Become a trivia master with a multiple-choice quiz for elementary schoolers! A fun problem collection that captivates both kids and adults

mutton

In the past, yokan was a different kind of food from what it is today. Originally, it was a soup made by simmering mutton. That’s why the character for “sheep” (羊) is included in the name. When it was brought from China to Japan, it was a warm meat soup. However, since people in Japan didn’t eat much meat, it gradually changed into a sweet made with azuki beans and agar.

When sleeping

A pig’s tail relaxes when it’s asleep, as the tension leaves its body. Then the tightly curled tail loosens and stretches straight. When the pig is awake, it moves energetically and shows its feelings, so the tail curls up again. It’s funny that you can tell whether a pig is sleeping just by looking at its tail, isn’t it?

Hurry up.

Grating quickly makes daikon radish hotter. This is because the compounds responsible for pungency inside the daikon are crushed by grating and have more time to come into contact with air. If you grate slowly, the heat is milder, but grating quickly yields a sharper, spicier grated daikon. You can adjust the spiciness depending on the dish.

hairspray

Ink bleeds because it seeps into the fine fibers. In such cases, hairspray comes in handy. If you spray it over the writing, the ink bonds firmly to the fabric and becomes less likely to bleed. That’s because the ingredients in hairspray act like a wrap that holds the ink in place.

10-yen coin

The copper in 10-yen coins works on the germs and sources of odor inside your shoes, helping to reduce the smell. All you have to do is put some coins in, so it’s very simple and you can try it right away. It’s a small trick, but when you want to freshen up your shoes, 10-yen coins can be a little help.

12cm

It’s said that hair grows about 0.3–0.4 mm per day, which averages out to roughly 2.5 mm per week, about 1 cm per month, and about 12 cm per year. Since there are about 100,000 hairs on the head and around 90% are in the growth phase, adding up their lengths is said to come to about 100 km in a year. You can see that hair has particularly active metabolism compared to other parts of the body.

Nothing changes.

The color of an eggshell is determined by the breed of chicken—white eggs come from white-egg breeds like White Leghorns, and brown eggs from brown-egg breeds like Rhode Island Reds—so there is basically no difference in nutritional value, taste, or shelf life. However, farms’ specific feeding and raising practices can create differences, so why not try comparing various eggs for yourself?

50km

It’s said that the length of line you can draw before an HB pencil is used up is about 50 km. While this figure assumes certain conditions and isn’t exactly realistic, it’s still far longer than with other writing instruments, making HB pencils arguably very economical.

Sato

Based on government statistics and nationwide telephone directory data, as of October 2023 the most common surname in Japan is Sato, with approximately 1.83 million people. It is followed by Suzuki with about 1.77 million, Takahashi with about 1.38 million, Tanaka with about 1.31 million, and Ito with about 1.05 million.

convenience store

As of 2022, there were 55,956 convenience stores nationwide, compared to 67,886 dental clinics. It’s striking to realize that there are more dentists than convenience stores, which you see everywhere.