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 in 30 BC, roughly 2,500 years after the Great Pyramid was built but only about 2,000 before Apollo 11 landed in 1969; she was Egypt's l...

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's islands cross the 180th meridian, making it technically the easternmost state as well as the westernmost?

A) Hawaii

B) Maine

C) Alaska

D) Washington

Answer · why

C) Alaska

Alaska's Aleutian Islands stretch across the 180th meridian into the Eastern Hemisphere, so one state holds the country's northern, western and, on pa...

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

Thanks to the isthmus's bend, the Panama Canal's Pacific end lies in which direction from its Atlantic end?

A) Southeast

B) Southwest

C) Northwest

D) Northeast

Answer · why

A) Southeast

Southeast: the canal runs south from Colón and then swings east, so its Pacific end sits about 25 miles east of its Atlantic end, not west.