# The Impossible pop quiz **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085 "2010-08-22T19:05:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/21 "2010-08-23T11:44:09Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Darn, I don’t remember the specifics but there was an amusing example from the past before the 1860’s as a famous medical professor noticed a distracted student in his classroom, so the professor (with some anger in his voice) asked the student what was the pancreas for. > > The student, not wanting to appear distracted, replied that he knew what the pancreas was for, but he forgot about it. > > “What an irresponsible thing to do!” Said the professor, "You were the only one that knew and you forgot??!?!? :smack: 😕 The pancreas is for regulating blood sugar by producing glucagon and insulin. Did I miss something here? My English Lit teacher once gave us one of these. One of the questions was “Critically analyse at least one film in which poor planning and lack of foresight led to the blowing up of the Death Star.” ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/22 "2010-08-23T12:32:42Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > A high school teacher of mine told the story about a philosophy class he took in college. The final, upon which a good chunk of the grade was based on was one question. “Why?” He wrote “Because.” Handed it in, walked out and got an A on the exam. I took a Philosophy class with that same final. Ohio State, 1963. Also got the correct answer. The most common \*wrong \*answer was “Why not?”. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/23 "2010-08-23T12:39:41Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > > [@Joey\_P](#): > > > > A high school teacher of mine told the story about a philosophy class he took in college. The final, upon which a good chunk of the grade was based on was one question. “Why?” He wrote “Because.” Handed it in, walked out and got an A on the exam. > > I took a Philosophy class with that same final. Ohio State, 1963. Also got the correct answer. The most common \*wrong \*answer was “Why not?”. Actually, the correct answer is Chicken Thigh. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/24 "2010-08-23T13:10:04Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > [Here’s](http://komplexify.com/epsilon/2009/05/21/ultimate-test/) one version in its entirety. A couple examples: > 10. POLITICAL SCIENCE > There is a red telephone on the desk beside you. Start World War III. Report at length on its social-political effects, if any. > > 1. PHILOSOPHY > Sketch the development of human thought and estimate its significance. > Compare with the development of any other kind of thought. This is the one I remember and this cinched it for me: > [@](#): > > 1. EPISTEMOLOGY > Take a position for or against truth. Prove the validity of your position. Thanks for forcing me to think of something I hadn’t in years. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/25 "2010-08-23T17:05:22Z")
> [@Rala](#): > > > [@GIGObuster](#): > > > > “What an irresponsible thing to do!” Said the professor, "You were the only one that knew and you forgot??!?!? :smack: > > 😕 The pancreas is for regulating blood sugar by producing glucagon and insulin. Did I miss something here? Yes, you’ve missed that the anecdote supposedly took place \*before \*the 1860’s, at a time when the function of the pancreas wasn’t known. (Insulin wasn’t discovered until 1921, and the link between the pancreas and diabetes was established in 1889. See [history](http://www.pancreasclub.com/pancreas_history.htm).) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/26 "2010-08-23T17:06:13Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m reasonably certain Chronos was only partly serious with that comment. I’m not quite sure to what extent, though. Mostly, I would have talked about how the Uncertainty Principle is a paradigm for _every_ age, since the Universe is, in fact, quantum mechanical. But to tie it to the modern age specifically, I would have drawn the parallels to wave theory in general (which I would have done anyway; the Uncertainty Principle is fundamentally a property of waves), thence to signal processing and things like bandwidth (in both its original and current meanings), which is undoubtedly relevant to the modern Information Age. The economics teacher, though, was probably expecting something more like what **pancakes3** said, which isn’t really relevant to the Uncertainty Principle. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/27 "2010-08-23T17:11:11Z")
