Whacky Geography Trivia Quiz

Answer: Northwest

If you guessed north east like many people do, here is the explanation : in our mind we picture the California coast as a straight vertical line, while in reality, it veers sharply to the SE from the NW.

So, the thinking goes, Los Angeles is on the coast, Reno is inland, so, Reno must be east, right? Wrong!

Answer: Canada

All the Michiganders will answer this right, for all the others who got it wrong, check your atlas.
There is a little protrusion of Canada just across the water, south of Detroit.

Answer: As high as it is wide

Most people think it is higher than wide, due to an optical illusion.
If you don't believe it, measure its photo with a ruler!
The distance across the base of the arch is the same as its height - 630 feet.
It was designed by Eero Saarinen (1910-1961), who unfortunately never got to see it, he died a year before its construction was even started.

Answer: False

Again, check your atlas, because Rome is north of New York.
New York is at about the same latitude of Naples, Italy.

Answer: Johannesburg

Cape Town is the legislative capital, Pretoria the administrative and Bloemfontein the judicial.
When the Union of South Africa was founded, the leaders thought it a good idea not to have the whole government concentrated in one single location. Pretoria, seat of the executive branch, is considered the de facto capital. That is where the heads of state from foreign countries are received.

Answer: Andorra

Andorra, situated in the Pyrenees Mountains between Spain and France, is a parliamentary democracy, with two co-princes: the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell, in Catalonia, Spain, sharing sovereignty.
Andorra created a partnership with France in the 11th century because it needed military protection.

Answer: St. Maarten

St.Maarten/St.Martin in the Caribbean is only 37 square miles in area. The northern 2/3 is French, the southern 1/3 is Dutch, with the capital Philipsburg.

Answer: The United States

The Guano Islands Act was passed in 1856 under President Pierce. Any citizen could take possession of an island for the US if it was uninhabitated and covered with guano, which was a valuable fertilizer. More than 100 islands were claimed, including the Midway islands - and to this day the US claims a handful of them.

Answer: Mongolia

Mongolia is the least densely populated country in the world with only 4.58 inhabitants per square mile, but it has a wealth of mineral resources, which have not yet been exploited.
Foreign investment in mining has been transforming the economy which has been one of the world's fastest growing in recent times.

Answer: The Honeymoon suite

The bed is positioned so that the heads of the occupiers are in France, while the feet are in Switzerland, or vice versa.
The Hotel Arbez in the tiny village of La Cure is traversed by the international border between France and Switzerland. This is due to a past dispute between the two countries that was finally resolved by the Treaty of Bern in 1862.