Ralph the Llama Celebrates the 48th Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Ralph the Llama lands his parachute on the 48th parallel north in France and suddenly hears a very loud noise, as though ten thousand angry hornets were all zooming in on him. Then he realises that the noise came from a 24-hour long sports car race held nearby. Where in France is Ralph?

Answer: Le Mans

The '24 Hours of Le Mans' is a race for sports cars that was first run in 1923. The race was designed to test the endurance and reliability of the cars over a long race rather than their speed over a short distance. There are approximately 50 cars in each race with a team of drivers who change over every four hours. Part of the race takes place on public roads - Ralph was relieved that these are closed while the race is on.

The Autodromo Nazionale Monza is in Italy, Silverstone is in Britain, and Sepang International Circuit is in Malaysia. All three circuits host Formula One Grand Prix races.

Flopsymopsy is pleased that llamas can't drive fast cars.

2. Ralph crosses the border into Germany in order to take a walk in the Black Forest. He passes through the historic town of Freiburg. What is the English translation of the town's name?

Answer: Free town

Freiburg (or Freiburg im Breisgau to give it its full name) is a gateway to the Black Forest and noted as one of the sunniest towns in Germany. It was founded in 1120 as a market town independent of outside control, hence the name of "free town".

Ralph discovers that its other attractions include wine production; a university that dates from medieval times; a Catholic cathedral (Frieburg chose to ignore the Reformation!); and a drive towards ecological self-sufficiency.

Glendathecat's off to enjoy the burger and fries if they're no longer required as the correct answer.

3. Ralph continues his travels into Austria, heading to the birthplace of Mozart. While there, he hears rumors of a garden full of water games. What Salzburg landmark does Ralph trot off to, to view these watery wonders?

Answer: Hellbrunn Castle

Hellbrunn Castle was built in the early 1600s by Markus Sittikus von Hohenems, the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. The water games were built under his direction due to his fondness for practical jokes and a number of them would squirt water at unsuspecting visitors.

Hohensalzburg Castle, located on Festungsberg which is one of the peaks which surround Salzburg, is one of the oldest castles in Europe and has served as a defensive position, a prison and is now a tourist attraction. Nonnberg Abbey is made famous by "The Sound of Music" as the abbey in which Maria worked as a teacher. Salzburg Cathedral is a baroque cathedral which was the baptismal site of Mozart.

EmmaF2008 would like to visit all of these places!

4. Ralph reviews some YouTube footage for his next stop in Hungary. The scene is the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. It is December 6th and in the water polo pool are Hungary and U.S.S.R. The background is the November 1956 Revolution where the Communists crushed a Hungarian uprising with a force of 200,000 troops leaving 5,000 dead and causing nearly 250,000 people to flee. Often referred to as the "Blood in the Water" incident, what statement is NOT true about the game?

Answer: The pool was full of blood

Needless to say it was a very rough and physical game with Hungary emerging the victors 4-0 and the referee having to call time early. Ervin Zador emerged from the pool with blood flowing down his face in a photo that shocked the world but there were no other reports of blood-related injuries. The "Blood in the Water" label, giving the impression that the whole pool turned red was more of a media sensation than a reality. In actual fact the water only changed colour in the close vicinity of Zador.

Question crafted by Exit10.

5. As Ralph the Llama noshes on a snack of bryndza (a cheese made from sheep's milk), he arrives in Slovakia. Whilst this landlocked country is hugged to the south by Hungary, it is separated from Poland in the north by the Tatra Mountains. What larger mountain range are the Tatra Mountains a part of?

Answer: The Carpathian Mountains

Though the Tatra Mountains are often classed as a mountain range in their own right, they are often lumped together with the Beskidy Mountains, the Bieszczady Mountains and the Transylvanian Alps as part of the Carpathian Mountain range, the largest (though not the highest) mountain range in Europe. The highest point of the Carpathians, the Gerlach Peak, is found in the Tatras.

Slovakia is a relatively small, landlocked country, being bordered by Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine and Hungary. Its landscape is dominated by the Carpathians, but its capital, Bratislava, is found in the level lowlands in the southwest.

This question was created by doublemm, who is now off to buy some bryndza.

6. Ralph has a love of nature, so he is drawn to see the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians, a natural reserve situated partly in the Ukraine. Which oblast does Ralph visit to view this natural wonder?

Answer: Zakarpattia Oblast

Zakarpattia, where the 48th parallel north crosses Ukraine, is located in the southwest of the country and is the only oblast which borders four countries, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

Slovakia and Ukraine share ownership of the Primeval Beech Forests, which have remained undisturbed since the last ice age and offer a unique insight into the history and ecological development of complex forest systems.

