By Wendy Perrin

Congrats to TheGlobalTraveller of New Zealand, who has scored a whopping 27 out of 30 on my Test Your Travel Smarts quiz.  Considering the test's U.S. bias, that's damned impressive.  How come TheGlobalTraveller has the answers?  He's co-author of FlyerTalk's blog The Gate (which he writes under the name Kiwi Flyer). This means he's on top of all the tips and info being shared in FlyerTalk's forums by the world's most frequent travelers. He also brings to my attention that the answer to question #29 has changed:  After the quiz was published in Conde Nast Traveler, British Airways changed its carry-on weight limit!  Here are B.A.'s new carry-on rules.  LoriB, this means your score was not 22 but 23. So far you're the runner-up!

By Wendy Perrin

In case you missed my TEST YOUR TRAVEL SMARTS quiz in Conde Nast Traveler's Nov 2006 issue:  It's now online!  Note to anyone who scores 25 or higher: I WANT TO TALK TO YOU, so please post a comment letting me know how often you travel, why you're on the road so much, and the best way for me to contact you to interview you for an article. (If you'd prefer to shoot me a private e-mail, send it to wperrin@cntraveler.com.) I'd also be interested to know which questions you couldn't answer.

Special note to CoralsO, LoriB, Tracker1312, Seafarer, and Kiwiwriter: Since you guys aced the WHERE IN THE WORLD IS WENDY? contest (which means I get to take each of you to lunch at the restaurant of your choice), I've got high hopes for you.  I'm looking forward to lunch with CoralsO in April, Kiwiwriter hopefully in September, and the rest of you whenever and wherever in the world our paths may cross.

By Wendy Perrin

"Why is Tuesday the best day of the week to search the Web for air fares?" asks reader Ed Barkowitz, who just last week got around to taking my Test Your Travel Smarts quiz in Conde Nast Traveler's November issue. To repeat Question 6:

Which of the following days is best for finding low air fares on the Web?
a. Tuesday    b. Friday    c. Saturday      d. Sunday     The answer: a.

Ed, you'll find the cheapest fares at around 6 a.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  A fare that is $340 on Saturday could drop to $300 by Tuesday morning. Here's why . . . . 

By Wendy Perrin

A second question has come in about the quiz I ran in my November Perrin Report column. (The first 30 quiz questions can be found in Conde Nast Traveler's November issue; the last 15 questions were published online.)  Reader Peacock asks, "Why is it best to give children in Third World countries pencils?"

Here's Question 13 from my quiz:
In Third World countries, when you encounter children begging, which of the following is the best thing to give them?
A. Candy
B. Pencils
C. U.S. Dollars
D. Local currency

B. is the correct answer, as aid organizations worldwide will tell you.

By Wendy Perrin

Huge thanks to the conscientious reader who brought to my attention an unfortunate error in the answer box of my Perrin Report quiz in Conde Nast Traveler's November issue. Reader worldtraveler wrote:

"In your quiz you said that the assumption that 'a midship cabin on a cruise is best to avoid seasickness' is not true. Where is the best cabin/location on a cruise ship to avoid being seasick?  Thanks for your answer and for a VERY INFORMATIVE column."

I was stunned to read this because the statement that "a midship cabin on a cruise is best to avoid seasickness" is absolutely true and is the correct answer to quiz question #27.  It turns out that, for some unexplained reason, the answers to questions 26 and 27 were reversed during the magazine's production process.  The answer to question 26 should be D (not C), and the answer to question 27 should be C (not D).

For those of you who have not seen the quiz and have no earthly idea what I'm talking about, here's question 27:

Which of the following assumptions about booking a cruise-ship cabin is true?

a. A forward cabin has better views.

b. An aft cabin has a larger balcony.

c. A midship cabin is best to avoid seasickness.

d. A balconied cabin means greater privacy.

Correct answer: C

And here's question 26:

If an establishment in a foreign country offers to charge your credit card in U.S. dollars, you should . . .

a. Say yes because it prevents your credit card from hitting you with a foreign-transaction fee.

b. Say yes because the merchant will be using the Interbank exchange rate.

c. Say no because the exchange rate used is always worse than your credit card's.

d. Ask which exchange rate the merchant is using: if it is better than your credit card's, say yes only if your credit card does not impose a foreign-transaction fee for overseas purchases charged in U.S. dollars.

Correct answer: D

The first 30 questions of my quiz are only in Conde Nast Traveler's November issue, but an additional 15 questions are online at cntraveler.com. Click here to take the online quiz and test your travel smarts.