= JKR's Interviews-Website Effects Section Folder+ WOMBAT grade 2 questions and commentary
Edited by Kip Carter Oct 3, 2006 1:12 am
Steve, Lisa and I had a lot of fun sharing our answers (and guesses 
) on the W.O.M.B.A.T. test questions.
(You can read the full text of the questions and our commentary here.)
We would love to hear your commentary too!
One of our Hosts, S.E. Jones, was kind enough to produce all of the questions as the first message to this new thread; however I have blended her message into this opening post so that the questions would always be available quickly. Thanks and I will delete that copied first message after I make this edit. - Kip 1:12 am Tue 3 Oct 06
Just to make it easier for everyone, here's the questions from the test:
Part I:
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
a. Hags eat small children
b. Inferi cannot speak
c. Goblins fear sunlight
d. There are no female centaurs
e. Vampire bites are curable nowadays
2. Which of the following statements is FALSE?
a. Ghosts can cause movement of both liquid and gas
b. Freshwater merpeople are less warlike than salt
c. The werewolf's snout is shorter than that of the true wolf
d. There are no male Veela
e. Hags have four toes on each foot
3. Which of the following are considered MOST dangerous by the Ministry of Magic?
a. Dementors
b. Hags
c. Inferi
d. Vampires
e. Werewolves
4. Which of the following are considered AMORTAL (have never died, and can never die) by the Ministry of Magic?
a. Dementors
b. Ghosts
c. Inferi
d. Poltergeists
e. Vampires
5. Which (still unresolved) issue do most historians believe triggered the infamous goblin rebellion of 1612?
a. Lack of goblin representation on the Wizengamot?
b. Wizard attempts to enslave goblins and use as house-elves?
c. Wizard refusal to grant goblins the right to carry a wand?
d. Attempt of wizards to regain control of Gringotts bank?
e. Series of brutal goblin-slayings by wizard murderer Yardley Platt
6. Which of the following statements on giants is TRUE?
a. Giant clans are matriarchal (females in charge)
b. Female giants are usually larger than males
c. Giants' eyesight is very poor compared with that of humans
d. Giants are nocturnal
e. Many giants are cannibals
7. Which of the following statements on house-elves is FALSE?
a. House-elves have an average life-expectancy of 200 years
b. A house-elf's allegiance is foremost to its house (rather than to the inhabitants of the house)
c. House-elves cannot be ordered to kill themselves
d. House-elf magic is sufficiently powerful to override wizards' enchantments
e. House-elves breed infrequently and then only with their masters' permission
Part II
8. In a recent Ministry of Magic poll, what was identified as the issue most concerning the wizarding community at the present time?
a. Insufficient information given by the Ministry of Magic regarding the return of Lord Voldemort
b. Insufficient action taken by the Ministry of Magic to fight Lord Voldemort
c. Inadequate Ministry of Magic resources devoted to the protection of the wizarding community
d. Over-reaction of Ministry of Magic to the return of Lord Voldemort, which is the best thing that has happened to the wizarding community in many years
9. According to a recent article in the Daily Prophet, which subject at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been complained about by parents more than any other (over 100 year period)?
a. Care of Magical Creatures
b. Defence Against the Dark Arts
c. History of Magic
d. Muggle Studies
10. What percentage of wizards and witches believe that Weather-Modifying Charms should be regulated due to their effect upon the environment? (Figures collected by the Committee for Experimental Charms)
a. 3%
b. 33%
c. 53%
d. 93%
11. Which health scare at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries has recently caused widespread panic? (Source: St. Mungo's Admissions Department)
a. Suspected brain damage due to the Imperius Curse
b. Suspected death due to Thestral sightings
c. Spate of suspected werewolf bites
d. Uncontrollable bleeding due to 'Nosebleed Nougat'
12. What change would 18% of wizards like to see to the requirements for membership of the Wizengamot? (source: Ministry of Magic poll)
a. Average age lowered from 87
b. Proof of pure-blood status
c. Maximum of three years in post
d. Goblin representation
Part III
13. Assuming that you already have a wand, which THREE of the following would you consider indispensable in case of trouble?
