Is whale blubber what makes bubble gum stretchy? The kids’ quiz

1. Àine, 11, asks: does bubble gum or chewing gum use whale blubber to make it stretchy?

   1. Yes, that’s what makes chewing gum stretchy

   2. Whale blubber used to be used in chewing gum but Queen Victoria banned it

   3. Whale blubber was used in gum until the 1970s – it was called “blubber gum”

   4. No, whale blubber has never been used in gum

2. Cleo, 6, asks: why do we draw stars as having five points?

   1. Stars are shaped like that in real life

   2. When people first drew the stars, circles hadn’t been invented yet

   3. Because that’s how the Ancient Egyptians drew them in hieroglyphics

   4. That’s what stars look like viewed through telescopes

3. Esme, 7, asks: how fast do clouds travel?

   1. It depends – from 10 to 100 miles per hour (mph)

   2. More than 200mph

   3. More than 500mph

   4. Clouds actually stay still and the Earth moves underneath them

4. Felix, 6, asks: how many creatures are there in the sea?

   1. About 242 species

   2. About 2.4 million documented species

   3. About 2.4 billion documented species

   4. About 242,000 species

5. Leane, 8, asks: when was the first human born?

   1. 2,025 years ago

   2. 200,000-300,000 years ago

   3. 800,000-900,000 years ago

   4. 2 million years ago

Solutions

1:D - It’s a myth! Whale blubber has been used to make soap and margarine, but there is no record that it has been used in chewing gum or bubble gum. However, it is a traditional food for Inuit cultures and other Arctic peoples., 2:C - We can trace back the five-pointed star to Ancient Egypt – the hieroglyphic for star had five points. But have you ever noticed stars seem pointy when you look at them? This is due to “diffraction spikes” – the bright light is diffracted or bent around your eyelashes and eyelids., 3:A - How fast a cloud moves can depend on the type of cloud, the direction and speed of the wind, and the altitude. In general clouds move about 30-40mph, with higher ones reaching speeds of 100mph or more., 4:D - The World Register of Marine Species listed 242,000 species in the world’s seas in 2022. However, scientists estimate that 91% of ocean species have yet to be discovered and documented!, 5:B - The first Homo sapiens (what we are) evolved from their predecessor about 200,000-300,000 years ago.

Scores

1. 5 and above.

2. 4 and above.

3. 3 and above.

4. 2 and above.

5. 0 and above.

6. 1 and above.

Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun, a podcast answering children’s questions. Do check out her books, Everything Under the Sun and Everything Under the Sun: Quiz Book, as well as her new title, Everything Under the Sun: All Around the World.