Quizology.Online

Tag: exploration

  • Initial Answers — Answers

    Here are the answers to today’s questions   Initial Answers.

    Today the first question relates to today’s date, May 23rd. The following questions follow a theme which is explained here. 

    Theme

    • The gist of today’s quiz is that the first question results in you having three five-letter words in the answer.
    • One of those words supplies the initial letters for the remaining questions. 
    • Firstly, discount the initial letter as it has already been used. The remaining four letters supply the initial letters to the answers to the remaining questions but they will not necessarily be in the correct order. 
    • Once you have answered all the questions you should be able to take the initial letters of the five answers, rearrange and have one of the words from the answer to question one.
    Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet.
    Image Encyclopædia Britannica

    One

    The country that is home to the building in the image above was annexed by a neighbour on this day in 1951. In what city is the building, and what two neighbouring countries are referred to?

    Answers: Lhasa; Tibet and China.

    The Potala Palace, pictured, in Lhasa, Tibet, served as the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959. Built in the dzong style, it’s named after Mount Potalaka, the mythical dwelling of Avalokiteśvara.  Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, stands at 11,995 feet (3,656 m), making it one of the world’s highest cities. The incorporation of Tibet into China in 1950 remains a contentious issue. While China considers it a rightful part of its territory, many Tibetans and the international community view it as an occupation.

    Two

    In what film from the 1990s is El Toro air base destroyed?

    Independence Day.

    Independence Day is a 1996 American science fiction action film directed by Roland Emmerich. The film, which focuses on a worldwide attack by extraterrestrials, was a significant turning point in the history of the Hollywood blockbuster and grossed over $817.4 million worldwide.

    Three

    What explorer, in c.986 CE, was the founder of the first European settlement on Greenland?

    Answer: Erik the Red.

    While exiled, Erik the Red explored a land later known as Greenland, which he named to attract settlers. He returned to Iceland, successfully recruiting colonists, and in c.986 CE, established two settlements on Greenland’s southwest coast, the Eastern and Western Settlements.

    Four

    Who in The Lord of the Rings is described by Gandalf as ‘the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon this Middle-earth’?

    Answer: Treebeard.

    Treebeard, an Ent, recounts to Merry and Pippin how the Ents were created to protect trees and how he remembers the vast forests of Middle-earth. He learns of Saruman’s treachery and, realising the danger he poses, rallies the Ents to attack Isengard, destroying it and trapping Saruman in his tower. After the war, Treebeard remains at Isengard, now called the Treegarth of Orthanc, and is entrusted with its care by the king, Elessar (Aragorn).

    Five

    The Beagle Channel, the Straits of Magellan to the north, and the open-ocean Drake Passage to the south are the three navigable passages around South America between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
    — Wikipedia 

    What body of water is missing from this quote?

    Answer: Beagle Channel.

    The channel was named after HMS Beagle, which surveyed South America’s coasts from 1826 to 1830. During a second voyage, captain FitzRoy took Charles Darwin, who saw glaciers for the first time in the channel, and noted

    It is scarcely possible to imagine anything more beautiful than the beryl-like blue of these glaciers, and especially as contrasted with the dead white of the upper expanse of snow.
    — Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle

    Explanation

    Answers

    1. Lhasa; Tibet and China = T
    2. Independence Day = I
    3. Erik the Red = E
    4. Treebeard = T
    5. Beagle Channel = B
      T I E T B 🔄 TIBET

  • Initial Answers

    Today the first question relates to today’s date, May 23rd. The following questions follow a theme which is explained here. 

    Theme

    • The gist of today’s quiz is that the first question results in you having three five-letter words in the answer.
    • One of those words supplies the initial letters for the remaining questions. 
    • Firstly, discount the initial letter as it has already been used. The remaining four letters supply the initial letters to the answers to the remaining questions but they will not necessarily be in the correct order. 
    • Once you have answered all the questions you should be able to take the initial letters of the five answers, rearrange and have one of the words from the answer to question one.
    Image Encyclopædia Britannica

    One

    The country that is home to the building in the image above was annexed by a neighbour on this day in 1951. In what city is the building, and what two neighbouring countries are referred to?

    Two

    In what film from the 1990s is El Toro air base destroyed?

    Three

    What explorer, in c.986 CE, was the founder of the first European settlement on Greenland?

    Four

    Who in The Lord of the Rings is described by Gandalf as ‘the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon this Middle-earth’?

    Five

    The … …, the Straits of Magellan to the north, and the open-ocean Drake Passage to the south are the three navigable passages around South America between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
    — Wikipedia 

    What body of water is missing from this quote?

