Let Me Pique Your Interest... Some More Quiz

Answer: interjection

The word "interjection" comes from the Latin "interiectio", meaning "something thrown or placed between". Though interjections can belong to different grammatical categories, they share two important features: they occur on their own, and express spontaneous feelings, emotions, or reactions, rather than representing an idea or concept. In writing, interjections are generally followed by an exclamation mark, and - if part of a sentence - are separated from the rest of the sentence by various punctuation marks, in keeping with the idea of being something "thrown in between".

Interjections that have no other grammatical function - such as "oops", "ouch!", or "shh!" - are called "primary interjections", while words used as interjections that belong to other grammatical categories are called "secondary". Secondary interjections can be nouns ("help!"), verbs ("damn!"), adjectives ("cool!"), or multi-word phrases ("excuse me!", "no way!"). Greetings and swear words are often used as interjections.

Answer: Ecuador

Founded in 1960, OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) has been headquartered in Vienna (Austria) since 1965. At the time of writing, the organization counts 13 members, only one of which (Venezuela) is not located in Asia or Africa. Ecuador first joined in 1973, and withdrew in 1992 because of OPEC's hefty membership fee, as well as the restrictions placed on its oil production; it rejoined in 2007, but left again in 2020. Two Asian oil-producing countries, Qatar and Indonesia, also left the organization in the 2010s. A number of other oil-exporting countries (such as Russia, Mexico, Norway, and Egypt) are also involved in some of OPEC's initiatives, and their representatives often attend the organization's meetings as observers.

Besides Venezuela (which is one of the organization's founding members) and Ecuador, no other South American country has held OPEC membership so far.

Answer: Yama

Also known as Kala ("time" or "death") and Dharmaraja ("Lord of Justice"), Yama is the Hindu god of death and justice, often identified with "dharma", a key concept in Indian religions. His name means "twin" in Sanskrit; the river-goddess Yami (Yamuna) is his twin sister. In Hinduism, Yama is the son of Surya, the sun god, and his consort Saranyu; his abode is Naraka, or Yamaloka, the Hindu equivalent of Hell, located beneath the Earth, where sinners are tormented after death.

Yama is generally depicted as a blue- or green-skinned man with protruding fangs and four arms, holding a mace and a noose with which he catches the souls of those who are about to die; his "vahana" (vehicle) is a water buffalo. One of the Lokapalas ("Guardians of the Directions"), watching over the south, Yama is also present in other Asian religions and mythologies - most prominently in Buddhism.

Like Yama, Indra and Surya are ancient Vedic deities, while Brahma, the Creator, became a prominent deity in the post-Vedic period.

Answer: Titanic

Located on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour, a natural estuary at the mouth of the River Lee, the seaport town of Cobh (Gaelic spelling of "cove") was named Queenstown (in honour of Queen Victoria) from 1849 to 1920. The original village developed into a naval military base in the early 19th century, and later into a major transatlantic port, from which over 2 million Irish departed for North America between 1848 and 1950. On 11 April 1912, Queenstown was the last port of call for RMS Titanic, which collected 123 passengers (most of them Third Class) before setting out on its ill-fated Atlantic crossing; only 44 of those passengers survived the sinking.

RMS Lusitania, the passenger liner whose sinking on 7 May 1915 eventually led to the United States' declaration of war on Germany, is also associated with Cobh, as its sinking occurred not far from the town; over 100 of the victims of the disaster are buried in the Old Church Cemetery. Present-day Cobh is Ireland's only dedicated cruise terminal, and a number of museums and other attractions celebrate the town's maritime and emigration legacy.

Answer: Heart of Darkness

First published as a three-part serial in the early months of 1899, the novella "Heart of Darkness" is based on Joseph Conrad's experience of serving as the captain of a Belgian steamer in the Congo Free State (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1890. Conrad drew his main inspiration from his own travel journals; various real people have been identified as the sources for Conrad's characters. The story is told in a flashback by Charles Marlow, a recurring character in Conrad's fiction, who relates his river journey to a trading station deep in the jungle where he meets the mysterious Mr Kurtz. Of the novella's many adaptations, the best-known is the 1979 film "Apocalypse Now" by Francis Ford Coppola, whose setting was moved from Africa to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.

E.M. Forster's "A Room With a View" is partly set in Italy, while Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles" is set in England, and H.G. Wells' "The Island of Dr Moreau" on an island in the South Pacific.

