Pick n' Mix: Part TWENTY-ONE Trivia Quiz

Answer: Battle of Verdun

Lasting for around 10 months, the Battle of Verdun began on 21 February and ended on 18 December 1916. France fought Germany in this battle with heavy casualties on both sides. Germany were led by Chief of Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, who deliberately chose Verdun as he believed that the French would defend the fortress city to the death, and his aim was to gain as many French casualties as possible, with as little death in the German army as possible. His plan was unsuccessful due to the amount of German casualties, which were comparable in number to the French.

Over 800,000 soldiers were killed, injured or missing in action in the Battle of Verdun. Around 60 million artillery shells were fired during the Battle of Verdun, 10-15 million of which did not detonate. This has led to the prohibited "Zone Rouge" which is inaccessible to the public for safety reasons.

Since 1946, around 630 demining experts have been killed in France as a result of trying to remove unexploded shells from the First World War.

Answer: Xenon

Xenon is a noble gas with the chemical number Xe and atomic number 54 on the Periodic Table.

Xenon's atoms have a high atomic mass which allows them to be accelerated to a high velocity, creating a larger thrust per unit of propellant mass in comparison to other gases. This results in a gentle, consistent propulsion as opposed to shorter, high thrust burns of older rockets before Xenon was in use. Xenon does not react with other elements which also makes it useful for spacecraft as it will not cause explosions.

Xenon also has low ionization capabilities, which means that it does not need a lot of energy to remove electrons from atoms in order to create positively charged ions that are required for propulsion.

Answer: Thomas Hearns

Thomas Hearns is the first boxer to achieve titles in five different boxing weight divisions, including welterweight, light middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight, and light heavyweight. His nickname, "the Hitman," refers to his long arms and powerful right punch which facilitated a substantial number of knockouts. He was also nicknamed "Motor City Cobra" referencing his ties to Detroit, Michigan, and his quick, snake-like jabs.

Thomas Hearns is known for fighting several prominent boxers, including Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, and Roberto Durán. During his fight with Durán in 1984, he knocked Durán out in the second round, who had never been knocked out in a boxing match so quickly before.

Answer: Cipactli

Cipactli is described as being a mixture of a crocodile, a fish and a toad. The Aztec gods were concerned about Cipactli's voracious appetite, and worried that it would eventually eat everything they created. Tezcatlipoca, the trickster god of war the night and the ruling class, and Quetzalcoatl, the god of knowledge and intelligence, conspired to kill Cipactli.

Tezcatlipoca lured Cipactli with his own foot, which Cipactli gnawed off. Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl then tore the monster in half and utilised its body to create Heaven and Earth, with the monster's head constructing the 13 heavens; its tail created the underworld and its middle became Earth.

Cipactli was not killed from this dismemberment, just changed. The monster remained hungry. Therefore, the Aztecs would sacrifice humans to the gods in order to stop the beast from destroying the world.

Answer: It is flown differently during a state of war

The flag of the Philippines was designed in 1897 by Emilio Aguinaldo, and was first displayed publicly on May 28, 1898, after the Philippines' victory against Spain, with the date now being revered as National Flag Day.

The flag is flown with the blue stripe on top during times of peace, and with the red stripe on top during war time.

Answer: Keturah

Abraham married Keturah after the death of his first wife, Sarah. Genesis 25:1 describes Keturah as a "wife" to Abraham, whereas 1 Chronicles 1:32 describes her as Abraham's "concubine." Some Biblical scholars have explained this as Keturah being of lower social standing than Sarah, the main matriarch of the family.

According to Genesis, Abraham and Keturah had six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. The Midianites were descendants of their son Midian. In the Bible's book of Exodus, Moses' wife was a Midianite woman called Zipporah.

Answer: Real Madrid and Barcelona

Coined "the Maradona of the Carpathians," Gheorghe Hagi started his football career playing for FC Constanța. He was held in high regard due to his efforts in getting Romania to the quarterfinals of the 1994 World Cup held in America.

From 1990-1992, Hagi played for Real Madrid, and from 1994-1996 he played for Barcelona. The rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona dates back to their first match in 1902. The two cities also represent opposing ideologies. Barcelona, politically, is strongly linked to the Catalan identity and the belief of Catalonia deserving independence from Spain. Real Madrid has stronger ties to Spanish nationalism and patriotism for Spain.

Answer: Cobalt

Cobalt is a hard, silver metal known for its heat resistance. It is used to colour glass, paints and ceramics blue, being used for this purpose since the time of ancient Egypt. It is also used to make rechargeable batteries and strong alloys.

The DRC produces around three-quarters of the world's mined cobalt, but this mining comes with significant environmental challenges and human rights abuses. The DRC has around 6 million metric tons of cobalt reserves, around half of the world's estimated reserves.

