Did You Know? – Flags, Cobble Stones And Blimps, Just Some Of Today’s Facts.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Talk about random. Today’s selection certainly lives up to that description.

Hope you can find at least a few facts in this lot that you like.

Enjoy.

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did you know2

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The Swiss flag is square.

Swiss Flag

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All of the cobble stones that used to line the streets in New York

were originally weighting stones

put in the hulls of Belgian ships to keep an even keel.

Manhattan, New York cobblestone street

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There are only thirteen blimps in the world.

Nine of the thirteen blimps are in the United States.

The existing biggest blimp is the Fuji Film blimp.

Fuji Film blimp

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If you come from Manchester,

you are a Mancunian.

Mancunian

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The most remote inhabited place on Earth,  Tristan de Cunha,

a small archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean

thousands of miles from both South Africa and South America,

has a population of only  271 people and mail only arrives a few times per year.

Tristan de Cunha from Sea

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At the last official census,

the hottest constantly inhabited region in the world

is Dallol in Ethiopia.

Dallol in Ethiopia

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The German Kaiser Wilhelm II had a withered arm

and often hid the fact by posing with his hand

resting on a sword, or by holding gloves.

German Kaiser Wilhelm II

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A kind of tortoise in the Galapagos Islands

has an upturned shell at its neck

so it can reach its head up to eat cactus branches.

tortoise in the Galapagos Islands

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The 1957 Milwaukee Braves were the first baseball team

to win the World Series after being relocated.

1957 Milwaukee Braves

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The slogan on New Hampshire license plates is ‘Live Free or Die’.

Ironically these license plates are manufactured

by prisoners in the state prison in Concord.

New Hampshire license plates

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The common goldfish is the only animal that can

see both infra-red and ultra-violet light.

The common goldfish

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If you stretch a standard Slinky out flat

it measures 87 feet long.

Slinky

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Camel’s milk does not curdle.

camel milk

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A person from the country of Nauru is called a Nauruan;

this is the only palindromic nationality.

Nauruan

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Hang On Sloopy

is the official rock song of Ohio.

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It May Be The First Monday In August, But It’s Still Quiz Day!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Hello and thanks for stopping by the fasab blog.

Yes, today is the first Monday in August (how fast is this year going?) and time for another quiz.

As usual the answers are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below – but NO cheating!

Have a go and, hopefully, enjoy.

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quiz 04

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Q.  1:  Which Sergeant Detective Lieutenant worked with Scientist Ted Olson under the watchful eye of Captain Ed Hocken?

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Q.  2:  The slogan for which famous website is ‘We Open Governments’?

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Q.  3:  What are the genetically engineered robots called in the movie ‘Blade Runner’?

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Q.  4:  With 4,400 km, what is the longest river in the world beginning with the letter ‘L’?  (Bonus point if you know what country it is in.)

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Q.  5:  Which band has had a record 36 top ten albums in the US charts?

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Q.  6:  The OSS was the predecessor of which organization?

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Q.  7:  The two amiable lawbreakers Robert LeRoy Parker and Harry Longabaugh were better known as what?

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Q.  8:  A ‘Black Perigord’ is an expensive example of what?

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Q.  9:  The world heritage site of Petra is located in what country?

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Q. 10:  What is the well known word for ‘sailor of the universe’?

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Q. 11:  The name of which criminal syndicate translated means ‘our thing’?

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Q. 12:  H.G. Wells ‘The Time Machine’ has been made into a movie twice. Which actor played the ‘Time Traveler’ in a) the original 1960 movie and b) the 2002 version?  (A point for each.)

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Q. 13:  What is the well known translation for ‘River of January’?

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Q. 14:  John Spilsbury is credited with putting together which baffling invention in the 1760s?

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Q. 15:  Which politician is the co-author of the book ‘Judo: History, Theory, Practice’?

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Q. 16:  Which Hollywood sex symbol did RAF pilots get into during World War II?

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Q. 17:  Which world famous Hollywood actress does one associate with the words “I want to be alone..”?

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Q. 18:  Which uplifting 1956 invention carried Sir Christopher Cockerell to fame?

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Q. 19:  Before reunification what was the capital of West Germany?

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Q. 20:  And finally, a question to chew on. What is the name of the famous department store in Moscow?

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1:  Which Sergeant Detective Lieutenant worked with Scientist Ted Olson under the watchful eye of Captain Ed Hocken?

A.  1:  ‘Sergeant Frank Drebin, Detective Lieutenant Police Squad’ in the Police Squad TV series and Naked Gun movies, played by the late Leslie Nielsen.

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Q.  2:  The slogan for which famous website is ‘We Open Governments’?

A.  2:  WikiLeaks.

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Q.  3:  What are the genetically engineered robots called in the movie ‘Blade Runner’?

A.  3:  They are called ‘Replicants’.

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Q.  4:  With 4,400 km, what is the longest river in the world beginning with the letter ‘L’?

A.  4:  The River Lena in Russia.  It is also the 11th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest watershed.

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Q.  5:  Which band has had a record 36 top ten albums in the US charts?

A.  5:  The Rolling Stones.

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Q.  6:  The OSS was the predecessor of which organization?

A.  6:  The OSS (Office of Strategic Services) was the predecessor of the CIA.

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Q.  7:  The two amiable lawbreakers Robert LeRoy Parker and Harry Longabaugh were better known as what?

A.  7:  Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

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Q.  8:  A ‘Black Perigord’ is an expensive example of what?

A.  8:  A Truffle.

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Q.  9:  The world heritage site of Petra is located in what country?

A.  9:  Jordan.

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Q. 10:  What is the well known word for ‘sailor of the universe’?

A. 10:  Cosmonaut (Astronaut is ‘sailor of the stars’).

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Q. 11:  The name of which criminal syndicate translated means ‘our thing’?

A. 11:  Cosa Nostra.

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Q. 12:  H.G. Wells ‘The Time Machine’ has been made into a movie twice. Which actor played the ‘Time Traveler’ in a) the original 1960 movie and b) the 2002 version?

A. 12:  Two answers a) Rod Taylor and b) Guy Pearce.

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Q. 13:  What is the well known translation for ‘River of January’?

A. 13:  Rio de Janeiro.

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Q. 14:  John Spilsbury is credited with putting together which baffling invention in the 1760s?

A. 14:  The Jigsaw Puzzle.

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Q. 15:  Which politician is the co-author of the book ‘Judo: History, Theory, Practice’?

A. 15:  Vladimir Putin.

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Q. 16:  Which Hollywood sex symbol did RAF pilots get into during World War II?

A. 16:  Mae West. The automatically inflatable lifejacket worn by RAF pilots was given the nickname Mae West.

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Q. 17:  Which world famous Hollywood actress does one associate with the words “I want to be alone..”?

A. 17:  Greta Garbo.

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Q. 18:  Which uplifting 1956 invention carried Sir Christopher Cockerell to fame?

A. 18:  The Hovercraft.

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Q. 19:  Before reunification what was the capital of West Germany? 

A. 19:  Bonn.

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Q. 20:  And finally, a question to chew on. What is the name of the famous department store in Moscow?

A. 20:  GUM  Glavnyi Universalnyi Magazin.

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