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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 35 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Bahamas
Off the east coast of Florida. The Bahamas is an archipelago made up of about 700 islands and cays. The country occupies 5,382 square miles and the closest point to Florida is only 50 miles away. The Tropic of Cancer passes through the central Bahamas.
It's better in the Bahamas! Come on over for a visit.
| Hurricanes are a major source of natural disaster for the Bahamas. What US-based company suffered large losses in the Bahamas due to the 2008 hurricane season? | A Mixed Bag of Bahamian Facts
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The Morton Salt Company. The Morton Salt Company has been in operation on the island of Great Inagua since 1954. The destructive 2008 hurricane season severely damaged the salt plant in Inagua. For decades, many people in Inagua have relied on The Morton Salt Company for employment.
Great Inagua is the third largest of the Bahamian islands and is located 55 miles from Cuba. Inagua is also home to about 80,000 of the Bahamas' national bird, the flamingo.
Lignum Vitae. The name Lignum Vitae means tree of life. The sap of the Lignum Vitae is used by Bush Medicine practitioners to treat weakness and strengthen the spine.
| The first Europeans to try and colonize the Bahamas were the Eleutheran Adventurers from Bermuda. With which United States university do the Adventurers have a connection? | A Mixed Bag of Bahamian Facts
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Harvard. When hard times fell on the Adventurers, their leader, Captain William Sayles, left to seek help from the Virginia and Massachusetts colonies. In gratitude for the supplies, Capt. Sayles' group sent back loads of mahogany wood. The Massachusetts colonists then sold the wood and used the proceeds to purchase the land that is now occupied by Harvard University.
| The capital city of Nassau boasts many historic sites, among them a staircase of 65 steps cut into solid rock, called The Queen's Staircase. For which queen is this monument named? | A Mixed Bag of Bahamian Facts
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Queen Victoria. The number of steps are supposed to celebrate the years of Victoria's reign. The staircase was created by slaves and was completed in 1794. A statue of Queen Victoria graces Rawson Square in front of the Houses of Parliament in the nation's capital, Nassau. ("Queen's Staircase Nassau Bahamas", BahamasGo Website, 18 Apr 2009).
| Poaching in the Bahamian waters is a source of local trouble. In May of 1980, the Royal Bahamas Defense Force was involved in a situation combating poachers from what country? | A Mixed Bag of Bahamian Facts
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Cuba. The Royal Bahamas Defense Force was created by the Defense Act in March 1980 and is the only military branch in the Bahamas. In May of that same year, the HMBS Flamingo attempted to board fishing vessels that were caught poaching in Bahamian waters. The Flamingo was attacked by two Cuban MiG-21s sinking the ship and firing on the crew in the water. Four Bahamian Defense Force marines lost their lives in the attack.
All Defense Force vessels carry the designation of HMBS which stands for Her Majesty's Bahamian Ship.
| What Bahamian island has rich deposits of aragonite off its coastline (and was allegedly home to the Lost City of Atlantis and the Fountain of Youth)? | A Mixed Bag of Bahamian Facts
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Bimini. In 1968 large limestone blocks, forming what looks very much like a road, were found off the coast of Bimini. Many people think they are a relic of the Lost City of Atlantis.
Ponce de Leon may have been headed for Bimini looking for the Fountain of Youth when he simply missed and discovered Florida instead.
| In addition to Androsia fabric and the annual Crab Fest, the island of Andros is famous for being home to a mythical three-toed, red-eyed, three-fingered, birdlike creature with a long tail. What is this creature called? | A Mixed Bag of Bahamian Facts
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Chickcharnie. Scientists have found that a three-toed burrowing owl once lived in the forests on Andros. This is probably where the legend originated. Traditionally, locals believed that flowers or a brightly colored piece of cloth would charm the chickcharnies.
1962. Prior to 1962, only landholding men could vote in any type of election in the Bahamas.
The other answer choices: New Zealand granted equal voting rights to women in 1893. Germany gave women the vote in 1918. The United States of America passed the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote in 1920.
| In Hope Town on Elbow Cay in the Abacos, there is a graveyard dedicated to the victims of an epidemic in the 1850s. What horrible disease claimed over 100 citizens of this tiny island? | A Mixed Bag of Bahamian Facts
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Cholera. Many historians believe that cholera was brought to the Bahamas on a ship from New York. Once the disease reached Nassau it was carried to the Out Islands by passengers and crew on the regular supply runs. The Cholera Cemetery in Hope Town is located in the center of town. A local legend tells of the "White Lady of the Ridge" who was allegedly a victim of the cholera and always appears before a major disaster, walking along the ridge overlooking the ocean.
| The highest point in the Bahamas is located on Cat Island and is known by two names. One of them is Mount Alvernia; what is the other? | A Mixed Bag of Bahamian Facts
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Como Hill. Cat Island is approximately 48 miles long and four miles wide at the widest point. Mount Alvernia is 206 feet above sea level. Located atop Mount Alvernia is the famous Hermitage, a stone monastery hand-built by Father Jerome, a famous architect and hermit.