> [@Rala](#): > > > [@GIGObuster](#): > > > > Darn, I don’t remember the specifics but there was an amusing example from the past before the 1860’s as a famous medical professor noticed a distracted student in his classroom, so the professor (with some anger in his voice) asked the student what was the pancreas for. > > > > The student, not wanting to appear distracted, replied that he knew what the pancreas was for, but he forgot about it. > > > > “What an irresponsible thing to do!” Said the professor, "You were the only one that knew and you forgot??!?!? :smack: > > 😕 The pancreas is for regulating blood sugar by producing glucagon and insulin. Did I miss something here? Yes, time. 🙂 As mentioned, that function of the organ was not clear yet before the 1860’s. [http://www.ehow.com/about\_4578964\_function-pancreas\_.html](http://www.ehow.com/about_4578964_function-pancreas_.html) > [@](#): > > The pancreas was identified by Greek anatomist Herophilus in the second century B.C. Several hundred years later another Greek scientist, Ruphos, gave the organ its name, which means “all flesh” for its fleshy appearance. The next important pancreatic discovery occurred centuries later, when in 1869 a German anatomist named Paul Langerhans identified the hormone-producing cells of the pancreas, the islets of Langerhans, which were later named in his honor. The student was a meathead. 🙂 (I did not notice Peter Morris there) ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/28 "2010-08-23T17:37:04Z")
Well, this wasn’t in the questions asked, exactly, but on one of my law school Torts finals, the professor asked 27 essay questions. 27. I considered that pretty impossible. With 3 hours to work and time approaching zero, I still had three questions left unanswered. Without even bothering to read the questions I answered 25) yes 26) no 27) only on Tuesdays. I got a B+. No idea how those three scored. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/29 "2010-08-23T17:50:41Z")
I once read a story about beginning medical students. Can’t remember what it was but during a class the instructor emphasized how important it was to sharpen their skill of observation. Then he went on to discuss a patient’s urine and that it was important to examine the urine from many different aspects. He discussed the color, the clarity, etc. finally he mentioned that the taste could also provide clues to the patient’s state of health. When the students reacted with disgust he scolded them about objectivity and the need to approach things dispassionately. With that held held up a beaker of urine, dipped a finger in and then put the finger in his mouth. He stepped down from the podium and handed the beaker to the first student to follow suit in passing around the room. When the exercise was completed with the expected grimaces and signs of reluctance and resignation and the beaker had once again been returned to the front of the room he said, “You may remember what I said at the beginning of my lecture about the importance of keen observatory skills. It appears none of you noticed that I put my third finger into the urine sample, but tasted with my index finger.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/30 "2010-08-23T17:51:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, this wasn’t in the questions asked, exactly, but on one of my law school Torts finals, the professor asked 27 essay questions. 27. I considered that pretty impossible. > With 3 hours to work and time approaching zero, I still had three questions left unanswered. College tests are often calibrated such that almost nobody can finish them. If you make the test easy enough that, say, the top 25% of the class can get everything on them, then you can’t tell the difference between the As and the A-s and the B+s. A perfectly calibrated test, for purposes of discerning how good the students actually are, would have an average of 50%, and would only have one perfect score every few semesters. While we’re at it (and on my mind at the moment because the young’uns are taking the Comps as we speak), on my grad school Comprehensive Exam, there was one question where my answer consisted entirely of “I assume this is a stat mech question, but having never yet taken stat mech, I can’t be sure”. I didn’t get any credit for that question, but I still passed the test. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/31 "2010-08-23T19:17:26Z")
My brother, an Army officer, told me about a joke OCS question, but it came with the answer. Something like: **Question** : You are given a) 3 lenths of cylindrical wood, each 10 feet in length and 3 inches in diameter, and b) 3 lenths of standard rope, each 6 inches in length. Question: Using these materials only, how would you construct a 40 foot flag pole? **Answer** : Tell your sargeant, “Sargeant, take these and make a 40 foot flag pole.” ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/32 "2010-08-23T19:20:58Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > College tests are often calibrated such that almost nobody can finish them. College tests, yes; but not grad school tests. I had a Synthetic Chemistry professor who started his tests at 7.00pm on Friday nights and they would last until you were finished. Usually between 4 and 14 hours. It actually prepared us very well for grad school and taught us to use our resources available to find the best solution brilliantly. The rules for the test would be something like: 1. Propose syntheses for 15 of the 20 compounds 2. All starting materials must be available in the Aldrich catalog ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/33 "2010-08-23T23:31:21Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > > [@Joey\_P](#): > > > > A high school teacher of mine told the story about a philosophy class he took in college. The final, upon which a good chunk of the grade was based on was one question. “Why?” He wrote “Because.” Handed it in, walked out and got an A on the exam. > > But he gave the wrong answer, though. The correct answer is “Zed.” Zed’s dead, baby. Zed’s dead. ---
