[For Seniors] Lively two-choice trivia quiz. Handy to know and tidbits you'll want to share with others

aunt (father’s older sister)

Not many people may consciously distinguish between oba spelled as 伯母 and 叔母. The former, 伯母, refers to a parent’s older sister, while the latter, 叔母, means a parent’s younger sister. If you remember just one of them, the other naturally follows like pulling up a whole vine by one potato!

366 days

A leap year comes around once every four years. In a typical year, February ends on the 28th, but only in a leap year does February 29th exist, adding one extra day to make the total 366 days. For a moment you might think, which is it? and get confused, but if you think it through carefully, it makes sense!

That the treatment at the hospital has been completed.

“Zenchi” is written with the characters for “completely” and “healed,” so you might think it means fully recovered and able to live your normal daily life again. However, the term actually refers to the completion of medical treatment at the hospital. Recovery to the point where there are no longer any impediments to daily life is called “kanchi” (complete recovery).

140m

Even if you haven’t actually been there, you often see it on TV and such, right? You can tell it’s very big, but it’s hard to grasp just how big it is. Even at 60 meters you’d think it’s large, but 140 meters… that’s a size that’s hard to imagine!

National Foundation Day

Labor Thanksgiving Day is on November 23. Japan’s exact date of founding is unclear, but February 11 is the day Emperor Jimmu, the first emperor, acceded to the throne. Established in 1966, it was designated as a national holiday with the purpose of “reflecting on the founding of the nation and fostering a love of country.”

Morning of January 1

The character 「旦」 has the meaning of “morning,” so Gantan (元旦) refers to the morning of January 1, specifically the forenoon. Then you might wonder: what word refers to the entire day of January 1? In that case, you use Ganjitsu (元日). It’s a fun little fact you’ll want to share with others!

13 years old

The youngest person to reach the summit was American mountaineer Jordan Romero, who did so in 2010 at the age of 13 years and 10 months. Incidentally, the oldest summiteer is Japanese mountaineer Yuichiro Miura, who successfully reached the summit in 2013 at the age of 80. Both are incredible, aren’t they?