Quiz nights are a popular pastime these days. We can’t guarantee that the information here is up to date out it you fancy getting ahead of the competition you might be interested in this set of 50 cards by Facchino Chocolate Wafers titled (with some slightly odd punctuation) How or Why!

The colour fronts contain a relevant picture and underneath a question such as ‘How was the Union Jack formed?’ or ‘Why does a match flame when struck?’. The backs give you an answer.

The set was produced in 1937 so the pictures and some of the questions are typically evocative of the period.

‘Why are the spokes of a mangle wheel curved?’ Effectively this is to allow them to cool when being forged without snapping.

‘Why does a Doctor have a red light at his door?’ ‘Doctors in olden times used leeches for bloodsucking and a red light denoted where this could be done’.
Others are still relevant today such as why a cat can see in the dark (it has large pupils to admit more light), how a rainbow is formed (refraction), or why does a steel ship float (a complicated formula)…

Among the set there was also one titled ‘Why are children so fond of Facchino’s chocolate wafers?’ a shameless plug. *

Ian Laker