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Quiz: Are these commonly known "facts" true or false?

Are they actually true?

WE ALL HAVE some facts we love to trot out in the pub.

But are they actually true?

Test yourself.

Napoleon was really short.
True
False
Goldfish have terrible memories.
True
False
Dogs sweat through their feet.
True
False
You can see the Great Wall of China from space?
True
False
Birds are dinosaurs.
True
False
The water spins the opposite way in the Southern Hemisphere.
True
False
Pennies cost more to make than they're worth.
True
False
Santa wears red because of Coca Cola.
True
False
The owner of Segway died in a Segway accident.
True
False
Einstein failed maths.
True
False
Answer all the questions to see your result!
You scored out of !
You're A Mastermind
Great job!
Share your result:
You scored out of !
You're Chasing
Keep going!
Share your result:
You scored out of !
You're An Egghead!
But, you know, the crap one.
Share your result:
You scored out of !
You are The Weakest Link
And other such insults from 2002.
Share your result:

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77 Comments
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    Mute Marc Walsh
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    May 29th 2016, 9:07 PM

    I’ve been to space and yes you can see the Great Wall of China excuse me.

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    Mute dstaffx
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    May 29th 2016, 9:39 PM

    I am a goldfish and I can remember that …I am a goldfish and I can remember that …I am a goldfish and I can remember that …I am a goldfish and I can remember that …

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    Mute Donal O'Brien
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    May 29th 2016, 10:55 PM

    Depends on how faraway in space you are and the quality of the telescope you are using. Look up Google Earth, you can count cows in fields from the images coming from satellites which are…in space.

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    Mute Nollaig Kelly
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    May 30th 2016, 12:37 AM

    I’m a goldfish and can’t work out how to drive this thing

    24
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    Mute Tom Collins
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    May 30th 2016, 2:04 AM

    Dogs sweat through their paws, true. Dogs sweat 90% through their mouth also true

    69
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    Mute Proinsias O Foghlù
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    May 30th 2016, 6:35 AM

    As you zoom in on Google Earth, the pictures are taken by planes!

    28
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    Mute MaryLou(ny)McDonald
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    May 30th 2016, 11:15 AM
    19
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    Mute Ben McArthur
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    May 30th 2016, 12:23 PM

    Yes, but you won’t see that effect in a toilet or bathtub. The Coriolis Effect is drowned out by the imperfections in their geometry.

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    Mute Derek Richardson
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    May 29th 2016, 9:18 PM

    Only in Ireland is the spin on water different

    232
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    Mute Eamon Mac Gowan
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    May 29th 2016, 10:26 PM

    @Derek Richardson,
    Good one.

    34
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    Mute Boganity
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    May 30th 2016, 7:51 AM

    I like it

    8
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    Mute William Clay
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    May 29th 2016, 9:23 PM

    7/10 – I always thought it was Coca Cola that gave him the iconic red coat and black boots

    170
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    Mute Jason Twomey
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    May 29th 2016, 10:09 PM
    15
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    Mute Paddy Ryan
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    May 30th 2016, 1:06 AM

    You can be sure Coca Cola would have copyrighted the image/character if they’d come up with it.

    33
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    Mute Karl Patchell
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    May 29th 2016, 9:17 PM

    Some goldfish have seen some terrible things.

    141
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    Mute Eamon Mac Gowan
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    May 29th 2016, 9:03 PM

    RTE reported the great wall “fact” in the news a few years back.

    104
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    Mute Tariq ibn Ziyad
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    May 29th 2016, 9:10 PM

    That’s the liberal left mainstream media conspiracy for you Eamon.

    46
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    Mute Tom Sheridan
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    May 29th 2016, 9:13 PM

    Depends on your definition on where ‘space begins and on how good your eysight is.

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    Mute Sean Stevenson
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    May 29th 2016, 9:14 PM

    Tariq, go away.

