[For Seniors] Spring-themed quizzes: Fun trivia questions that help prevent dementia while you solve them

In which season are the seeds for spring cabbage sown?

Neo Ruby SP, Suzusora, Ayari, Okina SP—do you know what they represent? In fact, they’re all varieties of cabbage.

If you’ve thought, “Aren’t all cabbages the same?” try searching them and take a look at their colors and shapes.

What’s commonly called “spring cabbage” actually refers to cabbage that’s sown in the autumn and grown from there.

Instead of a vivid green, it tends to be more yellowish-green, and the leaves are tender.

If you stir-fry it with ham and cheese, it can be a main-worthy side dish.

It’s also delicious raw with dressing!

What blossoms are used as the standard for declaring the start of cherry blossom season in Tokyo?

When you think of spring, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Graduation ceremonies, company entrance ceremonies, the Doll Festival, Golden Week—but isn’t cherry-blossom viewing the number one event? In Japan, where there are fewer parties compared to the West, it’s a precious party occasion.

But how is the official cherry blossom “blooming declaration” decided? In fact, Tokyo’s declaration is based on a specific cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine.

Each prefecture has a designated “standard tree,” and officials judge the bloom status by visually inspecting these trees.

Apparently, if about five or six blossoms open, it’s considered to have bloomed.

Surprisingly few, right?

What do you call the first warm and strong southerly wind of the year that blows between the beginning of spring (Risshun) and the spring equinox?

Personally, I have the impression that strong gusts often blow in spring—how about you? The so-called “haru-ichiban” is something I vaguely think of as “a strong wind that blows in spring,” but borrowing the Japan Meteorological Agency’s wording, it’s defined as “a warm, somewhat strong southerly wind observed over a wide area between the beginning of spring (Risshun) and the spring equinox.” In fact, this haru-ichiban is sometimes followed by what people call haru-niban, haru-sanban, and so on.

However, these aren’t official JMA terms; they’re more at the level of expressions used on news programs.

I mean, if someone said “haru-gojuuban (spring number 50),” you’d be like… really?

How many seeds are there per strawberry?

When we think of fruits that symbolize spring, strawberries are one of them.

Take a bite of a strawberry and you’ll notice its juicy flesh and sweet-tart flavor.

Do you also feel the little bumps in your mouth? Many people might think, “Are those seeds?” but it turns out they’re not.

In fact, those bumps are the actual fruits, and the seeds are inside them.

It’s said that a single strawberry has about 200 to 300 of these bumps.

That means the sweet-and-tart part we usually eat is what’s called an aggregate fruit, made up of 200 to 300 tiny fruits.

Strawberries may also be used for spring snack-time activities with seniors.

Sharing these fun strawberry facts could make those snack sessions even more enjoyable.

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Nakajima Junko

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Which do green caterpillars eat, cabbage or lettuce?

When the topic turns to vegetables, the inevitable debate is “Team cabbage or team lettuce?” Which do you prefer? People who cook often tend to favor cabbage, since it’s handy whether you stir-fry it or simmer it.

But that fresh, crisp crunch of lettuce is irresistible too.

By the way, did you know that green caterpillars eat only cabbage and not lettuce? That’s because cabbage contains a lot of sinigrin, one of their favorite compounds.

Sinigrin is very bitter… There really are some peculiar insects out there, aren’t there?