Don't Miss the Swiss Trivia Quiz

Answer: Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross was founded in 1863 by a committee led by Henri Durant. Among its goals are providing nursing for those wounded in battle, supervising the treatment of prisoners of war, and assisting in the search for those lost during battle. Branches of the Red Cross exist in dozens of nations today.

Answer: Cantons

Zurich is the canton with the largest population (about 1.46 million in 2015) and Basel-Stadt is the smallest in size at 14 square miles. Each canton has its own constitution and government in addition to the Swiss federal constitution and government. Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden (since divided) joined together in 1291 to form the Old Swiss Confederacy.

I hope that the image of the can of beans and the can of soda led you to choose "CANtons" as the answer.

Answer: Spanish

The fourth national language of Switzerland is Romansh, another Romance language--descendant of Latin--that is primarily spoken in Switzerland. German is the most commonly spoken language in Switzerland (62.5%), followed by French (22.5%), Italian (8.1%), and Romansh (0.5%). Federal laws of Switzerland only need to be conveyed in German, French, and Italian, however.

The image shown represents the civil flag of Spain (similar to the national flag, but without the coat of arms and therefore MUCH easier for me to draw).

Answer: The Alps

The Alps are predominantly found in the southern and eastern parts of Switzerland, covering about 65% of the nation. The full range of the Alps spreads into several bordering countries. The Pyrenees lie on the border between Spain and France. The Apennines lie in Italy. The Urals lie in Russia.

The image shows a stick figure playing an Alp-horn (suggested by the musical notes).

Answer: Aare

Although all of these rivers lie in Switzerland, the Aare is the longest of the four at 179 miles. The Aare terminates at the Rhine. Over 40 hydro-electric plants are situated along the Aare.

On a personal note, I once was visiting Switzerland and I had the chance to body surf with a group through a small portion of the Aare, which I was told was a popular summertime activity. I remember the current being quite swift.

The image shows the Jolly Roger, a flag associated with pirates. I hoped this would lead you to the exaggerated "R" sound that pirates are popularly assumed to make.

Answer: Monte Rosa

Monte Rosa stands 15,203 feet tall. The first recorded ascent of the mountain occurred in 1855. Monte Rosa lies in the canton of Valais. Monte Rosa is a popular location for hiking and skiing. The other three choices are all Swiss mountains which stand between 10,000 and 15,000 feet tall.

The image shows a rose which sounds similar to name of Monte Rosa.

Answer: University of Basel

The University of Basel was founded in 1460. By 2016, enrollment was almost 13,000 students. A prominent alumnus was the mathematician Jacob Bernoulli. The university's library is the largest in Switzerland. The University of Bern was founded in 1834. The University of Geneva was founded in 1559. The University of Lucerne was founded in 2000.

The image shows the coat of arms for the city of Basel.

Answer: Zurich International Airport

In 2016, there were 27.7 million flights out from Zurich International. This compares to 16.5 million for Geneva Cointrin, 7.3 million for Basel-Mulhouse, and 180,000 for Bern Airport (not listed as an international airport although some flights do go to other nations). Perhaps it makes sense that Zurich International is the busiest Swiss airport, since at about 400,000 people, Zurich is Switzerland's largest city. Zurich International Airport was built and opened in the late 1940s.

The image shows the coat of arms for the city of Zurich.

Answer: Slovenia

Switzerland also borders Liechtenstein and Austria, both to the east. Germany lies to Switzerland's north, France to the west, and Italy to the south. There are dozens of landlocked countries in the world. Switzerland covers an area slightly less than 16,000 square miles.

This image shows the flags of France, Germany, and Italy, all nations that border Switzerland.

Answer: Heidi

"Heidi" (1881) tells the story of an orphan girl who lives with her grandfather in the Alps. It has been adapted several times for film and television. Johanna Spyri (1827-1901) wrote several books, of which "Heidi" was the most famous. "Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates" was written by Mary Mapes Dodge. "The Adventures of Pinocchio" was written by Carlo Collodi. "Thumbelina" was written by Hans Christen Andersen.

The image shows two football helmets with the team names "Jets" and "Raiders". In 1968, on a US television broadcast of an Oakland Raiders-New York Jets football game, a network decision led to the network switching to a scheduled airing of a film version of "Heidi" (starring Shirley Temple) before the game had concluded. The so-called Heidi game is one of the infamous US sports stories of the twentieth century.