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Quiz about Far From The Truth
Quiz about Far From The Truth

Far From The Truth Trivia Quiz


Based on the Snopes.com "Most Popular Urban Legends of 2015" list, here are some questions regarding the most widely circulated urban legends and hoaxes in that year that were far from the truth. Good luck!

A photo quiz by Lpez. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
Lpez
Time
6 mins
Type
Photo Quiz
Quiz #
392,848
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
726
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 108 (8/10), ziggythepooh (10/10), polly656 (9/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. On December 1, 2015, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posted a letter to his newborn daughter Max, where he promised to give 99% of the Facebook shares his wife Priscilla and him own to philanthropic causes. Zuckerberg's letter quickly turned into an internet hoax, where Facebook users would claim that they could receive 10% of Zuckerberg's money if they posted the message and tagged 5-10 friends.

Which of these universities in the United States was the place where Zuckerberg met his wife, and which he dropped out from in his sophomore year?
Hint


photo quiz
Question 2 of 10
2. It is not uncommon for the public to initiate conspiracies about dead celebrities. In January 2015, rumors that American musician Elvis Presley's body was found below an overpass began circulating, and that DNA testing had confirmed that the homeless man found was indeed Presley.

In which American city, known for their zoo and their baseball team, the Padres, was Presley's body supposedly found?
Hint


photo quiz
Question 3 of 10
3. The popular energy drink Red Bull has caffeine and taurine, an amino acid that the human body produces naturally, among its list of ingredients. In 2015, a popular myth that claimed energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster contained bull semen/sperm from bull testicles, which was listed as taurine, resurfaced.

Which of these dishes, considered delicacies by some, are made of fried bull testicles?
Hint


photo quiz
Question 4 of 10
4. The coffee chain Starbucks was the center of controversy in 2015 when they released their red holiday cups. In a press release, the company claimed they were "embracing the simplicity" of what Starbucks has become in their red cups.

Not everyone was happy with the designs, and in fact, claimed that, with the simplistic red cups, Starbucks was "declaring war" on which holiday?
Hint


photo quiz
Question 5 of 10
5. In yet another case of the internet spreading fake news way too quickly, rumors that country singer Willie Nelson had died began circulating in August of 2015. The site MSMBC.co, easily confused with MSNBC's site, falsely reported that Nelson died in Hawaii.

Which of these songs is NOT by Willie Nelson, but by Elton John?
Hint


photo quiz
Question 6 of 10
6. Through the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, the United States Congress raised the minimum age for purchasing alcoholic beverages to 21. On February 2015, entertainment website Daily Buzz Live published an article that said U.S. President Barack Obama had signed into law a bill that would lower the drinking age to 18, which was, of course, far from the truth.

In which year, which might remind you of a George Orwell dystopian book, was the National Minimum Drinking Age Act that raised the drinking age to 21 passed?

Answer: (A year - four digits)
photo quiz
Question 7 of 10
7. 2015 was the year where politicians (and some non-politicians) announced their intentions to run for the United States presidency in the 2016 elections. Among those non-politicians was businessman Donald Trump, who went on to become the 45th President of the United States. Many fake stories ran during this election, including one that claimed Trump once said in an interview that "Republicans are the dumbest group of voters," which was not true.

Which magazine, known for naming the "Sexiest Man Alive" each year, supposedly had published that interview with Trump?
Hint


photo quiz
Question 8 of 10
8. A viral rumor that has been going on for years is that planet Earth will have anywhere from 6 to 15 consecutive days of darkness. The total blackout event has been attributed to events like solar storms and an "astronomical event" between Venus and Jupiter. Even though NASA did not confirm any of this information, emails, texts and social media posts frequently claimed that the information was supported by the NASA Administrator.

Which of these former astronauts appointed by President Obama served as NASA Administrator from 2009 to 2017, and was falsely named as the source of a report that confirmed the blackout?
Hint


photo quiz
Question 9 of 10
9. Calls from telemarketers can be annoying! This is why major telecom companies created the Wireless 411 service, which would create a directory of customers and their phone numbers, but was supposed to work entirely on an opt-in basis. People quickly jumped to conclusions though, and promoted a hoax that claimed users needed to call the "National Do Not Call List" to block their number for five years.

There is, in fact, such a thing as the National Do Not Call Registry, but there is no deadline to register a phone number, contrary to the claim that users only had until the end of the month to do so. Which of these U.S. government agencies oversees the National Do Not Call Registry?
Hint


photo quiz
Question 10 of 10
10. On February 2015, Facebook users posted pictures of oranges that had red coloration, and claimed that they were injected with contaminated blood. The oranges, supposedly originating from Libya, were seized by Algerian immigration officials. This claim was easily debunked, as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explain that this disease cannot be transmitted through food.

