It's Not the Capital Trivia Quiz

Answer: Houston

The U.S. Census Bureau ranked Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas as the fourth, seventh, and ninth most populous U.S. cities, based on 2009 estimates. And, according to the 2009 Census estimate, Texas had a larger population than New York.

Answer: Los Angeles

The U.S. Census Bureau listed San Francisco, San Diego, and San Jose at second, eighth and tenth in population rank among California cities. In 2010, California had more electoral votes than any other state in the nation, with 55.

Answer: Philadelphia

Harrisburg was only the tenth-largest city in Pennsylvania, based on 2009 population. Philadelphia was once the second-largest city in the British Empire after London, and served as the United States' capital from 1790 to 1800.

Answer: Istanbul

Istanbul was founded by a Greek king named Byzas, who chose the present location of the city after consulting the Oracle of Delphi. The Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire there and renamed it Constantinople. Its name was changed to Istanbul by the Turkish government in 1923 when they moved their capital to Ankara.

Answer: Shanghai

In 1995, the city of Beijing had a bell made to commemorate the 3,040th anniversary of the founding of the city; it is considered to have been founded in 1045 B.C. during the Zhou Dynasty. Although Shanghai Town was only set up in 1267, with the year 1292 being the official beginning of the city, in the intervening 700-or-so years, it outstripped the capital by about four million people.

Answer: Mumbai (Bombay)

Calcutta was India's capital during the British Raj, but George V moved the capital to Delhi in 1911, and the city of New Delhi was created for the government. New Delhi was built south of the Old City, which was built by Shah Jahan, who also constructed the Taj Mahal.

Answer: Guayaquil

Riobamba is the capital of the Chimborazo Province of central Ecuador and is near the very picturesque volcano of Chimborazo. Riobamba's full name is San Pedro de Riobamba. Its 2010 population was only an estimated 189,000, whereas Cuenca's was 400,000, compared to Quito's 1.6 million and Guayaquil's 2.3 million.

Answer: Sao Paulo

Rio, site of the famous Copacabana Beach, Ipanema Beach, and Sugar Loaf Mountain, may be Brazil's most famous city, but Sao Paolo has been its most populous for years. In 2010, Sao Paolo had ten million people, compared to under six million for Rio. Brasilia had two million and Manaus had around a million and a quarter.

Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina.

Answer: Lagos

Nigeria is a member of OPEC and is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the world. Lagos is on the coast and had over five million people in 1991, while Kano is in the far north with over two million. Ibadan is not far from Lagos, with almost two million people, and Nairobi is in Kenya in East Africa.

Answer: Milwaukee

An old country song says, "What made Milwaukee famous made a loser out of me". The Packers made Green Bay famous, although it only had about 101,000 folks in 2009. The Packers were founded in 1919 and in 1921 joined what would eventually become the National Football League with early members like the Canton Bulldogs and the Chicago Staleys, which would become the Chicago Bears.