10 Degrees of the World - Part III Quiz

Answer: Dubai

When oil was discovered in the Dubai area in 1966, the city's economy, cityscape and demography took off. A mass immigration led to the 2000s, when less than 20% of Dubai citizens were locals. In 1968, there was reportedly 13 cars in the city, as well as only one skyscraper in 1991. Today there are over 400 skyscrapers, including Burj Al Arab, the first seven-star hotel, which is located on an artificial island. Looking for Mohammed? The city has the most people named that than any other in the world. Dubai's sister cities include Caracas, Moscow, and Brisbane.

Answer: Detroit

From Detroit, one can look east across the Detroit River, to Windsor, Ontario. As the river bends to the east, one can look south to Windsor. The "Big 3" auto manufacturers, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, earned Detroit the nicknames "The Motor City" or "Motown" for short.

In the Detroit River sits Belle Isle, a 1,000 acre island and park. Included on the island is a nine-hole golf course, museum, and baseball, football, and basketball fields/courts. Some of Detroit's sister cities are Minsk, Turin, and, fittingly, Toyota, Japan.

Answer: Nassau

Nassau was used as the setting of the Beatles movie "Help", and James Bond "Thunderball", both released in 1965. The remake of "Thunderball", "Never Say Never Again" was also filmed there, as was parts of the 2006 "Casino Royale". A large festival in Nassau is "Junkanoo" (named after founder John Kanoo), a large and colourful street festival that's held from December 26-January 1, during the wee hours of the night, usually from 1-10 AM. Along with Detroit, Nassau is also a sister city of Acapulco and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Answer: Shanghai

The city had 23 million people living in its city limits in 2010, making it the largest city proper in the world. To compare, New Zealand's entire population was only 4 million! Being home to so many people, Shanghai has the largest bus system in the world, with a whooping 1,242 routes running daily.

The people of Shanghai speak, surprisingly, Shanghainese, one of the 248 Chinese dialects, and far different from Mandarin. Along with Shanghainese, all Shanghai students begin compulsory English classes in Grade 1, and some schools offer English kindergarten as well. Shanghai has partnerships with many world cities, including Oslo, Montreal, and Saint Petersburg.

Answer: Liverpool

Liverpool is home to two of the most successful football teams in England, Liverpool FC and Everton FC. Combined, they have over 25 League championships, more than ten FA Cups, as well as European Cups, UEFA Champions' titles, and League Cups. The "Capital of Pop" is home to most famously "The Beatles" (17 UK #1's and 20 in the US).

The name "Liverpool" can be drawn back to 'Liuerpul" meaning "muddy water". This references the Mersey River that runs through the downtown core. Liverpool is twinned with cities like Cologne, and Rio de Janeiro.

Answer: Dublin

Dublin comes from the old Irish Gaelic phrase "Dubh Linn", meaning "Black pool", while Atha Cliath means "Ford of the Reed Hurdles". Among the Irish, the latter name was the more common name, but the Vikings and Anglo-Normans preferred Dublin, as Dubh Linn was the lake used to dock their ships.

The O'Connell Bridge over the River Liffey is about 50 metres wide, and 45 metres long. The bridge was built between 1791-1794, but was narrower at the time. Arthur Guinness, founder of the beer giant, leased a brewery for 9,000 years, for 45 pounds every year! Ten million glasses of Guinness are made every day around the world. Dublin's sister cities include Beijing, and San Jose, California.

Answer: Barcelona

The founder of Barcelona is believed by one group to be Hercules, who discovered the city 400 years before Rome was a twinkle in Romulus' eye. The other belief is that Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal's father founded the city. Despite having a long coastline on the Mediterranean Sea, the city was overrun with industries, leaving no coastline.

However, when Barcelona won the 1992 Summer Olympics, the authorities redid the coast, and now the seaside includes hotels, restaurants, and of course, beaches. When travelling to Barcelona, it might be best to not have a rental car, as an accident happens in the city every nineteen seconds on weekdays, and up to every ten SECONDS on weekends.

There are many roads dedicated to pedestrians, so you might want to walk! Some of Barcelona's sister cities include Athens, Havana, and San Francisco.

Answer: Tel Aviv

Home to around 3.3 million residents in 2010, Tel Aviv has a large Jewish community. The name Tel Aviv was adopted in 1910 from a passage in the Book of Ezekiel "Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-Abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they asat and remained there astonished among them seven days." The Nordeau Beach on the Mediterranean Sea has separate days for men and women, catering to the females who don't feel comfortable sharing a beach with men.

The men have the beach Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while the women get it on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Tel Aviv's sister cities include Vienna, Budapest, and Ottawa.

Answer: São Paulo

São Paulo is clean of billboards, as the Clean City law passed in 2006 rid them of the signage. Even though it's a long way from Italy, Paulistanos do enjoy their pizza, over a million pizzas are consumed each day in the city, an average of 732 slices a second! They wash it down with about thirty million cups of coffee each day as well.

It is called the "City of Drizzle" because of the 1,460 mm (57 in) of rain that falls on average every year, with January and February the wettest. São Paulo is a diverse city and is home to over six million Italians, as well as three million Portuguese, and nearly two million people of various African descents.

Some of São Paulo's sister cities include Chicago, Lisbon, and Seoul.

Answer: Johannesburg

Johannesburg is home to the world's biggest man-made forest, featuring over ten million trees and growing (pun, intended). The city is also home to the only polar bears in Africa, as they reside in the Johannesburg Zoo. The city is home to the Constitutional Court, who has the last say in any cases involving the Post-Apartheid Constitution.

The large crime rate in Johannesburg has police prepared, they can respond to almost any call in the Central Business District in less than sixty seconds, and all street corners are on closed-circuit camera.

Some of the sister cities of Johannesburg include Addis Ababa, New Delhi, and New York City.