Wednesday Trivia: Dec 7, 2011

Only one rule: absolutely no internet searches of any kind. Hints are available on request.

1. The Battle of Vienna in 1683 marked the point when Christian Europe began gaining the upper hand over the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Legend has it that this pastry was invented at the end of that battle, and was brought to France by Marie Antoinette of the “let them eat cake” fame. Name this popular pastry that is now most closely identified with France.

2. This leader of her country described herself as “not spontaneously courageous” and “led too much by [her] head to leap recklessly in.” She was recounting an incident during her school years when she spent an entire swimming lesson perched on a diving board. Only when the bell rang at the end of the class did she find the nerve to jump into the pool. Name this leader.

3. Neville Chamberlain became known as Mr. Appeasement: the British Prime Minister who tried to appease Hitler. In September 1938, Chamberlain met Hitler face-to-face in the old royal castle in Berchtesgaden. At issue was Sudetenland, the German-majority portion of Czechoslovakia that Hitler wanted for his Third Reich. The story goes that Hitler carefully planned the location of the meeting to wear down Chamberlain’s resistance. The old castle forbade an activity that Chamberlain was fond of. When kept for hours on end from indulging in that activity, Chamberlain grew weary and eventually conceded Hitler’s demands to annex Sudetenland. He walked out with an agreement that he then tried to sell to his Parliament as “peace with honor” and “peace for our time.” What activity was forbidden at the old castle?

4. Its closest neighbors are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. It is the southernmost landmass that Polynesians reached before Europeans did. Smaller in land area than Japan, this country has the world’s fifth largest exclusive economic zone in the world. Name this country that was the first to grant women the right to vote back in 1893.

5. A pink-greyish granite slab found in 1799, it contains a decree which Pharaoh Ptolemy V issued in 196 BC after ascending the throne at the age of five. What is it popularly known as?

6. One meaning for the name of this place is “a word that ends in a vowel.” It is located in a ravine formed by the Waghora river in Central India. The place was abandoned in medieval times and became forgotten. It was rediscovered in the 19th century by a British officer of Madras Presidency while hunting tiger. Name this place.

7. He wrote a short but influential book called Discours de la Methode that contained the famous phrase, “je pense, donc je suis.” Name the philosopher and mathematician who invented the coordinate system used in plane geometry.

8. Tim Berners-Lee, a fellow at the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland invented it. The first operational demonstration was made available on August 6, 1991. It can be defined as the complete set of documents accessible through servers that support the hyper-text transfer protocol. What are we talking about?

9. Andrew Wiles of Princeton University proved it by establishing a semistable special case of the Taniyama-Shimura Conjecture. It states that there no non-zero integers x, y and z such that x^n + y^n = z^n where n is an integer greater than 2. What is this popularly known as?

10. Its earlier name was Temasek, meaning “sea town.” For a few years, it was renamed to Syo-nan, meaning “Light of the South.” Name this city whose modern incarnation was founded by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles.

charvaka wrote:Only one rule: absolutely no internet searches of any kind. Hints are available on request.

1. The Battle of Vienna in 1683 marked the point when Christian Europe began gaining the upper hand over the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Legend has it that this pastry was invented at the end of that battle, and was brought to France by Marie Antoinette of the “let them eat cake” fame. Name this popular pastry that is now most closely identified with France.

Brioche?

9. Andrew Wiles of Princeton University proved it by establishing a semistable special case of the Taniyama-Shimura Conjecture. It states that there no non-zero integers x, y and z such that x^n + y^n = z^n where n is an integer greater than 2. What is this popularly known as?

Fermat's theorem

charvaka wrote:

7. He wrote a short but influential book called Discours de la Methode that contained the famous phrase, “je pense, donc je suis.” Name the philosopher and mathematician who invented the coordinate system used in plane geometry.

Descartes

8. Tim Berners-Lee, a fellow at the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland invented it. The first operational demonstration was made available on August 6, 1991. It can be defined as the complete set of documents accessible through servers that support the hyper-text transfer protocol. What are we talking about?