  • Who and Where — Answers

    Today’s answers are shown below.

    Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, 1953.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    These questions all relate to people born this day, 15th May, and where they were born.

    One

    Born on this day in 1914, the Sherpa who, along with Edmund Hillary, was the first to stand on the summit of Mount Everest. Who was this Sherpa, and in what country was he born according to either his own autobiography or a later biography co-written by his son?

    Answers: Tenzing Norgay (aka Sherpa Tenzing); (either) Nepal or Tibet.

    Conflicting accounts exist regarding his birthplace so either Nepal or Tibet is acceptable. Tenzing Norgay was born to Tibetan parents in either in Nepal or Tibet, and likely grew up in Khumbu, Nepal. His birth name was Namgyal Wangdi, and at some point in his childhood, he took the name Tenzing Norgay. Norgay and Hillary stood on the summit of Mount Everest on 29 May 1953.

    Two

    Born this day in 1937, the woman who would become the first female U.S. Secretary of State. Who was she, and in what city was she born?

    Answers: Madeleine Albright; Prague.

    Madeleine Albright, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic), was the first female U.S. Secretary of State (1997-2001) and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (1993-1997). Her family fled Czechoslovakia twice, first due to Nazi occupation and later due to a communist coup, eventually settling in the United States. As a human rights advocate, Albright championed military intervention, democracy, and human rights, notably advocating for NATO bombings in Kosovo. After leaving government service, she founded the Albright Group and supported Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns.

    Three

    Abraham …, born on this day in 1905, a clothing manufacturer, became famous for a short piece—less than 30 seconds—of 8 mm film captured in Texas in 1963. What was Abraham’s surname, in what country was he born and what event did the film capture?

    Answers: Zapruder; Ukraine; the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

    Abraham Zapruder, a Ukrainian-born American clothing manufacturer, captured the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on film in Dallas, Texas. His footage, considered the most complete of the event, captured 26.6 seconds in 486 frames of the motorcade including the fatal headshot (frame 313). He sold the rights of the film to Life magazine, donating part of the proceeds to the widow of J.D. Tippet, the Dallas police officer shot by Lee Harvey Oswald less than an hour after the president’s assassination.

    Four

    Tik-Tok of Oz (1914) was the eighth book in a series. Who, born this day in 1856, was the author of this book and series, and in what U.S. state was this author born?

    Answers: L. Frank Baum; New York.

    American author Lyman Frank Baum, best known for his children’s fantasy books set in the land of Oz, especially The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was born in Chittenango, New York. Tik-Tok of Oz is the eighth book of Baum’s Oz Series in which Tik-Tok is a ’mechanical man’. He has been termed ‘the prototype robot’, and is widely considered to be one of the first robots to appear in modern literature, though the term ‘Robot’ was not used until the 1920s, in the play R.U.R.

    Five

    Born this day in 1859, a scientist who, along with his wife, became the first married couple to win a Nobel Prize. Who was this male scientist and in what city was he born?

    Answer: Pierre Curie; Paris.

    Pierre Curie (1859–1906) was a French physicist and chemist known for his work in crystallography, magnetism, and radioactivity. He shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with his wife, Marie Curie, marking the first Nobel win by a married couple. Born in Paris, he excelled in mathematics and became a Professor of Physics. With his brother Jacques, he discovered piezoelectricity and invented the piezoelectric quartz electrometer. Their research led to the isolation of polonium and radium, coining the term ‘radioactivity’. Curie’s work on magnetic coefficients and radiation emissions advanced nuclear physics, influencing fields like plate tectonics and nuclear energy. Pierre Curie in 1906, in a street accident in Paris after slipping and being struck by a horse-drawn carriage.

  • Who and Where

    Edmund Hillary and …, 1953.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    These questions all relate to people born this day, 15th May, and where they were born.

    One

    Born on this day in 1914, the Sherpa who, along with Edmund Hillary, was the first to stand on the summit of Mount Everest. Who was this Sherpa, and in what country was he born according to either his own autobiography or a later biography co-written by his son?

    Two

    Born this day in 1937, the woman who would become the first female U.S. Secretary of State. Who was she, and in what city was she born?

    Three

    Abraham …, born on this day in 1905, a clothing manufacturer, became famous for a short piece—less than 30 seconds—of 8 mm film captured in Texas in 1963. What was Abraham’s surname, in what country was he born and what event did the film capture?

