Who invented emojis and what do bug eggs look like? The kids’ quiz

1. Itamar, 11, asks: who invented emojis?

   1. The companies SoftBank and NEC

   2. Japanese designer Shigetaka Kurita

   3. Steve Jobs

   4. Samsung

2. Ruaridh, 9, asks: is there always a runt of the litter?

   1. Yes, it’s just the weakest of the litter

   2. No, being a runt is caused by genetic factors and health traits

   3. No, only certain breeds have a runt

   4. No, runts don’t exist in real life

3. Frank, 6, asks: why do bees make honey?

   1. It attracts what they really want: bears

   2. They use it to glue the hive together

   3. They need it to maintain their energy levels

   4. They think it looks pretty

4. Devrim, 5, asks: what do bug eggs look like?

   1. Wet and slimy

   2. They are square-shaped

   3. It depends on the bug

   4. All bugs’ eggs are small and glow in the dark

5. Piran, 9, asks: why do tornadoes rarely happen in big cities?

   1. Tornadoes can’t form in cities because of the electrical signals

   2. Cities only cover a small proportion of land, so are hit by fewer tornadoes than the countryside

   3. Lack of space means the tornadoes can never build up and get dangerous

   4. Tornadoes only ever happen in small cities, not big ones

Solutions

1:A - Shigetaka Kurita is often thought of as the inventor of emojis as he designed a set in 1999 that are probably the best known early emojis. However, other Japanese companies, including SoftBank and NEC, designed emojis for portable devices in the late 80s and early 90s., 2:B - There is not always a runt of the litter, but several factors make the chances higher. In dogs, for example, certain breed mixtures, the age of the mother or the litter size can make having a runt more likely., 3:C - Honeybees make honey to feed their colonies. They use it to maintain energy levels, and rely on stores in winter, when it’s usually too cold to leave the hive., 4:C - The eggs are different depending on the bug. Poplar leaf beetle eggs look like small jelly beans, and the eggs of green lacewings hang on hair-like stalks under leaves, looking like a cluster of tiny balloons!, 5:B - Tornadoes rarely happen in cities because the area of land taken up by cities is small compared with rural land, so tornadoes are far more likely to happen away from cities.

Scores

1. 5 and above.

2. 4 and above.

3. 3 and above.

4. 2 and above.

5. 0 and above.

6. 1 and above.