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Oct. 3, 2023 - Skeptoid
22:36
Skeptoid #904: Pop quiz: 17 for 17

What better way to celebrate 17 years of the Skeptoid podcast than a 17-question pop quiz! Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcriber: nvidia/parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v2, sat-12l-sm, and large-v3-turbo
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Time Text
Celebrating Seventeen Years of Skeptoid 00:03:26
We've got a major milestone for Skeptoid today, and so we're celebrating by tormenting all listeners with a dreaded pop quiz, just like the ones that gave you anxiety in middle school.
Are you a true Skeptoid fan?
Today we're going to find out by putting you to the test to see how much you've absorbed from the past 17 years.
And that's coming up right now on Skeptoid.
A quick reminder for everyone, you're listening to Skeptoid, revealing the true science and true history behind urban legends every week since 2006.
With over a thousand episodes, we're celebrating 20 years of keeping it focused and keeping it brief.
And we couldn't have done it without your curiosity leading the way.
And now we're even offering a little bit more.
If you become a premium member, supporting the show with a monthly micropayment of as little as $5, you get more Skeptoid.
The premium version of the show is not only ad-free, it has extended content.
These episodes are a few minutes longer.
We get rid of the ads and replace them with more Skeptoid.
The extended premium show available now.
Come to skeptoid.com and click Go Premium.
You're listening to Skeptoid.
I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.
Pop Quiz, 17 for 17.
Welcome to the show that separates fact from fiction, science from pseudoscience, real history from fake history, and helps us all make better life decisions by knowing what's real and what's not.
Today is the 17th anniversary of the Skeptoid podcast.
And moreover, it is episode number 904.
And the 904 is my favorite Porsche model, and which ended production in the year I was born.
So we are celebrating with one of Skeptoid's famous pop quizzes.
17 questions, one from each year of the show.
Since it's my anniversary, I'll pick an episode from each of the previous 17 years that I personally really enjoyed researching and writing.
And we'll see if your skeptical chops are up to par.
We'll go with 10 out of 17 as a passing grade.
So no more dallying.
Let's get started.
From 2006, A Primer on Scientific Testing.
In what type of clinical trial are the test administrators blinded, but the statisticians who tabulate the results are not?
A single-blinded, B, double-blinded, or C. Triple-blinded?
The correct answer is B. Double-blinded.
The test subjects are always blinded.
Double-blinding is when the test administrators are blinded as well.
If the statisticians are also blinded, then the test is triple-blinded.
The Double-Blinded Clinical Trial Mystery 00:02:06
From 2007, A Mormon History of the Americas.
A few Mormon theologians attempt to prove the literal truth of the Book of Mormon by disputing the historical fact that some things in the book are known not to have existed in pre-Columbian America.
Which of the following did exist in pre-Columbian America?
A. Horses.
B. Barley.
C. Gold plating.
The correct answer is C. Gold plating.
Multiple pre-Columbian cultures in South America developed gold and silver chemical plating and even depletion gilding, which can leave an object coated in nearly pure gold.
From 2008, HARP Myths HARP, the high-frequency active auroral research program, is a 28-acre field of radio antennas that conspiracy theorists accuse of everything from causing targeted weather disasters to world mind control.
Where is it located?
A. Antarctica.
B. Alaska.
C. Near Alice Springs, Australia.
The correct answer is B. Alaska.
Now operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks, HARP is rarely actually turned on, and when it is, it's often used by visiting academics from all over the world.
There's an annual open house during which anyone is invited to visit.
From 2009, the Antikythera Mechanism.
This first century mechanism, retrieved from an ancient merchant vessel in the Ionian Sea, starred in Indiana Jones 5 as a time travel device.
What was its actual purpose?
Ancient Toys and Franciscan History 00:06:06
A.
A toy for rich people.
B.
A naval instrument.
Or C.
An astronomical instrument?
The correct answer is A.
A toy for rich people, according to our best theory.
The complex geared instrument had many functions, more than any one profession would have ever had use for, so our best analysis is that it was something like a fancy Rolex that does all sorts of things nobody would ever actually need.
From 2010, the Virgin of Guadalupe.