Most mining of cobalt in the DRC occurs in the south of the country, varying from large scale industrial mines to smaller, artisanal mines, with the smaller ones contributing about 15-30% of the DRC's cobalt production. Despite these cobalt reserves, most of the population of the DRC live in poverty. Tens of thousands of children work in the smaller mines in harsh conditions. Miners are at constant risk of tunnel collapses or being exposed to toxic chemicals underground.

Although the DRC mines a great deal of the world's cobalt, it produces no refined cobalt, with any raw cobalt ore mined in the DRC refined abroad.

Answer: New Zealand

The cabbage tree moth (Epiphryne verriculata) is found only in New Zealand mainly because of this moth's exclusive feeding on New Zealand's cabbage trees, which are also endemic to the country.

These moths feature a unique camouflage of brown, parallel lines that resemble the dying leaves of a cabbage tree. Female moths will lay eggs on the leaves of a cabbage tree, which hatch within weeks. The larvae feed exclusively on the leaves of the cabbage trees.

Answer: Philadelphia Phillies

Opened in 2004, the first Major League Baseball (MLB) game to take place in Citizens Bank Park was the Philadelphia Phillies against the Cincinnati Reds on April 12, which the Phillies lost 4-1. The Phillies would soon achieve a 6-4 win against the Cincinnati Reds on April 15, 2004, their first win at their new ball park. In their first year at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies had a record of 86 wins and 76 losses, finished second place in the NL East.

Before 2004, the Philadelphia Phillies had their home ground at Veterans Stadium, which was demolished close by to Citizens Bank Park in 2003. Citizens Bank Park has a capacity of approximately 43,000 people. Citizens Bank Park is named for Citizens Financial Group, a banking institute that bought the naming rights for $95 million.

On June 14, 2004, Jim Thome of the Phillies became the 37th player in MLB history to hit 400 home runs; this happened at Citizens Bank Park while playing against the Cincinnati Reds. The first home run in Citizens Bank Park occurred in April 12, 2004 by right fielder, Bobby Abreu.

Answer: Claudia Wolf

Claudia Wolf (or "Sister Claudia") is a character and antagonist of Konami's "Silent Hill 3" video game. Claudia is the high priestess of the Order, a religious doomsday cult residing in Silent Hill. The game designers deliberately designed Claudia to have no eyebrows to give the character an eerie look, and rendering her expressions difficult to read. The idea was to create an unsettling character by taking the features of a well-known actress and then subtly altering her appearance by removing her eyebrows.

"Silent Hill 3" was released in 2003, and is playing from the viewpoint of main protagonist, Heather Mason. If a player has a "Silent Hill 2" save file stored on their memory card, Heather will make comments relating to the second game. For example, in "Silent Hill 2", protagonist James Sunderland is forced to search through a disgustingly soiled toilet to achieve a key. When examining a similarly revolting toilet in the third game, Heather will comment "Gross. Who would do something like that anyway?"

Answer: Mikhail Kutuzov

Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov (1745-1813) was a respected Russian field marshal, famous for his involvement in Napoleon's defeat in Russia in 1812. During battles against the Turks in both 1774 and 1788 he was shot in the head, and astonishingly survived both times. Due to this, he has been inaccurately depicted in art as having one eye. His eye was permanently disfigured, but he did not lose his sight.

After studying the tactics of George Washington's American Revolutionary War campaigns involving strategic retreat and continuous harassment, Kutuzov employed these tactics against Napoleon. Following the brutality of the Battle of Borodino, Kutuzov made the controversial decision to surrender Moscow to Napoleon without a fight. He did this because he successfully predicted that Napoleon's army would have to retreat through the Russian wilderness in the middle of winter, which would lead to Napoleon's army's demise.

Kazan Cathedral was constructed by 1811 under the orders of Emperor Paul I of Russia, who specifically requested it to be modelled after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The cathedral is built with exclusively Russian material such as Karelian marble and Pudost stone. After Napoleon's defeat in Russia in 1812, Kazan Cathedral became a national symbol to Russia's victory after Kutuzov reportedly asked Our Lady of Kazan for help.

Kazan Cathedral was closed in 1929 as a result of the Russian Revolution. It was rebranded as the "Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism" which ironically shielded art located in the building from the typical destruction of religious artefacts at this time in Russia. Kazan Cathedral was reopened for worship in 1992.

Answer: Casablanca

Michael Curtiz's "Casablanca" was released in 1942. The piano features heavily in the film, and was constructed to be smaller than a regular piano to make the actors appear larger on camera. The piano only has 58 keys as opposed to the standard 88. The piano was specifically engineered to have a compartment in the back where Humphrey Bogart's character, Rick Blaine, hides some important letters. The piano appears to be black and white in the film, but is actually gold in colour with green Moroccan patterns.

Chewing gum was discovered under the piano, and efforts to match a fingerprint to any actors in the film has been unsuccessful.

Many of the actors in "Casablanca" who played the Nazis were actually European refugees who had fled Nazi persecution.

