[For Seniors] Laugh-Out-Loud, Crowd-Pleasing! Fun Quiz

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.
Work experience in a hospital as a physical therapistNakamū
I worked as a physical therapist at a general hospital for about four years. I’ve supported a wide range of patients, from those needing emergency rehabilitation to those doing rehabilitation at home at a comfortable pace. As a writer, I’d be happy to share health-related information with many people. Thank you, and I look forward to working with you!

Quick wits matter! We bring you laugh-out-loud brain teasers and riddles that make you blurt out “Ahh!” or “I see!” the moment you get the answer or someone tells you the correct one.

There are plenty of riddles that are friendly and familiar for seniors, too.

If the answer doesn’t come easily, try thinking it through with the people around you, or offer small hints to guide everyone toward the solution.

Those “almost got it, but not quite” questions give your brain a great workout.

Enjoy a delightful time that brings a little chuckle and a smile the moment the answer clicks.

Japanese Culture, Geography, and Health Knowledge (1–10)

The number of human bones changes as we grow. When do we have the most bones?

As the human body grows, its size and appearance change.

Not only that outward growth you can see, but even the number of bones inside the body changes as we develop.

So, when is it said that we have the greatest number of bones? If you think about whether the number of bones increases or decreases, you might arrive at the answer.

The answer is: in infancy.

A baby has about 305 bones, and through a repeated process where separated bones fuse together and several bones merge into one, the number decreases to about 206 in adulthood.

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kappamaki

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What kind of hospitals are there more of than convenience stores?

Convenience stores are everywhere and handy—you probably have one in your neighborhood.

That aside, did you know there’s a type of clinic said to outnumber even convenience stores? The answer is dental clinics.

Their numbers have been increasing year by year, now totaling over 69,000.

For reference, there are about 55,000 convenience stores, which means there are over 10,000 more dental clinics.

Whether that’s true or not, try comparing the number of dental clinics and convenience stores in your area.

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yamamoto

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What kinds of emotions are considered beneficial for health?

The answer is “laughter.” There’s a saying, “Laughter is the best medicine,” or literally, “Laughter is the chief of all remedies.” When you laugh, the excitement is transmitted to the diencephalon, which controls immunity, leading to active production of neurotransmitters.

These flow throughout the body via the blood and lymph, activating natural killer cells that eliminate harmful substances, thereby boosting immunity.

Laughing also stimulates brain activity, and the deep, abdominal-like breathing that occurs when you laugh heartily is similar to deep or diaphragmatic breathing—making it especially beneficial for older adults as well.

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Hokkaido has the longest coastline of any prefecture, but which one is second?

The answer is Nagasaki Prefecture.

It’s easy to imagine that Hokkaido has a long coastline because of its large area, but since people don’t have a strong sense of Nagasaki’s size, its coastline length might come as a surprise.

The reason for its long coastline is the large number of islands—there are about 40, including Tsushima and Iki.

You could say it’s a prefecture that has developed alongside the sea, with each island also being a popular tourist destination.

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kappamaki

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As of 2012, Nagano Prefecture ranked third and Gifu Prefecture ranked second in the list of prefectures with the highest percentage of forest area. So which prefecture ranked first?

A ranking of prefectures with the highest proportion of forest area as of 2012.

Nagano Prefecture is 3rd, Gifu Prefecture is 2nd, and the honorable 1st place goes to Kochi Prefecture—truly a lush green kingdom where over 80% of the land is forest.

It’s the kind of surprising answer that makes you go “Oh, really?”—the sort of refined trivia you might have seen on a Showa-era quiz show.

It’s interesting not only for its geography angle but also for highlighting regional characteristics and natural abundance.

A retro-flavored local quiz that both Showa enthusiasts and nature lovers will be eager to talk about.

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kojifumi

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Japanese Culture, Geography, and Health Knowledge (11–20)

There are six prefectures in Japan that have the character for “mountain” (山) in their names. Which prefectures are they?

For those who aren’t good at geography, this is quite a tricky question, but if you stay calm, you should figure it out.

The answer is six prefectures: Yamagata, Toyama, Yamaguchi, Okayama, Yamanashi, and Wakayama.

Did anyone manage to name them all? It’s surprising how many prefectures include the character for “mountain” (yama).

If you want to broaden the scope of the quiz, you could also look up each prefecture’s unique features and specialties to use as hints.

After the quiz, why not share stories related to the prefectures in the answers and really get the conversation going?

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sasashina

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When do we see dreams while sleeping, and in what state is the body at that time?

People can have all kinds of dreams while sleeping—whether realistic or fantastical—like dreams of meeting someone you love or being chased by a scary ghost.

What kinds of dreams might older adults have had over the years? Still, there are times when you clearly feel you’ve had a dream, and other times when you feel you didn’t dream at all.

So, when is it that we have dreams? The answer is: when our sleep is light.

That said, it seems that everyone dreams regardless of sleep depth.

It’s just that during deep sleep, the content of dreams can be less striking, so we may feel as though we didn’t dream.

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SAKI