April Fools Day Quiz (Meeting Icebreaker)

Eating rice makes birds explode.

• True

• April Fools!

Answer explanation

April Fools!

Throwing rice at weddings is/was a long-held tradition and was supposed to symbolize wealth and prosperity. But in modern times, rice has often been banned from weddings, which has perpetuated a myth that it's poisonous to birds and can even make them explode. 

Ornithologist Steven Sibley has put this myth to bed, saying: "(A)ll the food that birds swallow is ground up by powerful muscles and grit in their gizzards. Many birds love rice, as any frustrated rice farmer will tell you."

Sources: https://www.buzzfeed.com/bendzialdowski/false-facts, https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/uncooked-rice-actually-birds-explode-164508707.html

Scotland's national animal is a unicorn.

• True

• April Fools!

Answer explanation

True!

The unicorn really is the official national animal of Scotland. Their love for this famous mythological creature dates back many centuries.

Unicorns have featured in many cultures going as far back as the classical age, including the ancient Babylonians and the Indus civilization.

Source: https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/the-unicorn-scotlands-national-animal

Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world.

• True

• April Fools!

Answer explanation

True!

Since such a small part of the flower is used, it takes 75,000 saffron flowers to make one pound of saffron spice. The small amount of saffron spice per plant, along with the fact that harvesting must be done manually, leads to saffron’s being majorly expensive.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/story/why-is-saffron-so-expensive

Sloths take two weeks to digest food.

• True

• April Fools!

Answer explanation

True!

After 23 trials, the rate of digestion was found to vary between 11 and 30 days, with an overall average of 16 days being taken for the passage of the carmine marker. This is by far the longest digestive rate recorded for any mammal and is the key behind understanding why sloths are so slow!

Source: https://www.slothsanctuary.com/research/sloth-digestion

We eat eight spiders every year in our sleep.

• True

• April Fools!

Answer explanation

April Fools!

You'll all know the slightly disturbing "fact" that humans on average eat eight or so spiders every year in their sleep. Well, you can all sleep easy with the knowledge that this isn't the case. In fact, our heavy breathing and the sounds of our heartbeats are so disruptive to the sensitive creatures that they tend to avoid us all together.

Sources: https://www.buzzfeed.com/bendzialdowski/false-facts, https://www.britannica.com/story/do-we-really-swallow-spiders-in-our-sleep

Goldfish have a three-second memory.

• True

• April Fools!

Answer explanation

April Fools!

We all know the phrase "goldfish memory," which of course comes from the idea that goldfish have three-second-long memories. To be fair, this is actually what people used to believe, but scientists now believe that goldfish have month-long memories. 

Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/bendzialdowski/false-facts, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/4158477/Fishs-memories-last-for-months-say-scientists.html

Bats are blind.

• True

• April Fools!

Answer explanation

April Fools!

The phrase "blind as a bat" is a common one, but honestly, it's pretty mean to bats. They don't have the vision humans do, but they also don't need to. Their eyes are small and sensitive, which allows them to hunt in conditions we'd consider pitch black. 

Sources: https://www.buzzfeed.com/bendzialdowski/false-facts, https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/are-bats-blind

Peeing on a jellyfish sting will help.

• True

• April Fools!

Answer explanation

April Fools!

You know the classic scene in Friends where Chandler pees on Monica? Well, that probably influenced a lot of people, and told them that it was the correct course of action. It turns out that there's no scientific evidence to support this. The only thing urinating on your jellyfish sting may do is make it sting more!

Sources: https://www.buzzfeed.com/bendzialdowski/false-facts, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17821-jellyfish-stings#management-and-treatment

Shaving makes hair grow back longer and/or thicker.

• True

• April Fools!

Answer explanation

April Fools!

Another common myth is that when you shave, the hair will grow back longer or thicker. This myth may come from when you blunt a hair after shaving it, so the stubble could look somewhat darker when it first appears, but the hair won't actually grow longer or be thicker after you've shaved.

Sources: https://www.buzzfeed.com/bendzialdowski/false-facts, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/hair-removal/faq-20058427

Dogs sweat out of their tongue.

• True

• April Fools!

Answer explanation

April Fools!

It makes sense that they don't have sweat glands under their fur, and they pant loads, so... Well, it turns out that dogs have sweat glands in their paws. They also have other glands around their body to give off pheromones, which aren't used for sweating really. 

Sources: https://www.buzzfeed.com/bendzialdowski/false-facts, https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/do-dogs-sweat/