Which of these diseases, which claimed the life of celebrities like Freddie Mercury and Arthur Ashe, was allegedly injected into the citrus fruits?
Hint


photo quiz

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. On December 1, 2015, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posted a letter to his newborn daughter Max, where he promised to give 99% of the Facebook shares his wife Priscilla and him own to philanthropic causes. Zuckerberg's letter quickly turned into an internet hoax, where Facebook users would claim that they could receive 10% of Zuckerberg's money if they posted the message and tagged 5-10 friends. Which of these universities in the United States was the place where Zuckerberg met his wife, and which he dropped out from in his sophomore year?

Answer: Harvard

Mark Zuckerberg came up with the idea of social networking site Facebook when he was a college student at Harvard University. Zuckerberg first launched Facemash, which compared two faces and asked the user to select the "hotter" or more attractive one. After it was shut down, Zuckerberg created Facebook as a way to connect people around Harvard, but it quickly expanded to other universities and then the world. Facebook first filed for an IPO (initial public offering) in February 2012.

After Zuckerberg posted a letter pledging to give away most of his Facebook shares to philanthropic efforts, a hoax began circulating on the social network falsely claiming that "immediately" posting that message and tagging friends would result in an opportunity to be one of the lucky 1,000 people to get $4.5 million each from Zuckerberg. Clearly, this was not true at all.

Harvard University is in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was established by John Harvard. It is the oldest college in the United States, and is considered to be one of the best in the country and the world. Harvard offers degrees in different areas, including Social Sciences, Mathematics, Biological Sciences, and History, to name a few. Notable alumni include several U.S. Presidents, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, as well as former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who dropped out after two years, like Zuckerberg.
2. It is not uncommon for the public to initiate conspiracies about dead celebrities. In January 2015, rumors that American musician Elvis Presley's body was found below an overpass began circulating, and that DNA testing had confirmed that the homeless man found was indeed Presley. In which American city, known for their zoo and their baseball team, the Padres, was Presley's body supposedly found?

Answer: San Diego

Elvis Presley, known as "The King of Rock and Roll", was born in 1935 in Mississippi, but moved to Tennessee when he was young. Presley eventually became an icon of music, becoming one of the best selling solo artists in history. Some of his famous songs include "Heartbreak Hotel", "Are You Lonesome Tonight?", "Love Me Tender" and "Hound Dog". Elvis developed an addiction to pethidine, often used to alleviate the pain of women in labor, and his addiction led to him being hospitalized. He was found unresponsive on August 16, 1977, and was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

There was controversy around his death and the causes. Some claimed drugs were the main cause, whereas others blamed cardiac arrest and cardiac arrhythmia. Conspiracy theories about Elvis' death abound, with some claiming that he was involved with the mafia and he was used as an FBI undercover agent. More recently in 2015, social network users began sharing a story that claimed an old, bearded man was found under a San Diego overpass and that DNA testing confirmed the body was Elvis Presley's. The claim was quickly debunked, however, because the source of the information was a website called "EmpireNews.net", which is a satirical website that, according to their disclaimer, "is intended for entertainment purposes only." Elvis is certainly not the only celebrity surrounded by conspiracies and urban legends: some people believe Michael Jackson, who died in 2009, is still alive, and that Paul McCartney from The Beatles died in the 1960's and was replaced by a look-alike.

San Diego is one of the largest cities in the state of California, and it borders the city of Tijuana, Mexico. The city is home to the baseball team San Diego Padres, and also used to house the San Diego Chargers until the football team moved to Los Angeles in 2017. The city also has many attractions, such as the San Diego Zoo and the SeaWorld park.
3. The popular energy drink Red Bull has caffeine and taurine, an amino acid that the human body produces naturally, among its list of ingredients. In 2015, a popular myth that claimed energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster contained bull semen/sperm from bull testicles, which was listed as taurine, resurfaced. Which of these dishes, considered delicacies by some, are made of fried bull testicles?

Answer: Rocky Mountain Oysters

Red Bull was created by and is sold by Austrian company Red Bull GmbH, which was co-founded by Dietrich Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya. Although studies have not confirmed that moderate drinking of Red Bull is hazardous, mixing it with alcohol could result in severe cardiac issues. Their slogan is "Red Bull Gives You Wings". The Red Bull brand is also known for their advertising, particularly in extreme sports like BMX and skateboarding. The brand also owns teams in motorsport, hockey, and soccer.

Taurine is a substance that is found naturally in animals and humans, and is an ingredient in Red Bull. However, according to the Red Bull website, explains that the taurine used in Red Bull is synthetic, and in no way derived from bull testicles or any other animal. Some people began claiming that a made-up company called Longhorn Cattle Company tested the drinks and found bull sperm, but this claim was far from the truth.

