Daily Trivia Quiz - Day 72 (2025-12-21)

Question 1

Why can drinking a hot beverage like tea actually help you cool down in a dry hot climate?

Accepted Answer

It triggers more sweating, so you lose extra heat as the sweat evaporates

Question 2

How does the Namib Desert beetle collect drinking water in one of the driest places on Earth?

Accepted Answer

It faces into fog so droplets condense on bumpy wing covers and roll into its mouth

Question 3

How do fire ants survive floods in their native habitats?

Accepted Answer

They link their bodies together to form living rafts that float on the water's surface

Question 4

Why do flight crews dim the cabin lights during takeoff and landing, even on daytime flights?

Accepted Answer

To help passengers' eyes adjust in case an emergency evacuation is needed

Question 5

What crucial safety step did Ignaz Semmelweis famously push for in 19th-century hospitals, long before germ theory was widely accepted?

Accepted Answer

He insisted doctors wash their hands between patients, especially after autopsies

Question 6

In cricket, what is a "nightwatchman"?

Accepted Answer

A lower-order batter sent in late in the day to protect a better player from getting out

Question 7

What is unusual about the default "Bliss" wallpaper from Windows XP showing a green hill and blue sky?

Accepted Answer

It's an unedited photograph of a real Californian hillside, not a digital painting

Question 8

What simple organism has famously been used in lab experiments to solve mazes and even trace efficient rail networks between cities?

Accepted Answer

Slime mold that spreads out and retracts to find the shortest paths

Question 9

Why do many coins have ridged or "reeded" edges instead of smooth ones?

Accepted Answer

To prevent shaving off valuable metal unnoticed and to deter counterfeiting

Question 10

In film and classical music, what is a "leitmotif"?

Accepted Answer

A recurring musical theme associated with a particular character, place, or idea