Stop Russian Around and Relax With This Quiz

Answer: Pluto

Russia is by far the largest country in the world in terms of land area--6.6 million square miles. That's very close to the surface area of the dwarf planet Pluto which is 6.8 million square miles. The continent of Africa is a almost twice that much at over 11.7 square miles, and The Moon's surface area is well over twice that, at 14.6 million square miles. Largest of the choices is the Pacific Ocean coming in at 63.8 million square miles.

Answer: They'd put frogs in it

Hard to believe, but even recently, studies by chemists in Moscow have determined that there was a scientifically sound basis for this tradition. The skin of Russian brown frog as it turns out, has antibiotic properties that are as effective as many prescription medications.

Answer: Big Diomede and Little Diomede

Though all of these are islands in the Bering Strait that belong either to Russia or the United States, it is the two Diomede islands that bring the two countries to only 2.4 miles from each other while mainland Russia and the United States are 55 miles apart. Big Diomede is Russia's and Little Diomede is part of Alaska. Back in 1987, as a symbol of easing Cold War tensions, Lynne Cox, an American long-distance swimmer, swam from one island to the other, and met congratulations from both President Ronald Reagan and Russian Premier Mikhail Gorbachev.

Answer: Pepsi-Cola

In 1959, after Pepsi unleashed its soft drink upon the Russian population, the nation became extremely fond of it. But the Russians' currency (rubles) was worthless in the world market at the time, so in order to pay for Pepsi they went to the barter system and traded 17 submarines and 3 warships (a cruiser, a frigate, and a destroyer) to Pepsi. Amusingly, (sort of) this led to the popular observation that this made the Pepsi-Cola company the 6th largest military in the world.

The price of that military package is estimated to be about $3 billion.

Answer: cats

In 1745 A.D., the Hermitage needed to be protected from mice Empress Elizabeth of Russia proclaimed. Later on, Catherine the Great indeed granted them status as "guards." What better way to do that than to release dozens of cats inside the site? Believe it or not, that tradition has been upheld to this very day.

The cats still to this day serve to stave off rodents as an exterminator mentioned upon a visit, according to "The New Yorker" magazine. "The mere presence of the cats, their bodies and smells, serves as a deterrent" she said.

They have three caretakers, and even have their own press secretary, and no it's not Garfield.

Answer: It's the coldest place on Earth inhabited by humans

Oymyakon is the coldest place on Earth that a significant number of Earthlings have decided to permanently inhabit and make a village out of. It is located in Russia's Oymyakonsky District of the Sakha Republic, along the Indigirka River. The temperatures range from a tortuous -58 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter months to actually reaching the 70s sometimes in the summer months.

In 1924, the record low temperature recorded there was -96.14 Fahrenheit.

Answer: Cold pork jelly

To make cold pork jelly, simply boil the pork while it is still on the bone, for 8 hours or longer. The meat and the bone broth then gelatinizes, and contains a lot of collagen. The Russian meat jelly is called "kholodets" and it is reserved for very special winter holidays, seasoned with salt, pepper, and other spices. Think of it as a meat aspic, that is often served with horseradish and beet sauce.

Answer: nonalcoholic beverage made from fermented rye bread

Rye bread is also known as "black bread" in many Slavic and Baltic communities. The color of that bread will determine the color of the kvass drink. It's a good way to make use of stale bread according to many recipes, and for some the resulting bubbly probiotic drink is sometimes a tad alcoholic. The drink dates back to at least the Middle Ages.

Answer: the regeneration of a 30,000-year-old fruit

About 31,800 years ago, during the Pleistocene Age, an animal (likely a squirrel) buried a fruit in its burrow. In 2012, a team of Russian scientists discovered the fruit fossilized in the permafrost and were able to grow, using "clonal micropropagation", more plants (Silene stenophylla) bearing the same type of fruit.

This accomplishment broke the previous record for plant regeneration by 29,800 years.

Answer: Beer is alcoholic.

Consuming beverages that had an alcohol content of less than 10%, such as beer, wasn't even considered as drinking "alcohol" for a long time. Then, in 2011, President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to sign into law that beer was an alcoholic drink, and not merely a foodstuff.

This new law allayed concerns of Russian health advocates who objected to beer being sold like a soft drink, so brazenly openly.