ARE you hankering for a little lateral thinking? Wanna give your noodle a workout? Looking for a bit of brain stimulation to get you through the summer? Well you've come to the right place.
Today we're featuring our fourth annual Seniors Quiz. The quiz is designed to test your knowledge about seniors' issues and to stimulate your brain.
It's fun and doesn't take long - there are only 15 questions to answer - and some of this information may surprise you.
Pencils ready? Let's begin.
1. By 2025, one in four Canadians will be older than 60.
True or false?
2. Less than five per cent of the age 65+ population in Canada is in nursing homes. True or false?
3. In 2010, there were 22,891 Canadians over the age of 55 who filed for bankruptcy.
True or false? 4. A paper in the Journal of Social Psychological and Personality Science found that people tend to become less kind, less conscientious and less agreeable in their old age. True or false?
5. In the United States, approximately 29 per cent of Americans currently have a living will but more than 70 per cent of doctors do. True or false?
6. According to the Danish Aging Research Center, half of the babies born today have a good chance of living to be 100. True or false?
7. Albert Einstein's brain weighed 1,230 grams (2.71 pounds), significantly less than the human average of 1,300 to 1,400 grams (three pounds) True or false? 8. Section 90 of the B.C. Family Relations Act creates a legal obligation for adult children to support their dependent parents. True or false?
9. People age 50+ purchase 25 per cent of all toys. True or false?
10. People age 50+ are the fastest growing segment on the Internet and spend more time online than teenagers. True or false?
11. In Canada the only group in which divorce is on the rise is people over the age of 50. True or false?
12. Saskatchewan, on a per capita basis, has more centenarians (citizens 100 years of age and older), than any other province in Canada. True or false?
13. In 2009, three-quarters of all seniors in Canada had a driver's licence. True or false?
14. The Federal Court of Appeal recently upheld a previous ruling that said contractual provisions forcing Air Canada pilots to retire at the age of 60 violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. True or false?
15. Bonus question: A sexagenarian is a person whose age is between 60 and 69. True or false. Answer key: Statements No. 4 and 14 are false. All others are true. If you scored well on the quiz congratulations but that's not really the point.
There is lots of evidence to suggest that honing intellectual skills can bolster the mind in the same way that physical exercise protects and strengthens the body.
Your brain continues to change and grow according to the needs and demands put on it. Being involved in leisure activities that help stimulate your brain can help you live a longer and happier life.
So get out there and enjoy the rest of the summer.
Tom Carney is the executive director of the Lionsview Seniors' Planning Society. Ideas for future columns are welcome. Contact him at 604-985-3852 or send an email to [email protected].
