Roll Call by Nickname Trivia Quiz

Belgium is known as the 'Cockpit of Europe' because this relatively small country has been the site of many major battles through history. Even before the country became independent in the late 19th century, it has witnessed many bloody military campaigns as European powers like France, Germany, England and Spain went to war over control of different regions.

These include the Battle of Oudenaarde during the War of Spanish Succession, the battles of Quatre Bras, Ligny and Waterloo during the Napoleonic Wars, Battle of Ypres in World War I and Battle of the Bulge fought in the Ardennes in World War II.

Bhutan is a small mountainous country, nestled in the Himalayas between India and China. Locally the country is known as "Druk Yul" or "Land of the Thunder Dragon". The Druk is a Thunder Dragon from Bhutanese mythology. It is the symbol of the country and also features on its national flag. The Bhutanese king is called the "Druk Gyalpo" or the "Thunder Dragon King".

Canada's nickname of "Great White North" has a very literal origin. As the second largest country in the world, the great part of the nickname refers to its size. Much of the country falls within tundra region and is covered with snow for a major part of the year resulting in a white landscape. Finally, the country is located in the northern part of the world.

The Nile River was instrumental in the rise of the Egyptian civilization. Egypt is therefore nicknamed the "Gift of the Nile". Apart from water and food, the river helped by facilitating trade and transport. The reeds growing by the river led to the development of papyrus, the earlier form of paper.

By official count, Finland has over 180,000 lakes. Thus, the nickname of "Land of Thousand Lakes" comes as no surprise. It is rated as one of the most lake-dense countries in the world.

Ireland is nicknamed the "Emerald Isle", not to be confused with Sri Lanka which is called the "Emerald Island" or "Emerald Isle of the Indian Ocean". The reason for Ireland's nickname is its lush green landscape which is compared to the brilliance of an emerald.

The first time this sobriquet appeared in print was when Irish poet William Drennan referred to Ireland as the "Emerald Isle" in his poem "When Erin First Rose" published in 1884.

Japan is known as the "Land of the Rising Sun" due to its position in the east making it one of the first countries to witness the dawn of a new day. Nihon and Nippon, the Japanese names for Japan, literally translate to "the sun's origin", again tying the rising sun to the country.

This symbolism also extends to the country's flag which has a red circle on a white background, another reference to the rising sun.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is the "Land of the Golden Pagoda". With Buddhism being the main religion of the country, pagodas are found in plenty. Generally these have glittering domes resulting in clusters of pagodas appearing golden when viewed from a height.

The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon. In both hemispheres during the summer months, there is a period when the sun does not set at all resulting in a midnight sun. Some parts of Norway lie above the Arctic Circle and experience this phenomenon. The Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard is the northernmost inhabited region of Europe.

Here, the sun does not set from around 19 April to 23 August. Similarly, this region also experiences the polar night, an opposite phenomenon where there is no sunrise for a length of time.

The nickname "Rainbow Nation" was coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in the 1990s to describe the new path South Africa was embarking upon. When South Africa emerged from the dark period of Apartheid and held its first democratic elections, the country started making its first steps towards reconciliation among all its citizens.

The term "Rainbow Nation" was meant to highlight the country's multi-culturalism, a departure from the previous policy of differentiating between the people based on race.