In Which Country/Province/State? Quiz

Answer: Wisconsin

The three largest cities in Wisconsin are Milwaukee, the capital Madison, and the home of the Packers, Green Bay, my favorite city in the whole U.S.A. The five listed municipalities are the next five largest in the state: they all have populations of between 65,000 and 100,000 (according to the 2010 Census).
The largest of the five, Kenosha, is in the extreme southeast of Wisconsin, almost midway between Milwaukee and Chicago IL. Other than Chicago, Milwaukee and Green Bay, it is the largest city on the western coast of Lake Michigan. Legendary film director Orson Welles and actors Daniel Travanti ("Hill Street Blues") and Don Ameche ("Cocoon") were all born in Kenosha WI. Oscar-nominated actor Willem Dafoe was born in Appleton WI. Guitar legend Les Paul is a native of Waukesha WI.

The photo shows a badger. Wisconsin is "The Badger State" (as well as "America's Dairyland"). Sports teams representing the University of Wisconsin-Madison are nicknamed "The Wisconsin Badgers" and have "Buckingham U. Badger" (known as "Bucky Badger) as their mascot.

Answer: Argentina

The largest city in Argentina is the capital, Buenos Aires, home to more than 2.7 million. Indeed, more than 30% of Argentina's 40 million population (according to the 2010 Census) live in the Greater Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area. The five cities named in the question are the next five largest after the capital, ranging in size from 1.6 million (Córdoba) to just over 900,000.

Located in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas some 400 miles northwest of Buenos Aires in the geographical center of Argentina, Córdoba was founded in 1573 and was one of the earliest Spanish colonial capitals on the continent. Rosario, a major port in northeastern Argentina is the birthplace of both soccer star Lionel Messi and revolutionary Che Guevara. Located in the foothills of the Andes in eastern Argentina, Mendoza is the launch-point for climbers tackling the nearby Mount Aconcagua, the world's highest point outside of the Himalaya area. Lying at the heart of the Argentine wine-growing region, Mendoza is the fourth city in the country with more than a million inhabitants.

The photograph shows the spectacular Iguazu Falls, on Brazilian border in the extreme northeast of Argentina. The Iguazu River forms the boundary between Argentina and Brazil but most of the falls are on the Argentine side.

Answer: Alsace

Although it is the fifth-smallest of the 18 Regions in mainland France (the other five Regions are overseas territories), Alsace is densely populated and is home to some 1.8 million residents (2006 Census). Located on the west bank of the River Rhine adjacent to the German and Swiss borders, Alsace is traditionally a Germanic-speaking region although today virtually everyone also speaks French.

Strasbourg is the capital and the largest city in Alsace, and the official seat of the European Parliament and home to the European Court of Human Rights. With a population in the actual city of 273,000 (2006 Census), Strasbourg was then the seventh-largest city in France. Famous people born in Strasbourg include the mime artist Marcel Marceau, waxworks founder Marie Tussaud and soccer manager Arsène Wenger. Mulhouse is the other city in the region with a population above 100,000. Home to both the largest Automobile Museum ("Cité de l'Automobile") and the largest Railway Museum ("Musée Français du Chemin de Fer") in Europe, Mulhouse was also the birthplace of both Alfred Dreyfus and film director William Wyler. Founded in the 9th Century, Colmar is the capital of the Alsace wine-production industry.

Other famous people from Alsace include the philosopher/missionary Albert Schweitzer, who was born in Kaysersberg.
The photograph shows a Deutscher Schäferhund ('German shepherd' in English). German shepherds are also known as Alsatians or Alsatian wolf dogs, and the dialect spoken by the German-speaking population of Alsace is known as Alsation. (A stretch, perhaps, but a better clue than the Alsace flag I'm guessing.)

Answer: Queensland

Brisbane is the state capital of Queensland, and more than 40% of the state's 4.5 million residents live in Australia's third-largest city.