Bull testicles are in fact used in Rocky Mountain Oysters, an American delicacy made by deep-frying peeled testicles from calves. The dish, which is known in Canada as Prairie Oysters, is actually rich in vitamins and proteins, but this is of course not to say it is healthy, given the deep-frying process involved in preparing them.
4. The coffee chain Starbucks was the center of controversy in 2015 when they released their red holiday cups. In a press release, the company claimed they were "embracing the simplicity" of what Starbucks has become in their red cups. Not everyone was happy with the designs, and in fact, claimed that, with the simplistic red cups, Starbucks was "declaring war" on which holiday?

Answer: Christmas

Starbucks, a coffee company founded in Seattle in 1971, has released various special holiday cups since 1997. The company stated in a press release that the 2015 red cups had "a two-toned ombré design, with a bright poppy color on top that shades into a darker cranberry below" and that the goal was "to usher in the holidays with a purity of design that welcomes all of our stories." Conspiracies quickly arose, with people claiming that Starbucks had become "anti-Christian" and that removing so-called holiday icons was "an attempt at Christian Cleansing." This information spread quickly via email and social media.

The controversy grew even bigger when American internet evangelist Joshua Feuerstein posted a video claiming that Starbucks employees were banned from saying "Merry Christmas" and that Christmas symbols were removed from the cups because the company "hates Jesus." In reality, Starbucks had never used any explicitly Christian symbols before, but only more secular icons like snowmen and ornaments. Therefore, the idea that they had suddenly removed the symbols was not backed by any evidence, and neither is the claim that Starbucks is in some way "anti-Christian."

Christmas is a popular holiday in the United States and around the world, celebrated on December 25 to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Typical symbols of the holiday include the Nativity of Jesus, the Christmas tree, and Santa Claus, who is said to bring gifts to children if they have behaved well.
5. In yet another case of the internet spreading fake news way too quickly, rumors that country singer Willie Nelson had died began circulating in August of 2015. The site MSMBC.co, easily confused with MSNBC's site, falsely reported that Nelson died in Hawaii. Which of these songs is NOT by Willie Nelson, but by Elton John?

Answer: Don't Go Breaking My Heart

American musician Willie Nelson is one of the most popular artists in the country genre. He has released more than 60 studio albums, including the 2018 album "Last Man Standing." After the success of his album "Shotgun Willie", his career only went upward. He has won multiple awards, including several Grammy Awards, with his first being in 1975 for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. He also received a Grammy in 2017 for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In addition, he has also won multiple Country Music Association Awards, including the inaugural Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. The bus pictured is Willie Nelson's iconic tour bus.

A hoax from fake news website MSMBC.co claimed that Nelson had died in his Maui home and had been found unresponsive by a groundskeeper. Nelson even wrote "Still Not Dead" shortly after the hoax became widespread, a song which included the lyrics "I woke up still not dead again today. The internet said I had passed away."

"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, released as a single on June 21, 1976. John sang this as a duet with English singer Kiki Dee and it was very successful, reaching the top position of multiple charts, including the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart.
6. Through the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, the United States Congress raised the minimum age for purchasing alcoholic beverages to 21. On February 2015, entertainment website Daily Buzz Live published an article that said U.S. President Barack Obama had signed into law a bill that would lower the drinking age to 18, which was, of course, far from the truth. In which year, which might remind you of a George Orwell dystopian book, was the National Minimum Drinking Age Act that raised the drinking age to 21 passed?

Answer: 1984

The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 banned everyone below the age of 21 from purchasing or publicly consuming alcohol. The law stated that if states refused to comply, their federal highway funds would be reduced by 10%. After studies that suggested alcohol had a large role in car accidents, Democratic senator Frank Lautenberg wrote the bill, and it was first introduced in the House by Democratic senator Glenn M. Anderson. Groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving supported the bill, which was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on July 17, 1984.

The hoax article, published on February 19, 2015 on the Daily Buzz Live website, claimed that President Obama had signed an amendment into law that would be in effect in June. The article even used a real quote from Brown University anthropology professor Dwight B. Heath, which was featured in a real CNN article that discussed whether the drinking age should be lowered.

"1984" is one of English author's George Orwell's most well-known works. The dystopian novel highlights a society where government surveillance is the norm, an idea that may have seemed dystopian when the novel was published in 1949, but not so much now. The term "Big Brother", which in the novel is a character representing the leader of the government, has become a mainstream concept to describe constant surveillance.
7. 2015 was the year where politicians (and some non-politicians) announced their intentions to run for the United States presidency in the 2016 elections. Among those non-politicians was businessman Donald Trump, who went on to become the 45th President of the United States. Many fake stories ran during this election, including one that claimed Trump once said in an interview that "Republicans are the dumbest group of voters," which was not true. Which magazine, known for naming the "Sexiest Man Alive" each year, supposedly had published that interview with Trump?

