I got 15 right

My mother sent this to me, and I repost it here so as not to carry on the shameful family legacy of being someone who sends these sorts of things out by e-mail. Also, as much as I am embarassed by not knowing some of these things — although, really, who sees a rotary phone dial regularly any more in 2005? — I find the notion that the average score is seven to be a somewhat dubious claim.

Anyway, the evil e-mail list thing:

There are 25 questions about things we see every day or have known about all our lives. How many can you get right? These little simple questions are harder than you think — it just shows you how little we pay attention
to the commonplace things of life.

Put your thinking caps on. No cheating! No looking around! No getting out of your chair! No using anything on or in your desk or computer!

Can you beat 20? (The average is seven.) Write down your answers and check answers (on the bottom) AFTER completing all the questions.

REMEMBER – NO CHEATING!

BE HONEST! That means no looking at your phone or anything on your desk …

If you have both an Internet-capable computer and a rotary telephone on your desk, I want to shake your hand and take your picture.

Then, before you pass this on to your friends, change the number on the subject line to show how many you got correct. Forward to your friends and also back to the one who sent it to you.

LET’S JUST SEE HOW OBSERVANT YOU REALLY ARE – If not, just have fun! Here we go!

1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom?

2. How many states are there in the USA? (Don’t laugh, some people don’t know.)

3. In which hand is the Statue of Liberty’s torch?

4. What six colors are on the classic Campbell’s soup label?

5. What two numbers on the telephone dial don’t have letters by them?

Rotary telephone; a similar question about touchtone phones is coming later. This list has to have been passed around pre-Internet, back when people tied up office fax machines with such things.

6. When you walk does your left arm swing with your right or left leg? (Don’t you dare get up to see!)

7. How many matches are in a standard pack?

8. On the United States flag is the top stripe – red or white?

9. What is the lowest number on the FM dial?

10. Which way does water go down the drain, counter or clockwise?

In the Northern Hemisphere, in this case.

11. Which way does a “no smoking” sign’s slash run?

12. How many channels on a VHF TV dial?

13. On which side of a women’s blouse are the buttons?

14. Which way do fans rotate?

Answer as if you are looking at a fan blowing in your direction.

15. How many sides does a stop sign have?

16. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left side?

17. How many lug nuts are on a standard car wheel?

18. How many sides are there on a standard pencil?

19. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who’s missing?

20. How many hot dog buns are in a standard package?

21. On which playing card is the card maker’s trademark?

22. On which side of a Venetian blind is the cord that adjusts the opening between the slats?

23. There are 12 buttons on a touch tone phone. What two symbols bear no digits?

24. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip?

25. Does a merry-go-round turn counter or clockwise?

Assume you were looking down from above the merry-go-round.

ANSWERS

1. Bottom

2. 50

3. Right

4. Blue, red, white, yellow, black and gold

5. 1, 0

6. Right

7. 20

8. Red

9. 87.7

10. Clockwise (north of the equator)

11. Towards bottom right

12. 12 (no #1)

13. Left

14. Clockwise as you look at it

15. 8

16. Left

17. 5

18. 6

19. Bashful

20. 8

21. Ace of spades

22. Left

23. *, #

24. 3

25. Counter

Now send it to some of your friends and put your score in the subject box!

Do it and I’ll get you back with endless chain letters. You’ve been warned. My mom’s got some headed her way right now.

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