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Today’s Answers
Six questions today, each starting with one of these words: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.
One
Who led the expedition which became the first undisputed to walk to the North Pole, and in what decade was this achieved?
Answers: Wally Herbert; 1960s.
In 1969, Wally Herbert led the British Trans-Arctic Expedition, completing a 3,800-mile (6,115 km) overland crossing of the Arctic Ocean from Alaska to Spitsbergen. Accompanied by Allan Gill, Roy Koerner and Kenneth Hedges, he reached the North Pole on 6 April after spending the winter drifting with the ice. His achievement coincided with the 60th anniversary of Robert Peary’s disputed expedition, and Herbert became the first man widely recognised as having reached the pole on foot. Sir Ranulph Fiennes later described him as “the greatest polar explorer of our time.”
Two
What Baltic capital, once labelled the ‘Jerusalem of the North’ by Napoleon, launched a campaign calling itself the ‘G-spot of Europe’, and which country does it serve as the capital of?
Answers: Vilnius, Lithuania.
The Vilnius tourist commission has launched a new campaign branding the city as ‘the G-spot of Europe’ to attract young British tourists, using the tagline “Nobody knows where it is, but when you find it – it’s amazing.” The campaign, which has gained international attention, plays on the idea that while few people know where Vilnius is, visitors quickly fall in love with it once they arrive.
Three
When did Nils Bohlin’s three-point seat belt first appear (year) as standard equipment in production cars, and which Swedish manufacturer employed him to develop and build them?
Answers: 1959; Volvo.
The three-point seat belt was invented by Nils Bohlin a mechanical engineer. Bohlin drew on his experience designing ejection seats for SAAB and spent roughly a year developing the seat belt. The seat belt was first fitted to the Volvo PV544 in 1959. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that the seat belt saves approximately 15,000 lives annually in the US. Additionally a study of 28,000 accidents in Sweden, which showed that no belted occupants were fatally injured at speeds below 60 mph or as long as the passenger compartment remained intact.
Four
Where does ‘Mr. Smith’ go in the title of an early James Stewart movie?
Answers: Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was initially controversial in the U.S. for its portrayal of Washington politics but became a major box office success and made James Stewart a star. The film received eleven Academy Award nominations, winning Best Original Story, and was among the first 25 films selected for the U.S. National Film Registry in 1989 for its cultural and historical significance.
Five
Why was the Australian city of Darwin rebuilt twice in the 20th century (two answers one for each rebuilding)?
Answers: Air raids; Cyclone
On February 19, 1942, Japanese warplanes attacked Darwin, Australia, in two waves, using the same fleet that bombed Pearl Harbor. The attack caused extensive damage and killed at least 243 people, making it the most serious wartime attack on Australia. On December 25, 1974, Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin, killing 71 people and destroying over 70% of the city’s buildings. This led to the evacuation of 30,000 residents in Australia’s largest airlift. The city was rebuilt in the late 1970s using newer materials, and the satellite city of Palmerston was established nearby in the early 1980s.
Six
How many Canadian Provinces share an international border with the U.S.A., and how many U.S. states have such a border with Canada?
Answers: Eight; Thirteen.
The length of the terrestrial boundary is 8,891 km (5,525 mi), of which 6,416 km (3,987 mi) is between Canada and the contiguous 48 US states, and 2,475 km (1,538 mi) is between Canada and Alaska. Eight out of thirteen provinces and territories of Canada and thirteen out of fifty U.S. states share this international boundary.