This image of the Virgin Mary, painted by one of the earliest known educated Aztec painters, had its use debated in converting Native Americans, argued by which two Catholic orders in the 1500s?
A.
The Jesuits and the Dominicans.
B.
The Dominicans and the Franciscans.
Or C.
The Franciscans and the Jesuits?
The correct answer is B.
The Dominicans supported the use of the painting as religious propaganda to persuade the Aztecs that it had been miraculously created, while the Franciscans felt such usage was sacrilegious.
From 2011, Pit Bull Attack Pit bulls unquestionably have a reputation for being a dangerous dog breed.
Which of the following is true about pit bulls?
A. Their bite is more powerful than other dog breeds.
B.
They are more likely to bite than other dog breeds.
C. Rottweilers kill more Americans than pit bulls.
The correct answer is A. Their bite is indeed the strongest, due to the powerful jaw muscles giving them their distinctive head shape.
They don't attack most often, but their attacks are more likely to be fatal.
However, data is very clear on the most important point.
It is the owner, the owner's personal level of aggression, and the owner's training of any dog that is most responsible for that dog's danger to others.
From 2012, I Can't Believe They Did That, Human Guinea Pigs.
This episode about scientists who experimented on themselves because they were unwilling to endanger others included this famed rocket sled rider whose data persuaded Congress to require seat belts in cars.
A. Colonel John Stapp B. Colonel Joseph Kittinger C. Ralph Nader The correct answer is A.
The heroic and comprehensively injured Colonel John Stapp.
John Kittinger flew the Lockheed T-33 camera plane that Stapp passed, and Nader was the consumer advocate who lobbied Congress with Stapp's data.
From 2013, the Sedona Energy Vortex Sedona, Arizona is famous for its energy vortices, which appeal to the New Age crowd.
Which of the following is true?
A. About a half dozen specific locations in the Sedona region are geomagnetically distinctive.
B. Sedona in general is geomagnetically distinctive from the surrounding region.
C. There is nothing geomagnetically distinctive about Sedona.
The correct answer is C.
The thing that makes Sedona stand out is its extraordinary beauty.
There is nothing geophysically or otherwise measurable or anything that might reasonably be called a vortex about it at all.
Hey everyone, I want to remind you about a truly unique and once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
Join me and Mediterranean archaeologist Dr. Flint Dibble for a skeptoid sailing adventure through the Mediterranean Sea aboard the SV Royal Clipper, the world's largest full-rigged sailing ship.
This is also the only opportunity you'll have to hear Flint and I talk about our experiences when we both went on Joe Rogan to represent the causes of science and reality against whatever it is that you get when you're thrown into that lion pit.
We set sail from Malaga, Spain on April 18th, 2026 and finish the adventure in Nice, France on April 25th.
You'll enjoy a fascinating skeptical mini-conference at sea.
You'll visit amazing ports along the Spanish and French coasts and Flint will be our exclusive onboard expert sharing the real archaeology and history about every stop.
We've got special side quests and extra skeptical content planned at each port.
This is a true sailing ship.
You can climb the rat lines to the crow's nest, handle the sails.
You can even take the helm and steer.
This is a real bucket list adventure you don't want to miss.
But cabins are selling fast and this ship does always sell out.
Act now or you'll miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Get the full details and book your cabin at skeptoid.com slash adventures.
Hope to see you on board.
That's skeptoid.com/slash adventures.
Marijuana Prohibition Conspiracy Revealed 00:07:20
From 2014, Hemp, Hearst, and Prohibition.
Some marijuana advocates claim that the reason it's illegal goes back to a conspiracy primarily driven by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst.
Which of the following was not a factor in marijuana being declared illegal?
A religion.
The ban was to appeal to the temperance prohibition lobby.
B money.
The ban was to protect paper and cotton profits.
Or C. Racism.
The ban was a punitive measure aimed mainly at Mexicans and Chinese.
The correct answer is B. Paper and cotton profits, neither of which were impacted in the slightest by marijuana or hemp.
Racism and religion were the drivers of change in America 100 years ago as much as they are today.
From 2015, did the 1914 Christmas truce really happen?
The 1914 Christmas truce between British and German troops did happen, but which of the following statements about it is true?
A.
It was actually a bloodier-than-normal day.
B.
