[For Seniors] Fun and Lively! Recommended Quiz Questions

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.

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!”

Showa Retro: Nostalgia Quiz (1–10)

What products disappeared from supermarkets during the first oil crisis?

It was during the first oil shock in 1973 that certain products vanished from supermarket shelves.

The answer is toilet paper—but why did it disappear? The cause of the oil shock, as the term suggests, was the surge in crude oil prices.

A war that broke out in the Middle East at the time led to price hikes and embargoes on crude oil.

As a result, oil prices reportedly quadrupled in just three months, dealing a major blow to the Japanese economy.

Back then, heavy oil was used as fuel to dissolve dried raw materials in the process of manufacturing toilet paper.

This led to fears that if crude oil prices soared, the supply of toilet paper would run out.

Those concerns are thought to have triggered panic buying of toilet paper.

Raise the rankinglower

Nakajima Junko

Report a problem

The black rotary phone has strengths not found in modern landlines or mobile phones. What kind of features does it have?

The old black rotary phone that you dial by turning the wheel—many older people probably used one at home.

Those black phones had a certain feature that today’s landlines, cell phones, and smartphones don’t.

Here’s a hint: it’s something essential for landlines and cell phones—without it, they can’t even be used.

The answer is: they don’t need a power source or an outlet! Landline phones won’t work unless they get electricity from a wall outlet, and cell phones and smartphones have to be charged with a charger.

But black rotary phones run solely on power from the telephone line, so you can still use them even during a blackout!

Raise the rankinglower

SAKI

Report a problem

Showa Retro: Nostalgia Quiz (11–20)

Lottery tickets were first sold in 1945 (Showa 20). At the time, four losing tickets could be exchanged for something. What was that something?

The first time lottery tickets were sold was in July 1945, just before the end of the war.

The price was 10 yen per ticket, and the top prize was 100,000 yen.

Back then, there was a system where four losing tickets could be exchanged for something—and that something was, incredibly, ten cigarettes, known at the time as “kinshi”! While alcohol as a prize might still make sense, a lottery that gives cigarettes as prizes is unimaginable today.

For those who remember it, this must be a nostalgic episode that reflects how times have changed.

Raise the rankinglower

yuri

Report a problem

October 10 is Public Bathhouse Day. What is something that is often painted on the walls of sento bathhouses?

October 10 is Sento Day.

In recent years, more and more “super sento” have appeared, offering saunas, stone spas, and dining areas.

But traditional sento have also become popular among young people as “Showa retro.” Here’s a question about sento: What is something that is often painted on the walls? The answer is Mount Fuji.

It’s said to be painted because it’s considered auspicious.

That said, this is more common around the Kanto region and not as prevalent in western Japan.

Raise the rankinglower

sasashina

Report a problem

What sport was popular in the 1970s thanks to the success of players like Kayoko Suda and Ritsuko Nakayama?

Speaking of the sport that sparked a huge boom centered in Tokyo in the 1970s, it’s bowling! Ritsuko Nakayama, Kayoko Suda, and Rie Ishii, who were immensely popular as beautiful professional bowlers, were known as the “Flower Trio,” and, unusually for athletes, continued their careers while appearing on seven regular weekly TV programs.

With its simple rule—roll the ball and knock down the pins—bowling has long been loved by people of all ages.

Some of you might fondly recall how obsessed you were with it in your younger days.

Raise the rankinglower

yuri

Report a problem