    87
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    Mute Gary
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    May 29th 2016, 9:41 PM

    Tom, NASA officially state that space begins at 62 miles up. It’s the point where you have to go in order to earn your Astronaut wings.

    78
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    Mute Free comment ratings
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    May 29th 2016, 9:41 PM

    It depends on how good your sight is.

    24
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    Mute Eamon Mac Gowan
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    May 29th 2016, 10:23 PM

    @Tom Sheridan,
    Nope, space “begins” at around 62 miles up, the Great Wall has width of 20 feet so no matter how good your eyesight is yo wouldn’t be able to see it:
    http://spacetoday.org/Questions/WhereIsSpace.html

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    Mute David Stapleton
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    May 30th 2016, 1:25 AM

    And whether it is with the naked eye or not…

    10
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    Mute Gareth Cooney
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    May 29th 2016, 9:08 PM

    Napoleon was not exactly giant haystacks

    98
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    Mute Matt F
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    May 29th 2016, 9:18 PM

    He was about 5′ 8″ which was above average during his lifetime

    87
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    Mute fiachra29
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    May 29th 2016, 9:35 PM

    To put his height in some sort of perspective, Admiral Nelson who won at Trafalgar was about 5’5″.

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    Mute jenni
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    May 29th 2016, 10:03 PM

    He was 5″4..smallest admiral for years. As for journal quiz.. it should be how many did they get wrong.

    46
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    Mute jenni
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    May 29th 2016, 10:05 PM

    Pennies or even one cent coins cost 1.72 cent to make. That q is wrong

    15
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    Mute Rob Cahill
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    May 29th 2016, 10:17 PM

    Jenni…read the question again and look at the answer which turns green….its ok your “special”

    68
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    Mute Alien8
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    May 29th 2016, 10:53 PM

    jen, he was 5 feet 4 pouce, the French equivalent of an inch used before the revolution, which was around 5’7″ in imperial UK settings, the average height in Europe at the time.

    22
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    Mute Stephen Murray
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    May 30th 2016, 1:24 PM

    So interestingly Napoleon did not suffer from napoleon complex.
    The height thing is the very least of the propaganda and revisionism from eng afterwards.

    2
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    Mute Etherman
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    May 29th 2016, 9:10 PM

    As if Sundays weren’t miserable enough – now I’ve failed your test. Photos of fluffy kittens and sunsets please.

    87
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    Mute Paul Fanshawe
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    May 29th 2016, 9:28 PM

    “Are these commonly known “facts” true or false?”

    Commonly known? True or false? This publication is going from bad to worse. How can you know something is a fact if it’s false? Spare me.

    55
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    Mute Free comment ratings
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    May 29th 2016, 9:58 PM

    “facts” how hard is it to understand.

    20
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    Mute Paul Fanshawe
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    May 30th 2016, 7:14 AM

    @ Free comment. Don’t show you’re lack of cognitive function. I’ll spare you the logic and suffice to say that the quotation marks should be around both words thus: “known facts”.

    5
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    Mute Con O'sullivan
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    May 29th 2016, 9:13 PM

    Birds are dinosaurs! Right…

    53
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    Mute justanothertaxpayer
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    May 29th 2016, 9:23 PM

    next they’ll be saying Jesus wan’t in the BeeGees.

    66
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    Mute Paddy Ryan
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    May 30th 2016, 1:03 AM

    Definition of a Dinosaur is a a fossil reptile of the Mesozoic era, often reaching an enormous size. Hardly the Mesozoic era out there. Granted parts of the country are stuck in the Mesolithic but still…

    10
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    Mute Kieran Duffy
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    May 30th 2016, 2:16 AM

    A t-rex is more closely related to a chicken than to a stegasaurus. Birds are indeed the only remaining dinosaurs.

    18
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    Mute Amy Gaffney
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    May 30th 2016, 8:58 AM

    Paddy birds are dinosaur descendents that evolved during the Mesozoic era. Recent scientific discoveries have also led to a consensus that dinosaurs were more likely covered with feathers than lizard like scales like Jurassic Park would have you believe.

