Would You Be Able to Pass a World War I Military Literacy Test?

Though reading and writing might not come to mind as the first requirement for trench warfare, during the early 20th century, the U.S. Army became increasingly concerned with whether or not its soldiers were literate. Thousands of World War I soldiers couldn't read printed directions on basic military tasks. The Army didn't implement its first major literacy program until the 1940s, but literacy tests were included in a battery of psychological evaluations World War I recruits went through to determine their mental fitness and intelligence, as the blog Futility Closet recently highlighted.

These unconventional literacy tests largely took the form of a yes or no questions with obvious answers, according to the 1921 report from the U.S. Surgeon General, Psychological Examining in the United States Army. Edited by pioneering intelligence-testing psychologist Robert Yerkes, who developed the military's first psychology exams for new recruits (and was also famous for his support for eugenics), the volume is a lengthy compilation of all of the methods the U.S. Army used to test the intelligence of its future soldiers. Many of these tests are now considered racist and culturally biased—some of the "intelligence" testing questions required recruits to know things like what products Velvet Joe (a figure used in tobacco campaigns) advertised—but some of the literacy questions, in particular, simply come off as weird in the modern era. Some are downright existential, in fact, while others—"Is a guitar a disease?"—come off as almost poetic.

One test, the Devens Literarcy Test, asked recruits questions like "Is genuine happiness a priceless treasure?" and "Does success tend to bring pleasure?" Another section of the test asked "Do boys like to play?" and "Do clerks enjoy a vacation?"

Other questions seem like they're up for debate, like "Are painters ever artless individuals?" and "Is extremely athletic exercise surely necessary?" Surely the answers to questions like "Should criminals forfeit liberty?" and "Is misuse of money an evil?" depend on the opinions of the reader. The answer to "Do imbeciles usually hold responsible offices?" might be different depending on how the person feels about their Congressional representative, and could surely be the spark for an hour-long argument at most dinner parties.

Still others are tests of cultural knowledge, not reading skill—a major modern criticism of Yerkes's work. Despite being arguably a pretty literate person, I certainly don't know the answer to the question "Do voluntary enlistments increase the army?" A question like "Are 'diminutive' and 'Lilliputian' nearly identical?" isn't exactly a test of literacy, but a test of whether or not you've read Gulliver's Travels, which doesn't exactly seem like a necessity for military success.

Luckily, some of the questions are pretty obvious, like "Is coal white?" That one I can answer. The full list of questions used in the various versions of the Devens test is below for you to test your own Army-level literacy.

