O Capital! My Capital! Quiz | Etymology

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. According to legend, in 1191 Duke Berchtold V of Z�hringen vowed to name his new town after the first animal he killed while out hunting. That animal was a bear (bar in the local language), so the town became which European capital city?

Answer: Bern, Switzerland

Bern has a bear pit which was built in the 16th century, although it is unoccupied these days. There are bears in a large open air enclosure near the bear pit though as well as in the Bern zoo. Bern is also home to several impressive fountains, one of which is "The Kindlifresserbrunnen", which translates as "Child Eater Fountain" and depicts an ogre eating a child with a bag containing several more at his side.

2. The Mamas and the Papas told us we can't trust this day, but Tajiks certainly do as the capital of Tajikistan is Dushanbe. What does Dushanbe mean in Tajik language?

Answer: Monday

The original unnamed village had a popular market which was held on Mondays. This led to it being referred to as Dushanbe Bazar (Monday Market). Whilst under Soviet rule, the town grew at a huge pace and was renamed Stalinabad, but in 1961 it reverted to Dushanbe.

3. Blackpool is a coastal town in northern England, but which capital city is also named Black Pool in the country's native tongue?

Answer: Dublin, Ireland

In classical Irish, Dubh means black, and lind means pool, so the city that was formed on a tidal pool where the River Poddle joins the River Liffey was called Dubhlind. This evolved over time to Dublinn and eventually Dublin. It is of course the city where, according to the traditional folk song, Molly Malone wheeled her cart selling cockles and mussels.

4. Spanish sailors that reached this South American capital city gave thanks to the Holy Virgin Mary of the Good Winds, for allowing them safe passage. These thanks in a shortened version gave the city its name. Which is the city?

Answer: Buenos Aires

If you should find yourself in Buenos Aires, be sure to visit La Bombonera, home to football club Boca Juniors, the club that helped propel Diego Maradona to super stardom. The stadium has a flat stand on one side with steeply rising stands on the other three sides, giving it amazing acoustics and a memorable experience when watching a match.

5. There are plenty of this insects' homes around the Ghanaian capital of Accra, so many in fact that the city was named after them. What is the insect in question?

Answer: Ants

The name is derived from the native Akan language and refers specifically to the soldier ants which inhabit the area in their millions and construct some very impressive anthills. Makola market is well worth a visit while in Accra and just about everything can be found for sale here. Woggle bugs are fictitious and were written about by "Wizard of Oz" author L. Frank Baum.

6. Which former African capital is named for the number of lakes in the surrounding area?

Answer: Lagos, Nigeria

Lagos used to be called Eko, a native word meaning war camp, until Portuguese explorer Ruy de Sequeira named the area Lago de Curamo (Lake of Healing) in 1472. This was shortened to Lagos (lakes) probably due to the fact that lakes and lagoons make up a large percentage of Lagos State.

The port at Lagos is one of the busiest in Africa and huge quantities of petroleum and oil for export pass through it every year.

7. Which European capital city has a name meaning anchor, which dates back to circa 300 BC, although the city itself has been around for far longer and is home to the Column of Julian, The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations and Esenboğa International Airport?

Answer: Ankara, Turkey

Ankara was around for many years before it was named such. Settlements have been discovered in Ankara city centre which date back to the Hattic civilization of the Bronze Age and there is further evidence that the city grew enormously under the Phrygians circa 1000 BC. Alexander the Great conquered the city in 333 BC and around the time it adopted it's present name, which means anchor in Ancient Greek, it also developed majorly as a Black Sea trading port.

8. In 1790, the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda earmarked 145 acres of land to build a new capital city, and, luckily for the territory's governor at the time, decided to name it after him. What is the capital of Bermuda?

Answer: Hamilton

Prior to serving as Governor of Bermuda, Henry Hamilton had served as Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Quebec and upon leaving his post in Bermuda in 1794, became Governor of Dominica until his death in 1796. Douglas is capital of the Isle of Man, but both Cockburn and Sharples served as Governor of Bermuda. Cockburn held the post three times, 1811 to 1812, 1814 to 1816 and 1817 to 1819, while Sharples served from 1972 to 1973, when he was assassinated by members of the Black Beret Cadre. His assassins were hanged in 1977 and were the last executions to be conducted under British rule anywhere in the world.

9. How nice to live in a capital city whose name, in Arabic, means Gardens as it is the plural of rawdha, meaning garden. Which city is this?

Answer: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The original city was founded in the pre Islamic era by the Banu Hanifa tribe and was named "Hajr". The earliest known mention of Riyadh is from 1590 and the name is believed to refer to the gardens in the desert that form after rainfall. Today, Riyadh is home to the Kingdom Centre skyscraper, which has a shopping floor for women only, which men are not allowed to enter.

10. The last surviving member of the H.M.S. Bounty mutineers, John Adams, gave his name to the capital of which sparsely populated British Overseas Territory?

Answer: Pitcairn Islands

Adamstown is the capital of the Pitcairns and has a population of less than 60. Of the four islands that make up the Pitcairn Islands, Henderson, Ducie, Pitcairn and Oeno, only Pitcairn is populated and Adamstown is the only settlement on the island, meaning that the entire population of the islands lives in the capital.

In 2004, the islands were rocked by child sex allegations against, and the subsequent trial of, seven men, which was at the time a third of the male population.

Source: Author 480154st

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

O Capital! My Capital! Trivia Quiz

Names of capital cities are well known, but have you ever wondered where the name came from? Me too.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>