Travel Quiz

[swift]

Here's a little quiz from our newspaper that I thought would be fun.



1. Little Diomede Island was discussed constantly during the recent presidential election, although almost never by name. What is its claim to fame?

2. It's officially known as the Archipelago of Ecuador. What do we more commonly call it?

3. If you're in Windsor, Ontario, but would rather be in Detroit, which direction should you head?

4. What is greater - the height of Mount Everest or the depth of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean?

5. What island looks like a soccer ball about to be kicked by the boot of Italy?

6. Name the only two nations in South America that don't share a border with Brazil.

7. Semantically speaking, there are only 46 states in the United States. The other four are commonwealths. Can you name them? We'll even spot you two - Massachusetts and Virginia.

8. What's bigger: the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, or the island of Manhattan?

9. Mount Elbrus is the highest point of one of the seven continents. Which one?

10. Half of all the world's lakes are located in a single country. Which one?

11. Where is the Bridge of Sighs, what does it cross and why was it given that name?

12. In what country do the majority of the world's Portuguese speakers live?

13. Newfoundland didn't join Canada until 1949. To whom did it belong before that?

14. Global warming has exposed something that countless explorers, from John Cabot to Captain Cook, tried in vain to find. What is it?

15. What are the world's northernmost and southernmost capitals?

16. Approximately how big is the world?

a. 97 million square miles

b. 197 million square miles

c. 297 million square miles

d. 397 million square miles

17. Roughly what percent of the Earth's surface is land?

18. Which is larger - North America or South America?

19. Which of the world's continents has both the lowest high point and the highest low point?

20. More countries begin their name with this three-letter combination than any other. Which one?

a. Bel

b. Bur

c. Mal

d. Cam

21. The surface levels of at least three of the world's seas are below sea level. Name them.

22. What do you call the strait that connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara? (Hint: It also cuts right through Istanbul.)

23. Where on Earth would you find the Mountains of the Moon?

24. Where is the only place outside California (and a tiny swath of Oregon) where you can find native redwood trees?

25. It's more than 8,000 feet shorter than Everest, yet the summit of the 20,565-foot-high volcano called Chimborazo is the farthest point from the center of the Earth. Why is that, and where would you find the mountain?

26. In 1948, Russel Arundel, an executive with Pepsi-Cola, founded the principality of Outer Baldonia on a 4-acre island. Somehow it was invited to join the nascent United Nations - until the humor-impaired Soviet Union put its foot down. Where was the principality of Outer Baldonia?

27. This tiny South Pacific nation earns $4 million a year by leasing out its Internet domain name, .tv, and reportedly plans to use the money to relocate its population after the low-lying islands are submerged by rising oceans due to global warming. What is its name?

28. Of the world's 100 tallest mountains, approximately what percentage are located in Asia?

29. Where was the onetime overseas possession of Nazi Germany called New Swabia located?

30. Which empire had Quechua as its language?

32. What two countries are connected by the tunnel under Mont Blanc?

33. Do any U.S. states have perfectly square or rectangular borders?

34. The greatest time change at any international border is 3 hours, 30 minutes. Where is this?

35. This city on the Adriatic, once the main port for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now belongs to Italy (although, in a poll a few years ago, this came as a surprise to a majority of Italians). What is its name?

36. Which state leads the nation in toxic Superfund sites?

37. What was the world's first city to reach a population of 1 million?

38. Of the five Great Lakes - Michigan, Huron, Superior, Erie and Ontario - which is the only one entirely within the borders of the United States?

39. Which country can boast that its national anthem was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?

40. Timbuktu has come to symbolize a romantic, quasi-fantasy place, but it really exists. Where would you find it?

41. The celebrated Hollywood sign is missing four of its original letters. What were they?

42. True of false: The Pacific is larger than all the world's other oceans put together.

43. More than 40 percent of this country is below sea level. Name it.

44. What's larger - England or New England?

45. To which nation does the island of Zanzibar belong?

46. Name the only nation that has two other independent nations entirely within its borders.

47. What, officially, is the difference between a town and a city, and between a village and a hamlet?

48. Other than Ecuador, the equator passes through 11 countries. How many can you name?

49. Name the only continent with a single international dialing code - 672.

50. True or false: The national sport of India is hockey.

 

["Roger"]

Thanks, I am looking forward to trying this. I will be going through the question with my wife some morning so I won't be posting an answers (right or wrong) soon.

 

["Roger"]

I am surprised that this never drew more interest from some of the geography buffs on TUG. Too much eggnog (or snowed in in Seattle)? In any case, here are the answers my wife and I came up with. Note: We never looked at a globe, at atlas, consulted the internet, etc. These answers are all off the top our head. Put differently, we know that there are wrong answers in here. TUGGERs can either try the quiz themselves (no resources) or figure out which of our answers are wrong (and, given the difficulty of the quiz, I am sure there are quite a number of wrong answers).

1. Little Diomede Island was discussed constantly during the recent presidential election, although almost never by name. What is its claim to fame? This is the part of Russia that can be seen from Alaska.

