The Tokyo Summer Olympics, US Presidential election, and the World Cup are all exciting quadrennial events that happened in 2020. But did you know that it was also a Leap Year? That’s right, you may have to redo your entire bullet journal because you forgot about February 29th, the Leap Day.
Why do we have a leap year? Our modern calendar has 365 days to reflect the 365.2421 days it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun. To match the extra quarter of a day per year, we add an extra day every four years to keep the calendar in sync with Earth’s orbit. How will you spend your extra 24 hours? Why not host a fun trivia game all about Leap Year! After all, it only happens every four years.
For inspiration, we’ve included 9 interactive trivia questions all about Leap Year traditions and fun facts from past Leap Years. Click here to copy the following questions into your Poll Everywhere account. Don’t have an account? Create an account today!
In Scotland, it’s a Leap Year tradition for women to propose wearing the following garment:
A) A green jacket
B) A red petticoat
C) A blue sweater
D) Red pants
Correct answer: B.
Leap Year traditions lend themselves to allowing women a day to propose, and Scotland is no different. Scottish Leap Year tradition advises women to wear a red petticoat if they’re intending to propose. The penalty for refusing a Leap Day proposal? A fine ranging from money to silk gowns.
A French newspaper only gets published on Leap Year, once every 4 years.
A) True
B) False
Correct answer: A.
La Bougie du Sapeur appears at newsstands across France every four years for one day only, Leap Day. The satirical journal, originally published in 1980, sells about 150,000 copies each leap year.
Babies born on Leap Year are automatically entered into an exclusive club. What is the name of that club?
A) Leap Year Birthday Society
B) Leap Year Baby Club
C) The Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies
D) Leap Year Day Club
Correct answer: C.
The exclusive club, Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies, was founded in 1977 by Peter Brouwer and Raenell Dawn. With over 11,000 members globally, the club boasts its ability to offer birth family search services and cultivate member connections via their Facebook group.
2020 marks which of the following special occasions?
A) The Oregon Eclipse
B) The unearthing of Yahoo’s digital Time Capsule
C) The Winter Olympics
D) Brazil hosts the World Cup
Correct answer: B.
2020 marks several significant, global celebrations including the South American Eclipse, the Tokyo Summer Olympics, and the World Cup, hosted in Qatar. However, for all the nostalgists out there, 2020 will bring an overlooked, yet very special occasion: the unearthing of Yahoo’s digital Time Capsule. All the way back in November of 2006, Yahoo created a digital Time Capsule full of email, social posts, and photo submissions. The search engine giant plans to unveil the contents on its 25th anniversary in 2020.
2016 research showed that the average human’s attention span dropped from 12 seconds to 8 seconds.
A) True
B) False
Correct answer: A.
It may come as no surprise that our collective attention spans are rapidly decreasing. In 2016, the average human’s attention span was a whopping 8 seconds, down from 12 seconds in 2000.
Who was Time magazine’s 2012 Person of the Year?
A) Greta Thunberg
B) Pope Francis
C) Barack Obama
D) Mark Zuckerberg
Correct answer: C.
Greta Thunberg, Pope Francis, Mark Zuckerberg, and Barack Obama have all graced the coveted cover of Time magazine. In 2012, this spot belonged to then-president Barack Obama.
In 2008, what was the average price of a movie ticket?
A) $4
B) $6
C) $9
D) $7
Correct answer: D.
With $9.16 being the average movie ticket price in 2019, it’s hard to imagine movie tickets costing only $7. In 2008, it was the norm. More fun film facts from 2008: The Dark Knight, Twilight, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall were popular films.
Which movie was #1 at the box office in 2004?
A) Shrek 2
B) Meet the Fockers
C) The Bourne Supremacy
D) National Treasure
Correct answer: A.
Shrek 2 was not only the top movie of 2004, but it continues to be DreamWorks Animation’s most successful film to date. Meet the Fockers, The Bourne Supremacy, and National Treasure were all popular films of this year but were unsuccessful in claiming the #1 spot.
Which of the following companies that were successful in the year 2000 still exist?
A) Blockbuster
B) Tower Records
C) Borders
D) None of the above
Correct answer: D.
Blockbuster, Tower Records, and Borders ceased operations in 2010, 2006, and 2008, respectively. Unable to compete with the fast-paced and ever-changing nature of internet movie and music companies, these childhood favorites died slowly.
Did any of these fun facts surprise you? Use Poll Everywhere’s Competitions to host your trivia contest and track the winners with the live leaderboard. If trivia isn’t your style, consider making a virtual time capsule where people can write goals or letters to themselves and open them again in four years. 2020 is a big year, so let’s savor every single day (even the extra one) like there’s no tomorrow.