a. Anti-Muggle doorknob
b. Broomstick
c. Cauldron
d. Crystal ball
e. Extendable Ear
f. Floo powder
g. Foe-Glass
h. Hand of Glory
i. Invisibility Cloak
j. Lunascope
k. Omnioculars
l. Parchment
m. Pensieve
n. Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder
o. Potion-making kit
p. Quick-Quotes Quill
q. Remembrall
r. Revealer
s. Scales
t. Secrecy Sensor
u. Sneakoscope
v. Telescope
w. Time-Turner
x. Two-way mirror
y. Wizard's wireless
Part IV
14. Which of the following is the ONLY magical invention whose effect has not yet been duplicated FULLY by Muggle ingenuity?
a. Flying broomstick
b. Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover
c. Omnioculars
d. "reparo"
e. Self-ironing robes
15. Which of the following is the ONLY Muggle invention whose effects cannot be duplicated FULLY by magic?
a. Aeroplane
b. Car
c. Computer
d. Telephone
e. Television
16. The following beliefs are all widely held in the wizarding world, but only ONE is actually TRUE. (According to the latest research from the Institute of Muggle Studies) Which is it?
a. Muggle-born witches/wizards are more likely to produce Squib children than those who have one or more wizarding parents.
b. Muggle-born witches/wizards usually have a witch or wizard ancestor somewhere in their family tree, though s/he may be generations back.
c. Muggle-born witches/wizards are generally less prone to certain magical illnesses than those who have one or more wizarding parent.
d. Muggle-born witches/wizards are generally slower to show signs of magic in childhood than those who have one or more wizarding parent.
e. Muggle-born witches/wizards have great natural rhythm.
17. Which of the following statements is FALSE? (According to the latest research from the Institute of Muggle Studies)
a. It is possible for a Muggle to produce elementary magic if they have access to a wand and a book of spells
b. It is possible for a Muggle to inadvertently stumble upon magically protected areas such as Diagon Alley and St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries
c. It is possible for a Muggle to see and correctly identify magical creatures
d. It is possible for a Muggle to see and yet deny the existence of magical creatures, even without magical intervention
e. It is possible for a Muggle to believe in impossibilities
18. Muggles are:
a. Ignorant
b. In danger
c. Inferior to wizards
d. Insensitive to their surroundings
e. Interesting
f. Irritating facts of life
Bel, I loved the Lex staff's commentary, especially Steve's comments on #13: Parchment - For writing a good-bye note? "Dear Mum, Sorry I was too stupid to bring something more useful, but I'm about to be eaten by an Acromantula and all I've got is this bit of parchment. Hope this finds you well, your soon-to-be-late son, Steve."
It still makes me giggle! 
- Oct 3, 2006 3:48 am (#2 of 83)
Edited Oct 3, 2006 4:50 am
There has been a lot of discussion about how did DD know where to send Hagrid to rescue Harry, and how did Sirius know where to show up on the motorcycle since the Potters where under the Fidelius charm. But the mention of a two-way mirror in #13 led me to wonder if that's the answer. We have had interview clues that tell us the mirror will be part of the story again, though not as we might think. What we would normally think is that the mirror still might be used again, but in this guess, it would have been used in the past.
I think one of those 25 options listed in question 13 are likely to explain how they knew.
- Oct 3, 2006 3:55 am (#3 of 83)
Edited Oct 3, 2006 4:57 am
AHAHA! Me too, S.E.! I was laughing so hard, I could hardly answer.
And to add to the amusement...
I had chosen parchment the first time I did it! 
but shhhhhhhh, don't tell anyone, okay?
Well, it said indespensible!
- Oct 3, 2006 4:17 am (#4 of 83)
That answer was the highlight of my day.HaHa! That was a definate Troll answer.
Edited Oct 3, 2006 9:42 am
I enjoyed the commentary very much although I disagreed with the answers chosen
I took the test twice.
9 - On the first test I said Defence Against the Dark Arts (because of the ever-changing teachers, and that dark arts aren't taught - something some parents might object too) and on the other answered History of Magic (because it's amazingly boring).