World Wide Web

2. Gold Meir

4. NZ

charvaka wrote:

3. Neville Chamberlain became known as Mr. Appeasement: the British Prime Minister who tried to appease Hitler. In September 1938, Chamberlain met Hitler face-to-face in the old royal castle in Berchtesgaden. At issue was Sudetenland, the German-majority portion of Czechoslovakia that Hitler wanted for his Third Reich. The story goes that Hitler carefully planned the location of the meeting to wear down Chamberlain’s resistance. The old castle forbade an activity that Chamberlain was fond of. When kept for hours on end from indulging in that activity, Chamberlain grew weary and eventually conceded Hitler’s demands to annex Sudetenland. He walked out with an agreement that he then tried to sell to his Parliament as “peace with honor” and “peace for our time.” What activity was forbidden at the old castle?

Smoking?

charvaka wrote:

10. Its earlier name was Temasek, meaning “sea town.” For a few years, it was renamed to Syo-nan, meaning “Light of the South.” Name this city whose modern incarnation was founded by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles.

Singapore? (guessing based on Raffles)

blabberwock wrote:

charvaka wrote:Only one rule: absolutely no internet searches of any kind. Hints are available on request.

1. The Battle of Vienna in 1683 marked the point when Christian Europe began gaining the upper hand over the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Legend has it that this pastry was invented at the end of that battle, and was brought to France by Marie Antoinette of the “let them eat cake” fame. Name this popular pastry that is now most closely identified with France.

Brioche?

9. Andrew Wiles of Princeton University proved it by establishing a semistable special case of the Taniyama-Shimura Conjecture. It states that there no non-zero integers x, y and z such that x^n + y^n = z^n where n is an integer greater than 2. What is this popularly known as?

Fermat's theorem

Make that fermat's last theorem.

charvaka wrote:

6. One meaning for the name of this place is “a word that ends in a vowel.” It is located in a ravine formed by the Waghora river in Central India. The place was abandoned in medieval times and became forgotten. It was rediscovered in the 19th century by a British officer of Madras Presidency while hunting tiger. Name this place.

Ajanta caves?

6. hampi, vijaynagara?

charvaka wrote:Only one rule: absolutely no internet searches of any kind. Hints are available on request.


2. This leader of her country described herself as “not spontaneously courageous” and “led too much by [her] head to leap recklessly in.” She was recounting an incident during her school years when she spent an entire swimming lesson perched on a diving board. Only when the bell rang at the end of the class did she find the nerve to jump into the pool. Name this leader.

>>> Eva Peron?

3. Neville Chamberlain became known as Mr. Appeasement: the British Prime Minister who tried to appease Hitler. In September 1938, Chamberlain met Hitler face-to-face in the old royal castle in Berchtesgaden. At issue was Sudetenland, the German-majority portion of Czechoslovakia that Hitler wanted for his Third Reich. The story goes that Hitler carefully planned the location of the meeting to wear down Chamberlain’s resistance. The old castle forbade an activity that Chamberlain was fond of. When kept for hours on end from indulging in that activity, Chamberlain grew weary and eventually conceded Hitler’s demands to annex Sudetenland. He walked out with an agreement that he then tried to sell to his Parliament as “peace with honor” and “peace for our time.” What activity was forbidden at the old castle?

>>> Golf?

4. Its closest neighbors are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. It is the southernmost landmass that Polynesians reached before Europeans did. Smaller in land area than Japan, this country has the world’s fifth largest exclusive economic zone in the world. Name this country that was the first to grant women the right to vote back in 1893.

>>>New Zealand

5. A pink-greyish granite slab found in 1799, it contains a decree which Pharaoh Ptolemy V issued in 196 BC after ascending the throne at the age of five. What is it popularly known as?

>>>Rosetta Stone



7. He wrote a short but influential book called Discours de la Methode that contained the famous phrase, “je pense, donc je suis.” Name the philosopher and mathematician who invented the coordinate system used in plane geometry.

>>>>Descartes



9. Andrew Wiles of Princeton University proved it by establishing a semistable special case of the Taniyama-Shimura Conjecture. It states that there no non-zero integers x, y and z such that x^n + y^n = z^n where n is an integer greater than 2. What is this popularly known as?

>>>Fermat's last theorem

10. Its earlier name was Temasek, meaning “sea town.” For a few years, it was renamed to Syo-nan, meaning “Light of the South.” Name this city whose modern incarnation was founded by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles.

>>>> singapore

charvaka wrote:Only one rule: absolutely no internet searches of any kind. Hints are available on request.