It was, as the urban legend says, an uncommonly peaceful day.
Or C.
It was about like any other day.
The correct answer is C. About like any other day.
At that early stage in World War I, earnest fighting was still rare.
Nobody expected it to escalate into much of a war, and most soldiers were expecting to go home pretty soon.
From 2016, earthquake lights, do they exist?
Earthquake lights, the name given by some to apocryphal flashes that light up the sky during an earthquake.
Which of the following is the only proven cause of them?
A. Exploding electrical transformers.
B. Piezoelectric effects in quartz rock layers.
Or C. Atmospheric lightning-like phenomena called sprites.
The correct answer is A. Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence of any natural earthquake lights beyond conventional light sources, such as flashes from exploding transformers associated with power outages.
From 2017, remembering the Mandela Effect.
Although the Mandela effect today is our name for when a lot of people share the same false memory, that's not what the term originally meant.
What did the Mandela effect originally refer to?
A. People trading consciousness with other people in different centuries.
B. People drifting between alternate dimensions where things are actually different.
Or C.
The artificial implantation of a false memory by Cold War spies.
The correct answer is B. People moving between alternate dimensions or alternate realities.
The term Mandela Effect was coined by psychic Fiona Broome, and multiple realities was her best explanation for how many people could share the same false memory.
From 2018, three Big Macs a day.
If you ate three Big Macs every day, you would get too much of what?
A. Sodium.
B. Sugar.
Or C. Calories.
The correct answer is A. Sodium.
Three Big Macs would give the average adult 118% of their recommended daily sodium allowance, which still isn't bad considering that the average American eats 132%.
From 2019, Mexico's Zone of Silence.
Which of the following is true of Mexico's mysterious zone of silence, a remote desert region that's become a tourist attraction because of all the strange legends surrounding it?
A.
A missile once contaminated it with radioactive cobalt.
B. Radios do not work there.
Or C. Compasses are wrong there.
The correct answer is A.
An American missile test went awry in 1970 and contaminated its crash site with cobalt-57, which was soon cleaned up by Mexican and American authorities.
Radios and everything else still work just fine there.
From 2020, when the Earth's magnetic field flips Which of the following statements is true about the Earth's magnetic field?
A. Pole reversals are often triggered by major earthquakes.
B.
It's not known what impact to life on Earth a pole reversal might have.
Or C. Pole reversals take thousands of years and have happened many times.
The correct answer is C.
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge gives us a magnetostratigraphic history showing at least 183 pole reversals in the last 83 million years, averaging one every 450,000 years.
From 2021, what really happened at Tunguska?
When this super bolide exploded over Siberia in 1908, how many human casualties were there, to the best of our knowledge?
A.
No humans are known to have been killed or injured.
B.
An entire village of hundreds of Ivank people was completely destroyed.
Or C. Three people were killed and many in the vicinity were injured.
The correct answer is C. Semi-nomadic Ivink people, plus a number of Russian homesteaders, were injured over a radius of 500 kilometers from the blast center.
Only three are believed to have died.
Demystifying the Winchester Mystery House 00:03:32
And the last question from 2022, demystifying the Winchester Mystery House.
This giant, sprawling mansion that follows no clear plan was built by Sarah Winchester, widow and heiress to the Winchester Rifle Fortune at the turn of the 20th century.
For what reason was it built?
A.
To confound the ghosts of those killed by Winchester rifles.
B.
To keep people employed.
Or C. On the advice of her psychic.
The correct answer is B.
To keep people employed.
Sarah Winchester was a generous philanthropist and successful business person, and contrary to legend, had no documented belief or interest in the supernatural.
And there we have it.
17 questions for 17 years of Skeptoid.
Did you get 10 or more right?
If you didn't, you need to listen to more Skeptoid.
And if you did, your reward is that you get to listen to more Skeptoid for many more years to come.
If you need a couple more chances to get to 10, we continue with some bonus questions in the ad-free and extended premium feed.
To access it, become a supporter at skeptoid.com slash go premium.
A great big Skeptoid shout out to our premium supporters who make the show possible, including Mark Kessler, Peter Coot from Wollongong, Australia, Gail Knapp, and Danielle and Angela from Queensland and Tasmania.
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