    Four

    Tik-Tok of Oz (1914) was the eighth book in a series. Who, born this day in 1856, was the author of this book and series, and in what U.S. state was this author born?

    Five

    Born this day in 1859, a scientist who, along with his wife, became the first married couple to win a Nobel Prize. Who was this male scientist and in what city was he born?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • Who, What, When, Where, Why and How VIII — Answers

    Here are today’s answers.

    Marco Polo in a Tartare Costume.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    Six questions on random topics, each beginning with one of these words: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

    Who

    Who is the title character of The Lord of the Rings?

    Answer: Sauron.

    Sauron, the main antagonist in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, seeks to rule Middle-earth using the One Ring. He is depicted as a wholly evil being, comparable to Dracula and Balor of the Evil Eye.

    What

    What prompted the change in NASA’s 1967 mission designation AS-204 and what was the new designation?

    Answer: Fatal cabin fire; Apollo 1.

    Initially designated AS-204 and later renamed Apollo 1, the first planned crewed mission of the Apollo programme ended in tragedy when a cabin fire during a launch rehearsal killed all three crew members Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee. The fire, caused by an electrical ignition and exacerbated by flammable materials and a high-pressure oxygen atmosphere, led to a 20-month suspension of crewed flights while safety measures were implemented.

    When

    When did Marco Polo journey to China? (The century will do)

    Answer: 13th century.

    Venetian merchant and explorer Marco Polo travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295, spending 17 years in China. His detailed accounts of the Mongol Empire and China, including his experiences in the emperor’s lands, provided Europeans with a comprehensive look into the Eastern world. Polo’s writings inspired future explorers like Christopher Columbus and influenced European cartography. His book, Il milione, is a classic of travel literature.

    Where

    Where does ‘Mr. Smith’ go in an early James Stewart movie?

    Answer: Washington.

    Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, a 1939 film by Frank Capra, depicts Jefferson Smith, an idealistic youth leader, battling corruption in the U.S. Senate. The film’s portrayal of political corruption angered real-life legislators, leading to calls for its banning and accusations of being anti-American and communist.

    Why

    Why was Dennis Tito in the news in May 2001?

    Answer: He paid to go into space (the world’s first ‘space tourist’).

    Dennis Tito is an American engineer and entrepreneur. During mid-2001, he became the first space tourist to fund his own visit to space, when he spent nearly eight days in orbit as a crew member of ISS EP-1, a visiting mission to the International Space Station. This mission was launched by the spacecraft Soyuz TM-32, and was landed by Soyuz TM-31. Dennis Tito, after paying $20 million, became the first space tourist, joining the Soyuz TM-32 mission to the International Space Station in 2001. Despite initial criticism from NASA, Tito spent over a week in space, conducting experiments and later testifying before Congress on commercial spaceflight.

    How

    How many championships are required to be won in one year to achieve a Grand Slam in golf, and what are these championships?

    Answers: Four; US Masters; US PGA Chamionship; US Open Championship; and The Open Championship.

    Masters Tournament, held the week ending on the 2nd Sunday in April – hosted as an invitational by and played at Augusta National Golf Club. 2026 saw the 90th edition of The Masters.

    The 2026 PGA Championship will be the 108th edition of the PGA Championship, scheduled for May 14–17 at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, a suburb west of Philadelphia.

    The 2026 United States Open Championship will be the 126th edition of the U.S. Open, the national open golf championship of the United States. It will be held from June 18–21, 2026 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York. It will be the sixth Open hosted at the club.

    The 2026 Open Championship, officially the 154th Open Championship, is a golf tournament to be played from 16–19 July 2026 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club. It will be the 11th Open held at the club.
    — Wikipedia, various articles on each championship.

  • Who, What, When, Where, Why and How VIII

    Marco Polo in a Tartare Costume.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    Six questions on random topics, each beginning with one of these words: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

    Who

    Who is the title character of The Lord of the Rings?

    What

    What prompted the change in NASA’s 1967 mission designation AS-204 and what was the new designation?

    When

    When did Marco Polo journey to China? (The century will do)

    Where

    Where does ‘Mr. Smith’ go in an early James Stewart movie?

    Why

    Why was Dennis Tito in the news in May 2001?

    How

    How many championships are required to be won in one year to achieve a Grand Slam in golf, and what are these championships?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • The Man Who Never Was — Answers

    Here’s the answers to my earlier questions.

    Today’s questions are related to the date, April 29th..