• Do dogs bark?
• Is coal white?
• Can you see?
• Do men eat stones?
• Do boys like to play?
• Can a bed run?
• Do books have hands?
• Is ice hot?
• Do winds blow?
• Have all girls the same name?
• Is warm clothing good for winter?
• Is this page of paper white?
• Are railroad tickets free?
• Is every young woman a teacher?
• Is it always perfect weather?
• Is the heart within the body?
• Do clerks enjoy a vacation?
• Is the President a public official?
• Would you enjoy losing a fortune?
• Does an auto sometimes need repair?
• Is it important to remember commands?
• Are avenues usually paved with oxygen?
• Do we desire serious trouble?
• Is practical judgment valuable?
• Ought a man's career to be ruined by accidents?
• Do you cordially recommend forgery?
• Does an emergency require immediate decision?
• Should honesty bring misfortune to its possessor?
• Are gradual improvements worth while?
• Is a punctual person continually tardy?
• Are instantaneous effects invariably rapid?
• Should preliminary disappointment discourage you?
• Is hearsay testimony trustworthy evidence?
• Is wisdom characteristic of the best authorities?
• Is extremely athletic exercise surely necessary?
• Is incessant discussion usually boresome?
• Are algebraic symbols ever found in manuals?
• Are tentative regulations ever advantageous?
• Are "diminutive" and "Lilliputian" nearly identical?
• Is an infinitesimal titanic bulk possible?
• Do all connubial unions eventuate felicitously?
• Is a "gelatinous exaltation" ridiculous?
• Are "sedate" and "hilarious" similar in meaning?
• Is avarice sometimes exhibited by cameos?
• Can a dog run?
• Is water dry?
• Can you read?
• Do stones talk?
• Do books eat?
• Do cats go to school?
• Are six more than two?
• Is John a girl's name?
• Are there letters in a word?
• Is your nose on your face?
• Can you carry water in a sieve?
• Do soldiers wear uniforms?
• Does it rain every morning?
• Are newspapers made of iron?
• Are "forward" and "backward" directions?
• Do many people attend motion-picture theatres?
• Do handkerchiefs frequently injure human beings?
• Do magazines contain advertisements?
• Are political questions often the subject of debates?
• Are empires inclosed in envelopes?
• Are members of the family usually regarded as guests?
• Is genuine happiness a priceless treasure?
• Do imbeciles usually hold responsible offices?
• May chimneys be snipped off with scissors?
• Is moderation a desirable virtue?
• Are apish manners desired by a hostess?
• Do conscientious brunettes exist?
• Do serpents make oblong echoes?
• Do voluntary enlistments increase the army?
• Is hypocrisy approved by honest men?
• Is virile behavior effeminate?
• Do alleged facts often require verification?
• Do pestilences ordinarily bestow great benefit?
• Are painters ever artless individuals?
• Do the defenders of citadels sometimes capitulate?
• Do physicians ameliorate pathological conditions?
• Is embezzlement a serious misdemeanor?
• Do vagrants commonly possess immaculate cravats?
• Are "loquacious" and "voluble" opposite in meaning?
• May heresies arise among the laity?
• Are piscatorial activities necessarily lucrative?
• Do tendrils terminate in cerebral hemorrhages?
• Does a baby cry?
• Can a hat speak?
• Do hens lay eggs?
• Is a stone soft?
• Is one more than seven?
• Do the land and sea look just alike?
• Are some books black?
• Does water run up hill?
• Are stamps used on letters?
• Do 100 cents make a dollar?
• Are we sure what events will happen next year?
• Do ships sail on railroads?
• Do stones float in the air?
• May meat be cut with a knife?
• Are ledges common in mountain districts?
• Does success tend to bring pleasure?
• Are diamonds mined in mid-ocean?
• Is misuse of money an evil?
• Should criminals forfeit liberty?
• Is special information usually a disadvantage?
• Are attempted suicides always fatal?
• Are exalted positions held by distinguished men?
• Does confusion favor the establishment of order?
• Is a civil answer contrary to law?
• Is a dilapidated garment nevertheless clothing?
• Are textile manufacturers valueless?
• Do thieves commit depredations?
• Does close inspection handicap accurate report?
• Do transparent goggles transmit light?
• Do illiterate men read romances?
• Is irony connected with blast furnaces?
• Do avalanches ever descend mountains?
• Are scythes always swung by swarthy men?
• Do pirates accumulate booty?
• Are intervals of repose appreciated?
• Are intermittent sounds discontinuous?
• Is an avocational activity ordinarily pleasurable?
• Are pernicious pedestrians translucent?
• Are amicable relationships disrupted by increased congeniality?
• Are many nocturnal raids surreptitiously planned
• Are milksops likely to perpetrate violent offenses?
• Are "precipitancy" and "procrastination" synonymous?
• Is snow cold?
• Can a dog read?
• Do houses have doors?
• Has a horse five legs?
• Are three more than ten?
• Do mice love cats?
• Does a hat belong to you?
• Do animals have glass eyes?
• Should fathers provide clothing for children?
• Is it true that lead is heavy
• Do poor men have much money?
• Is summer colder than winter?
• Can a horse tell time by a watch?
• Is a city larger than a country town?
• Does Christmas ever fall on Tuesday?
• Do Christians often overlook faults?
• Are difficult problems easily solved?
• Do convicts sometimes escape from prison?
• Should the courts secure justice for everybody?
• Are scoundrels always intoxicated?
• Is a guitar a kind of disease?
• Do jugglers furnish entertainment?
• Should we build on insecure foundations?
• Do annual conventions take place biweekly?
• Does persistent effort favor ultimate success?
• Is a shrewd man necessarily admired?
• Is manual skill advantageous?
• Are elaborate bonnets inexpensive?
• Are petty annoyances irritating?
• Are false arguments valid?
• Do you approve of ruthless massacres?
• Do blemishes occur in complexions?
• Is air found in a complete vacuum?
• Do robins migrate periodically?
• Are weird tales sometimes gruesome?
• Do felines possess locomotor appendages?
• Do demented individuals frequently have hallucinations?
• Are laconic messages sometimes verbose?
• Are perfunctory endeavors usually efficacious?
• Would a deluge extinguish a smouldering trellis?
• Are devastated suburbs exhilarating vistas?
• Are "contingent" and "independent" alike in meaning?

[h/t Futility Closet]