RICRAC #5
October 6, 2026
Before you read the answers below.
How many colors are in a classic bag of M&M's?
Answer: 6 colors
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and brown. Blue replaced tan in 1995, after a public vote.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
How many years did the American Civil War last?
Answer: 4 years
From 1861 to 1865. It remains the deadliest war in American history: about 620,000 soldiers died, according to the classic estimate.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
How tall is the Hoover Dam, rounded to the nearest foot?
Answer: 726 feet
Built from 1931 to 1936. Its crest is 1,244 ft long.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
How much water does it take to make a single pair of jeans?
Answer: 2,000 gallons
As much water as the average person drinks in seven years, according to the UN. Growing cotton takes a huge amount of water.
Source: news.un.org (UN figure (2019).)
How tall is Hyperion, the tallest tree in the world?
Answer: 381 feet
A coast redwood discovered in California in 2006. Its exact location is kept secret to protect it from visitors.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
How many trees are there on Earth, according to the 2015 study published in Nature?
Answer: 3,040,000,000,000 trees
About 3.04 trillion, roughly 370 per person today. According to the same study, their number has fallen by about 46% since the beginnings of agriculture.
Source: doi.org (Crowther et al., Nature, 2015.)
How many grams does a U.S. penny weigh?
Answer: 2.5 grams
Since 1982, pennies have been 97.5% zinc with a thin copper coating. The U.S. Mint stopped making them in 2025.
Source: en.wikipedia.org