1. The Battle of Vienna in 1683 marked the point when Christian Europe began gaining the upper hand over the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Legend has it that this pastry was invented at the end of that battle, and was brought to France by Marie Antoinette of the “let them eat cake” fame. Name this popular pastry that is now most closely identified with France.

.

>>> Is it Croissant (I don't know if that is a pastry)?

blabberwock wrote:

charvaka wrote:

7. He wrote a short but influential book called Discours de la Methode that contained the famous phrase, “je pense, donc je suis.” Name the philosopher and mathematician who invented the coordinate system used in plane geometry.

Descartes

8. Tim Berners-Lee, a fellow at the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland invented it. The first operational demonstration was made available on August 6, 1991. It can be defined as the complete set of documents accessible through servers that support the hyper-text transfer protocol. What are we talking about?

World Wide Web

Both answers are correct.

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:2. Gold Meir

4. NZ

New Zealand is the correct answer. Golda Meir is not. Will provide a hint in a little bit.

blabberwock wrote:

charvaka wrote:

3. Neville Chamberlain became known as Mr. Appeasement: the British Prime Minister who tried to appease Hitler. In September 1938, Chamberlain met Hitler face-to-face in the old royal castle in Berchtesgaden. At issue was Sudetenland, the German-majority portion of Czechoslovakia that Hitler wanted for his Third Reich. The story goes that Hitler carefully planned the location of the meeting to wear down Chamberlain’s resistance. The old castle forbade an activity that Chamberlain was fond of. When kept for hours on end from indulging in that activity, Chamberlain grew weary and eventually conceded Hitler’s demands to annex Sudetenland. He walked out with an agreement that he then tried to sell to his Parliament as “peace with honor” and “peace for our time.” What activity was forbidden at the old castle?

Smoking?

Correct. Chamberlain was addicted to smoking, and Hitler wasn't. In that day and age it was common for people to smoke everywhere, but smoking was forbidden in the Berchtesgaden castle.

blabberwock wrote:

charvaka wrote:

10. Its earlier name was Temasek, meaning “sea town.” For a few years, it was renamed to Syo-nan, meaning “Light of the South.” Name this city whose modern incarnation was founded by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles.

Singapore? (guessing based on Raffles)

Correct. Temasek was the Javanese name, and Syonan was the Japanese name for Singapore.

blabberwock wrote:

blabberwock wrote:

charvaka wrote:Only one rule: absolutely no internet searches of any kind. Hints are available on request.

1. The Battle of Vienna in 1683 marked the point when Christian Europe began gaining the upper hand over the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Legend has it that this pastry was invented at the end of that battle, and was brought to France by Marie Antoinette of the “let them eat cake” fame. Name this popular pastry that is now most closely identified with France.

Brioche?

9. Andrew Wiles of Princeton University proved it by establishing a semistable special case of the Taniyama-Shimura Conjecture. It states that there no non-zero integers x, y and z such that x^n + y^n = z^n where n is an integer greater than 2. What is this popularly known as?

Fermat's theorem

Make that fermat's last theorem.

That is the correct answer. It is not brioche, it is croissant.

blabberwock wrote:

charvaka wrote:

6. One meaning for the name of this place is “a word that ends in a vowel.” It is located in a ravine formed by the Waghora river in Central India. The place was abandoned in medieval times and became forgotten. It was rediscovered in the 19th century by a British officer of Madras Presidency while hunting tiger. Name this place.

Ajanta caves?

Yes, the name of the place is Ajanta.

Kris wrote:

charvaka wrote:Only one rule: absolutely no internet searches of any kind. Hints are available on request.


2. This leader of her country described herself as “not spontaneously courageous” and “led too much by [her] head to leap recklessly in.” She was recounting an incident during her school years when she spent an entire swimming lesson perched on a diving board. Only when the bell rang at the end of the class did she find the nerve to jump into the pool. Name this leader.

>>> Eva Peron?

3. Neville Chamberlain became known as Mr. Appeasement: the British Prime Minister who tried to appease Hitler. In September 1938, Chamberlain met Hitler face-to-face in the old royal castle in Berchtesgaden. At issue was Sudetenland, the German-majority portion of Czechoslovakia that Hitler wanted for his Third Reich. The story goes that Hitler carefully planned the location of the meeting to wear down Chamberlain’s resistance. The old castle forbade an activity that Chamberlain was fond of. When kept for hours on end from indulging in that activity, Chamberlain grew weary and eventually conceded Hitler’s demands to annex Sudetenland. He walked out with an agreement that he then tried to sell to his Parliament as “peace with honor” and “peace for our time.” What activity was forbidden at the old castle?

