Tag: popular culture

The answers to my earlier pot are shown in bold below.

1. 1685—Johann Sebastian Bach, a German composer, blended northern and southern German styles in his early compositions. He composed numerous cantatas, including the St. John Passion, and is known for his mastery of counterpoint and harmonic organisation.
   

   

2. $2.9m—Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is a social networking service that allows users to share short text messages, images, and videos. It was created in 2006 and quickly grew to over 100 million users by 2012.
3. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington—The Duke of Wellington and Lord Winchilsea engaged in a duel at Battersea Fields, with Wellington firing first and missing, and Winchilsea firing into the air. This act of deloping cleared Winchilsea of cowardice allegations, allowing him to apologise unconditionally. The duel was the second, and last, fought by a sitting Prime Minister following the 1798 Pitt–Tierney duel on Putney Heath.
4. San Diego, California—San Diego Comic-Con, founded in 1970, is a multi-genre entertainment event showcasing comic books, science fiction/fantasy media, and pop culture. It is the largest convention of its kind, attracting over 130,000 attendees annually.
   

   

5. 700 miles (1,125 km)—Stanley travelled to Zanzibar in March 1871, claiming to have outfitted an expedition with 192 porters, though his diaries suggest a smaller number. After facing challenges including the death of his horse and desertion of porters, he found David Livingstone in Ujiji, Tanzania, famously greeting him with “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”; this phrase was probably made up by Stanley after the event. Stanley joined Livingstone in exploring the region, later recounting his experiences in a book.

All questions relate to today, 21 March.

1. Johann Sebastian Bach, the composer of the Brandenburg Concertos and The Well-Tempered Clavier, was born this day in…
   • 1685
   • 1745
   • 1815
2. Twitter, now X, was founded today in 2006 and Jack Dorsey, Twitter co-founder, sent the first public tweet, “just setting up my twttr.” Fifteen years later Dorsey auctioned this tweet as a nonfungible token (NFT) with the proceeds going to charity. It was bought using ether cryptocurrency for the equivalent of…
   • $1.4m
   • $2.9m
   • $5.8m
3. 21 March saw the last time a serving UK Prime Minister fought a duel. Who was the Prime Minister?
   • Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
   • William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
   • William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
4. A Comic-Con held its inaugural event on this date in 1970 and is now described by Forbes magazine as being “the largest pop and culture festival in the world”: it is held in…
   • Red Rock, Arizona
   • San Diego, California
   • Las Vegas, Nevada
5. Henry Morton Stanley set out to find Dr David Livingstone today in 1871. His expedition was successful, finding Livingstone after trekking through tropical forest for…
   • 300 miles (482 km)
   • 450 miles (725 km)
   • 700 miles (1,125 km)