Obviously Not! Trivia Quiz

Answer: A opera house with distinctive architecture

All the bridges in the photo are through arch bridges. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is upper left.

Sydney, Nova Scotia served as the colonial capital of Cape Breton until 1820 when the two colonies merged and Halifax became the capital. The Canadian Sydney had a population of 29 900 in 2018.

The Seal Island Bridge opened in 1960 as part of the Trans-Canada Highway project. It is 44 kilometres north of Sydney Nova Scotia and connects Boularderie Island on New Harris, Cape Breton Island heading north. Its main span under the arch is 500 feet.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge (left top) was modelled on the Hell Gate Railway bridge (right lower) which connects Queens with Randalls Island in Manhattan, then subsequent bridges connect Randalls Island to The Bronx, which is still part of New York City. With a span of 978 feet the Hell Gate Bridge had the largest span in the world until it was overtaken by another New York Bridge, the Bayonne Bridge (left, middle) which crosses Staten Island to Bayonne, New Jersey with a span of 1673 feet.

By comparison the Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in 1932 with a main span of 1650 feet.

The Tyne Bridge (left, lower) opened in 1928 with a span of 531 feet over the River Tyne in North East England, linking Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead.

What makes Sydney Harbour Bridge so spectacular is the vista. When visitors walk down to the waterfront at Circular Quay, (the cultural centre of downtown Sydney), you have the Harbour Bridge soaring up over the city on your left, the Opera House with its distinctive sail architecture on Bennelong Point to the right, and the Sydney ferries (an integral part of the transport systems in this city) bobbing on the waterfront in front of you. The Harbour Bridge is not the oldest or the biggest or the longest steel arch bridge but it is arguably the world's best known.

Answer: North west

The Place de la Nation in N'Djamena is Chad's capital city's main square. Besides the arch there is a V-shaped victory monument. Both celebrate Chad's independence from France in 1960, though the monuments were not built until 2008. The Arch stands at 75 metres or 245 feet tall.

By comparison, St Louis' Gateway Arch is 190 metres (623 ft) tall. It was opened in 1965 and built as a monument reflecting westward expansion of the United States. The Arch is known as "The Gateway to the West" and is internationally seen as the symbol of St. Louis. It stands in its own National Park on the west bank of the Mississippi.

Answer: Canary Islands

The Canary Islands are a group of eight major islands and many smaller islands that are located in an archipelago 100 km west of Morocco on the African mainland. Politically, the islands collectively are an autonomous community of Spain which is located over a 1000 km northeast and have the same rights as mainland autonomous communities. Therefore they are part of the EU and indeed are the geographical southern extremity of the EU.

A population of over 3.5 million is concentrated on two of the three largest islands, Tenerife and Gran Canaria, where over 80% of the total population is almost equally divided between the two islands. The two biggest cities on each of these islands, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria respectively, are the joint capitals of the community. The Spanish colonised the islands commencing in 1402 but met stiff resistance from the native Canarias and did not assume total control until 1498. The islands were important to the Spanish as a stopping point on the way to Americas - it was worthwhile to sail this far south before heading west as the winds were more favourable at this latitude.

A common misconception is that the islands are named after canaries. The name Islas Canarias is derived from the Latin Canariae Insulae, which translates as "Islands of the Dogs". In the writings of historian Pliny the Elder, the island Canaria contained "vast multitudes of dogs of very large size". The birds we know as canaries were first discovered in these islands and are named after the islands, not the other way around.

Answer: Alabama

Birmingham, Alabama had a 2020 population of just over 200 000 making it Alabama's second largest city after Huntsville. The city can trace its history back to the Civil War reconstruction period where it amalgamated three nearby farm towns to form a bigger settlement as an industrial and railroad transportation centre. Industry in the town had an emphasis on mining activities and the iron and steel industry. It was named after its industrial counterpart in England. Regions Field (Top photo) is a major drawcard in Birmingham. It is the home of the Birmingham Barons, one of three Alabama baseball teams that play in the Double A South competition (Alabama has no team in MLB or Triple A Minor Leagues). The team is popular and the stadium can seat over 6000.