Answer: People

Donald Trump announced his intention to run for U.S. President on June 16, 2015, in a speech at Trump Tower where he claimed, among other things, that "Mexico was not sending their best" and that the U.S. "used to have victories, but not any more." Even though his campaign was initially dismissed by the media, Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee in May 2016, and he then won the Presidential election against Democrat Hillary Clinton in November 2016.

In 2015, shortly after Trump announced he was running for president, an image of Trump started circulating the internet, with a quote where he supposedly claimed in 1998 that if he ever ran for president, he would do so as a Republican because "they're the dumbest group of voters in the country" and "believe anything on Fox News." There is no record, however, of Trump ever saying this, or even of an interview with "People Magazine" in 1998 with him.

"People Magazine" was first published in 1974, and is one of the most popular magazines in the market. It is published by the conglomerate Meredith Corporation, which also publishes other popular magazines like "Sports Illustrated" and "Travel + Leisure".
8. A viral rumor that has been going on for years is that planet Earth will have anywhere from 6 to 15 consecutive days of darkness. The total blackout event has been attributed to events like solar storms and an "astronomical event" between Venus and Jupiter. Even though NASA did not confirm any of this information, emails, texts and social media posts frequently claimed that the information was supported by the NASA Administrator. Which of these former astronauts appointed by President Obama served as NASA Administrator from 2009 to 2017, and was falsely named as the source of a report that confirmed the blackout?

Answer: Charles Bolden

Multiple versions of this hoax ran between 2012 and 2015, although it still continues to be distributed. I got a version of it very recently myself! The claim is that Earth will go through multiple days of complete darkness and that this is an event that has not happened a million years. The claim was supported by naming the real NASA Administrator in 2015, Charles Bolden, as the source of the information. The hoax said that NASA had confirmed the astronomical event and that Bolden provided the White House with a 1,000-page report about the subject, an argument that had no truth in it whatsoever.

Charles Bolden served for the United States Marine Corps for many decades, achieving the rank of Major General. In 1981, Bolden became a NASA astronaut, and completed several trips to space, including one piloting the space shuttle Columbia. Bolden became NASA Administrator in 2009 by appointment of then-U.S. President Barack Obama. He became the first human voice to be transmitted to the surface of Mars, through the Curiosity space rover.
9. Calls from telemarketers can be annoying! This is why major telecom companies created the Wireless 411 service, which would create a directory of customers and their phone numbers, but was supposed to work entirely on an opt-in basis. People quickly jumped to conclusions though, and promoted a hoax that claimed users needed to call the "National Do Not Call List" to block their number for five years. There is, in fact, such a thing as the National Do Not Call Registry, but there is no deadline to register a phone number, contrary to the claim that users only had until the end of the month to do so. Which of these U.S. government agencies oversees the National Do Not Call Registry?

Answer: Federal Trade Commission

The United States National Do Not Call Registry was established in 2003 to prevent telemarketers from calling landlines or cell phones without an existing client-business relationship. An improvement to the law, approved by President George W. Bush in 2007, modified a clause that required consumers to renew their phone numbers in the registry after five years, changing it to a one-time, permanent sign up.

A hoax related to the registry became viral in 2015, and suggested that cell phone numbers would be released to telemarketing companies and users would be charged for the calls made from those companies, unless they called the wrongly-named "National Do Not Call List." The hoax also said that the number would be blocked for five years, which was also inaccurate given the improvement signed into law in 2007.

The Federal Trade Commission (or FTC) was established by President Woodrow Wilson and has the purpose of protecting consumers. The FTC investigates fraudulent, unfair, and deceptive business practices, and oversees the National Do Not Call Registry. The agency published a message on their website stating that "someone pretending to be from the FTC is sending out fake emails telling people that their Do Not Call registration is expiring," but that registrations are actually permanent.
10. On February 2015, Facebook users posted pictures of oranges that had red coloration, and claimed that they were injected with contaminated blood. The oranges, supposedly originating from Libya, were seized by Algerian immigration officials. This claim was easily debunked, as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explain that this disease cannot be transmitted through food. Which of these diseases, which claimed the life of celebrities like Freddie Mercury and Arthur Ashe, was allegedly injected into the citrus fruits?

Answer: HIV

This hoax about tainted Libyan oranges had been posted in different outlets in the past. The images would show oranges that had some parts colored in red, and the post would claim that the fruits were injected with blood that had tested positive for HIV/AIDS. The post concluded with a broad warning to "share the message and warn people of the dangers involved."

The claim was clearly far from the truth, mainly because according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HIV cannot be transmitted through food, even if it is prepared by an HIV-positive person. Further, stomach acid is likely to destroy small amounts of the virus that may have been in the food, according to the CDC.

HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is an infectious, sexually-transmitted disease that causes AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome.) The virus, as the name reveals, has a strongly negative effect on the immune system, making it more vulnerable to many common infections, and therefore significantly lowering the health of those infected.
Source: Author Lpez

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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