Crooked Cameras Trivia Quiz

Answer: Australia

The platypus is found in Australia. It was hunted by indigenous people for food and used as a totem. Early scientists did not understand how the platypus - an egg-laying mammal - could be a real animal. Australia is home to many unique animals: the kangaroo, kookaburra, dingo, snakes and jellyfish.

Answer: Paris

The Eiffel Tower, named for the owner of its construction company, was the tallest tower in the world when it was constructed. The World's Fair in 1889 celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille, leading to its boycott by countries with monarchies. Nonetheless, dozens of countries and tens of thousands of people participated.

Answer: Turkey

Balat has a history of welcoming displaced people, whether it's Jews from the Spanish Inquisition or Muslims from the Armenian Genocide. It has a Greek Orthodox church, a Bulgarian Orthodox church and a Byzantine church converted into a mosque. Its colorful buildings are a recent move to promote tourism.

Answer: Saint Petersburg, Russia

Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and Leningrad, is home to the Winter Palace that the House of Romanov occupied from the 1700s to the 1900s.

In the 1917 October Revolution, the Bolsheviks replaced the Provisional Government that had been killing protesters. The "storming of the Winter Palace" had very few casualties. The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) and its successors had been building soviets that came to be recognized by the workers as a stronger authority than the Provisional Government - this is called dual power.

Answer: Machu Picchu

The Incas passed down knowledge through oral tradition, not writing, so many inferences about them have to be made through their settlements and analysis of skeletal remains. It is likely that several hundred Incas lived in Machu Picchu in the 1400s and 1500s. Machu Picchu was built over an earthquake fault, possibly as this was where it was easiest to collect rock for construction.

It was rediscovered in 1911 and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Answer: Brazil

The Amazon rainforest contains thousands of indigenous groups whose culture and way of living is based on its local fauna - like fish, turtles, crocodiles and (unique to the region) capybara, and the flora - like plants that can be used as hallucinogens.

The marks of the indigenous people left on the Amazon - such as roads, soil management and agriculture - were ways of living sustainably within the forest. However, by 2020, 20% of the rainforest had been deforested by governments and corporations in the region and human activity has seen wildfires massively increase. For instance, in his presidency of Brazil from 2019 to 2022, Jair Bolsonaro sought to massively increase the rate of deforestation and displace many indigenous Amazonians.

Answer: Giza

Giza is one of the largest cities in Egypt, located on the west bank of the Nile. The Giza Plateau is home to the Great Sphinx, several pyramids, and other areas of historical significance such as cemeteries.

The Great Pyramid was constructed in the 2500s BC, when it was 150 metres tall. It is a pinnacle of human achievement. The Great Sphinx - which had its nose broken off at some point in history - is thought to have been constructed in the 2000s BC.

Answer: Beijing

Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, has a long history of student-led protests. On May 4, 1919, protesters opposed Japanese imperialism and supported a turn to communism - this is called the May Fourth Movement. In 1989, students opposed the introduction of capitalist market reforms to the Chinese economy and the corruption in the Chinese Communist Party - this is called the June Fourth Movement.

Answer: Uttar Pradesh

The Taj Mahal is a 17th-century mausoleum that contains the tomb of a Mughal emperor and his wife, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. It is located in Uttar Pradesh, a highly populated north-eastern state of India. The state also contains two other World Heritage Sites: the Agra Fort and the Fatehpur Sikri (a town).

The Taj Mahal is a work of Muslim art, but the state is also home to an important Hindu pilgrimage site: Varanasi.

Answer: Pisa

Finally! My terribly photography skills have improved on the original landmark.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa leans about 4 degrees, an adjustment due to building work in the 1990s when the tower had reached a 5.5 degree lean. It was built on unstable soft soil from the 12th to 14th centuries. The bell tower is 50 metres tall.