Daily Trivia Quiz - Day 131 (2026-02-18)

Question 1

A scientist studying seaweed broth in 1908 isolated crystals that defined the savory taste now called umami. What seasoning was discovered?

Accepted Answer

MSG

Question 2

In some 1800s universities, students fought ritual duels and treated facial scars as status symbols. What did schools later ban to reduce these feuds?

Accepted Answer

Student dueling

Question 3

A fishing net is lost at sea, but it keeps trapping sea life for years with no crew nearby. What is this kind of net called?

Accepted Answer

Ghost net

Question 4

In one Scandinavian transit station, cyclists can go uphill without getting off their bikes by using a special moving device. What is it?

Accepted Answer

Bike escalator

Question 5

Divers in deep blue holes sometimes see a sharp visible boundary like an underwater horizon where two water layers meet. What causes this striking visual line?

Accepted Answer

Different saltiness bending light

Question 6

Some desert plants can look dead for months, then recover quickly after rain. What lets these 'resurrection plants' survive extreme drying?

Accepted Answer

They enter an almost dormant state and protect their cells

Question 7

Some marinas use floating trash collectors to capture litter before it drifts away. How do these devices pull in debris?

Accepted Answer

They use an electric pump to draw water through a catch bag

Question 8

In amateur radio culture, operators exchange 'QSL cards' after making contact. What makes these cards valuable as a technical record?

Accepted Answer

Each documents the specific contact with call signs, date, time, frequency, and signal report

Question 9

In a Japanese coastal town, divers can drop waterproof postcards into a real mailbox sitting on the seafloor. What happens to the mail after it's collected?

Accepted Answer

It gets delivered through regular postal service

Question 10

Antarctica has areas where bare ground stays mostly free of snow and rain for extremely long periods. What makes these valleys so unusually dry?

Accepted Answer

Cold, dry katabatic winds plus a mountain rain-shadow effect