Arthur's Town, Cat Island is the childhood home of Sir Sydney Poitier.
| Paradise Island, home to the famous Atlantis Resort, used to be called by a somewhat less romantic name. What was it? | A Mixed Bag of Bahamian Facts
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Hog Island. Hog Island got its name from the farm animals kept there. It became home to many hotels, casinos and resorts. Several celebrities have owned homes on Paradise Island and it has also been a popular site for movie shoots. "My Father the Hero" and several James Bond films went on location to Paradise Island.
| The islands of Abaco and Eleuthera were settled by the Loyalists. The first Loyalists in the Abacos settled in an area now known as Treasure Cay. What name did they give their first settlement? | A Mixed Bag of Bahamian Facts
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Carleton Point. After the War of Independence in the United States, those persons wishing to remain British citizens left the country for nearby British Colonies. Some went to Canada and others to the Bahamas. The first Loyalist settlement in Abaco was founded in 1783 and was deserted two years later. The settlers moved on to other parts of Great Abaco and the outer cays, such as New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay, Hope Town on Elbow Cay, Cherokee Sound and Man-o-War.
| The first Royal Governor of the Bahamas, Woodes Rogers, was also a privateer and English sea captain. He has a connection with a famous literary character. Which character is it? | A Mixed Bag of Bahamian Facts
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Robinson Crusoe. During one of Woodes Rogers' privateering expeditions, he and his crew rescued a gentleman by the name of Alexander Selkirk who had been stranded on an island in the Pacific for four years. Rogers' good friend Daniel Defoe used Selkirk's story as inspiration for his classic "Robinson Crusoe".
| During the Christmas season, the cities and towns of the Bahamas are overcome by a festival featuring drums, bells, whistles, costumes and parades through the streets. What is the name of this regional festival? | A Mixed Bag of Bahamian Facts
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Junkanoo. Legend has it that the festival was named after a former slave, John Canoe. Junkanoo is highly competitive with teams competing each year for the trophies in Senior and Junior Junkanoo. Junkanoo costumes and floats are primarily made of cardboard and crepe paper and some teams spend an entire year working on the costumes.
| April 27, 1965 is known by what "colorful" name in the Bahamas? (Hint: the United States uses this same name for October 29, 1929). | A Mixed Bag of Bahamian Facts
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Black Tuesday. In the Bahamas, Black Tuesday refers to April 27, 1965. On this day, Sir Lynden O. Pindling, first Prime Minister of the Bahamas, accused the government of gerrymandering. He then took the Speaker's Mace and threw it out of a window onto the streets. The Speaker's Mace is the symbol of the Speaker's authority in the House of Assembly. Mr. Pindling was attempting to gain support for his political party, the Progressive Liberal Party.
October 29, 1929 in the United States marks the day the New York Stock Exchange crashed.
Summer and Winter. Bahamians enjoy steady temperature throughout most of the year, except during the hurricane season (June-November). Summers are sunny and can be wet. Winters are not much different, just slightly cooler and less humid.
| In 1892, almost 700,000 dozen pineapples were exported from the Bahamas. Which island in the Bahamas was the primary pineapple producer? | A Mixed Bag of Bahamian Facts
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Eleuthera. During the late 1880's and early 1890's pineapples were the chief export of the Bahamas. Although Eleuthera was the primary producer, pineapples were also grown on Cat Island and Long Island.
According to trade records: "The first canning factory was established in Governor's Harbour, Eleuthera in 1857". The industry did not last, and "by the early 1900s the pineapple industry was in serious decline. By the late 1920s the industry had collapsed". ("History of the Pineapple Business in Eleuthera". eleuthera.com, 19 Apr 2009).
| On several islands in the Bahamas, in particular Cat Island, locals harvest cascarilla bark for export to Italy as one of the main ingredients in what beverage? | A Mixed Bag of Bahamian Facts
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Campari. Local bush medicine practitioners use Cascarilla as a fever reducer. It is also used as a flavoring for Vermouth.
The Bahamas have exported many goods to other countries, such as sponges, rum, pineapples, tomatoes, fish and spiny lobster. The major industry of the Bahamas is tourism, followed closely by banking.
