[an error occurred while processing this directive]
BBC News
watch One-Minute World News
Last Updated: Monday, 22 December, 2003, 16:57 GMT
Take our numbers quiz
We'll be amazed if you know all of these (none of us in the office did). But if you've been a regular listener to More or Less, you might do better than most.

It's just for fun and you'll find the answers here to coincide with our first programme of the new series in January.

When you hear the word 'billion' on the news, or from politicians or economists, does it mean?
A: 1000,000,000
B: 1000,000,000,000
C: 100,000,000
"42" is the answer to "Life, the Universe and Everything" in Douglas Adams' cult book, Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Which 19th Century author was also fascinated by the number 42?
A: Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll)
B: Charles Dickens
C: Jane Austen
A test for an illness is 90% accurate and 10% of the population have that illness. If you are tested at random and your test is positive, how likely are you to have the illness?
A: 50% likely
B: 80% likely
C: 90% likely
In 2001-2, how much did you have to earn to be in the top half of all income earners as a single person?
A: £25,200
B: £18,400
C: £11,800
In a survey, which did experts think most risky?
A: Nuclear power
B: X-rays
Approximately how much does the UK economy produce each year in pounds? (UK GDP)
A: £1 billion
B: £1 trillion
C: £1000 trillion
How many price checks are made each month to find the UK inflation rate?
A: 35
B: 3,500
C: 35,000
Approximately how many different tariffs does British Telecom have for phone calls?
A: 40,000
B: 400
C: 40
If you put a grain of rice on the first square of a chessboard, two on the next, four on the next and so on, doubling each time, would there be enough rice in the world to fill the last, (64th) square?
A: Yes
B: No
What’s the world record number of bounces for stone skimming?
A: 38
B: 59
C: 25
In the United States, to approximately how many people might something happen which has a million to one chance of happening in any one day?
A: 292
B: 1 million
C: 1
In the 10 years to 2002, what happened to recorded crime figures in England and Wales per thousand of the population?
A: They went up
B: They went down
C: They stayed about the same
What is Triskaidekaphobia?
A: Fear of the number 13
B: Fear of people younger than 13
C: Fear of the number 30
How many people need to be in one room for there to be a 50% chance that two of them will share the same birthday?
A: 183
B: 365
C: 23
What’s a Googol?
A: Slang for a statistical mistake
B: One followed by a hundred zeros
C: An internet search engine

 Press the button and see how you have done



PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

News Front Page | Africa | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East | South Asia
UK | Business | Entertainment | Science/Nature | Technology | Health
Have Your Say | In Pictures | Week at a Glance | Country Profiles | In Depth | Programmes
Americas Africa Europe Middle East South Asia Asia Pacific