More Random Articles From Wikipedia Quiz

Answer: Paul Revere

Samuel Prescott was born on August 19, 1751, to an important Boston family, and he spent his early life training to be a doctor. However, when revolutionary sentiments began to arise, especially in Massachusetts, Prescott became a strong supporter of the Sons of Liberty and Committees of Correspondence that united the colonists against the British.

On April 18, 1775, Prescott left the Massachusetts city of Lexington late at night, when he happened across two other colonists: Paul Revere and William Dawes. Revere and Dawes had been sent to Concord (where there was a munitions stockhold) to warn that the British troops were on the march and likely would attack in the morning. Prescott joined the group, which was quickly apprehended by a group of British scouts. Prescott and Dawes escaped, barely, but Revere was captured. The two "forgotten" patriots then got the message to Concord, allowing a small force to be mustered when, the next day, the first shots of the American Revolution were fired. Revere was later immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous poem, "Paul Revere's Ride".

Answer: Ferry transport in Berlin

Ferry transport in Berlin is not a very fascinating subject- suffice it to say that there are six ferry routes inside city limits funded by the VBB. The VBB (Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg) is a private German company that provides public transport mainly for the areas of Berlin and Brandenburg; all told, it is one of the largest transport associations in the world. In addition to the six ferry lines served inside the city of Berlin, the VBB also supports another ferry line in the nearby city of Potsdam.

Interestingly, Berlin has one of the best well-run public transport associations in the world, and accordingly, has fewer cars per capita than most major European cities. The River Spree passes through Berlin, providing water transport as well as entertainment. One interesting landmark on the Spree is the Badeschiff, a public swimming pool actually located on top of, but separated from, the river itself. Although the Spree is heavily polluted and not safe for free swimming, Berliners can go swimming in a pool inside a river.

Answer: Deal or No Deal

"Deal or No Deal" was the brainchild of Dutchman John de Mol in 2000, but was quickly exported to the rest of the world by the producer Endemol. The original Dutch version, called "Miljoenenjacht", was actually a quiz show, but in 2002 the format changed to an idea more familiar to modern viewers. A contestant chooses one briefcase from a group of 26, each holding a different money value, from small change up to millions. That case becomes the player's personal briefcase. Then, the contestant chooses cases at random from the other 25, revealing dollar values that therefore could not be present in the player's case. At various junctures, a banker offers the player a sum of money to quit the game and take, usually a low estimate of the average amount still left in play.

Unfortunately, the Wikipedia article on "Tek It or Leave It" was incomplete regarding any specific format changes for that particular game version. If there are any Belizean game show fans who could enlighten me, I'm interested to know!

Answer: Erno Rubik

Erno Rubik was born in Hungary in the middle of World War II, where he grew up and studied architecture. In 1974, he invented the now world-famous Rubik's Cube, a three-dimensional puzzle in which a three-by-three-by-three cube, painted in six different colors, must be scrambled to get all visible colors present on the same side, just by rotating a row or column in three dimensions. Rubik's other inventions have a similar concept, although none have been as successful as the Cube, the world's top-selling puzzle game through 2009.

The puzzle is notoriously difficult to solve without a special algorithm to get the game pieces to line up properly. Speed-solving competitions for the Rubik's Cube are also popular: in 2010, Feliks Zemdegs solved the puzzle in less than seven seconds.

Answer: New Zealand

In 1809, a convict ship named "The Boyd" was sailed from Sydney Cove, Australia, to the northern New Zealand port of Whangaroa, under the charge of Captain John Thompson. Aboard the ship was the son of a Maori chief named George. While on the ship, George was whipped due to an unknown circumstance that was alternately blamed and not blamed on him. When George returned to his Maori tribe, they vowed revenge.

The Maori then lured Thompson's crew away from the ship, into the forest. Using axes, they killed the foreigners and stole their clothes. Then, they snuck aboard the Boyd at night dressed like the now-consumed men, and killed the rest of the Boyd's crewmen. Only five lives were spared. The long-term effect was a diminishing of trade with New Zealand and the determent of missionaries to the islands until a few years later.

Answer: Moscow

The Kremlin is a complex is the center of Russia's capital, Moscow, and is the home of Russia's president. Cathedral Square is a significant locale in the area, as the site of the funerals and inauguration of Russian leaders since tsardom, and up to Dmitry Medvedev. The Kremlin's more famous landmarks include the Red Square and the amazing architecture of Saint Basil's Cathedral.

The first citadel in Moscow was constructed in the fourteenth century, during the age of the Kievan Rus, and maintained its importance for the civilization for centuries. When Peter the Great moved his residence to St. Petersburg, the Moscow Kremlin lost some significance until Catherine the Great resurrected the city during her reign. When Napoleon's troops invaded Russia, they burnt the Kremlin severely, but it was restored soon after. During the twentieth century, the Soviet Union led from the Kremlin. The citadel would be made a World Heritage Site almost immediately after the Cold War ended.

Answer: Catfish native to the Amazon river

The pictus cat is no ordinary catfish. The fish's barbels (the whisker-like appendages present on most catfish) are long enough to reach all the way back to its caudal (hind) fin. Because pictus cats are colored silver with black spots, they may be desired for aquarium trade.

However, their fins are covered with actual spines, which can actually break plastic bags and prevent easy shipping. Like many catfish, Pimelodus pictus is a bottom-feeding omnivore, but it will eat other small fish when insects or fruit are not available.

The spines on its caudal fin can puncture the skin and are imbued with a weak venom that can be extremely unpleasant for some Amazonian predators.

Answer: Mark Twain

Mark Twain (aka Samuel Langhorne Clemens, the name he was born into on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri) was undoubtedly one of the most influential writers in United States history, founding literary genres like regionalism and realism. Twain's most famous works are probably his novels: "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," and several others set around the Mississippi River. Twain's birth coincided with the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1835, and he predicted in 1909 that his death would be linked with the comet's return. The humorist wasn't joking, here. When he died in 1910, it was one day after the comet had made its closest pass toward the Earth.

Although his novels are poignant and comical, Twain's short stories are often his funniest work. "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses" had me in hysterics the first time I read it.

Answer: Hinduism in Africa

African history shows most plainly the influence of introduced religions like Judaism (prevalently in Ethiopia), Christianity, and Islam. Hinduism rarely spread to the continent, and through its origins in early Classical India, made relatively few forays outside of Southern Asia.

In Africa, only one country has a Hindu majority- the islands of Mauritius, located east of Madagascar. The British Empire, which included the Jewel of India, was responsible for some spread of Hinduism into the British-owned areas that became Kenya or South Africa. Post-colonially, Hinduism has gradually increased, particularly in Sub-Saharan Western Africa. Most famously, the Swami Ghanananda became a leader of the Hindu community in (you-guessed-it!) Ghana.

Answer: Kayaking at the 1976 Summer Olympics

In the twentieth century, there was never an Underwater Basket Weaving Competition at the Olympics, though I'm sure Wikipedia would have information about it should the IOC have succumbed to allow the "sport!"

The actual title of the article was "Canoeing at the 1976 Summer Olympics- Men's K-1 500 metres". The K-1 implies that the event was for kayaking singles (C-2 would mean canoeing doubles). What's the difference? Kayakers use double-bladed paddles and usually sit with their legs in front of them. Kayaks are decked, with rounded bottoms, as opposed to canoes, which usually have flat bottoms. Canoes are generally used in lakes and rivers, while kayaks can be adapted for heavier waters, because they capsize less easily.