World Trivia Questions and Answers

Fun trivia questions and answers - World.

How many time zones are there in China?
A: Only one. Although the country covers 3,691,521 square miles and geographically could be in five different zones, the government requires clocks throughout the nation to conform to those in the capital (Beijing.)

What is the basic monetary unit of Zimbabwe called?
A: The dollar.

On what island are one-third of the world's languages spoken?
A: On New Guinea, where more than 700 distinct native languages can be heard.

What did 5 and 10-cent-store magnate F. W. Woolworth call the chain of stores he opened in England in 1909?
A: "Three-and-Sixpence" stores.

What famous French landmark is named after a German city?
A: The Eiffel Tower. It was built by Gustave Eiffel, whose upholsterer grandfather moved to Paris from Eifel, Germany, and became know as Eifel because his friends couldn't pronounce his name, Boenickhausen. Eventually granddad added another "f" and legally changed his name to Eiffel.

Archaeologists believe they have located the burial site of Boudicca, the British queen who led a bloody revolt against Roman rule in the first century A.D. Where is it?
A: Under Platform 8 of the King's Cross Railway Station in London.

When was the first kissaten--coffee shop --established in Tokyo?
A: In 1889.

What piece of construction equipment is named after an early seventeenth-century British hangman?
A: The derrick, which is named for Thomas Derrick--who carried out more than 3,000 executions during his career at Tyburn, near what is now the Marble Arch in London.

What Island nation was named after a Dutch province?
A: New Zealand, which was discovered by Dutch Explorer Abel Tasman in 1642 and named Nieuw Zeeland after Zeeland, a Dutch province bordering the North Sea.

What river is the longest in Europe?
A: The Volga, the principal waterway in Russia, which is approximately 2,293 miles long.

Where are the volcanoes Shira, Kibo and Mawenzi located?
A: In Tanzania--they are the three principal volcanoes that make up Mount Kilimanjaro.

What famous explorer included a photograph of his nude mistress in a book about his travels?
A: Robert Peary, discoverer of the North Pole. His Eskimo mistress, Aleqasia, was shown bathing.

The French knew the first ruler of the Holy Roman Empire as Charlemagne. What did the Germans call him?
A: Karl der Grosse--which, like Charlemagne, means Charles the Great.

What was the name of the pug that shared Napoleon and Josephine's bed?
A: Fortune.

What was the profession of Edmund Hillary, the New Zealander who conquered Mount Everest with Sherpa guide Tenzing Norkay in 1953?
A: Beekeeper, or apiarist.

How many beds were listed in the palace inventories of France's King Louis XIV?
A: 413.

The British prime minister's official residence is at Number 10 Downing Street. Whose official residence is at Number 11?
A: The Chancellor of the Exchequer's.

What Middle Eastern capital was once known as Philadelphia?
A: Amman, Jordan.

There was a major mistake in the 1968 film "Krakatoa, East of Java." What was it?
A: The location given in the title. The famous volcano is West of Java. The mistake was remedied when the movie was released on videocassette under a new title, "Volcano."

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