How old is the oldest living tree and who invented shoes? Try our kids’ quiz

1. Iona, 9, asks: how old is the oldest living tree?

   1. 4,000 years old – the Llangernyw Yew in Wales

   2. A bristlecone pine tree in Nevada, called Prometheus, is at least 4,900 years old

   3. A tree in the centre of Bali, Indonesia, is 2 million years old

   4. Methuselah, a Great Basin bristlecone pine in California, is 4,855 years old

2. Darcey, 6, asks: who invented shoes?

   1. An inventor from Bolivia made the first shoes out of rubber, 3,000 years ago

   2. We don’t know who invented shoes, but sandals made of bark were found in Oregon that date from 7,000BC

   3. Shoes were invented in Italy 1,300 years ago

   4. A clever person known as “Cobblerius”, in 12BC

3. Flora, 6, asks: are watermelons made of water?

   1. They are 92% water

   2. 100% of a watermelon is water – hence its name

   3. They are 85% water

   4. They are about 75% water

4. Hayes, 7, asks: why do we yawn?

   1. To take in more oxygen

   2. We yawn when we see someone else do it

   3. To make us alert when we’re under-stimulated

   4. Answers B and C

5. Luna, 5, asks: why do stars sparkle?

   1. They contain magic

   2. They are super-hot like the sun

   3. Lots of magical fairies make them sparkle

   4. We see stars sparkle because of how light passes through the atmosphere

Solutions

1:D - The oldest living tree in the world is thought to be Methuselah in California. Using tree ring data, scientists have placed its age at 4,855 years., 2:B - Shoes don’t fossilise like bodies, so it’s very difficult to tell when they were invented, but the oldest known shoes are a collection of bark sandals dating from 7,000-10,000BC. They were discovered in 1938 in the US, in Fort Rock Cave, Oregon., 3:A - On average, 92% of a watermelon is made up of water – perfect for quenching your thirst on a summer’s day!, 4:D - Answers B and C are both correct! Yawning is one of the biggest mysteries in medicine. Scientists had thought that we yawn partly to take in more oxygen when we’re tired, but now they believe this is unlikely. New research suggests it may make us more alert and also helps to cool our brain down. Plus yawning is catching!, 5:D - Stars don’t actually twinkle, but it looks as if they do from where we see them on Earth. As their light passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, it gets bent and distorted – which makes the stars appear to twinkle.

Scores

1. 5 and above.

2. 4 and above.

3. 3 and above.

4. 2 and above.

5. 1 and above.

6. 0 and above.

Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun, a weekly podcast answering children’s questions, out now as a book.

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