10 Degrees of the World - Part I Quiz

Answer: Vancouver

A major Canadian seaport on the Pacific Ocean, Vancouver was named after British sea captain George Vancouver. The captain sailed the areas around Vancouver, and nearby Vancouver Island in the late 1790s. The city hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics, one that saw Canada become the first host country since Norway in 1952, to win the most gold medals at the Games.

The city is one of the most diverse in Canada, with a 2010 poll showing that over half of the population spoke English as a Second Language. Famous Vancouverites include singers Bryan Adams and Michael Bublé, NBA player Steve Nash, and Kim Campbell, the first female Prime Minister in Canadian history.

Answer: Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the second largest city, and the location of the Scottish parliament. The city has been in existence since the sixth century, but did not gain city status until 1889. Edinburgh's "Old Town" is home to some of the oldest high-rise buildings, due to the narrowness of the roads and the crowdedness in that part of town. The "New Town" was the answer to the crowdedness in the "Old Town", and was designed by young architect James Craig in 1766. Famous people from Edinburgh include authors J.K. Rowling and Sir Walter Scott, TV comedian Ronnie Corbett, and telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell.

Edinburgh has been twinned with Vancouver since 1977. They are also twinned with other world cities like Kiev, Florence, Krakow, and San Diego.

Answer: Munich

The motto of the city is "München mag Dich" which translates to "Munich likes you". 80% of Munich's city centre was destroyed by Allied bombing during the Second World War. The city is also the home of legendary BMW car company, and also is considered the most expensive city in Germany to live in. However, Munich has also been voted one of the best places in the country to live in. Famous people from Munich include composer Richard Strauss and Adolf Hitler's mistress Eva Braun.

Munich has been twinned with Edinburgh since 1954, as well as Hyderabad, Cincinnati, and Sapporo, among others.

Answer: Harare

Harare is a major trading centre in Zimbabwe, where tobacco, cotton, maize, and citrus fruits are dealt on a daily basis. In May, 2005 the Zimbabwe government demolished all backyard huts as part of "Operation Murambatsvina" or "Drive Out Trash". The operation was the cleaning of Zimbabwe slums under Robert Mugabe. The Joina City Tower opened in the downtown core, 14 years after ground was broken on the building. The financial difficulties continued after the building opened, as only three % of the building was occupied after its first 18 months. Famous Hararens include writer Shimmer Chinodya, Mugabe, and Charlene, Princess of Monaco.

Harare has been twinned with Munich since 1996, and Harare is also twinned with Nottingham as well as Italian cities Prato and Lago.

Answer: Kazan

Capital of the sovereign state of Tartarstan, Kazan was deemed the "Third Capital of Russia" by the Russian Patent Office in 2009. That year, Kazan was also named the "Sports Capital of Russia", when the city became the co-host city to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and was host to Kontinental Hockey League champion Ak Bars Kazan. The Kazan Kremlin was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

Kazan is twinned with Harare, as well as cities such as Astana, Donetsk, and Antayla.

Answer: Istanbul

Lying on the Bosphorus Strait, the city is the largest metropolis located on two different continents, Europe and Asia. The capital of Turkey, Ankara, was chosen in 1923 when the Republic of Turkey was declared because the Ottoman Empire was still rooted in Istanbul, and the Turkish nationalist movement needed a headquarters in their territory. The historic areas of Istanbul were declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1985. During the Ottoman Empire's hold of Istanbul, the city had over 1,400 public toilets spread out around time. At the same time, French palaces and many other European countries had nothing similar.

Istanbul is twinned with London, Sarajevo, Toronto and Cairo, to name a few.

Answer: Bangkok

Make sure to always keep hydrated in Bangkok, where the average temperature is over 30°C every month of the year, peaking at 34.9°C in April. The 2010 census suggested that 14.5 million people live in the metro area of Bangkok, over 7,500 sq km. Bangkok is one of the friendliest cities to be in which is miraculous considering that the city also has big problems with traffic congestion. The Thai government has spent lots of money into multi-level freeways, tunnels, and extended public transit to alleviate the problem.

Bangkok has been twinned with Istanbul since 2009, and is also a sister city to cities like Moscow, Cape Town, and Madrid.

Answer: Perth

Around 1.75 million people lived in the Perth area in 2011. Perth became known as "The City of Light" in 1962, as all residents turned on their streetlights and houselights, as John Glenn passed overhead in "Friendship 7". When Glenn passed over in 1998 on Space Shuttle Discovery, the city repeated the act. The city hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1962, and the America's Cup in 1987.

Perth has been twinned to Bangkok since 2007, and is also in arrangements with Nanjing, Taipei, and Rhodes.

Answer: Houston

The largest city in Texas is named after Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas in 1837, when the city was incorporated. NASA's Johnson Space Center, and Mission Control is in Houston, as well as the Texas Medical Health Center, the largest health care institution in the world. That might be a good thing, because studies in the early 2000s said that Houstonians eat out the most of any US citizens.

Some of Houston's sister cities besides Perth, are Karachi, Nice and Baku.

Answer: Abu Dhabi

Until the mid-20th century, Abu Dhabi's economy was based on camel herding and dates and vegetables. It now holds one of the largest GDP's in the world, all natural gas and oil. The city is a tax-free hub, as no tax is put on personal effects that enter or leave Abu Dhabi. The one kilometre long Emirates Palace, a hotel that cost almost $3 billion US dollars to build is in Abu Dhabi. The palace features over 1000 chandeliers, a private beach the length of the hotel, and 114 domes.

Abu Dhabi has been twinned with Houston since 2002, and has also been twinned with Brisbane, Madrid and Minsk.