Birmingham, England can trace its history back to Roman times but its rise to prominence started in the Middle Ages, specifically in 1166, when the Manor Lord Peter de Bermingham obtained a charter to hold a market at his castle, and followed this with a proposal of a planned market town. This town was well placed when the industrial revolution swept Britain and Birmingham emerged as the second biggest city behind London, 100 miles to the south-east. Sport is prominent in this Birmingham as well: Two of the first professional soccer clubs, Aston Villa and Birmingham City, share a fierce rivalry, and the Egbaston Cricket Ground, pictured, on the city's eastern outskirts is one of the premier cricket grounds and always gets an "Ashes" test when England's and Australia's cricket teams clash at home.

Answer: Senegal and Bangladesh

Senegal is a small country at the very western tip of Africa. It is bordered by Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast, and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest. Senegal nearly encompasses The Gambia, an even smaller country built along the Gambia River. Senegal is a heavily indebted poor country. Most of the 16 million people live on the coast, and mainly work in agriculture or the food industries. Senegal is the capital and situated on a peninsula that makes it the very western part of the African mainland. It serves as a financial, transport and services hub, and its million and a half people (2020 figures) work in these three main areas.

The Paris to Dakar Rally (later "The Dakar") has been a headline-attracting sporting event since 1978. Whilst the Sahara Desert does not reach Senegal, the route goes through that desert which makes it one of the most gruelling sporting events known. In 2009-2019, because of security issues in neighbouring Mauritania, the rally was held in South America and in 2020-2022 the rally was held in Saudi Arabia.

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the largest city of Bangladesh. It is growing very fast, too fast for infrastructure to keep up. In 2014 it was the eighth-largest and the fourth-most densely populous city in the world with nearly 10 million people within the city itself, and a population of over 23 million in the Greater Dhaka Area. It is located on the Bengal plain. The city is built between the Buriganga River, Turag River, Dhaleshwari River and Shitalakshya River. These rivers flood in the monsoon season inundating the city, and adding to the unsatisfactory infrastructure and housing situation.

With a projected 2035 population of 31 million, Dhaka will need to work hard to provide adequate infrastructure for its residents.

Answer: San Francisco

Brisbane California is a small city immediately south of San Francisco. It has a lagoon and some great hills for hiking and if you are lucky you will have views of San Francisco Bay. When you land at SFO and drive north along the 101 freeway to get to the city centre of San Francisco, you actually drive through Brisbane.

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is the third biggest city in Australia with 2.5 million people in its metropolitan area. It is the capital of Queensland and is by far its biggest city. It is a vibrant laid-back world city with a pleasant climate and a lovely lifestyle. It is jammed between the rolling Brisbane ranges to the west and Moreton Bay to the east. The Brisbane River, from which the city is named, is broad and serpentine facilitating many bridge crossings, some that have won architectural prizes.

While both cities are spelled the same they are pronounced quite differently. The American city is pronounced Bris-BANE while the Aussie version is pronounced BRIS-b'n. With flights from Australia to the US, nearly all flights will land at Dallas, LAX or SFO. So if you ever want to visit two Brisbanes in one day, a single 14 hour flight will make it happen (plus because you cross the international Date Line you land before you take off! And see two sunrises on the same day!)

Answer: Munich to Berlin

After the Thirty Years War, in 1688, Berlin was a small walled city. It had a gate which led to the road to the nearby town of Brandenburg. A new far more imposing gate was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia to represent peace in the kingdom. This was originally named the Peace Gate. It was built between 1788 and 1791. The gate has been used as a monument for victory by both Napoleon and Hitler. In a contemporaneous setting, when it was restored after WWII, this imposing structure is somewhat paradoxically considered as both a symbol of the war-filled histories of Germany and Europe, and it also commemorates European unity and peace.

