Door 23 · Brain
True Blue Quiz: Day 23 of Sunburnt Santa
Ten quick questions about Christmas in Australia and around the world, five of each, with four answers to pick from and ten seconds on the clock. True blue means genuinely, dinky-di Australian, and so are half the answers.
How to play True Blue Quiz
- Ten questions about Christmas in Australia and around the world. Tap one of four answers.
- 500 for a correct answer plus 50 for every second left on the 10-second bar.
- Three in a row doubles the next question. Wrong or too slow scores nothing.
Scoring
| What | Points |
|---|---|
| Correct answer | 500 |
| Speed bonus | +50 for every whole second left on the 10-second bar |
| Three right in a row | the next question scores double |
| Wrong answer or out of time | 0 |
The fastest possible answer is worth 950, and 1,900 when it's doubled. Every third correct answer in a row doubles the question after it, so a perfect round doubles questions 4, 7 and 10. A wrong answer resets the run. Ten questions, then it's over.
Stars: the three targets
Stars don't lock anything; they show how you're going, and doors with at least one star count towards the bonus games.
Tips for three stars
- Speed counts in whole seconds, so the first second is worth the most: answer with 9-point-something seconds left and you get the full 950. Read the question, not every option; if you know it, tap the moment you see it.
- The doubled questions are where 9,500 is won. A perfect run doubles questions 4, 7 and 10, so protect your streak going into the third question of each set. If you're unsure, a careful right answer at 700 beats a fast wrong one at 0.
- A fun fact pops up after each answer, and the questions come from a big bank of Aussie and world Christmas trivia, so every round you play teaches you answers for the next: thongs, Carols by Candlelight, the Boxing Day Test and the sun-safety slogan all turn up. Tap to skip the fact once you've read it.
The real story: three true blue facts behind the questions
Every answer in the quiz is checkable, and a few of them have good stories behind them.
Which city holds Carols by Candlelight at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl? Melbourne. Radio broadcaster Norman Banks started it after seeing a woman on Christmas Eve 1937 singing along to carols on the radio by the light of one candle; the first event in Alexandra Gardens in 1938 drew around 10,000 people, and since 1959 it has had a permanent home at the Bowl [1].
What do Aussies call a flip-flop? A thong, named for the strap between your toes rather than the flip-flop sound. Dunlop first imported them from Japan in 1959 and began making them in Australia in 1960 [2], and across the Tasman they're jandals.
Slip, Slop, ...? Slap. Cancer Council launched Slip, Slop, Slap in 1981, and in 2007 it grew to Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, Slide, adding shade and wraparound sunglasses to the shirt, sunscreen and hat [3].
If you want to swot up before you play, our Australian Christmas trivia page has plenty more, with the answers tucked away.
Read more: 50 Aussie Christmas trivia questions (with answers).
When it opens
Door 23 opens on day 23 of your own calendar (your Day 1 is the day you first play), and for everyone by 23 December. Play the door before it to open it. Once it's open you can replay it as often as you like, and after Christmas Eve all 24 doors stay open. How the calendar works.
Play now
Same kind of game: Light Show, Secret Santa Shuffle, Thong Pairs.
Sources for the real story
- Our history, Vision Australia Carols by Candlelight
- Flip flop: the un-Australian history of the rubber thong, The Conversation
- Slip Slop Slap Seek Slide, Cancer Council Australia