More Random Musings Trivia Quiz

Answer: One

China spans the longitudes of five standard time zones, but the Communist government has decreed that the nation use just one. By contrast, the United States uses six time zones, namely: Aleutian Islands and Hawaii, Alaska Mainland, Pacific, Mountain, Central and Eastern.

Answer: Lox

Lox is typically saltier and more oily than the smoked salmon you get from Alaska or the British Isles. A very popular dish on deli menus would be 'bagels and lox'.

Answer: Dead Sea Scrolls

Not very well-preserved, the scrolls nonetheless have revealed that the Hebrew Old Testament has changed very little over the past two thousand years. The scrolls were believed to have been part of a library kept by the Essenes, who inhabited the area from around 200 B.C. to 68 A.D.

Answer: Chile

Mistral won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1945 for her wonderful lyrical poetry. Neruda was also a prize poet from Chile, and a Nobel Prize winner in 1971. Both of their complete works are widely available in both the original Spanish and English translation.

Answer: France

'Candide' is perhaps the most famous work from French novelist and philosopher Voltaire. One of Moliere's most famous works was 'Tartuffe', a word literally meaning 'truffle' but figuratively describing an imposter. 'Germinal' was one of the better novels from famed 19th century French novelist Emile Zola.

Answer: Rice

'Paella' is a wonderful Spanish dish of saffron-flavored rice mixed with assorted seafood and meats. A similar dish is the Dutch-Indonesian 'rijsttafel', which literally translates as 'rice table' in English. 'Biryani' is also a rice-based dish, out of India, that may include meats or vegetables. 'Zhong zi' are wonderful little Chinese rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves.

Answer: Smorgasbord

The term 'smorgasbord' comes to us from the Swedish combination of 'smorgas', which means 'sandwich', and 'bord', the word for 'table'. One of the most popular delights of a smorgasbord is Swedish meatballs.

Answer: China

Chen Kaige is famous for his epical masterpiece 'Farewell My Concubine', a story about actors participating in Peking opera. Zhang Yimou is considered to be China's most accomplished director, with such works as 'Raise the Red Lantern', 'Judou' and 'To Live' as parts of his oeuvre.

Answer: Sashimi

Many people believe that the word 'sushi' simply means 'raw fish', but this is incorrect. Sushi actually refers to the vinegar-impregnated rice that Japanese often serve with slices of various seafood meat and seaweed. Sashimi is the correct term used to describe raw fish. The preparation and presentation of both sushi and sashimi is considered an artform in Japan.

Answer: St. Petersburg

While Moscow has well over eight million residents, St. Petersburg has nearly five million. No other Russian city has more than two million. St. Petersburg has also been called Petrograd and Leningrad in times past.