    See question two. Prince William and his bride, Catherine, leaving Westminster Abbey after their wedding, April 29, 2011.
    Image Encyclopædia Britannica

    One

    In a 1943 British deception plan, a corpse was given the identity of ‘Major William Martin’. The idea for the above operation, which was partly inspired by a plot device in a 1939 novel by Basil Thomson, The …’s Hat Mystery, had first been suggested in a memo.

    1. What was the codename of this operation?
    2. What word for a hat maker is missing from the book’s title? 
    3. A future spy novelist—later the creator of a fictional spy which spawned a massive media franchise—worked in British Naval Intelligence during the war where he circulated the memo outlining the above deception tactics. Who was he?

    Answers

    1. Operation Mincemeat
    2. Milliner
    3. Ian Fleming

    The body was released from the submarine HMS Seraph off Spain, where authorities were known to share intelligence with Germany. The Milliner’s Hat Mystery (a milliner is someone who makes or sells hats) is by Basil Thomson who had himself worked in intelligence and blurred the line between fiction and real espionage long before the war. Ian Fleming’s memo was nicknamed the ’Trout Memo’, comparing deception to fly-fishing—luring the enemy with carefully chosen bait. He went on to create James Bond.

    Two

    In 2011, Prince William married his longtime girlfriend, Catherine, whom he had met at university. 

    1. What is Catherine’s maiden name?
    2. At what university did they meet?
    3. In what church did they marry?

    Answers

    1. Middleton
    2. University of St. Andrews
    3. Westminster Abbey

    Prince William, heir to the British throne, married Catherine Middleton in 2011. They have three children: George, Charlotte, and Louis.

    Three

    In 2004, after 107 years of vehicle production, the final … was built in Lansing, Michigan. What make of vehicle is missing from the previous sentence?

    Answer: Oldsmobile.

    Oldsmobile, an American automobile brand, was established by Ransom Eli Olds in 1897 as Olds Motor Vehicle Company and produced over 35 million vehicles. Despite peaking sales in the 1980s, the brand faced declining sales in the 1990s and was discontinued in 2004. 

    Four

    On this day in 2018, a U.S. TV series became the longest-running scripted prime-time show, overtaking a Western that had aired from 1955 to 1975. Name both these shows.

    Answer: The Simpsons; Gunsmoke.

    The record-breaking episode was the show’s 636th, surpassing Gunsmoke’s long-standing total.

    Five

    Also on this day, in 1770, which British explorer made his first recorded landing on the east coast of Australia, at Botany Bay?

    Answer: James Cook.

    Cook’s voyage aboard the HMS Endeavour was originally intended to observe the transit of Venus before turning to exploration.

    The Man Who Never Was

    The Man Who Never Was (1956) is a British espionage thriller directed by Ronald Neame, starring Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame. Based on Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu’s book, it depicts Operation Mincemeat, a 1943 British intelligence operation to mislead the Axis about the Allied invasion of Sicily. It was featured at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. Nigel Balchin’s screenplay received the BAFTA award for that year.

  • The Man Who Never Was

    Today’s questions are related to the date, April 29th..

    See question two. Prince William and his bride after their wedding, April 29, 2011.
    Image Encyclopædia Britannica

    One

    In a 1943 British deception plan, a corpse was given the identity of ‘Major William Martin’. The idea for the above operation, which was partly inspired by a plot device in a 1939 novel by Basil Thomson, The …’s Hat Mystery, had first been suggested in a memo.

    1. What was the codename of this operation?
    2. What word for a hat maker is missing from the book’s title? 
    3. A future spy novelist—later the creator of a fictional spy which spawned a massive media franchise—worked in British Naval Intelligence during the war where he circulated the memo outlining the above deception tactics. Who was he?

    Two

    In 2011, Prince William married his longtime girlfriend, Catherine, whom he had met at university. 

    1. What is Catherine’s maiden name?
    2. At what university did they meet?
    3. In what church did they marry?

    Three

    In 2004, after 107 years of vehicle production, the final … was built in Lansing, Michigan. What make of vehicle is missing from the previous sentence?

    Four

    On this day in 2018, a U.S. TV series became the longest-running scripted prime-time show, overtaking a Western that had aired from 1955 to 1975. Name both these shows.

    Answer: The Simpsons; Gunsmoke.

    The record-breaking episode was the show’s 636th, surpassing Gunsmoke’s long-standing total.

    Five

    Also on this day, in 1770, which British explorer made his first recorded landing on the east coast of Australia, at Botany Bay?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.

  • A Drop in the Ocean — Answers

    Here’s the answers to my earlier questions.
    All of today’s questions are related to the date, April 28th.

