April Answers
| 4/12 | Tell me what the Devil’s Dictionary defined as the chief factor in the progress of the human race. | Answer: Villains. |
| 4/19 | Between A and B… which line seems longer…? | Answer: They’re the same. |
| 4/23 | Between music, theater, and chariot racing, which sport did Nero win when he participated in the Olympics? | Answer: All of them. |
| 4/25 | What’s that phrase originally meant to convey? “My country, right or wrong”? But the original meaning is different? So I guess it’d be something like… | Answer: You unquestioningly support it. Answer: You have a duty to correct it. |
| 4/27 | Do you know the name of the theorem named after this number? | Answer: Four color theorem. |
| 4/30 | First off, the “wunder part probably means… Next, the “kind” part. That’s probably… Yeah, that’s gotta be it. “Kind” means a child… or at least a young guy, in your case. | Answer: Wonder. Answer: Child. Answer: A prodigy. |
May Answers
| 5/7 | So what’s the literal translation of the phrase “femme fatale”? | Answer: Fatal woman. |
| 5/10 | You know the time period Yoshitsune was active in, don’t you? | Answer: The Heian period. |
| Exam | What historical figure inspired the idiom of “favoring the magistrate”? | Answer: Minamoto no Yoshitsune. |
| Exam | Yoshitsune had a brother, right? Uh, I think his name was… | Answer: Minamoto no Yoritomo. |
| Exam | But they ended up coming into conflict. And in the end, when they had to oppose each other… | Answer: Yoritomo won. |
| Exam | That’s probably because people tend to sympathize less with figures in power, and sympathize more with… | Answer: The weak. |
| Exam | Which brain function is responsible for the phenomenon of seeing an illusion in this figure? | Answer: Cognition |
| Exam | Which of the following maps can you paint without any adjacent areas being the same color? | Answer: Both. |
| Exam | Name the book that defined “malefactor” as the chief factor in the progress of the human race. | Answer: The Devil’s Dictionary |
| Exam | What character archetype refers to a mysterious and seductive woman, typically with ulterior motives? | Answer: Femme Fatale. |
| 5/16 | What do we call the phenomenon where believing in a treatment’s power is enough to improve your condition? | Answer: The placebo effect. |
| 5/21 | The golden ratio is 1:1.618, but do you know the silver ratio? | Answer: 1:1.414. |
| 5/23 | If we think about what these words have in common, then maybe “syn” means… And “aisthesis,” huh? That’s a little like the word aestetics. I wonder if it means… So that means the full word basically means… | Answer: Together. Answer: Senses. Answer: Senses coming together. |
| 5/26 | Do you know which author Leblanc borrowed from? | Answer: Arthur Conan Doyle. |
| 5/31 | Do you know which peg-legged, parrot toting historical figure’s appearance became visual shorthand for pirates? | Answer: John Silver. |
June Answers
| 6/4 | What do you think the name for this phenomenon is? | Answer: The halo effect. |
| 6/7 | The red king crab is biologically related to the hermit crab. So how is it different from a crab…? Do you know? | Answer: The number of legs. |
| 6/8 | Where does totalitarianism take things a step further than authoritarianism? | Answer: Controlling public thought |
| 6/13 | …What color do you think it turns? | Answer: Green |
| 6/15 | Between paper bills and coins, which one is issued by the government? | Answer: Coins |
| 6/20 | What do you think? One of these has minor metals in it, right? | Answer: Smartphone |
| 6/23 | Now, do you know what this woman’s position was? | Answer: A pope. |
| 6/27 | Which of these animals is involved in an English idiom about the weather? | Answer: Dogs |
| 6/29 | What do you think it says on the back of this piece? | Answer: Gold |
July Answers
| 7/1 | What’s the meaning of the original Chinese phrase that these dumplings’ name came from? | Answer: Barbarian’s head |
| 7/7 | So Tanabata’s about gods crossing a starry sky to reunite once every year. It might have something to do with… So if the traditional food is something inspired by the Milky Way… | Answer: The Milky Way Answer: Soumen noodles |
| 7/9 | Do you know what that shape is? | Answer: A triangle |
| 7/12 | Do you know what he did? | Answer: Thievery |
| Exam | If angle C is 28 degrees, and angles A and D are 88 degrees, what is the angle of B and E? | Answer: 64 degrees |
| Exam | I think this came up in class. They were invented by that famous guy from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, right? | Answer: Zhuge Liang |
| Exam | And they were offering something to quell the river… | Answer: Barbarians’ heads. |
| Exam | This master strategist came up with the baozi to… | Answer: To offer them instead of heads |
| Exam | Write the name and genus of this organism. | Answer: Red King Crab (Paralithodes) |
