[For Seniors] Perfect Brain Training! Fun Trivia

Social worker / Care workermoko
My name is Moko, a mother of three who admired my mother and worked in the care industry as a care worker and as a medical social worker (MSW) in a hospital. I will be drawing on my previous experience to write mainly about caregiving. Thank you in advance.
Care Worker Initial Training Certification ObtainedNakajima Junko
Leveraging my experience working as a care worker at a day service, I am currently active as a writer in the caregiving and welfare fields. Beyond writing, I hope to expand my work into web design and illustration. I am a mother of three who has begun studying to become a certified social worker.

When working at a senior care facility, you may sometimes need to come up with recreation activities or topics for conversations with older adults.

Do you ever struggle with ending up with similar recreation activities all the time or having the same conversations over and over?

So this time, we’ll introduce some fun trivia for older adults that can liven things up.

As people age and accumulate abundant knowledge and experience, they tend to have fewer opportunities to encounter new things and information.

However, incorporating new information such as trivia can evoke surprise and enjoyment, which is said to stimulate the brain.

After a long time, discovering something new and fun can make them want to share it with other seniors or their family members.

Trivia also helps promote communication by encouraging conversations with others.

[For Seniors] Perfect for Brain Training! Exciting Trivia (111–120)

In addition to sourness, sweetness, and saltiness, the tongue can detect one more taste. What is the other one?

When we eat food, we sense various tastes with our tongues.

So, alongside sourness, sweetness, and saltiness, what is the other taste we actually perceive? Here’s a hint: many children tend to dislike it a bit, and many people come to appreciate its deliciousness more as they grow older.

The answer is bitterness.

The tongue has taste buds—organ-like sensors that detect tastes—that perceive each of these flavors.

Eat plenty and enjoy a wide variety of tastes!

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SAKI

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When does “between meals” mean in terms of how to take medicine?

Among older adults, many probably receive medications from the hospital.

Some of you might also have been instructed to take your medicine “between meals.” So, when exactly does “between meals” mean you should take your medicine? Many people think it means during a meal, but that’s incorrect.

The answer is: between one meal and the next—for example, between breakfast and lunch, or between lunch and dinner.

Strictly speaking, the guideline is about 2 to 3 hours after eating.

If you’re an older adult and you’re given medicine with the instruction to take it “between meals,” please be careful to follow this timing.

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SAKI

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If two or more candidates receive the same number of votes in an election, there is a method used to determine the winner. What is that method?

Elections are major events that decide who will lead a country or region, and each vote—just one vote—is an important opinion.

So how is the winner decided when there’s a tie in the number of votes? A simple method that everyone is familiar with: in the end, the person with the better luck wins.

In other words, a lottery.

The exact form of the lottery isn’t fixed, but there are real examples of it being used, so it could be interesting to look those up as well.

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kappamaki

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What background color makes it easier to thread a needle?

Threading a needle gets harder as we get older, doesn’t it? Even if your eyes can line up the needle’s eye and the thread, actually getting the thread through that tiny opening is tricky.

But this method is super handy to know for times like that! Many seniors enjoy sewing as a hobby, so be sure to build up your know-how through this quiz.

The answer to this quiz is “yellow.” Because yellow is a high-expansion color, it can make the needle’s eye appear slightly larger, making it easier to thread.

Give it a try!

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SAKI

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Why are houseplants displayed in banks?

Banks are essential facilities, and for some reason we have a strong image of them being decorated with potted plants.

In fact, the plants placed in banks have a deeper purpose beyond simply creating a fresh, pleasant impression.

Here’s a hint: they help resolve a type of trouble that can occur in banks—though you might rarely encounter it.

The answer is: “to roughly gauge a bank robber’s height.” It’s the kind of reason that makes you hope it’s never actually needed.

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kappamaki

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What is ‘moshi moshi’ on the phone short for?

When answering the phone, we casually say “moshi moshi,” but what is it short for? The answer is “moushimasu, moushimasu” (“I speak, I speak”).

When telephones were introduced in Japan in 1890 (Meiji 23), calls were connected by telephone operators.

Many operators were women at the time, and they would say “moushimasu, moushimasu,” meaning “I’m about to speak,” which was shortened to “moshi moshi.” Incidentally, men would call out “oi, oi,” and the conversation would begin with responses like “hai, you gozansu” (“yes, very well”).

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hiyori

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If mold grows on food, is it safe to eat if you remove the moldy part?

It’s okay to eat it.
Eating is dangerous

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Eating is dangerous

Have you ever found mold on sliced bread or New Year’s mochi? Some people may tell you it’s fine as long as you cut off the moldy part, but that’s actually a taboo. Even if you remove the visible mold, its roots have already spread deep inside. Mold can cause food poisoning, so you should never eat it!

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utatane

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