Daily Trivia Quiz - Day 167 (2026-04-04)

Question 1

Drivers can roll over a cattle grid without stopping, but many cows refuse to cross one. What makes the grid work?

Accepted Answer

Cows avoid the risky gaps underfoot

Question 2

When a turkey vulture is startled at close range, it may vomit on the spot before trying to escape. What advantage does that give the bird?

Accepted Answer

It becomes lighter for takeoff

Question 3

Ancient scribes could write a ruler's name by drawing pictures of objects that had nothing to do with that person. What was the trick?

Accepted Answer

They used the sounds

Question 4

Why can material orbiting too close to a giant planet end up as a ring instead of joining into a moon?

Accepted Answer

Tidal forces keep it from clumping into a moon

Question 5

A jacana can stroll across floating lily pads that would sink many other birds. What gives it that ability?

Accepted Answer

Extra-long, splayed toes

Question 6

Javelin officials once changed the spear itself after too many throws landed dangerously flat or traveled too far. What did they move?

Accepted Answer

The center of mass forward

Question 7

Rainwater tends to bead up and roll off a lotus leaf, often carrying dust away with it. What feature of the leaf makes that possible?

Accepted Answer

Microscopic waxy bumps

Question 8

In laminated pastry, thin sheets of butter are folded into dough again and again. When the pastry bakes, what actually forces those layers apart into flaky sheets?

Accepted Answer

Steam from water in the dough and butter

Question 9

Some people get a worrying blood pressure reading at the doctor's office, then a much calmer one at home. What often causes that jump in the clinic?

Accepted Answer

Stress from the medical setting

Question 10

Why does a barcode often include one extra digit that doesn't describe the product itself?

Accepted Answer

To catch scanning errors