Here are the answers to today’s questions.
Image Wikimedia Commons
The first question is connected to today, 16 August. The subsequent questions are not date-related but continue a Superlative’s theme which moves on from first, to furthest, heaviest, furthest (again) and finally shortest.
One
In 1858, Queen Victoria sent the U.S. President the first message via the Transatlantic telegraph. How long did the transmission of the message take:
- 7 minutes
- 9 hours
- 16 hours
Answer: 3. 16 hours
On this day in 1858, the first successful transatlantic telegraph exchange between heads of state took place. Queen Victoria sent the initial message to U.S. President James Buchanan. Although nearly instantaneous by 19th-century standards, the transmission required more than 16 hours. Unfortunately, the cable failed on 1 September, and a functioning line was not restored until 1866.
Two
The summit of what stratovolcano is the furthest point from the centre of the Earth?
- Chimborazo, Ecuador
- Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland
- Kogajajima, Japan
Answer: 1. Mount Chimborazo, Ecuador.
Chimborazo, an inactive volcano which sits between Guayaquil and Quito, wins due to Earth’s oblate spheroid shape, placing Whymper — the tallest of its four summits — 7,096 feet (2,163 m) farther from the centre of the Earth than Everest.
Three
Which species is the heaviest living monkey?
- Mandrill
- Nepal Grey Langur
- Olive Baboon
Answer: 1. Mandrill
Mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx), is a colourful, sexually dimorphic Old World monkey from west central Africa, closely related to the drill and white-eyelid mangabeys. Active by day on the ground, it eats fruit, seeds and animals in large female-centred hordes; dominant males are solitary outside breeding.
Four
On 15 August 2026, how far was Voyager 1 from Earth?
- 8.7 billion miles (14.0 billion km)
- 11.3 billion miles (18.2 billion km)
- 15.9 billion miles (25.6 billion km)
Answer: 3. 15.9 billion miles.
Voyager 1 was launched on the 5 September 1977 16 days after Voyager 2.
On Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2026, at 2:16:07 a.m. PST, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft will be 16,094,799,096 miles (25,902,068,356 kilometers) away from Earth — or, the distance light travels in 24 hours, also known as one light-day.
Voyager 1 will be the first human-made object to reach this distance from Earth, adding to a long list of historic firsts for the mission. Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, are the only spacecraft to ever operate outside the heliosphere, or the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields generated by the Sun.
— NASA
Five
What is the fastest time taken to complete the world’s shortest domestic scheduled flight?
- 53 seconds
- 97 seconds
- 131 seconds
Answer: 1. 53 seconds.
The shortest domestic scheduled flight is 2.74 km (1.7 miles) between the Orkney islands of Westray and Papa Westray. The flight takes two minutes (including taxiing) and is operated by Loganair which has been flown with Britten-Norman Islander eight-seat aircraft since September 1967. The total distance is less than either of the runways at Heathrow Airport, London, UK. Stuart Linklater announced his retirement as airplane pilot on the record route and between Stronsay, Sanday, North Ronaldsay and Eday in May 2013. He flew the routes 12,000 time over more than 24 years, clocking up 1.3 million miles. Loganair reported that he had set the fastest time for the Westray and Papa Westray route, with 53 seconds.
— Guinness World Records
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