The big Republican science quiz: how much don't you know?

Does your scientific knowledge eclipse Trump’s? Composite: Nasa/SDO, Rueters/Kevin Lamarque

This week the GOP reminded us once again just how much they champion science. First Mo Brooks, a congressman from Alabama, pondered whether rocks falling into the ocean could be causing rising sea levels at a hearing of the House science, space and technology committee. Then Bill Gates revealed that president Trump asked him if HIV and HPV were the same same thing.

Brooks and Trump are not the only Republicans to have a creative interpretation of the world. Take our quiz and see if you know more about politicians getting things wrong than some US politicians seem to know about science.

1. Which group did George W Bush say humans can “coexist peacefully” with?

   1. Martians

   2. Robots

   3. Fish

   4. Foreigners

2. 

   What fundamental change did Ben Carson say happens to humans when they’re incarcerated?

   1. They go into prison straight and come out gay

   2. They go into prison skinny and come out fat because of all the delicious food

   3. They go into prison skinny and come out with enormous muscles from working out so much

3. In 2015, how did Senator Jim Inhofe demonstrate that he was right about climate change?

   1. He brought a snowball onto the floor of the US Senate

   2. He interviewed a woman who had almost died of frostbite

   3. He wrote a peer-reviewed survey

4. 

   In 2012, what did Donald Trump say “environment friendly” light bulbs can cause?

   1. Cancer

   2. Fires

   3. Thomas Edison to come back from the dead

5. According to Senator Lamar Alexander, why are video games a bigger problem than guns?

   1. Because video games affect people

   2. Because video games are violent

   3. Because people were using Xbox consoles as weapons

6. Ben Carson again. What is his "personal theory" as to why the pyramids built?

   1. Joseph built them to store grain

   2. The ancient Egyptians built them for pharaohs’ graves

   3. Aliens built them to show off

7. Why doesn't Michele Bachmann believe we should aim to reduce greenhouse gases?

   1. Because "most Americans don't have greenhouses"

   2. Because "natural gas has been powering the American home for 100 years"

   3. Because "carbon dioxide is not a harmful gas; it is a harmless gas"

8. Todd Akin, a former Missouri congressman, has said he doesn’t believe a woman can get pregnant if she is raped in a “legitimate” way. What explanation does he give for this theory?

   1. God has ways of stopping it

   2. The body has ways of shutting the whole thing down

   3. I will literally say anything, no matter how ridiculous because I know nothing at all about female biology

9. 

   In 2013, what did Ted Cruz famously say during a Senate speech opposing Obamacare?

   1. You don't need a doctor to feel like a boss

   2. Always be sexy

   3. Stay woke

   4. Life is a gift

10. Which important scientific question is rarely asked, according to George W Bush?

    1. Is our children learning?

    2. Is the world flat?

    3. Is nepotism detrimental to democracy?

Solutions

1:C - In February 2000, the presidential hopeful George W Bush campaigned in Michigan and delivered the infamous line: "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” , 2:A - “A lot of people go into prison straight – and when they come out, they're gay,” Carson said on on CNN's New Day in 2015 , 3:A, 4:A - He tweeted new "environment friendly" lightbulbs can cause cancer. Be careful – the idiots who came up with this stuff don't care, 5:A - He said: "I think video games is a bigger problem than guns, because video games affect people" , 6:A - He said: "My own personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramids to store grain. Now all the archaeologists think that they were made for the pharaohs’ graves. But, you know, it would have to be something awfully big if you stop and think about it. And I don’t think it’d just disappear over the course of time to store that much grain" , 7:C - She told the house in 2009 that "we're being told that we have to reduce this natural substance and reduce the American standard of living to create an arbitrary reduction in something that is naturally occurring in the Earth", 8:B - “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways of shutting that whole thing down,” Todd Akin commented to a St Louis television station in 2012. It needn’t be said that there is no such thing as “legitimate” rape. , 9:B - Cruz was bizarrely quoting Ashton Kutcher when he told the senate floor "Al­ways be sexy", adding "I salute that mes­sage", 10:A

Scores

1. 8 and above.

   Congratulations, you must be a very stable genius

2. 5 and above.

   Not bad, you're smarter than at least two recent presidents.

3. 0 and above.

   The bad news is you didn’t get many right. The good news is you shouldn’t let that stop you from running for political office.