TODAY'S edition of the Older & Wiser column features a seniors quiz.
Based on feedback from the readers on the first quiz, which appeared here in 2009, I've made this year's edition of the quiz more challenging, and hopefully a lot more fun.
The quiz is comprised of 20 statements, doubling the number in the previous quiz, and each statement is either true or false.
I'm responsible for the content and the accuracy of the quiz but I'm the very first to admit that I'm not perfect.
Pencils ready?
Let's begin.
1. While dogs and cats - and other furry pets - can cause allergic reactions, dogs tend to be more allergenic.
True or false?
2. Alexander Graham Bell (who invented the telephone) also set a world water speed record of more than 70 miles per hour at the age of 72.
True or false?
3. Green tea contains more antioxidant capacity than white tea. True or false?
4. Women blink twice as much as men. True or false?
5. People who are near sighted (myopia) are thought to have a seven to eight IQ point advantage over friends and neighbours with better eyesight. True or false?
6. Smoking is responsible for more deaths in Canada each year than HIV/AIDS, illicit drugs, motor vehicle accidents, alcoholism, fire, suicide and poisoning all combined. True or false?
7. One pound of lemons contains more sugar than one pound of strawberries. True or false?
8. Canada has a National Pharmacare program. True or false?
9. Physician-assisted suicide is not legal in Canada or in any state in America.
True or false?
10. A third of retired households in Canada are carrying an average debt of $60,000. True or false?
11. Approximately 40 per cent of seniors in the City of North Vancouver are living alone. True or false?
12. One-quarter of the bones in your body are found in your hand. True or false?
13. You get a tax refund by contributing to a tax-free savings account. True or false?
14. Recent genetic research shows that some people are born with an innate disposition to loneliness. True or false?
15. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in Canada and the United States. True or false?
16. As you age your eye colour get lighter. True or false?
17. Eggs raise cholesterol levels. True or false?
18. One person in two billion will live to be 116 years or older. True or false?
19. If you were to spell out numbers, you would have to go until 1,000 until you would find the letter "a." True or false?
20. West VancouverBowen Island currently has the highest concentration of seniors in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area.
True or false?
The 2009 quiz included a bonus question. Readers were asked to speculate on whether, in my youth, I had ever dated a Las Vegas show girl.
The correct answer was true.
Apparently I forgot to share this information, prior to publication, with either my wife or my mother-in-law.
Big mistake!
Note to self: forget the bonus question.
If you like the quiz drop me a line and I'll feature it annually in the column.
(Answer key: Numbers 1, 8, 9, 12, 13 and 17 are false.)
Tom Carney is the co-ordinator of the Lionsview Seniors' Planning Society. Ideas for future columns are welcome. Contact him at 604-985-3852 or send an email to lions_view@ telus.net.