>>> Golf?

4. Its closest neighbors are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. It is the southernmost landmass that Polynesians reached before Europeans did. Smaller in land area than Japan, this country has the world’s fifth largest exclusive economic zone in the world. Name this country that was the first to grant women the right to vote back in 1893.

>>>New Zealand

5. A pink-greyish granite slab found in 1799, it contains a decree which Pharaoh Ptolemy V issued in 196 BC after ascending the throne at the age of five. What is it popularly known as?

>>>Rosetta Stone



7. He wrote a short but influential book called Discours de la Methode that contained the famous phrase, “je pense, donc je suis.” Name the philosopher and mathematician who invented the coordinate system used in plane geometry.

>>>>Descartes



9. Andrew Wiles of Princeton University proved it by establishing a semistable special case of the Taniyama-Shimura Conjecture. It states that there no non-zero integers x, y and z such that x^n + y^n = z^n where n is an integer greater than 2. What is this popularly known as?

>>>Fermat's last theorem

10. Its earlier name was Temasek, meaning “sea town.” For a few years, it was renamed to Syo-nan, meaning “Light of the South.” Name this city whose modern incarnation was founded by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles.

>>>> singapore

New Zealand, Rosetta Stone, Rene Descartes, Fermat's Last Theorem and Singapore are all correct. 3 is smoking. Will give a hint for 2.

Kris wrote:

charvaka wrote:Only one rule: absolutely no internet searches of any kind. Hints are available on request.

1. The Battle of Vienna in 1683 marked the point when Christian Europe began gaining the upper hand over the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Legend has it that this pastry was invented at the end of that battle, and was brought to France by Marie Antoinette of the “let them eat cake” fame. Name this popular pastry that is now most closely identified with France.

.

>>> Is it Croissant (I don't know if that is a pastry)?

Correct! The name is French for crescent. The idea is that Viennois bakers made crescent-shaped pastries to celebrate the defeat of the Muslim army that flew the crescent flag.

Excellent job cracking this quiz, people! Only one question remains. And that because it wasn't very good question.

2. This leader of her country described herself as “not spontaneously courageous” and “led too much by [her] head to leap recklessly in.” She was recounting an incident during her school years when she spent an entire swimming lesson perched on a diving board. Only when the bell rang at the end of the class did she find the nerve to jump into the pool. Name this leader.

Hint: When she came to power in 2006 at the head of a grand coalition of the two major political groups in her country, she became its first female head of government. In the next general elections, she secured a majority for her own coalition. She is fluent in Russian and earned a doctorate in quantum chemistry.

charvaka wrote:Excellent job cracking this quiz, people! Only one question remains. And that because it wasn't very good question.

2. This leader of her country described herself as “not spontaneously courageous” and “led too much by [her] head to leap recklessly in.” She was recounting an incident during her school years when she spent an entire swimming lesson perched on a diving board. Only when the bell rang at the end of the class did she find the nerve to jump into the pool. Name this leader.

Hint: When she came to power in 2006 at the head of a grand coalition of the two major political groups in her country, she became its first female head of government. In the next general elections, she secured a majority for her own coalition. She is fluent in Russian and earned a doctorate in quantum chemistry.

Angela Merkel?

PseudoIntellectual wrote:

charvaka wrote:Excellent job cracking this quiz, people! Only one question remains. And that because it wasn't very good question.

2. This leader of her country described herself as “not spontaneously courageous” and “led too much by [her] head to leap recklessly in.” She was recounting an incident during her school years when she spent an entire swimming lesson perched on a diving board. Only when the bell rang at the end of the class did she find the nerve to jump into the pool. Name this leader.

Hint: When she came to power in 2006 at the head of a grand coalition of the two major political groups in her country, she became its first female head of government. In the next general elections, she secured a majority for her own coalition. She is fluent in Russian and earned a doctorate in quantum chemistry.

Angela Merkel?

Correct. The Economist mentioned her swimming lesson story in a recent article about the tough decisions she faces now.

This quiz is all solved now. Blabberwock has agreed to post next week's quiz.