True or False: 18 Statements to Test the Room

True or false is the fastest round to run and the hardest to argue with, which makes it the right choice when time is short or the scoring has got messy. A fifty-fifty guess is always available, so pitch the statements a little harder than you would a normal question.

Nature and science

1. Bananas grow on trees. — False — the banana plant is a giant herb, not a tree
2. The Great Wall of China is visible from space with the naked eye. — False
3. Sharks are mammals. — False — they are fish
4. Humans and giraffes have the same number of neck bones. — True — seven each
5. Lightning never strikes the same place twice. — False
6. Goldfish have a three-second memory. — False — they remember for months

Geography and history

1. Australia is both a country and a continent. — True
2. The Sahara is the largest desert on Earth. — False — Antarctica is
3. Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. — True
4. The Eiffel Tower was built for a World’s Fair. — True — the 1889 exposition
5. Istanbul was once called Constantinople. — True
6. Africa is a single country. — False

Everyday claims

1. Sound travels faster in water than in air. — True
2. You lose most of your body heat through your head. — False
3. Honey never spoils. — True
4. Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis. — False
5. The heart stops beating when you sneeze. — False
6. An octopus has three hearts. — True

Add one line of explanation to each answer, as above. It turns a guessing round into something people remember afterwards.