**Author:** ![Cato\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Cato\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cato_Major)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/34 "2010-08-24T00:36:35Z")
Have you ever seen that joke list of the impossible college exam? Do you recall this question appearing on it? “Describe the history of the papacy from its origins to the present day, concentrating especially, but not exclusively, on its social, political, economic, religious, and philosophical impact on Europe, Asia, and Africa. Be brief, concise, and specific.” My medieval history professor actually included this as the last of four questions on his final. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/35 "2010-08-24T14:51:06Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Well, this wasn’t in the questions asked, exactly, but on one of my law school Torts finals, the professor asked 27 essay questions. 27. I considered that pretty impossible. > With 3 hours to work and time approaching zero, I still had three questions left unanswered. Without even bothering to read the questions I answered > 25) yes > 26) no > 27) only on Tuesdays. > > I got a B+. No idea how those three scored. I took a civil service exam a couple years back. I was surprised at how well I did on the math portion of the exam considering the fact that I answered quite a few questions randomly. I later figured out that to get such a good score I would had to had have gotten at least three of the randomly answered questions correct! ---
**Author:** ![Smitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Smitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smitty)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/36 "2010-08-24T15:03:32Z")
On a college English final I took, there was the question, “What are the last two words of _King Lear_?” My answer - “The End” ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/37 "2010-08-24T15:22:48Z")
I’m reminded of the song “I Can’t Do The Sum” from the musical _Babes in Toyland_ (1903). A sample verse: > [@](#): > > If a steamship weighed ten thousand tons > And sailed five thousand miles > With a cargo large of overshoes > And carving knives and files, > If the mates were almost six feet high > And the bos’n near the same, > Would you subtract or multiply > To find the captain’s name? I head this song almost 40 years ago, and haven’t heard it since, and it still gets stuck in my head sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![powerjacob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@powerjacob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/powerjacob)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/38 "2010-08-24T17:32:20Z")
During my senior year in high school (several years ago) my english teacher (who must have been the strictest teacher I’ve ever had) put these bonus questions on one of her test. What is your teacher’s name? What is her favorite color? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/39 "2010-08-24T17:37:48Z")
> [@Cato\_Major](#): > > Have you ever seen that joke list of the impossible college exam? Do you recall this question appearing on it? > > “Describe the history of the papacy from its origins to the present day, concentrating especially, but not exclusively, on its social, political, economic, religious, and philosophical impact on Europe, Asia, and Africa. Be brief, concise, and specific.” > > My medieval history professor actually included this as the last of four questions on his final. In Post #14, **Johnny Q** linked to [http://komplexify.com/epsilon/2009/05/21/ultimate-test/](http://komplexify.com/epsilon/2009/05/21/ultimate-test/) which has the papacy thing as Item #1. That’s the test I remember from way back when. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085/40 "2010-08-24T17:44:04Z")
> [@powerjacob](#): > > During my senior year in high school (several years ago) my english teacher (who must have been the strictest teacher I’ve ever had) put these bonus questions on one of her test. > > What is your teacher’s name? > What is her favorite color? So what happened if you got them wrong? 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-impossible-pop-quiz/551085.md?page=3)