Located 60 miles south of Brisbane on the border with New South Wales, Gold Coast is the state's second largest city and the sixth-largest in Australia, with more than 590,000 inhabitants (2010 Census). Standing on the coast 800 miles north of Brisbane, Townsville is home to almost 200,000. Toowoomba, Australia's "The Garden City", is 80 miles west of Brisbane. With a population of more than 150,000, it is the largest non-coastal city in Australia other than Canberra. Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush was born in Toowoomba. Cairns is on the east coast some 1,050 miles north of Brisbane but is popular with tourists as a launching point for visits to the Great Barrier Reef. The small town of Mount Isa in the northwest of the state is home to one of the most productive mines in the world. Golfing legend Greg Norman was born in Mount Isa.

The photograph shows a late-19th Century Queensland postage stamp, of course with the state name covered up. The image of Queen Victoria provides a clue, but only a partial one since both Victoria and Queensland were named in her honor.

Answer: Rwanda

The population of Rwanda was just over eight million at the time of the 2002 Census, but was estimated at 50% more than that just a decade later. Centrally located at an elevation of 5,140 feet, the capital and largest city, Kigali, was home to just under one million in 2009. Nyanza (aka Nyabisindu) in southern Rwanda houses the old Royal Palace and was the capital prior to independence in 1962. Butare, formerly called Astrida in honor of Queen Astrid of Belgium, was the former colonial capital of Rwanda. Home to the country's major universities, it is still considered the intellectual capital. Ruhengeri, in the north of the country near the borders with both Uganda and D.R. of Congo, is the gateway to Volcanoes National Park, a haven for the mountain gorilla (pictured) and once the base for the zoologist Dian Fossey.

Answer: Worcestershire

Worcestershire's only municipality with city status is the county town of Worcester, home of Lea & Perrins, manufacturers of the distinctive sauce named for the county. Located about thirty miles south of Birmingham, Worcester is home to just under 20% of the county's 550,000 population (2010 Census). Composer Edward Elgar was born in the village of Lower Broadheath just outside Worcester. Building work began on Worcester Priory in 1084 but it was 1504 before it was completed as "The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester" (aka Worcester Cathedral). The photograph shows the interior of the cathedral.

In the 19th century, Redditch was the centre of the needle and fishing tackle industry, producing 90% of the world's needles. The town is also the birthplace of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Human settlement at Kidderminster, located midway between Worcester and Birmingham, dates back to at least the 8th century. Sir Rowland Hill, the inventor of Penny Black postage, was born in Kidderminster. The spa town of Malvern was founded by Benedictine monks in the 11th Century. Northern Irish novelist C.S. Lewis was a pupil at Malvern College. The market town of Evesham in the south of the county was founded around an 8th-century abbey that was once one of the largest in Europe.

Answer: Guangdong (Canton)

Although only 15th-largest in area, Guangdong Province (Canton or Kwangtung in English) became the most populous of the China's provinces in 2005. By the 2010 Census, it was home to more than 104 million, almost 8% of the entire population of mainland China. To put this in perspective, this is a province with an area slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Missouri but with a population equal to that of Australia, Canada and Spain combined.

With more than 12.5 million residents (2010 Census), the provincial capital, Guangzhou (historically known as Canton), is the country's third-largest city, and the largest in the southern China. That is a city with a population of about 10% more than Belgium.
Located on the South China Sea coast 20 miles north of Hong Kong, Shenzhen is home to more than 10.3 million (almost four times the size of Chicago). As recently as 1979, though, it was little more than a small village. In 2005, it ranked as the world's fourth-busiest port in terms of container volume.

Dongguan (population more than eight million in 2010 -- so about the size of New York City) has a reputation as the "sex capital of China". It is also the site of the New South China Mall, one of the world's largest (although largely empty) shopping malls. Formerly known as Xiangshan, Zhongshan was renamed after the founding father of the Republic of China, Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Born in a nearby village in 1866, Sun Yat-sen was also known as Sun Zhongshan and the city which now houses more than three million was renamed in his honor following his death in 1925. Known for its hot springs, Congua is a city of around 600,000 in the mountainous north of the province. The photograph shows the spectacular "Tower of the Tropic of Cancer" in Conghua.

