General Knowledge Trivia Quiz

'Wings of Fire: An Autobiography of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam' (1999) is Dr. Kalam's famous autobiography co-authored with Arun Tiwari. It covers his early life, education, and career as a scientist. 'Ignited Minds' (2002) is a different book - an inspirational work about empowering India's youth, not an autobiography.

The Hoover Medal is an American engineering prize awarded for outstanding public service. Dr. Kalam received this honor in 2008. The medal is administered by five American engineering societies and recognizes civic contributions beyond engineering work. Bharat Ratna (1997) and UK Knighthood (already received earlier) are not correct for 2008.

'Wings of Fire' (1999) is Kalam's autobiography. 'Ignited Minds' (2002) and 'India 2020' (1998, with Y.S. Rajan) are both books he authored. 'Back to Square One' is not a known book by Dr. Abdul Kalam - it appears to be a fabricated title among the options.

Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 when he noticed that mold (Penicillium) had contaminated his bacterial culture and was killing the bacteria, marking the first antibiotic discovery. Waksman coined the term 'antibiotic' but didn't discover the first one. Chain and Florey later helped purify and mass-produce penicillin.

Angela Rippon became the first woman to regularly present national news on BBC television in the 1970s, breaking the gender barrier in TV news broadcasting. Barbara Walters was also a pioneer but came later in American television. The other options are not associated with this pioneering milestone.

Norway was the first country to reach the South Pole when Roald Amundsen and his team arrived on December 14, 1911, beating the British expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott. This was a major achievement in the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration.

Robin Knox-Johnston became the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world in 1968-69, completing the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in 312 days. Joshua Slocum was the first to sail alone around the world but with stops. Magellan led the first expedition to circumnavigate but didn't survive it.

Richard Nixon became the first and only U.S. president to resign from office on August 9, 1974, facing impeachment due to the Watergate scandal. No other president has resigned, making this a unique event in American political history.

This claim is false. While IBM did business with Nazi Germany and sold punched card equipment, there's no evidence they specifically built counting machines for death/concentration camps. The relationship was commercial, not direct involvement in camp management.

The youngest Pope in history was Pope Benedict IX who became Pope at approximately age 20-24 (exact birth year uncertain). The claim of a 15-year-old Pope is false - no confirmed record supports this age.

This is a false urban legend. There are no credible records of people being killed or seriously injured from bowing in Tokyo. Bowing is a safe cultural practice and such incidents would be widely documented if they occurred.

Galileo did not invent the telescope. Hans Lippershey, a Dutch eyeglass maker, is credited with inventing the telescope in 1608. Galileo built his own telescope in 1609 and made significant astronomical discoveries with it.

The human eye can perceive approximately 10 million colors, not just 1 million. The claim of 1 million is false, as the human visual system can distinguish millions of color variations due to our three types of cone cells.

Kissing does not cause tooth decay. Tooth decay is caused by bacteria feeding on sugars and producing acids that attack tooth enamel. While kissing can transfer bacteria, it's not a direct cause of dental decay.

The oldest verified dog on record lived to 29 years old (Bluey, an Australian Cattle Dog). 19 years is not even close to the maximum age dogs have been documented to reach.

This is actually TRUE. All unmarked mute swans in open water in England are technically owned by the Crown, a tradition dating back to the 12th century.

Honeybees DO sleep. Research shows they take brief rest periods and exhibit sleep-like behaviors. The claim they 'never sleep' is false.