| Exam | What happened when the government issued paper and hard currencies in Japan for the first time? | Answer: It caused confusion in the economy |
| Exam | What is the English equivalent of the Norwegian idiom “raining witches”? | Answer: Raining cats and dogs |
| Exam | Which of the following is another name for the soumen noodles traditionally eaten on Tanabata? | Answer: Demon Guts |
September Answers
| 9/3 | Each hand in this famous statue means something, but… do you know what the right represents? | Answer: Prosperity |
| 9/6 | Do you know the name of that phenomenon where the second hand looks like it’s stopped moving? | Answer: Chronostasis |
| 9/14 | What does a pawn shop offer that a secondhand shop doesn’t? | Answer: Money loans for collateral |
| 9/17 | What’s one of the supposed origins for the phrase “cat got your tongue”? | Answer: Cats eating human tongues |
| 9/21 | Robot comes from a word in Czech… But where in Europe is the Czech Republic located? | Answer: Central Europe |
| 9/24 | How many white and black shapes are there respectively on a soccer ball? | Answer: 20 white, 12 black |
| 9/28 | So “PVS”, referring to when you mistakenly think your phone is going off… What’s the P? So next is the V part. That means it’d be “phantom…” what? Last is the S. So if we have “phantom vibration” so far… | Answer: Phantom Answer: Vibration Answer: Syndrome |
| 9/29 | But the fisherman of Nagaragawa are actually civil servants as well. So, tell me which sector they belong to. | Answer: Imperial Household Agency |
October Answers
| 10/3 | If we use “three watermelons in the sun” to visualize a certain matter’s size against the universe’s, what are the melons? | Answer: Stars |
| 10/6 | Now, do you know who invented this instrument? | Answer: Joseph-Ignace Guillotin. |
| 10/11 | Which name was most commonly ascribed to shape B? | Answer: Bouba |
| Exam | Counting both black and white surfaces, how many surfaces are there in total on a soccer ball? | Answer: 32 surfaces. |
| Exam | Didn’t the teacher say that the number of colors used to be different? Do you remember? | Answer: It used to be one color. |
| Exam | Oh yeah, I remember. I think she said that unlike now, soccer games were broadcasted with… | Answer: Black and shite picture. |
| Exam | Who conducted executions through this device? | Answer: Charles-Henri Sanson. |
| Exam | What is the reason that most people cannot become a cormorant fisherman of Nagarasawa? | Answer: It’s a hereditary profession. |
| Exam | What is the meaning of “robota,” the etymological root of “robot”? | Answer: Slave labor |
| Exam | Which of the following describes the density of stars in outer space? | Answer: 3 bees in all of Europe. |
| 10/22 | Now, tell me the total count for each column in this magic square. | Answer: 15 |
| 10/24 | From a psychological standpoint, what’s a key reason our memories can differ from reality? | Answer: Memory bias. |
November Answers
| 11/2 | Can you tell me the meaning of the word “wack” in Thieves’ Cant? | Answer: A share of stolen goods. |
| 11/4 | Clubs is a club, diamonds is a gem… So, what does a spade represent? | Answer: A sword. |
| 11/8 | Tell me how old you have to be to listen in on a trial. | Answer: Any age. |
| 11/10 | Do you know why it’s missing in the character for “crow”? | Answer: Crow eyes are hard to see. |
| 11/12 | I wonder. Do you know why voices sound so different over the phone? | Answer: Because the voice is synthetic. |
| 11/14 | Tell me why that is. | Answer: Because of high altitude. |
| 11/15 | He was to be paraded through the city, and punished in a very particular way. How was he punished? | Answer: His head was put on display. |
| 11/17 | Do you know the name for this graph? Your hint is “snails”… | Answer: Cochleoid |
December Answers
| Exam | Choose the graph which is named after the Chinese yoyo known as a diabolo. | Answer: D |
| Exam | He was a really famous thief in the Edo period, right? How much money did he steal, in the end? | Answer: Over one billion yen. |
| Exam | As a result, he was sentenced to… | Answer: Having his head displayed. |
| Exam | Criminals, especially famous criminals, were mostly paraded around for… | Answer: Public performance. |
| Exam | Which suit of cards represents the Holy Grail? | Answer: Hearts. |
| Exam | According to Japanese judicial law, what is possible for even an infant to do in court? | Answer: Attend. |
| Exam | What country refers to a person who controls politics behind the scenes as a “pime minister in black”? | Answer: Japan. |
| Exam | The Japanese word “dokyuu” translates to “massive”. What English word inspired the initial “do” in dokyuu? | Answer: Dreadnought. |
January Answers
| 1/11 | What’s this phrase supposed to illustrate about the gods of Shinto? What’s that phrase again? The one about how many gods there are in Shinto… | Answer: How numerous they are. Answer: The Eight Million Gods. |