Q 01/05

Which San Francisco resident declared himself 'Emperor of these United States' in 1859?

A) Joshua Norton

B) Levi Strauss

C) Adolph Sutro

D) Domingo Ghirardelli

Answer · why

A) Joshua Norton

He issued his own currency, was humoured by local businesses, and about 10,000 people are said to have attended his funeral in 1880.

Q 02/05

Which Roman emperor won the throne in AD 193 at an auction held by the Praetorian Guard?

A) Pertinax

B) Didius Julianus

C) Septimius Severus

D) Commodus

Answer · why

B) Didius Julianus

He reigned for about nine weeks before the Senate condemned him and he was executed in his palace.

Q 03/05

Kongō Gumi, described as the world's oldest documented company, was founded in AD 578 to build what?

A) Fishing harbours

B) Sake breweries

C) Buddhist temples

D) Imperial palaces

Answer · why

C) Buddhist temples

It stayed under family control for roughly 1,400 years before becoming a subsidiary of Takamatsu Construction in 2006.

Q 04/05

Sir Nils Olav, colonel-in-chief of the Norwegian King's Guard, is what kind of animal?

A) A horse

B) A reindeer

C) A husky

D) A penguin

Answer · why

D) A penguin

He lives at Edinburgh Zoo and is inspected by the guard whenever it visits Scotland; the name has passed down through successive penguins since 1972.

Q 05/05

The self-declared Principality of Sealand sits on what kind of structure in the North Sea?

A) A wartime sea fort

B) A grounded cargo ship

C) An artificial sandbank

D) A decommissioned oil rig

Answer · why

A) A wartime sea fort

Roughs Tower was built in international waters during World War II and has been occupied by the Bates family since 1967.