The other oblasts mentioned all contain one of the 'Seven Wonders of Ukraine'. Chernivtsi and Khmelnytskyi Oblasts are both located in western Ukraine. Zaporizhia Oblast is located in southern Ukraine.

EmmaF2008 constructed this question without harming any beech trees.

7. With the River Danube to the south, a coastline on the Black Sea to the east and the sound of bani clinking in the background, Ralph the Llama can only be in Romania. It is a good thing Ralph noticed these things, as, judging by the national flag, he thought he was somewhere else. Which country's flag is identical to that of the Romanians?

Answer: Chad

With blue, yellow and red vertical stripes, the Romanian and Chadian flags are identical.

Romania is the largest country of Southeast Europe and is the continent's twelfth largest. It is dominated centrally by the Southern Carpathians (Transylvanian Alps) and the Danube flows through the south, providing a natural border between Romania and Bulgaria.

Poor Romania only just made the cut for this quiz, as the 48th parallel north only skims the northernmost part of the country. Despite this, the border between Ukraine and Romania means that the parallel passes through Romania 3 times and Ukraine 4 times.

This question was added by doublemm, a lifelong friend of Ralph the Llama.

8. After a lunch featuring some excellent local Moldovan wine, Ralph falls asleep on the bus, and wakes up just as the announcement is made that they are crossing the Dniester River. This means they are now in a portion of the former Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic which declared itself an independent entity in 1992, but which was considered a part of Moldova by the Moldovan government at that time. Which of the following names is NOT applied to this region?

Answer: Eastern Moldova

Names for the part of the Moldavian SSR to the east of the Dniester River are related to that geographical feature. The government of Moldova refers to it as Stinga Nistrului, which means 'Left Bank of the river Dniester' - as you are going downstream on the south-flowing river, the eastern shore is on the left. It is colloquially referred to as Transnistria ('across the river Dniester'). The local authorities refer to themselves with a name that translates into English as Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, often shortened to Pridnestrovie ('by the river Dniester').

In 2010, Transnistria is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Moldova. It is comparable with other would be breakaway states, such as Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh, all trying to establish independence following the breakup of the USSR. In 2007, these four groups formed a Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations to support each other in their quest for independence.

Looney_tunes is sorry to have missed out on the Moldovan wine - it has a reputation for excellence developed over a production period spanning more than 5 millennia!

9. Ralph the Llama travels through Russia several times during his trip. During the first section of the journey into Russia, he crosses the longest river in Europe. Which river is it?

Answer: Volga

The 48th parallel north enters Russia (heading from west to east) in the Rostov Oblast and ends in the Astrakhan Oblast. In between, it crosses the Volgograd Oblast and the Republic of Kalmykia. It crosses the mighty Volga near the town of Cherny Yar, southeast from Volgograd.

The Volga has its source in the Valday Hills northwest of Russia, and it empties into the Caspian Sea after a journey of over 2,200 miles (3,600 km). It lies entirely within Russia, but since it is west of the Ural Mountains, it is considered to be within Europe.

PDAZ hopes to someday take a Volga river cruise.

10. Next stop for Ralph is a place he is ashamed to say he knows very little about. He reaches the wide open spaces of Kazakhstan, a country which is notable for very many reasons. Which of these is NOT among them?

Answer: Two Catholic popes have been born in Kazakhstan

The chances of a Catholic pope coming from Kazakhstan are slim. Not only is the country predominantly Muslim but, where there is a Christian presence, it is represented by the Russian Orthodox church.

The world's first manned space flight, which saw Yuri Gagarin orbiting the Earth, took off from Baikonur Cosmodrome on April 12th 1961. Baikonur, which was then part of the Soviet Union, was also the site of the launch of Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, in 1957.

Kazakhstan is surrounded by Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and also borders the world's largest inland sea, the Caspian sea. For those of you who would be driven crazy by not knowing ... the world's second largest landlocked country is Mongolia. The eight largest countries are Russia, Canada, China, USA, Brazil, Australia, India and Argentina.

A question provided by glendathecat who has never been anywhere near Kazakhstan, space or a Catholic pope.

11. In our trip around the world following the 48th parallel, we travel through only one country that contains a structure that is included in the lists of Wonders of the Medieval World. China actually contains two of these, one being the impressive Great Wall of China, but what is the name of the other structure which is no longer with us?

Answer: Porcelain Tower of Nanjing

The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing was built during the Ming Dynasty (fifteenth century) as a 260 feet (79 meters) high place of worship. The tower was encased in polychrome porcelain bricks which reflected the rays of the sun. In 1801, the top three floors were destroyed by a lightning strike and although repaired the tower succumbed in the Taiping rebellion.

The catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa make the list of Wonders of the Medieval World; they were located in Alexandria, Egypt. The Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor was built around 200 B.C., so comes too early to be considered a Wonder of the Medieval World. It is the site of the Terracotta Army. The Forbidden City in Beijing includes the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Although built in the right time period, it does not appear on any of the lists of Wonders of the Medieval World and most of it still stands today.

maninmidohio would love to visit China sometime.

12. Ralph is intrigued to find that the 48th parallel passes just north of Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. Remembering stories he heard of Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire as a child, he decides to visit this remote spot, which he envisages as a cross between a desert and sweeping steppe country. Imagine his surprise when he finds that Ulaanbaatar is in a valley, at the base of one of Mongolia's sacred mountains (Ralph loves a sacred mountain!). Which of the following is NOT one of the sacred mountains of Mongolia?

Answer: Mt. Everest

As the official Mongolian tourist information site says, the capital of Mongolia has been a nomad, like the majority of the Mongolian people. It has had over 25 different locations, and multiple names, since it was founded as a Buddhist monastic centre in 1639. Originally called Urguu (or other spellings - Mongolian names have variants depending on the script from which they are transliterated) from 1639 until 1706, it then became known as Ih Huree until 1911, followed by Niisl el Huree through 1923, when it adopted its current name of Ulaanbaatar, or Ulan Bator, with the establishment of the Mongolian People's Republic.

In 1778, Ulaanbaatar settled in its present site, near the north centre of the country, in a valley surrounded by mountains, including the sacred peak of Bogd Khan Uul.

Ralph and looney_tunes were right to picture deserts and steppes in connection with Mongolia - the Gobi Desert is in the south, there are mountains in the north and west, and most of the remainder is steppe country. Ralph was interested to learn that the name 'Gobi' comes from a Mongol word describing a steppe desert with enough vegetation to support camels (he might go looking for a cousin while he's in town), but not enough for marmots.

13. After passing through China and Mongolia, and whilst still on the Asian mainland, Ralph finds himself in a region known mysteriously as the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. Where is he?

Answer: Russia

Ralph has discovered the extraordinary width of Russia which stretches for the best part of 5000 miles, although much of this falls above the 48th Parallel. Its Jewish Autonomous Oblast is situated in the south-eastern corner of the country and borders China's Heilongjiang province. Attempts to create a Jewish homeland within the Soviet Union began in the late 1920s. Initial plans to carve out territory in the Crimea or the Ukraine floundered on local opposition and so, in 1934, Joseph Stalin brought the oblast into being in its present location. Despite Soviet propaganda attempts to woo settlers, the land is mostly poor with much swampland and Jews have only ever formed a small percentage of the population.

It may seem strange, in the light of the Soviet atheistic ideology, that any religious group should be encouraged but this has to be seen as a cultural policy and part of Stalin's approach to the "national question" - accommodating different cultural groups, on their own land, under the umbrella of socialism.

Drafted by the left-leaning glendathecat whom Ralph swears will lean in any direction if a badge requires it.

14. A boat ride across the Bering Sea brings Ralph the Llama to the US where he visits the headquarters of the American Miniature Llama Association in a state through which the 48th parallel passes. In what state, known as "The Treasure State" and also "Big Sky Country", is the American Miniature Llama Association?

Answer: Montana

Montana is known as "The Treasure State" because of the array of natural resources to be found there. Gold, silver and copper have all been mined in this 147,000 square mile state. Montana has other nicknames including "The Headwaters State", "The Bonanza State", "Land of Shining Mountains", "Stubtoe State", and "The Mountain State".

Team mate deputygary works that out to one state nickname for every 139,200 people.

15. The 48th parallel may seem like an odd choice from the Canadian point of view, although Ralph may not understand why. After all, the dividing line between Canada and most of the US occurs on a different line of latitude. Which close parallel would be significant in regards to the Canadian/US border?

Answer: 49th parallel north

While the forty-eighth parallel (north) does go through Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and part of Newfoundland, a journey such as Ralph's would be awkward for Canadians (and that means no offense to Ralph, who is free to graze worldwide). The forty-ninth parallel, on the other hand, is much fancier a number to Canucks due to its value as the Canadian-American borderline stretching thousands of miles across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba before Ontario (kinda) screws the whole 'straight-line' border thing up. Coincidentally, the 49th (north) also passes through Normandy and Bavaria.

In Canada, the 48th (north) is far enough to the north to create part of the border between Quebec and New Brunswick and cut through Lake Superior.

This question is part of Kyleisalive's contribution. ;)

Source: Author glendathecat

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

Ralph the Llama is familiar with the 48th parallel south, as this runs through Argentina and Chile, so he has decided to circumnavigate the world using the 48th parallel north. Join him on his journey of discovery.

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