Here are the answers to the questions i posted earlier.
These questions all relate to today’s date, February 5th. Each question has a year or decade as the first part of the answer, followed by a supplementary question.
Cartoon depicting Leopold II and other imperial powers at the Berlin Conference of 1884.
Image Wikimedia Commons
One
In what decade did a European monarch establish the Congo Free State in West Africa? Who was the monarch, and what was the European country?
Answer: 1880s; Leopold II and Belgium
Belgian King Leopold II established the Congo Free State in 1885, seizing the land as his personal possession. His brutal reign, characterised by forced labour and widespread atrocities, led to international condemnation and the eventual transfer of control to Belgium in 1908.
Two
On this day in what year did Apollo 14 land on the Moon, and name any one of the three astronauts who flew on that mission or all three if you can?
Answer: 1971; Alan B. Shepard Jr., Stuart A. Roosa or Edgar D. Mitchell
Apollo 14, the third lunar landing, successfully landed in the Fra Mauro formation after overcoming malfunctions. Shepard and Mitchell collected Moon rocks and deployed experiments, while Roosa orbited the Moon.
Three
On this day, the New Hermitage Museum opened in Russia. In what decade did it open, and what—at that time—was the name of the city it is located in?
Answer: 1850s; Saint Petersburg
The New Hermitage Museum, part of the larger Hermitage Museum complex in St. Petersburg, was reconstructed between 1840 and 1852 and opened to the public in 1852. The museum is housed within five interconnected buildings, including the Winter Palace and the Small, Old and New Hermitages. The city was founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and named St. Petersburg, which it stayed until 1914 when it became Petrograd to reflect Russian patriotism during World War I by avoiding the German-sounding ‘Petersburg’. In 1924, the name changed to Leningrad in honour of Vladimir Lenin after his death, which it was until 1991 when the city’s population voted to return to the original name.
Four
United Artists, the American film production company, was founded on this day in what decade? Secondly, name any two of the four founders?
Answer: 1910s; Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D. W. Griffith.
United Artists, founded in 1919, was established to allow actors more control over their own affairs. It was acquired by MGM in 1981 and later revived as United Artists Releasing in 2019. However, Amazon, MGM’s parent company, folded UAR into MGM in 2023. On 26 July 2024, Amazon MGM Studios announced the company’s revival.
Five
The creation of the first synthetic plastic was announced on this date. In what decade was this announcement made, and what was the name of this synthetic plastic?
Answer: 1900s; Bakelite
Leo Hendrik Baekeland, a Belgian chemist, invented Velox photographic paper and Bakelite, a versatile plastic, earning him the title ‘The Father of the Plastics Industry’. Bakelite, developed in 1907, became a commercial success due to its mouldability, heat resistance, and electrical nonconductivity. Its creation revolutionised the chemical industry and inspired the development of other synthetic plastics.
Quizology Online 