Answer: Edinburgh Castle

Built on top of the plug of an extinct volcano known as Castle Rock (which was probably settled during the Iron Age), Edinburgh Castle was also referred to as the "Castle of Maidens" in texts from the High Middle Ages. The earliest royal castle on the site is believed to date from the reign of David I, who ruled Scotland in the 12th century. Often damaged in the frequent conflicts that occurred in the following centuries, Edinburgh Castle was a royal residence until the mid-17th century, though its role had already declined when, in the early 16th century, James IV built the Palace of Holyroodhouse, at the opposite end of the Royal Mile. Before it became a national monument, the Castle was used as a military fortress and a prison. Inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, the Castle is now Scotland's most popular tourist attraction.

The Forbidden City is a complex of imperial palaces located in Beijing (China). The Winter Palace, once the official residence of the Russian Emperors in St Petersburg, is now part of the Hermitage Museum. The Red Fort in Delhi (India) was the main residence of the Mughal Emperors.

Answer: Alaska

Katmai and Kenai Fjords are located in Alaska, the largest state in the US; both were established on 2 December 1980. Katmai National Park and Preserve is by far the largest of the two, with its 4,093,077 acres (16,564.09 km²); located in the southwestern part of the Alaska Peninsula, it is named about Mount Katmai, one of the volcanoes that lie within it. The park's centrepiece is the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, an ash flow formed by the 1912 eruption of Novarupta (the largest on the 20th century). One of Katmai's most popular tourist attractions are the over 2,000 Alaskan brown bears that in late summer descend on the park's rivers to gorge on spawning sockeye salmon.

Kenai Fjords National Park is located in the Kenai Peninsula, in south-central Alaska; it contains the massive Harding Icefield, whose glaciers carved the deep coastal fjords after which the park is named. Many cruises along the Alaskan coast, as well as shorter tours that offer views of land and marine wildlife, depart from the neighbouring town of Seward.

Answer: Christina

The only surviving legitimate child of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, Christina (1626-1689) became Queen of Sweden in 1632, after her father's death in the Battle of Lützen during the Thirty Years' War. A highly unconventional personality, especially for that age, Christina was famous for her keen interest in science, philosophy, religion and the arts; during her reign she invited many notable scientists and thinkers (such as French philosopher René Descartes) to Stockholm, which she wanted to transform into the "Athens of the North". She also decided not to marry and leave her throne to her cousin, Charles. She eventually abdicated in 1654, three years after a nervous breakdown caused by overwork and an austere lifestyle.

After her abdication, Christina traveled extensively throughout Europe; having converted to Catholicism, in 1656 she was welcomed lavishly in Rome by Pope Alexander VII. Following the scandal caused by the assassination of her Master of the Horse (and likely lover), Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi, in the palace of Fontainebleau (1657), Christina returned to Rome, settling in the magnificent Palazzo Riario (now Palazzo Corsini), where she died in 1689. Though she had asked for a simple burial in the Pantheon, she was given a sumptuous funeral, and was entombed in the Grotte Vaticane; an elaborate monument to commemorate her was erected in St Peter's Basilica a few years after her death.

Answer: sodium

Sodium (Na, atomic number 11) is an alkali metal, located in group 1 of the periodic table. At room temperature, it appears as a soft, silvery-white metal that can be easily cut with a knife, but definitely solid; its melting point is 98 ºC/208 ºF. Cesium (Cs, atomic number 55) is also an alkali metal; with a melting point of 28.5 °C (83.3 °F), it is one of three elements (the others being gallium and rubidium) that melt at room temperature or just above.

Mercury (Hg, atomic number 80) is included in group 12 of the periodic table; it is the only metallic element that is liquid at standard temperature (0 °C/32 °F) and pressure (100 kPa/1 bar). Bromine, a halogen in group 17 (Br, atomic number 35), is also liquid at standard temperature and pressure, and very volatile at room temperature.

Answer: They can enter a hibernatory state

Hummingbirds are fascinating creatures. Not only are they among the world's smallest birds (the record being held by the aptly named bee hummingbird), but have a number of other intriguing peculiarities - among which the ability to enter a hibernatory state (known as torpor) at night or when food sources are scarce, in order to conserve energy. During this state, body temperature falls, and heart and breathing rate slow down considerably. Hummingbird species that live in the Andes region of South America, where conditions are harsher than in other parts of their range, can enter an extraordinarily deep state of torpor.

This unique characteristic stems from the birds' extremely high metabolism (the highest of all animals), which requires a lot of fuel in the form of the sugary nectar they ingest from flowers. However, hummingbirds are not herbivorous, and their main sources of nutrition are insects and other arthropods. Male hummingbirds often have very brightly coloured plumage, while females tend also to be larger in size.