink, a city, a province, four blokes, a couple of dances, a couple of Shakespearean characters but what month? Do you want me to spell it out for you?

A common link, heavily buried. Another classic case of stuffing a list through a cryptic filter, with a teasing hint at the end. It seems like total gibberish until you find the key, and some people never find it, and that's not my problem.

Two ounces, how many feet?

This one is a classic, relying on general knowledge and lateral thinking. I was asked it by a colleague at work and knew the answer straight away, but I also knew that some people would be baffled for days. A five word question with an unambiguous answer. I love the short ones.

What do Jack the Ripper, Peter the Great, Ivan the Terrible, Mick the Miller and Billy the Kid all have in common?

Lateral thinking, a list and a classic groan. Just to ensure there was only one common thread I included Mick the Miller, a greyhound.

Who started off as 7 from 9, became 1 of 5 and is now regarded as one of a kind?

I found out that Michael Jackson was the seventh of nine children and the question was born, 7 from 9 and 1 of 5. The 7 from 9 bit also has a built in red herring, which is a bonus.

If who's on first who is on third?

Short, snappy, hard to puzzle out and fun to research.

Things that make a good question include:

1] Very short questions but with no ambiguity. Five words seems to be the lower limit, unless you can do better...

2] Humour in the question or answer.

3] Questions that need general knowledge plus additional intelligence or lateral thinking.

4] Risqué subject matter. I must maintain my quota of toilet humour and my nipple count. Every opportunity to mildly annoy the politically correct lobby should be grasped fully. Double entendres are OK, if you can't find good single ones.

If the subject of the question is quite light and frothy more subtlety is required in the question. Heavier and harder questions should be addressed in a more direct form, while still avoiding making them too easy to look up.

Back to Main Quiz Page

© 1999 - 2010 by Martin Willett.

mwillett.org: Debate Unlimited