Man Made Structures, Part 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stonehenge

Stonehenge is located on Salisbury Plain in England, just west of Amesbury. While historians have done a wonderful job of breaking down when each of the stones were erected, they haven't done as great a job of explaining who erected them or how this was done, given the technology of the time. The stones are all very heavy, and some come from as far away as a quarry in Wales (some 240 miles away).
The site has always served as a burial one, with cremated remains found in abundance, some dating back to 3,000 BCE. Ancient burial mounds can be seen nearby.
Stonehenge has been closely associated with the Druids, and celebrants of many spiritualities still gather there at the summer solstice.

Answer: The Parthenon

The Parthenon is situated in the Acropolis of Athens, Greece, which is the ancient citadel of the city. There is evidence of a building there dating back as far as 6,000 BCE.
The Parthenon itself, built as a temple for the Goddess Athena, for whom the city was named, was completed in 438 BCE. It replaced an older Parthenon destroyed by a Persian Invasion. It is one of the oldest surviving examples of Classical Greek Architecture, specifically of the Doric Order. Over the years, the building has also served as a Christian church and a mosque.

Answer: Toronto

The CN Tower sits in downtown Toronto, the provincial capital of Ontario, Canada. It was built by the Canadian National Railway (hence the CN) as a communications tower. It stands 553.3 meters tall. Visitors can dine in the rotating restaurant, with an incredible view of the city, or go even higher and stand on the see-through platform.

There are many other activities available inside the tower, as the more than two million visitors annually will attest. In 1995 ownership was transferred to a federally run organization.

The same year the American Society of Engineers named it one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World.

Answer: The White House

Not only is it the American President's official residence, but it's also his place of work. It was designed by James Hoban and is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C. The photo shows the northern entrance. Built between the years 1792 and 1800, it has undergone many renovations and expansions over the years, particularly after it was set on fire by the British during the war of 1812.

Answer: Tower Bridge

London's Tower Bridge was built to answer a need for another way across the Thames River. A particular challenge was that the bridge had to allow for the passage of tall-masted ships, unlike the neighbouring London Bridge (the original of which now rests in Havasu City, Arizona).

The bridge consists of two towers, joined by an upper walkway and a lower roadway, which opens to allow the passage of ships. However the name, Tower Bridge, comes from the fact that it is close to the Tower of London.
Construction of the bridge took eight years to complete.

Answer: Rome

Built between 72 and 80 AD, the Colosseum could seat up to 50,000 people and was originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre. It was used primarily as an entertainment facility where spectators could watch executions, gladiator contests, re-enactments of Roman victories and dramas. Throughout history it has served other purposes, including that of a Christian Shrine, which is ironic since Christians were sometimes fed to the lions there.

Answer: The Louvre

The Louvre Palace was built on the site of a fortress built by Phillip II. It grew in stages over the years until 1692, when King Louis XIV made the Palace of Versailles his official residence. At that time, the Louvre Palace was used to display the royal art collection. For approximately 100 years, it was also used by the Academie des Inscriptions et Belle Lettres, as well as the Academie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture.
It reverted to a museum in 1793, under a decree made during the French Revolution. It is one of the largest and most frequently visited museums in the world.
The pyramids were added in 1988 (as a new entranceway) and 1993 (the inverted one) by architect I.M. Pei. These pyramids featured in the Ron Howard movie "The DaVinci Code" (2006).

Answer: Moscow

A Russian Orthodox church, completed in 1561, St. Basil's Cathedral is located in Red Square in Moscow. It was built by Czar Ivan IV to commemorate success in battle. It is actually eight churches built around a central church. In 1588 a tenth church was added to the melange, built over the grave of a local saint.

In 1929 it became secularized and is run as a museum, owned by the Russian Federation.

Answer: Emperor Napoleon

The full name is Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile, and it stands in the centre of what was once the Place de l'Etoile but is now known as Place Charles de Gaulle. It was commissioned by Emperor Napoleon, in 1806, to honour soldiers from the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

It took 28 years to complete, so it was actually inaugurated during the reign of King Louis Philippe. It bears the names of French generals and victories and in 1920 the tomb of the unknown soldier was placed there.

Answer: A bell

The Tower that contains Big Ben stands on the corner of the Palace of Westminster, which is more commonly referred to as the Houses of Parliament. The tower was built in 1858.

The tower has clock faces on all four sides and the official name for the main bell is the Great Bell. It is 13 1/2 tons in weight, and cracked only 2 months after being installed in the tower (a task that took 18 hours to complete). There is a theory that the bell's nickname, Big Ben, was for a heavyweight boxer who was popular at the time.

As an April Fool's Joke, in 1980, the BBC announced that the clock face was being replaced with a digital clock and that the hands were for sale. Most Brits were not amused.