What's up in this Quiz? 4

Answer: Samuel Pepys, an English diarist

These words could have been written by Jacinda Ardern, Pope Francis, or Tedros Adhanom at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. But this phrase appears in the diaries of Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), who worked in the administration of the British Navy and was a Member of Parliament.

In the period 1660-1669, Pepys kept a detailed diary of his activities and the events he witnessed, such as the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London. In his diary, there are countless observations on the measures taken by the Government to control the plague and the things he observed. On August 16, 1665, he wrote: "But Lord! how sad a sight it is to see the streets empty of people ... ".

Answer: Florence

The Bargello, also known as the Palazzo del Bargello or Museo Nazionale del Bargello, was established on June 22, 1865, by royal decree, being Italy's first National Museum and located in the city of Florence.

Before being a museum, the building was the seat of government and also a prison. Since its foundation, the museum has housed important works by Donatello, Michelangelo, Cellini, Verrochio, and others. It also has collections of bronzes, ceramics, tapestry, furniture, etc. The Bargello is one of the most important museums in Florence.

Answer: Born to Be Wild

The song "Born to Be Wild" is part of the soundtrack of the films "Easy Rider" (1969) and "One Crazy Summer" (1986). The song was written by Canadian rock musician and songwriter Mars Bonfire and performed by the band Steppenwolf in 1968 and became a hit.

The song is associated with motorbiking and rebellious attitudes, being considered the first "heavy metal" song. It has been covered by various individual artists and bands.

Answer: Marian Anderson

Marian Anderson (1897-1993) was an American singer who performed various genres of music, from opera to spiritual songs, accompanied by renowned orchestras in concerts or recitals, and was very successful both in the United States and in Europe, in the period 1925-1965.

She started singing at a very young age, influenced by her family. When she finished high school she applied to the Philadelphia Music Academy (now the University of Arts) but she was not accepted for being black. In 1925, she won the singing competition sponsored by the New York Philharmonic; on August 26, she performed with the orchestra in a show that was a success with the public and the critics.

In 1939, the Daughters of American Revolution (DAR) did not allow Anderson to perform on April 9 at Constitution Hall, as at that time the "white performers only" policy was in force, a fact that put her in the international spotlight. With the help of First Lady Eleanor and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Marian Anderson performed on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, in an open-air concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. More than 75,000 people attended and millions listened to the performance over the radio.

Answer: Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is an African landlocked country, with around 21 million inhabitants whose official language is French. In 1958, the area became an independent nation from France under the name Upper Volta; in 1984, through the initiative of the president, the name of the country became Burkina Faso, or "land of the honest man".

The name Ouagadougou is the Francophone spelling of the name given by the Ninsi tribes, who since the 15th century inhabited the area and means "head war chief's village". The city was the capital of the Mossai Kingdom, and later of Upper Volta and now Burkina Faso. Ouagadougou has about 2.5 million inhabitants, it is the largest city and the most important commercial center in the country. The name is commonly shortened to Ouaga.

Answer: Crouching Boy

"Crouching Boy" or "Ragazzo Accovacciato" is a work in marble, measuring 54 cm, dating from around 1534. The work is by the Italian painter and sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564); it was destined for the tomb of the Medici family in Florence. The work was purchased from the Medici family by an English collector at the request of Tsarina Catherine II.

The work depicts a naked young man, around 20 years old, turning in on himself, placing his hand on his foot, as if something was bothering him. The work is not fully finished but the features, hair, and body shape are very clear.

Answer: Spain

In 2020, a 30-euro silver coin was minted in Spain to thank all the professionals who dedicated themselves to the fight against COVID-19. In the center of the coin's obverse, there is the colored map (yellow and red) of Spain. In a circled pattern, there are ten pictograms representing professionals who helped fight the pandemic. At the bottom of the coin, there are two pairs of clapping hands, a checkered circle where an image of the COVID-19 virus is hidden. Under this circle is the inscription "Thank you" ("Gracias", in Spanish) in capital letters.

You can see the cool design online.

Answer: They renounced the throne in favor of their eldest sons

Both Queen Beatrix and Emperor Akihito resigned after three decades of reign. The last three kings in the Dutch royal family abdicated after some time in power. Queen Juliana reigned from 1948 to 1980, had four daughters, and abdicated in favor of her oldest daughter Beatrix Wilhelmina (1933 - ), who was married to a German aristocrat and diplomat Claus von Amsberg. She was initially rejected by the Dutch people due to her past in Germany but that was finally approved by the nation. Beatrix reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication on April 30, 2013, at age of 75, in favor of her eldest son, Willem-Alexander.

Akihito (1933 -) is the fifth child and the eldest son of Emperor Shōva (known as Hirohito). At the request of his father, he did not receive a commission as an army officer. He was invested as crown prince in 1952 and married Michiko Shōda, in 1959, a commoner, breaking a 2600-year-old tradition. The couple had two sons and a daughter. He became emperor in 1989 after the death of his father. In 2016, it was announced that Akihito intended to step down in favor of his eldest son, Naruhito. An amendment to the Imperial Household Law made possible Akihito's resignation, which took place on April 30, 2019, after 30 years of reign. On May first, 2019 the 126th Emperor Naruhito's reign began.

Answer: That he refused to be buried next to his wife

Margrethe Alexandrine Ţórhildur Ingrid (1940- ) was the eldest daughter of Frederick IX of Denmark and Ingrid of Sweden. In 1953, she became heir presumptive to her father when a constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit the throne. In 1967, she married the French diplomat Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat (1934-2018) with whom she had two children: Crown Prince Frederick and Prince Joachim. With the marriage, Henri's name was adapted to Danish and he was given the title of HRH Prince Henrik of Denmark.

In 1972, Margrethe succeeded her father under the name Margrethe II of Denmark and Henrik became Prince Consort. In the last years of his life, Henrik made clear his displeasure with the title of Prince Consort, as he felt that he should have the title of King Consort. In 2017, Henrik announced that he refused to be buried in Roskilde Cathedral in a sarcophagus, next to his wife, when his time came. He died in 2018 and was cremated. Some of his ashes were scattered across the Danish seas and some were placed in a private part of the gardens at Fredensborg Palace.

Answer: True

True. Niels Henrik David Bohr (1885-1962) was a Danish physicist, philosopher, and promoter of scientific research, who was born into a wealthy family and who from a very young age showed a penchant for science. In 1922, he won the Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services in the investigation of the structure of atoms and of the radiation emanating from them".

When Bohr won the Nobel Prize, the Carlsberg Brewery gave him a house next door to one of its breweries. The house had a free beer tap connected to the brewery via pipeline. It is important to remember that in addition to free beer, Bohr received funds from the Danish government and the Carlsberg Foundation to found, in 1920, the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University of Copenhagen, which is now known as the Niels Bohr Institute.