The Love Quiz

Question: Cleopatra was romantically linked to what historical figure?

Answer: According to legend, Cleopatra seduced Caesar after sneaking into his room hidden inside a rolled up carpet. While that is most likely an embroidery, she and Caesar did become lovers and he helped her take the Egyptian throne from her brother.

Question: King Henry VIII established the Church of England in order to marry what woman?

Answer: King Henry VIII was still married to Catherine of Aragon when he became smitten with Anne Boleyn. He was denied a divorce by the Catholic church, so he started his own church that would allow him to separate from Catherine. 

Question: After their spouse died in 1861, what monarch wore black every day for 40 years?

Answer: Victoria proposed to Prince Albert in October, 1839 and were married the following February. Their marriage produced nine children before Albert’s death in 1861. After his passing, Victoria would wear black for 40 years until her own death in 1901.

Question: True or false: emotionally stressful events like breakups can cause a medical condition with symptoms similar to a heart attack.

Answer: Broken heart syndrome is caused by a sudden release of stress hormones which causes dramatic changes to the rhythm of a heartbeat. The sudden, intense pain of broken heart syndrome is sometimes misdiagnosed as a heart attack.

Question: Which of these is known as the “love hormone” and “cuddle chemical?”

Answer: Oxytocin is critical for stimulating uterine contractions during childbirth and breast tissue during milk production. The hormone is also associated with trust, sexual arousal and relationship building; hugging has been shown to increase the amount of oxytocin in the blood.

Question: Roughly three percent of mammals are monogamous. Which of these mammals mate for life?

Answer: Prairie voles are among the roughly three percent of mammals that are monogamous. A prairie vole mating session can last up to 40 hours, during which time genes in their brains linked to learning and memory are activated. They appear to exhibit empathy-like behavior, getting stressed when their partner is stressed and consoling each other with physical contact.

Question: Changed because it was too similar to competitor Match.com, what dating app was originally called MatchBox?

Answer: Since the app’s flame logo had already been designed, developers wanted to retain a fire theme, choosing to change MatchBox into Tinder.

Question: Which of these phrases was coined by William Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet?

Answer: Shakespeare used the term star-crossed, meaning “ill-fated,” to describe the title lovers in Romeo and Juliet. He coined the term green-eyed monster and wear [one’s] heart on [one’s] sleeve in the jealousy-fueled Othello. He helped popularize the line “love is blind” in The Merchant of Venice, although that sentiment dates back to antiquity. 

Question: Which of these animals is one of the very few species where the male carries the young before they’re born?

Answer: After an elaborate courtship, a female seahorse will deposit her eggs in a male’s brood pouch where they are fertilized. Once the eggs hatch, the male’s body convulses, expelling the babies through an opening in the pouch.

Question: According to legend, Paris declared which goddess the most beautiful, inadvertently causing the Trojan War?

Answer: Paris, son of a Trojan king, was asked to declare which goddess was the most beautiful. Hera bribed him with kingly power and Athena offered military might, but Aphrodite’s offer of the most beautiful woman in the world proved irresistible. That woman happened to be the king of Sparta’s wife, Helen. When Paris refused to return her, the Trojan War ensued.

Question: Now proven to be a myth, the vena amoris, or “vein of love,” was believed to exist in the…

Answer: Although we now know fingers are pretty much the same from a circulatory standpoint, ancient civilizations believed the digit between the pinky and middle fingers contained a direct connection to the heart. This belief in vena amoris is one theory of why wedding rings are worn on the ring finger.

Question: True or false: pheromones have a proven influence on human attraction

Answer: Numerous scientific studies indicate they have no appreciable impact on human attraction. Many animals detect pheromones via a vomeronasal organ (VNO), which for humans is vestigial. The VNO seems to have faded in ancestor primates around the time color vision improved, suggesting a shift to visual stimulus.

Question: Which of these famous buildings was built by a ruler to honor his wife?

Answer: Married in 1612, Mughal emperor Shah Jahān and his wife Mumtaz Mahal were inseparable until her death in 1632 from childbirth complications. Jahān built the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for his beloved spouse. 

Question: True or false: Casanova, a term used to describe a womanizer, is based on a real person.

Answer: Giacomo Casanova was an Italian adventurer whose posthumously published (and perhaps slightly exaggerated) autobiography includes duels, gambling, spying, royal encounters and a prison break. The work also recounts more than 120 love affairs. Casanova has come to mean “a man known for seducing women and having many lovers.”

Question: A scientific study of over 8,000 women indicated which of the following on a man makes him more attractive as a long-term partner?

Answer: During a 2016 study, over 8,000 women were shown men’s faces with various states of facial hair growth. They overwhelmingly selected bearded men as most viable for a long-term relationship.