Answer: Femur

The femur (that is, the thigh bone) is the strongest, longest and heaviest bone of the human body. The femur can support up 30 times the weight of an average human. It is necessary for the femur to be this strong to support both the weight and movement of a mobile human.

The length of the femur is indicative of a human's height, with the femur on average accounting for around 27% of a person's height.

Answer: Old Sow

Located between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, the Bay of Fundy also touches a small portion of the U.S state of Maine. The Bay of Fundy is known for its high tidal range, with the difference between high and low tide being around 50 feet (15 m). Around 160 billion tonnes of seawater enter and exit the bay twice a day. The bay was formed around 350 million years ago by a splitting ancient rift valley.

The Old Sow whirlpool is the second-largest whirlpool in the world. It located near the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, within the Western Passage of Passamaquoddy Bay. Its formation is a result of the tides in the area. The whirlpool can expand to a diameter of around 250 feet (75 meters). Tour boats offer access to the least turbulent areas of the whirlpool, and even offer a certificate for the guests to prove that they survived the journey.

Answer: Rana Plaza collapse

Also known as the Savar building collapse, the Rana Plaza collapse happened on 24 April 2013. The collapse occurred due to illegal building modifications, poor construction and negligence by the buildings owners, who allowed workers to enter the building and work despite highly visible cracks in the building's walls.

The original building permit stated that five floors was the limit, however, the owner, Sohel Rana, decided to ignore this and add three extra floors. The building was designed for shops and offices, not the heavy equipment, large generators and constant vibrations that are a regular part of industrial garment factories. The building was declared unsafe by an engineer, but the owners of the factory threatened to not pay their workers for the month if they did not continue to work. This threat was made shortly before the building collapsed.

1,134 people were killed due to the Rana Plaza collapse, and over 2,500 people were injured. The disaster had a global effect, leading to enquiries and demands for corporate accountability. Consumers were made more aware of the dangers of the garment industry and the consequences of fast fashion. Reforms were made to workplace safety laws in Bangladesh (including the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh), with widespread protests erupting across the country demanding justice for the dead and injured. Facing tremendous pressure from international sources, the government of Bangladesh made it easier for workers to join trade unions.

Answer: Loch Morar

Loch Morar is located in the Western Highlands of Scotland, with the village of Morar situated on the western bank of the lake. Loch Morar has a maximum depth of just over 1,000 feet (310 m). The loch was created around 10,000 years ago due to glacial activity, resulting in a deep basin around the east-west fault line.

The loch has its own legend of a monster, with "Mòrag" being sighted since the late 19th century. The sightings of Mòrag are not as frequent as the sightings of the Loch Ness monster, but folklore asserts that Mòrag is an omen of death or misfortune.

Answer: Mohinga

Mohinga is a fish based rice and noodle soup. While traditionally it was a breakfast soup, it is served daily in households and commercially as an all-day breakfast dish in Myanmar. The flavours typically include fish sauce, banana stem, onions, garlic, lemongrass, turmeric and ginger. Boiled eggs and fritters are often included as a side to the dish.

Answer: The Lugubrious Game

Paul Éluard (1895-1952) was a French poet and member of the Parisian Surrealists, who he travelled with in 1929 to visit Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) at his home in Cadaqués, Spain. This was in order to organise and review some of his works for an exhibition in Paris. Paul Éluard would bring his wife of 12 years, Gala, who would eventually leave Éluard to be with Dalí, marrying him in 1934. Gala and Dali were instantly attracted to each other and felt connected to each other despite a 10 year age gap (Gala was 35 whereas Dalí was 25). Éluard took the infidelity well, and began an affair of his own with Gala once she was married to Dalí.

"The Lugubrious Game" was painted by Dalí in 1929, and features a self-portrait of Dalí with a grasshopper covering his mouth. Dalí had a lifelong phobia of grasshoppers. The painting has controversial themes, with a character in the background in dirty underwear, shocking many art enthusiasts at the time.

While the exact conversation that Dalí and Éluard had resulting in the name of the painting has been lost to history, the word "lugubrious" means appearing depressing or sad. The painting's unsettling and dark themes are evident as to how Éluard decided to name the painting.

Answer: Battle of Lyngør

HDMS Najaden had her maiden voyage in February 1812, and was sunk in July the same year. Her only captain was Captain Hans Peter Holm (1772-1812), who although survived the sinking of his ship, drowned in an unrelated incident months later.

Even Najaden's maiden voyage did not go well. She ran aground upon trying to exit Copenhagen harbour, which delayed her maiden voyage by one day. She was also afflicted with rudder damage after dragging her anchor across some rocks near Norway.

The Battle of Lyngør occurred on July 6, 1812. Captain Holm had sailed Najaden into the tight Svalsund sound, believing that the British would not risk venturing into unfamiliar naval territory. British commander Captain James Stewart (known as "Mad Jim") would soon contradict this belief, brazenly sailing the HMS Dictator into the sound. Najaden was trapped and shot at close range, resulting in her sinking 45 minutes after the battle had began.