Q 01/05

Which Egyptian queen, who died in 30 BC, lived closer to the Moon landing than to the Great Pyramid's construction?

A) Nefertiti

B) Hatshepsut

C) Arsinoe II

D) Cleopatra

Answer · why

D) Cleopatra

Cleopatra died about 2,570 years after the Great Pyramid rose around 2600 BC, but only 1,998 years before Apollo 11 landed in 1969. She was the last a...

Q 02/05

Which country, the largest on Earth without a permanent river, gets about half its drinking water from desalination?

A) Mongolia

B) Saudi Arabia

C) Turkmenistan

D) Kazakhstan

Answer · why

B) Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the world without permanent rivers, so around 50% of its drinking water comes from desalinated seawater. Season...

Q 03/05

Which US state is simultaneously the northernmost, westernmost and, thanks to the Aleutian Islands, easternmost?

A) Washington

B) Minnesota

C) Alaska

D) Michigan

Answer · why

C) Alaska

Alaska counts as the easternmost state as well as the northernmost and westernmost because the Aleutian Islands stretch across the 180th meridian into...

Q 04/05

Which sultanate fought Britain on 27 August 1896 in a war that was over in under 45 minutes?

A) Oman

B) Brunei

C) Zanzibar

D) Kelantan

Answer · why

C) Zanzibar

Zanzibar surrendered after 38 to 45 minutes of British naval bombardment, making the Anglo-Zanzibar War the shortest recorded war in history. Britain ...

Q 05/05

Through which country's canal does an Atlantic-to-Pacific ship actually travel from northwest to southeast?

A) Colombia

B) Costa Rica

C) Honduras

D) Panama

Answer · why

D) Panama

Panama's isthmus bends so sharply that the canal runs from northwest to southeast, leaving its Pacific end about a third of a degree east of its Atlan...