2. It's officially known as the Archipelago of Ecuador. What do we more commonly call it? The Galapogos Islands

3. If you're in Windsor, Ontario, but would rather be in Detroit, which direction should you head? North

4. What is greater - the height of Mount Everest or the depth of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean? Mt. Everest

5. What island looks like a soccer ball about to be kicked by the boot of Italy? Sicily

6. Name the only two nations in South America that don't share a border with Brazil. Ecuador, Chile

7. Semantically speaking, there are only 46 states in the United States. The other four are commonwealths. Can you name them? We'll even spot you two - Massachusetts and Virginia. Rhode Island, Delaware

8. What's bigger: the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, or the island of Manhattan? WDW

9. Mount Elbrus is the highest point of one of the seven continents. Which one? Antartica

10. Half of all the world's lakes are located in a single country. Which one? Canada

11. Where is the Bridge of Sighs, what does it cross and why was it given that name? Venice, the river Po, because a prison was near the bridge and one could hear the moaning of the prisoners

12. In what country do the majority of the world's Portuguese speakers live? Brazil

13. Newfoundland didn't join Canada until 1949. To whom did it belong before that? England

14. Global warming has exposed something that countless explorers, from John Cabot to Captain Cook, tried in vain to find. What is it? The Northwest Passage

15. What are the world's northernmost and southernmost capitals? Helsinki, Johanasburg

16. Approximately how big is the world?

a. 97 million square miles

b. 197 million square miles Yes

c. 297 million square miles

d. 397 million square miles

17. Roughly what percent of the Earth's surface is land? 25%

18. Which is larger - North America or South America? North America

19. Which of the world's continents has both the lowest high point and the highest low point? Australia

20. More countries begin their name with this three-letter combination than any other. Which one?

a. Bel

b. Bur

c. Mal This one

d. Cam

21. The surface levels of at least three of the world's seas are below sea level. Name them. The Dead Sea, the Ross Sea, the Aral Sea

22. What do you call the strait that connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara? (Hint: It also cuts right through Istanbul.) The Dardenelles

23. Where on Earth would you find the Mountains of the Moon? Africa, Morocco

24. Where is the only place outside California (and a tiny swath of Oregon) where you can find native redwood trees? Vancouver, BC

25. It's more than 8,000 feet shorter than Everest, yet the summit of the 20,565-foot-high volcano called Chimborazo is the farthest point from the center of the Earth. Why is that, and where would you find the mountain? Ecuador, because the Earth bulges near the equator

26. In 1948, Russel Arundel, an executive with Pepsi-Cola, founded the principality of Outer Baldonia on a 4-acre island. Somehow it was invited to join the nascent United Nations - until the humor-impaired Soviet Union put its foot down. Where was the principality of Outer Baldonia? The south Pacific, Kiribati, the Line Islands

27. This tiny South Pacific nation earns $4 million a year by leasing out its Internet domain name, .tv, and reportedly plans to use the money to relocate its population after the low-lying islands are submerged by rising oceans due to global warming. What is its name? Tuvalo

28. Of the world's 100 tallest mountains, approximately what percentage are located in Asia? 80%

29. Where was the onetime overseas possession of Nazi Germany called New Swabia located? Tanzania

30. Which empire had Quechua as its language? Inca

32. What two countries are connected by the tunnel under Mont Blanc? France, Switzerland

33. Do any U.S. states have perfectly square or rectangular borders? Colorado

34. The greatest time change at any international border is 3 hours, 30 minutes. Where is this? China, Pakistan

35. This city on the Adriatic, once the main port for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now belongs to Italy (although, in a poll a few years ago, this came as a surprise to a majority of Italians). What is its name? Trieste

36. Which state leads the nation in toxic Superfund sites? New Jersey

37. What was the world's first city to reach a population of 1 million? Bagdad

38. Of the five Great Lakes - Michigan, Huron, Superior, Erie and Ontario - which is the only one entirely within the borders of the United States? Michigan

39. Which country can boast that its national anthem was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? Austria

40. Timbuktu has come to symbolize a romantic, quasi-fantasy place, but it really exists. Where would you find it? Mali

41. The celebrated Hollywood sign is missing four of its original letters. What were they? H, Y, W, O

42. True of false: The Pacific is larger than all the world's other oceans put together. True

43. More than 40 percent of this country is below sea level. Name it. Netherlands

44. What's larger - England or New England? New England

45. To which nation does the island of Zanzibar belong? Tanzania

46. Name the only nation that has two other independent nations entirely within its borders. Italy

47. What, officially, is the difference between a town and a city, and between a village and a hamlet? A city has multiple voting districts, a town does not. A village is incorporated, a hamlet is not

48. Other than Ecuador, the equator passes through 11 countries. How many can you name? Columbia, Brazil, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Federation of Micronesia, Borneo, New Guinea, Kiribati

49. Name the only continent with a single international dialing code - 672. Australia

50. True or false: The national sport of India is hockey. True (Field Hockey)

 

[mas]

4. What is greater - the height of Mount Everest or the depth of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean? Mt. Everest

The mariana trench is ~36,000 feet below sea level, while Mt. Everest is only ~ 29,000 feet above sea level.

 

[DaveNV]

Some very good answers there! Here are a few different answers I have:

15: Isn't Wellington, NZ, further south that Johannesburg?

18: I think South America is larger.

22: Isn't that the Bosphorus?

33: Also Wyoming.

41: It used to say "Hollywoodland." So the missing four letters are L-A-N-D.

Dave

 

[swift]

In retrospect I think I posted too many questions. I should have cut them in half or saved them and posted only a few at a time. But, this is great that it is getting some response now. We will see how many answers/corrections we can get.

 

[caribbean]

7. Semantically speaking, there are only 46 states in the United States. The other four are commonwealths. Can you name them? We'll even spot you two - Massachusetts and Virginia.

Penn & Kentucky. Guess I know this one because of gov't classes in VA HS. Guess I actually remembered something from it.