I didn't answer Care of Magical Creatures because Hagrid has only been teaching a few years, and I doubt enough students take the subject for enough complaints to rank up compared to a 100 years worth. Of course, we don't know what previous teachers were like. Muggle Studies I decided would probably have the least complaints, although there are some parents (probably the ones who don't like the lack of dark arts teaching) who would complain.
14 - Invisibility Cloak, Potion-making Kit and a Cauldron. It seems silly to have a potion-making kit without a cauldron (or visa versa). I don't have scales though... I like your answer though, Nathan!
- Oct 3, 2006 11:20 am (#7 of 83)
Can't poltergeists be exorcised "in real life"?
haymoni
- Oct 3, 2006 11:26 am (#8 of 83)
Only in "Ghostbusters"!!
Starling, if they do exist in real life, it is claimed that they can be exorcised in real life, just like ghosts. A lot of stories of poltergeist activity (in real life) centre around teenagers, or people with high levels of emotion - which makes a poltergeist in Hogwarts a good idea. 
Often, if exorcism isn't tried, it's said that the activity just decreases over time, as the person(s) involved grow up or become less emotive.
Ann - Oct 3, 2006 12:51 pm (#10 of 83)
I thought a lot about that question of what Muggle invention wizards haven't been able to functionally duplicate, and although I though television at first, it occurred to me that magical paintings duplicate that to a certain degree, and she's said in interviews (a long time ago, and I'm a bit surprised it hasn't appeared yet) that there's a wizarding equivalent to the Internet that's a lot more fun. So it struck me that the only function that hasn't been duplicated by wizards is the automobile. When wizards need ground transportation, they use Muggle devices (automobile, motorcycle, train, bus), and although they often enhance these devices considerably (the Knight Bus), they are in essence Muggle inventions.
Horcrux - Oct 3, 2006 12:59 pm (#11 of 83)
Hmm,
We havn't seen the internet in the wizarding world either
Edited Oct 3, 2006 2:03 pm
Ann --So it struck me that the only function that hasn't been duplicated by wizards is the automobile.--
They do have flying carpets, even though they're banned in England, which can take a family from point A to point B and thus work like either an airplane or a car, or both.
- Oct 3, 2006 3:46 pm (#13 of 83)
Edited Oct 3, 2006 4:47 pm
I put the fellytone, because the Order members were using the patronus as their means of communication and do you remember Ron trying to use it? If the magical world had something similar, I can't imagine he would have shouted into it so. 
- Oct 3, 2006 3:50 pm (#14 of 83)
I kind of figured the thestral-drawn carriages at Hogwarts are automobile like. I answered computer. Wizards don't seem to have anything like a computer to quickly make difficult calculations or store vast amounts of information with an easy-access interface.
I've seen fanfics that have portrayed arithmancy this way but JKR hasn't shown us much about arithmancy.
- Oct 3, 2006 3:57 pm (#15 of 83)
Edited Oct 3, 2006 4:58 pm
HH, they have "head in the fireplace" to work as a telephone. It's not reproducing the actual device -- it's the "effects" that can be duplicated. Wizards can use magical means to communicate directly over long distances. And Journeymom, JKR specifically told fans at one point that the Wizarding World has something like the Internet, but better... although she hasn't showed us yet...
I would think that this thread is a good place to bring this up... does anybody else get the feeling that JKR's using this WOMBAT test to give us clues about the next book? I mean, that bit about "Which (still unresolved) issue do most historians believe triggered the infamous goblin rebellion of 1612" just screams "CLUE!" to me. And then she asked all these questions about which we have no information?
Call me paranoid, but I think maybe she's being sneaky.
- Oct 3, 2006 4:04 pm (#16 of 83)
Edited Oct 3, 2006 5:05 pm
RPS, I would classify that as a means of communication if apparating could be considered as such, but not of sending your voice. As far as I can see, the closest they have shown to sending a voice was what Fudge did at the Quidditch World Cup (was it sonorus?).
Chemyst's Post #2 made me think of that very thing, RPS. I do feel as though some of those questions are to focus our attention in the 'right direction'. Now, if we could only use it to rid the world of unanswered JKR questions. . . (edited)
…which is why I'm so disappointed she doesn't give us answers! That would solve so many things…
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+ WOMBAT grade 2 questions and commentary