Letters & Telephone Quiz for Seniors

There was a time when the best part of the day was hearing the postie’s whistle, or the telephone ringing out in the hallway with the whole family wondering who it was for. Letters came with a stamp you could save, a telegram was read out at every wedding, and a trunk call to the family interstate was booked ahead and kept short. Whenever I bring an old black dial phone or a bundle of airmail letters into the lounge, the room fills with stories.

This Letters, Stamps & the Telephone Quiz for Seniors has 30 multiple-choice questions in four rounds: a USA & Canada Round, a British Round, an Australia & New Zealand Round, and a short Everyone Remembers round that suits any group.

Seniors enjoying a group quiz in aged care

How to Play

Read each question and the four choices slowly, then give the group plenty of time to think. Play in teams, as one big group, or just for fun. There is no need to keep score.

Each round stands on its own, so you can run just the round that suits your residents, or play them all for a mixed room.

Tip: Accept any sensible answer. “The postie” is just as right as “the postman”, and a “phone box” is just as right as a “phone booth” or a “telephone kiosk”. If someone starts telling you about a letter they still keep in a drawer, or the night they waited by the phone, let the quiz wait.

The printable A4 PDF has large print, each round starting on a new page, an answer key for every round for the activity leader, and reminiscing questions for each round.

Printable A4 PDF quiz pages from Memory Lane Therapy

A taste of what’s inside

Here are two sample questions from each country round.

🇺🇸🇨🇦 USA & Canada Round

Canada’s very first postage stamp, issued in 1851, showed which animal?

AA moose
BA polar bear
CA beaver
DA loon

In America, which company’s telegrams were often delivered by uniformed boys on bicycles?

AAmerican Express
BWestern Union
CGreyhound
DSears

+ 8 more questions in the printable A4 PDF

🇬🇧 British Round

Britain gave the world its first sticky postage stamp in 1840. What was it called?

AThe Penny Red
BThe Penny Blue
CThe Penny Black
DThe Penny Brown

In the old red phone boxes, which button did you press to get your pennies back if nobody answered?

AButton A
BButton B
CButton C
DThe red button

+ 6 more questions in the printable A4 PDF

🇦🇺🇳🇿 Australia & New Zealand Round

In Australia, what did the postie blow to let you know there was mail in the letterbox?

AA bugle
BA whistle
CA bicycle bell
DA car horn

New Zealand’s emergency number, first used in Masterton and Carterton in 1958, is what?

A111
B000
C999
D911

+ 5 more questions in the printable A4 PDF

⭐ PLUS a bonus Everyone Remembers round, 5 questions everyone can join in on

Premium Members get all 30 questions, the answer keys, reminiscing questions and the printable A4 PDF.

Join Premium Membership

USA & Canada Round

1. On a country party line, several houses shared one telephone line. How did you know a call was for your house?
A. A light flashed on the roof
B. The operator sent a telegram
C. Your own special ring
D. The phone played a tune

2. The Pony Express carried letters on horseback between Missouri and California. About how long did it run?
A. About 18 months
B. About 10 years
C. About 40 years
D. About 100 years

3. Glenn Miller’s 1940 hit “Pennsylvania 6-5000” was named after the telephone number of what?
A. The White House
B. A Chicago dance hall
C. A radio station
D. A New York hotel