The King or Queen of Great Britain. Although the Bahamas gained independence from Great Britain on July 10, 1973, the reigning monarch of Great Britain is still recognized as head of state and appears on some of the currency. The Bahamas have remained a member of the British Commonwealth. The Governor General is the Monarch's representative in the Bahamas.
| Andros Island is famed for a local product called 'Androsia'. If someone gave you a gift of androsia, what would you do with it? | The Bahamas
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Wear it. Androsia is a type of batik printed cloth which is hand made and hand printed. It is very popular with Bahamian residents and also with the tourist trade; it is made into clothing, soft furnishing covers, and also sold by the yard. The stencils for the patterns are made from natural sponges and the patterns themselves are things like shells, fish, and plants found locally. Androsia is classed as a national treasure by the people of the Bahamas.
| Nassau is of course the capital of the Bahamas, and it lies on New Providence Island. Does the Tropic of Cancer run between Nassau and Cuba? | The Bahamas
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Yes. Nassau was previously called Charles Town, but was renamed Nassau in honour of the English King William III, who was of the House of Orange-Nassau. The name change came about in 1695 when the rebuilding of the town was finished, after it was burned to the ground by a Spanish invasion force in 1684. The Tropic of Cancer runs south of New Providence, and just north of the most northerly point on the coast of Cuba. Approximately two thirds of the islands of the Bahamas lie north of the Tropic of Cancer, and one third lie south.
| One island of the Bahamas takes its name from the Greek word for "Free". Although it has an area of around 120 square miles, it is just a mile wide in places, and is ribbon like in shape. Lying 50 miles east of Nassau, and famous for the annual Gregory Town Pineapple Festival, which island am I describing? | The Bahamas
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Eleuthera. The US Naval base on Eleuthera was the first in the world to employ female researchers, when two lady oceanographers went to work there in 1970. The facility was closed down in 1980, having been there since it was founded in 1957. Harbour Island on Eleuthera is famous for its unspoiled beaches of pink sand.
| Grand Bahama is often referred to as "Big Island", but it is not the largest of the Bahamian islands. Which one, known as "Big Yard", is the largest? | The Bahamas
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Andros. Andros is actually made up of three islands joined by barrier reefs, and has an area of just under 2300 square miles. The reef is the third longest in the world, and runs for over 140 miles. Andros has an abundant supply of fresh water, and actually provides millions of gallons a day for the population of Nassau.
| The Bahamian village of Hope Town is situated on a small island called Elbow Cay, which is just six miles long. Reached by boat from neighbouring Abaco Island, it has a famous landmark and tourist attraction dating from the late 19th century. What is this landmark? | The Bahamas
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Striped red and white lighthouse. Elbow Cay was first settled by westerners in the late 18th century, when a group of British loyalists fled there to escape the newly independent United States.
The Hope Light was built in 1863, and is painted in bright red and white stripes which make its 120 foot heights visible for miles, even by day when the light is unlit.
Elbow Cay was badly damaged by Hurricane Floyd in 1999, including the island's only road being rendered impassable as a new coastal inlet appeared.
| Which island group within the Bahamas do Green Turtle Cay, Walker's Cay, Castaway Cay, and Man-o-War Cay belong to? | The Bahamas
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Abaco. The major town of the Abaco district is Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island.
Abaco is an important environmental site, as are the local waters, with some of the best specimens of various rare corals ever discovered. Tourism has increased over the years, and various protection groups have been started to try and preserve the unique wildlife--not just of Abaco, but also the rest of the Bahamas.
| Lying just 50 miles from Cuba, one of the largest islands in the Bahamas is Great Inagua, with an area of just under 600 square miles. It is home to the second largest industrial operation of its type in North America. What industry is this? | The Bahamas
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Salt manufacture. Situated in Matthew Town, the main settlement on Great Inagua, the Morton Salt Plant uses solar energy to evaporate sea water and obtain salt. Over one million tons a year of sea salt is produced there for export and it is the main industry of the Inagua district.
Neighbouring island Little Inagua is uninhabited and supports a varied wildlife population.
| Just offshore, to the west of Clarence Town on Long Island in the Bahamas, is a world famous geological feature; what is it? | The Bahamas
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Dean's Blue Hole. Dean's Blue Hole is a sinkhole which descends to 220 metres in depth. It is the deepest blue hole (seabed sinkhole) so far discovered. The next deepest ones known are only a little over 100 metres deep, so Dean's is exceptional. World-class free diving competitions are often held there, and in 2008, no less than five new world records were set during one competition.
| Which district, sometimes called the "Gateway to the Bahamas", is the closest geographically to the United States? | The Bahamas
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Bimini. Bimini, which lies just over 50 miles from Miami, is a chain of islands. The biggest islands are North and South Bimini, and the main town of the district, Alice Town, is on North Bimini. There is just one road on North Bimini, which passes through Alice Town and is called "The King's Highway".
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