'Everyone Says It So It Must Be True': The Pseudoscience Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
3 min
'Everyone Says It So It Must Be True': The Pseudoscience Quiz
Image: © Florian Monheim/Arcaid/Corbis

About This Quiz

You don't have to know what the Krebs Cycle is in order to be successful in life, but your ability to discern fact from fiction in the field of sciences can have a real impact on your quality of life. Unfortunately, there are several reasons why belief in pseudoscience is on the rise.

Whether it's false information filling our social media feeds or shady profiteers selling the latest too-good-to-be-true products, it can be easy to fall for pseudoscience that is packaged well. You've probably fallen for a few of these fictitious scientific-sounding concepts already!

There's also the "backfire effect." Believe it or not, presenting people with facts that contradict their preferred, albeit incorrect, beliefs actually causes them to dig in deeper when defending their ideas about the world. People respond with knee-jerk reactions based on emotions rather than consider that they could be wrong.

Is there any help for this conundrum? Will we ever dig our way out of this pseudoscience hole? Be part of the solution -- take our quiz now!

True or false: Scientists have proven that childhood vaccines cause autism.
True
False
True or false: Non-avian dinosaurs and humans lived on Earth at the same time.
True
False
True or false: You lose most of your body heat through your head.
True
False

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True or false: A scientific theory is really just speculation without hard evidence.
True
False
When Christopher Columbus left to sail the ocean blue, did everyone believe the world was flat?
Yes
No
Does lightning ever strike the same place twice?
Often
Rarely
No

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What color is your brain?
Gray
Pink
Multiple colors
What color is the blood inside your veins?
Red
Blue
Green
Should you throw away food that you drop on the floor?
Not if it has a high sugar or salt content
Yes, always
Not if you pick it up in less than five seconds

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Can brain cells regenerate?
No
Yes
What is the difference between a hypothesis and a theory?
A hypothesis is a random guess. A theory is an educated guess.
A hypothesis is a potential explanation for how something works. A theory is already well-supported by evidence.
Did humans evolve from the ape species we see on earth today?
Yes
No

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True or false: If an error occurs during an experiment, the results are worthless.
True
False
Is the Great Wall of China visible from space?
Yes, always
Not usually
If a penny fell from the top of the Empire State Building and hit a person on the ground, what would happen to that person?
They would die instantly.
They would feel a sting from the impact, but would live.
Nothing. The penny would burn up on the way down.

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True or false: Astronauts are weightless when they orbit Earth.
False
True
What happens to hair when it regrows after you shave it?
It grows back thicker.
It grows back faster.
It's the same as it was before.
When a tornado is coming, what should you do to your house?
Open the windows to reduce the air pressure.
Keep the windows closed.
Open windows only on one side of the house.

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Was the ancient Maya civilization destroyed by climate change?
Yes
No
It was one of several factors.
What is the Many Worlds Interpretation?
There is one universe, but life exists on many planets.
There are parallel universes.
An entire world exists underground that no one has discovered yet.
True or false: A gluten-free diet is more nutritious.
True
False

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True or false: Fossil fuels, burned by humans, don't actually increase the amount of carbon on Earth.
True
False
If you're standing at the equator, do you move faster or slower than someone to the north or south?
Faster
Slower
Same speed
Stars twinkle because:
They're dying.
They're far away.
Their light is traveling through turbulent air.

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What is the brightest star in the sky?
North Star
Orion
Sirius
What causes the seasons?
The Earth's tilt
The Earth's distance from the Sun
The Earth's rotation
Diamonds are formed from what substance?
Coal
Emeralds
Graphite

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What percent of your brain do you actually use?
100%
10%
25%
Antarctica's ice sheet is changing in what way?
It's expanding.
It's decreasing.
It is staying the same.
When plastic trash is thrown into the ocean, what happens to it?
It gradually disappears.
It forms a giant mass of floating garbage.
It melts.

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What influences the direction of a toilet flushing?
The shape and design of the toilet.
The spinning of the Earth.
True or false: The Moon has a dark side.
True
False
True or false: The hole in the ozone layer and global warming are two completely different things.
True
False

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True of false: The more someone's brain weighs, the smarter they are.
True
False
In a fusion reaction, what do hydrogen atoms combine to form?
Plutonium
Helium
Strontium