What I mistakenly took for the Brandenburg Gate was actually The Siegestor (which translates as Victory Gate) in Munich (top photo). This is a three-arched memorial arch (not 12). It was commissioned by King Ludwig I of Bavaria and was completed in 1852 to commemorate Bavarian army glory. It sustained heavy damage in WWII and was slated for demolition. However it was almost fully restored except for the rear part which was purposely left blank except for an inscription that translates as "Dedicated to victory, destroyed by war, urging peace". Munich is 600km south of Berlin but can be reached within five hours by train should you need to see both monuments in a day (as we did).

Answer: Austria

On a world timetable, Slovakia and Slovenia are very new countries. Czechoslovakia broke up into two separate countries in the 1993 'velvet divorce'. Slovakia, landlocked, has borders with Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the southwest, and the Czech Republic to the west. Its capital Bratislavia, the capital and largest city, unofficially has over half a million residents. It straddles the Danube and is the only national capital that borders two other sovereign states (Austria and Hungary). The city is only 80km from Vienna and indeed the quickest route to Ljubljana is by continuing, after reaching Vienna, on the freeway southwest to the Slovenian capital, a total distance of 450km.

Slovenia was formed when Yugoslavia broke into separate countries in 1991. It borders the Adriatic Sea to the south, Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, its former Yugoslavian partner Croatia to the southeast, and the Adriatic Sea to the southwest. Its capital, Ljubljana, the centrally-located capital of 300000 people, is Slovenia's largest city. It nestles in a river valley surrounded by a castle and mountains and maintains a medieval charm.

Answer: Oakland and Auckland

This is a true story. There is not much difference between the pronunciation of Oak-Land and Ork-Land but surely the passenger would have picked up the error before he got on a plane. The plane would have been flying southeast not west as well.

Auckland is New Zealand's biggest city, but not its capital. It has over 1.5 million people residing on a series of volcanic plugs bordered by two beautiful harbours on the north-central part of the North Island. Called the City of Sails after all the small boating craft that residents employ to enjoy the water. Auckland is a thriving, throbbing global city. The photo shows a typical Auckland landscape: The Auckland Harbour Bridge with the city skyline and the Skytower in the background.

Oakland is a large city on the eastern San Francisco Bay across the pond from San Francisco and connected to it by the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge (lower photo). The city's 440 000 people make it the third biggest city in the bay area. It is the busiest port in the bay area and the fifth biggest in the US. It is also an automobile manufacturing centre and a shipbuilding city. On the northside is UC at Berkeley, one of the most prestigious, and largest, universities in the States. Oakland does have an international airport, in fact it is just across the bay from SFO less than seven miles as the crow flies. However in 1985, the only international destination country from this airport were a few Mexican cities further confounding how this error could have occurred.

NB. The reference to "Middle Earth" in the question was anachronistic taking of poetic licence to provide a hint. It wasn't until 2001, 16 years after our confused student took the wrong flight when the Peter Jackson (a New Zealander) produced "Lord of the Rings" series, was seen in cinemas. This prompted New Zealand to develop a tourist attraction based on the movies' set locations in New Zealand.

Answer: False

Obviously not! The German name for Austria, Österreich, derives from an Old High German word Ostarrîchi meaning "eastern realm", This was recorded in a 966AD Ostarrîchi Document. The word "Austria" is a Latin form of Österreich. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976AD and was the eastern extremity of Bavaria. The Latin version was first recorded in the 12th century. This name has caused confusion because, while it maps back to the Germanic word for "east" it is also very close to the native Latin term for "south", "auster."

A-Hah!

Australia, the name, is derived from the Latin "australis", meaning "southern", Specifically it is derived from the hypothetical Terra Australis (Southern Land) postulated before it was actually discovered. Matthew Flinders mentioned the name Australia in a dispatch to London when he circumnavigated the continent in 1804. It has been used officially since 1817, replacing "New Holland," itself an English translation of the Dutch name, conferred by Abel Tasman in 1643 as the name for the continent (not country). When the six colonies on the continent (including Tasmania) federated, forming Australia in 1901, the country became officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia.

So in short, "Austria" is derived from "east"; "Australia" is derived from "south".