Answer: British Columbia

In 2011, slightly more than half of the 4.4 million residents of British Columbia lived in the largest city, Vancouver. A further 350,000 called the provincial capital, Victoria, home. The five cities in the question above are the next five largest cities in the province.

Located in the southern interior of British Columbia, the name Kelowna means 'grizzly bear' in the local Okanagan language. In a manner that seems vaguely Scottish, Kelowna attracts tourists to nearby Lake Okanagan with tales of a lake monster named Ogopogo. A children's park in the city even features a 'statue' of the creature. Nanaimo, located on Vancouver Island, has been dubbed the "Bathtub Racing Capital of the World". Singer/songwriter Allison Crowe was born in the city.
The photograph shows the provincial flag of British Columbia.

Answer: Myanmar

Myanmar, formerly called Burma, had a population of around 33 million at the last Census, in 1983. The 2012 estimate of that population is almost double that at just over 60 million. The country's largest city, the former capital city of Rangoon which has been renamed Yangon, is home to about 10% of that population. Still the country's most important commercial centre, Yangon boasts more colonial architecture than any other Asian city. The 325-foot high gilded Shwedagon Zedi Daw ('The Great Dagon Pagoda' or 'The Golden Pagoda' in English) is a major tourist attraction. Founded in 1857 and home to an estimated 1.2 million in 2012, Mandalay was the last Royal Capital of Burma. It is located some 450 miles north of Yangon in the centre of the country. Last used as a royal residence in 1885, much of Mandalay Palace (pictured) was destroyed by WWII bombing but it was rebuilt in the 1990s and is today a major tourist attraction.

In 2006, the military government moved 200 miles north from Yangon to Naypyidaw (formerly called Kyetpyay), although the city was still under construction. Ranked as one of the world's fastest-growing cities, by 2009 the population was up to almost one million. Pathein aka Bassein is a city of more than 300,000 on the east coast of Myanmar. The highlight for tourists is the richly bejewelled Shwemokhtaw Paya, a Buddhist temple that supposedly dates back to 305 BC. Formerly called Pegu, Bago is a city of nearly 300,000 (2012 estimate) near the southern coast. The highlight for tourists is the Shwethalyaung Buddha which, at 180 feet, is the second-longest reclining Buddah in the world. Built in the 10th century, only the one in Dawei in southeastern Myanmar is longer.

Answer: Hesse

With an area of 8,100 square miles, the state of Hesse is about the size of Israel or slightly smaller than the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its population, at around six million, though, is a little higher than Denmark, Norway or Finland. Located in west-central Germany, the geographic centre of the European Union is in Hesse since the 2013 expansion to 27 member states.

Founded in the 1st century, the largest city in Hesse and Germany's fifth-largest is Frankfurt am Main with a population of just under 700,000 in 2012. Frankfurt is today continental Europe's largest financial centre and home to both the European Central Bank and the Deutsche Bundesbank. Fourteen of the fifteen skyscrapers (building over 492 feet tall) in Germany are in Frankfurt. The brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were born in the small town of Hanau a few miles east of Frankfurt. Founded in 6 A.D., the Hessian capital, Wiesbaden, is one of Europe's oldest spa towns. Famous Weisbadens include the tennis legend John McEnroe, who was born on a U.S. military base on the outskirts of the city. The 14-year old Priscilla Beaulieu also first met a USAF officer named Elvis Presley on a base here in 1959. Kassel, home to nearly 200,000, is in the north of the state. The chemical element darmstadtium (atomic number 110) is named after the Hessian city of Darmstadt. The city of Offenbach am Main is primary the centre for the European leather industry.

Hessian boots (pictured) were originally designed for 18th century soldiers and cavalrymen, but have since evolved into Wellington boots and cowboy boots.