Question 1

Which video game, released in December 1982, is believed to have caused a massive market crash that nearly destroyed the entire home console industry in North America?

Accepted Answer

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Often cited as the "worst video game ever made," its spectacular failure and the subsequent "Atari shock" nearly destroyed the North American home console industry.

Question 2

Which extinct bird, native to Mauritius, became a symbol of human-caused extinction after disappearing entirely within 80 years of Europeans arriving on the island?

Accepted Answer

Dodo. The Dodo was hunted to extinction by the late 1600s, less than a century after Dutch sailors arrived in Mauritius. Its inability to fly and lack of fear toward humans made it especially vulnerable to hunters.

Question 3

Which U.S. president had a pet alligator that he kept in a bathtub in the White House?

Accepted Answer

John Quincy Adams. John Quincy Adams reportedly kept a pet alligator in the White House bathtub, a gift from the Marquis de Lafayette, which he delighted in showing to startled guests. However, modern historians and the White House Historical Association consider this story to be a myth.

Question 4

Which programming language was named after a 19th-century mathematician often considered the world's first computer programmer?

Accepted Answer

Ada. Ada is named after Ada Lovelace, who wrote what is considered the first algorithm intended to be processed by a machine — Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine.

Question 5

What is the name of the phenomenon where a word or phrase repeated many times starts to sound strange and lose its meaning?

Accepted Answer

Semantic satiation. Semantic satiation is the psychological phenomenon where repeating a word or phrase causes it to temporarily lose its meaning as the brain's neural fatigue reduces the response to the word.

March 23, 2026 Trivia

1. Which video game, released in December 1982, is believed to have caused a massive market crash that nearly destroyed the entire home console industry in North America?

2. Which extinct bird, native to Mauritius, became a symbol of human-caused extinction after disappearing entirely within 80 years of Europeans arriving on the island?

3. Which U.S. president had a pet alligator that he kept in a bathtub in the White House?

4. Which programming language was named after a 19th-century mathematician often considered the world's first computer programmer?

5. What is the name of the phenomenon where a word or phrase repeated many times starts to sound strange and lose its meaning?