    7
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    Mute Philip King
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    May 29th 2016, 9:04 PM

    Coriolis effect??

    47
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    Mute Tom Sheridan
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    May 29th 2016, 9:16 PM

    Yes, water should spin the opposite way around low pressure in opposite hemispheres – Coriolis effect.

    72
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    Mute Jason Twomey
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    May 29th 2016, 10:10 PM

    “Coriolis effect??”

    It’s from the Simpsons.

    20
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    Mute Boganity
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    May 29th 2016, 11:24 PM

    the Coriolis effect is the scientific name for effect of the earths rotation on cyclones and draining water in sinks and toilets causing them to rotate in opposite direction in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The Journal is wrong to say this effect is false.

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    Mute Jason Twomey
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    May 29th 2016, 11:26 PM

    It is false, Boganity.

    18
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    Mute Boganity
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    May 30th 2016, 12:11 AM

    Next time you see a weather report showing a cyclone take a good look and you’ll see in the Northern hemisphere it’s rotates clockwise and in the Southern Hemisphere it’s anti-clockwise. Its the same for water not attached to the earth’s surface, such as toilets and wash basins. I’ve lived in both hemispheres and seen it first hand. The confusion comes from mostly American academics who can’t grasp the difference between ground water where it doesn’t apply and water in non-ground situations such as toilets and wash basins where it does. There are two possible reasons for this, American toilets don’t flush, they fill up with water and raise the contents almost to the brim so the user can give them a good eyeballing before draining away. So they are unfamiliar with toilets in the rest of the works And secondly most Americans don’t travel and are therefore unworldly as anyone ones ever been to America will attest.

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    Mute Boganity
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    May 30th 2016, 12:13 AM

    *world

    4
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    Mute Jason Twomey
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    May 30th 2016, 12:15 AM

    Dude – I literally tested it myself in a sink in Australia – it’s not real.

    In a sink with 2 taps, it goes whatever way the tap is positioned, which dictates the flow – run the left tap it goes anti-clockwise, right tap it goes clockwise. You can try this on any sink anywhere in the world.

    18
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    Mute Jason Twomey
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    May 30th 2016, 12:18 AM

    “Its the same for water not attached to the earth’s surface, such as toilets and wash basins.”

    No, it’s not the same at all for wash basins & toilets.
    http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.asp

    10
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    Mute John O'Brien
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    May 30th 2016, 1:03 AM

    The earth spins in the same direction, it’s just depends on your perspective. if you drilled a hole from the North Pole through to the south and poured water down the hole, it would indeed begin to spin but it wouldn’t suddenly change direction passing the equator.

    2
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    Mute Timothy Mohs
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    May 30th 2016, 5:12 AM

    You have lived all around the world and think American toilets fill to the brim before evacuating? They do not…and what in the world caused you to go off on Americans on a question involving the Southern Hemisphere?

    11
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    Mute Boganity
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    May 30th 2016, 7:42 AM

    They do in the 40 plus states I’ve been to. In answer to your question: because American academics are the only people who claim the Coriolis effect us not real.

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    Mute Boganity
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    May 30th 2016, 7:43 AM

    Jason it doesn’t happen when you have taps running as that generates centrifugal force. To see it you have to fill the basin then turn the taps off and pull the plug.

    14
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    Mute Boganity
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    May 30th 2016, 7:50 AM

    John if there’s no differences in the two hemispheres then why do cyclones spin in the opposite direction and the moon is upside down in the Southern Hemisphere ?

    10
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    Mute Jason Twomey
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    May 30th 2016, 8:45 AM

    Poor Boganity – bases his science knowledge off episodes of The Simpsons.

    5
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    Mute KT
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    May 30th 2016, 10:32 AM

    Because it effects large bodies of water like the oceans but the effect cannot be seen in small amounts like your sink or toilets.

