How about quiz games like wordplay and riddles during recreation time at day service centers and other senior facilities? Puzzles that hide meanings in the arrangement, color, or orientation of letters, as well as riddles, are enjoyable brain teasers.
The answers often draw on familiar folk tales or everyday events, so seniors can experience that delightful “I get it!” moment of surprise and accomplishment when inspiration strikes.
The process of thinking stimulates the brain, and smiles and conversation naturally arise when the answer is revealed.
This time, we’ll introduce clever wordplay and riddle quizzes that are sure to get seniors excited and thinking, the kind that make you say, “Wow, that’s clever!”
When there is thunder, there are dangerous places inside the house. Where are they?
Recently, sudden rain and thunderstorms have become more frequent.
Staying indoors is safer than being outdoors, but there can still be dangerous spots inside.
Lightning’s high voltage can travel along metal pipes—such as water and drain pipes—and enter the house.
So it’s recommended to avoid bathing when there’s thunder.
Then where is safe inside the house during a thunderstorm? Ideally, you should stay as far from the lightning as possible, such as near the center of the building or in the basement.
It may also help to take lightning precautions at home, like turning off electrical appliances, unplugging power cords, and grounding electrical devices.
What unit is used when counting omamori (Japanese protective charms)?
When counting omamori (protective charms), what counter do we use? The answer is “tai.” Instead of saying “one piece” or “two,” you read them as “ittai, nitai.” The reason is that omamori are considered embodiments of the deities.
Come to think of it, the places that offer omamori are labeled “juyosho” (place of conferral), not “hanbaisho” (sales counter).
By the way, deities themselves are counted as “hitoshibashira, futashibashira” (1 pillar, 2 pillars), and mikoshi (portable shrines), being the deities’ vehicles, are counted as “ikki, nikki” (1 unit, 2 units).
Knowing these counters can make you feel a solemn, sacred sense that you are being granted a share of the deity’s power.
There used to be dealers who exchanged old newspapers for a certain item. What was that item?
Some of you may be familiar with the loudspeaker announcement that begins with “the same old familiar…” Back in the day, the now-rare chigami-exchange trucks would go around collecting old newspapers and unwanted paper from homes, trading them for tissue paper or toilet paper.
The vendors made money by selling the paper they collected, while households turned unwanted items into something practical and useful.
What’s more, the collected paper was recycled, making it an environmentally friendly and ideal method of collection.
However, it seems that chigami exchanges have become very rare nowadays.
Who is the only Japanese deity among the Seven Lucky Gods?
The Seven Lucky Gods are revered as deities of fortune.
They are a collective term for seven gods: Ebisu, Daikokuten, Fukurokuju, Bishamonten, Hotei, Jurōjin, and Benzaiten.
But which one is the only Japanese god among them? The answer is Ebisu.
Worshiped as the god of fishing, prosperous business, and bountiful harvests, Ebisu is said to be the third child of the deities Izanami and Izanagi.
Incidentally, Daikokuten and Benzaiten have roots in Hinduism; Bishamonten comes from ancient India; and Fukurokuju, Jurōjin, and Hotei are of Chinese origin—surprisingly global, isn’t it?
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.
Ichiro, a former professional baseball player who also excelled in the Major Leagues. He has two brothers; is he the older or the younger son?
Ichiro Suzuki, known simply as Ichiro, made a tremendous impact not only in Japan but also in Major League Baseball in the United States.
Although he retired in 2019 to much regret, his achievements remain etched in many people’s memories.
Ichiro actually has a sibling, but is he the older or younger brother? From his name, you might think he’s the firstborn, but the answer is that he’s the younger brother! It’s the kind of question many people might get wrong, so it could be fun to pose the same quiz to someone after this.
By the way, his older brother’s name also includes the character for “one” (一).
What are the buttons on the sleeves of school uniforms and suits for?
The buttons on the sleeves of jackets, like those on school uniforms and suits, may seem to serve little purpose—but why are they there? The answer is: to keep people from wiping their noses on their sleeves.
One theory says it began during Napoleon’s Russian campaign, when, unable to bear the sight of soldiers shivering in the cold and wiping their noses on their uniform sleeves, buttons were added.
There are also theories that they were meant to make it easier to open the cuffs and roll up the sleeves, or that they serve a purely decorative purpose.
In any case, it’s fun to ponder the history behind them.
In Japan, it’s said that a rainbow has seven colors, but how many colors is it said to have in Germany?
It’s commonly said that a rainbow has seven colors, but did you know the number of rainbow colors actually differs by country? In Japan, a rainbow is thought to have seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
However, in Germany, a rainbow is considered to have five colors.
In the United States and the United Kingdom, it’s often six colors, and there are even countries that describe it as just two colors—red and black.
In the U.S.
and the U.K., indigo is omitted, making six colors, and in Germany both indigo and orange are omitted.
These differences seem to arise from how people perceive the rainbow.
A rainbow is a gradient without clear boundaries between colors, and how one divides and recognizes those colors varies from person to person, which is why the number of rainbow colors has come to differ across countries.
A certain Japanese custom began because it originates from Obon. What is the custom?
There is a Japanese custom that originates from Obon.
What is this event? The answer is “Ochūgen,” a summer tradition alongside the winter “Oseibo,” in which people send gifts to those who have helped them.
Because Obon carries the meaning of honoring and giving thanks to one’s ancestors, the practice of expressing gratitude to those who have supported you during this season spread as Ochūgen.
It’s a custom that heightens a sense of joy, including the fun of thinking about what kind of gift will best convey your appreciation.
