Daily Trivia Quiz - Day 179 (2026-04-16)

Question 1

Some Arctic hills slowly rise in permafrost regions as pressure builds from below. What is typically found inside a pingo?

Accepted Answer

An ice core

Question 2

Before modern boot zippers and stretchy uppers, some homes kept a cast-iron tool by the door so you could step on it and pull one foot free. What was that tool called?

Accepted Answer

Boot jack

Question 3

A tall dam can block salmon from reaching their spawning grounds, yet some rivers let them keep going by giving them what is basically a staircase. What is that structure called?

Accepted Answer

Fish ladder

Question 4

Long before digital highlights, readers sometimes drew a tiny pointing hand in the margin to flag a line worth noticing. What is that little hand symbol called?

Accepted Answer

Manicule

Question 5

On some dry lakebeds, the ground breaks into broad repeating polygons that look almost tiled from above. What usually creates those giant patterns?

Accepted Answer

Drying and contraction cracking in surface sediments

Question 6

A crescent-shaped sand dune can act like a wind arrow in the desert. On a barchan dune, which direction do the two pointed 'horns' usually face?

Accepted Answer

Downwind

Question 7

Whales have vastly more cells than humans, yet they do not seem to get cancer at vastly higher rates. What broad kind of protection does this paradox suggest large animals evolved more of?

Accepted Answer

Cancer-suppression mechanisms

Question 8

In Go, a much stronger player can level the game before the first move by giving the weaker player what advantage?

Accepted Answer

Extra stones on the board

Question 9

One fish can look above the surface and below it at the same time because each eye is effectively split for two views. What fish is famous for that trick?

Accepted Answer

Four-eyed fish

Question 10

Cities often place short stout posts along sidewalks so cars cannot drive through, while people and wheelchairs can still pass between them. What are those posts called?

Accepted Answer

Bollards