    6
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    Mute John O'Brien
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    May 30th 2016, 10:53 AM

    The moon is not upside down. You are upside down looking at the moon compared to someone in the northern hemisphere or vice versa.

    5
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    Mute Geoff Bateman
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    May 29th 2016, 10:19 PM

    Dogs don’t sweat through their feet either, they pant.A few of these answers are totally wrong

    46
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    Mute Crocodylus Pontifex
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    May 29th 2016, 11:15 PM

    Surely their feet are in their pants

    42
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    Mute Enoch Fairfax
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    May 30th 2016, 12:55 AM

    Nope, they do actually sweat through their feet. That’s why you get a salty popcorn smell from the pads on their paws. Yes they pant to regulate body temperature, but they still sweat.

    17
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    Mute Keano
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    May 29th 2016, 10:51 PM

    Birds are not dinosaurs.

    44
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    Mute Ariana
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    May 29th 2016, 11:43 PM

    Exactly, like saying we’re chimps.

    35
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    Mute David Stapleton
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    May 30th 2016, 1:41 AM

    Well, more like australopithecus, i.e. a common ancestor. Whoever set up this quiz should be cringing…

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    Mute Kieran Duffy
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    May 30th 2016, 2:06 AM

    More like saying we are apes. Which is also true. Birds are dinosaurs, the only ones left.

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    Mute Kieran Duffy
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    May 30th 2016, 2:09 AM
    6
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    Mute David Stapleton
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    May 30th 2016, 7:53 AM

    I see why you say that, from an evolutionary perspective, birds are the creatures that evolved from dinosaurs and, in evolutionary terms, no creature can evolve out of their original evolutionary group, ergo birds are dinosaurs. However, taking this logic to the extreme, one could say we are all amoebae. So it is a question of perspective and one of time, not to mention current nomenclature.

    10
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    Mute Honeybee
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    May 30th 2016, 12:29 AM

    I did the test twice and I am a mastermind………ahem

    24
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    Mute FlopFlipU
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    May 29th 2016, 10:52 PM

    Now I will spend the whole night googling

    18
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    Mute Jimmy Murphy
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    May 29th 2016, 10:22 PM

    8 out of 10, cool. Birds are dinosaurs, well I never. Was correct on that question although it was against my better judgement. It was just so weird, it had to be true.

    14
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    Mute jill coogan
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    May 30th 2016, 11:23 AM

    Santa claus was originally green, cocoa Cola changed his coat to red

    4
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    Mute rory
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    May 30th 2016, 1:16 PM

    I was Einstein’s tutor and he was a right thick, but I got him there in the end

    4
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    Mute Liam Kielthy
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    May 30th 2016, 12:01 PM

    2, that I know of are wrong answers, Water does go down opposite to Northern hemisphere, and the china wall can be seen from space,,,, how many others are wrong??

    3
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    Mute Gerald Kelleher
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    May 30th 2016, 9:32 AM

    Einstein as a ‘genius’ is a myth or rather is a piece of academic propaganda for people who know no better and are easily led.

    2
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    Mute Michael Sands
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    May 31st 2016, 3:11 AM

    He was suppose not been able to tie his own shoe laces???

    1
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    Mute Michael Sands
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    May 31st 2016, 3:10 AM

    You scored 6 out of 10!
    You’re Chasing
    Keep going!

    Napoleon was killed by his wallpaper…
    Did Santa not wear green before Coke turned him red???
    If birds are dinosaurs, are lizards and crocs not also dinos as well then???

    1
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    Mute Justin Murphy
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    May 30th 2016, 10:06 PM

    The dinosaur bird statement is ridiculous. Who proof reads this stuff? Birds aren’t dinosaurs and I can’t believe I’ve just had to type that. Some smaller types of feathered, winged dinosaurs evolved and gave rise to modern birds. Over millions of years. “Dinosaurs are birds” is just lazy. And incorrect.

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    Mute Alias Smith & Jones
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    May 30th 2016, 10:02 AM
    1
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