Armchair Traveller 3 Trivia Quiz

Answer: A pufferfish dish from Japan

Fugu is a dish normally served in Japan and Korea. The pufferfish contains the poison tetrodotoxin and can be fatal if prepared improperly. Chefs need a license to prepare it, which is earned after years of training. The pufferfish become poisonous when they eat bacteria that contain tetrodotoxin. By controlling the fishes' diet, farmers can produce poison-free fugu.

Answer: Sirmium

In the 1st century BC, Sirmium was conquered by the Romans and became the provincial capital of Pannonia Inferior. Some of the emperors that were born there include Quintillus, Aurelian, and Constantius II. Sirmium was on the Sava river in what is now northern Serbia. Visitors can see some of the Roman remains, like mosaics and parts of the city walls.

Answer: Neolithic

The Neolithic period was the later part of the stone age, making Skara Brae older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. The village would have been home to farmers, hunters, and fishers. Originally, it would have been inland and next to a freshwater loch.

It was built into large mounds and contains covered passageways. In 1999, Skara Brae became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's definitely on my list of places to see!

Answer: Croatia

Zagreb is the capital of Croatia. It has many large and extravagant houses that are normally closed to the public. During the summer, however, a ten-day event called The Courtyards opened the gates to these palaces. Each courtyard showcased something different: some sold food, some had bars selling drinks, some had music and dancing.

Answer: An art gallery

The art gallery in Bilbao is maintained by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. It was designed by Frank Ghery and was made of titanium, glass, and limestone. One of the galleries inside the Guggenheim was the site of the largest sculpture commission in history in 2005. Richard Serra created The Matter of Time, a series of steel sculptures that viewers could walk through. Together, they were like a maze with spirals and curving passageways.

Answer: Maryland

The USA didn't have much of an army or a navy prior to World War I, but wanted to contribute to the war effort. David Lloyd George (the British prime minister) suggested building ships to replace the ones being lost in crossings over the channel. After the war, the wooden ships were obsolete. They were sold to a salvage company. They burned the wood to access the metal structure below.

The oldest ship in Mallows Bay dates back to the War of Independence, but the graveyard also includes passenger ferries. They have been left in the Potomac River for so long that trees and other wildlife have made them their home.

Answer: They were paid by a tourist board to do no-rope climbing performances.

The 'spidermen' and 'spiderwomen' in Guizhou used to climb the mountains in the area without ropes. In the past, they collected herbs for medicine, but as western medicine became more popular, the local villagers couldn't make enough money. The local tourism board began hiring them to perform for tourists. They climbed 100m without ropes twice a day.

Answer: A club for adventurous eaters

The Gastronauts began in 2005 with six people in New York, but by 2017 there were over 1000 members across a number of different US cities. The club met at a different restaurant once a month. They tried unusual world foods like chicken liver and live octopus.

Answer: Dubai

The Palm was a man-made island in Dubai that the Atlantis hotel was built upon. It opened in 2008 and covered 46 hectares. The hotel was themed around the lost city of Atlantis. Its website called itself an 'aquatic wonderland'. Some of the hotel rooms overlooked the beach, while others had an underwater view, complete with marine life.

The hotel offered scuba diving lessons, and opportunities to swim with sharks or play with dolphins.

Answer: Athletes with disabilities competed in fitness events.

The Working Wounded Games did not have a category system. Anyone with a physical disability who needed an adaptation in order to compete in a sport could compete in the WWG. It was designed for athletes who didn't fit neatly into categories in other competitions, like the Paralympics, for example. All athletes had a chance to take part and test their strength in a variety of tasks. People from all over the world attended the Working Wounded Games in order to compete.