    Kon-Tiki, on display inside the Kon-Tiki Museum, Oslo.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    One

    In 1947, Thor Heyerdahl set sail in Kon-tiki, a handmade balsa wood raft, in an attempt to reach the islands of Polynesia. From what country did he set out?

    Answer: Peru.

    Thor Heyerdahl and five companions sailed the Kon-Tiki raft from South America to Polynesia in 1947, demonstrating the possibility of ancient American colonisation. The Kon-Tiki expedition, led by Heyerdahl, aimed to prove that pre-Columbian South Americans could have reached Polynesia by raft. Funded by private loans and equipment donations, the expedition successfully sailed 6,900 km across the Pacific Ocean in 101 days. Although Heyerdahl’s hypothesis of a Caucasian people reaching Polynesia has been rejected, the journey’s feasibility was demonstrated. The Kon-Tiki is now preserved in a museum in Oslo.

    Two

    In 1923, Wembley Stadium opened in London. What was it initially named?

    Answer: Empire Stadium.

    The original Wembley Stadium, or Empire Stadium, in London, was a renowned football venue that hosted the FA Cup final, the 1966 World Cup final, and Euro 1996. Demolished in 2003, it also hosted five European Cup finals, two European Cup Winners’ Cup finals and the 1948 Summer Olympics. Wembley was a key rugby league venue, hosting the Challenge Cup Final from 1929, and it also welcomed various sports, including speedway, stock car racing and American football. It hosted events such as the Horse of the Year Show, Live Aid, and concerts by Michael Jackson, Queen and U2, and is linked to an urban legend about a buried locomotive.

    Three

    Born in 1758, the fifth president of the United States is commemorated by a city at these coordinates: 6°18′48″N 10°48′5″W. Which city is it and in which country is it situated?

    Answer: Monrovia, Liberia.

    Monrovia, Liberia’s capital, sits on the Atlantic coast and serves as a political, administrative, economic and cultural centre. Established in 1822 by the American Colonisation Society as a settlement for formerly enslaved and freeborn African Americans, it was named after James Monroe and became the capital in 1847. The city’s population reached 1.76 million in 2022 with the metropolitan area exceeding 2.2 million.

    Four

    Born in 1948, Terry Pratchett is best known for a series of novels which began in 1983 with The Colour of Magic, and introduced Great A’Tuin, Berilia, Tubul, Great T’Phon and Jerakeen. In the prologue of The Colour of Magic… 

    1. What one word describes Great A’Tuin? 
    2. What are Berilia, Tubul, Great T’Phon and Jerakeen?

    Answers

    1. Turtle
    2. Elephants

    Wikipedia describes Discworld as follows

    The Discworld is the fictional world where English writer Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld fantasy novels take place. It consists of an interstellar planet-sized disc, which sits on the backs of four huge elephants, themselves standing on the back of a world turtle, named Great A’Tuin, as it slowly swims through space.

    Five

    A piece of paper found in China in 1986 has been dated to which century: Second century BCE; First century CE or Third century CE?

    Answer: Second century BCE.

    In 1986, archaeologists discovered over 400 artefacts in nearly 2,000-year-old Chinese tombs, including the world’s oldest surviving paper map fragment. Found in Fangmatan, Gansu Province, this second-century BCE map forced a rewrite of paper-making history.

  • A Drop in the Ocean


    All of today’s questions are related to the date, April 28th.

    Kon-Tiki, on display inside the Kon-Tiki Museum, Oslo.
    Image Wikimedia Commons

    One

    In 1947, Thor Heyerdahl set sail in Kon-tiki, a handmade balsa wood raft, in an attempt to reach the islands of Polynesia. From what country did he set out?

    Two

    In 1923, Wembley Stadium opened in London. What was it initially named?

    Three

    Born in 1758, the fifth president of the United States is commemorated by a city at these coordinates: 6°18′48″N 10°48′5″W. Which city is it and in which country is it situated?

    Four

    Born in 1948, Terry Pratchett is best known for a series of novels which began in 1983 with The Colour of Magic, and introduced Great A’Tuin, Berilia, Tubul, Great T’Phon and Jerakeen. In the prologue of The Colour of Magic… 

    1. What one word describes Great A’Tuin? 
    2. What are Berilia, Tubul, Great T’Phon and Jerakeen?

    Five

    A piece of paper found in China in 1986 has been dated to which century: Second century BCE; First century CE or Third century CE?

    Good luck! I’ll post the answers later.