Where the Winds Blow Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rub' al Khali

Bertram Thomas was posted to various countries including Mesopotamia (as Iraq was then called) and Transjordan (now known as Jordan) in his capacity as an English civil servant. He was later appointed to the post of Finance Minister to the Sultan of Oman.

While serving in this role, he became the first Westerner to cross the Rub' al Khali in 1930-31. He wrote a book entitled "Arabia Felix" documenting his journey across the Empty Quarter along with descriptions of the desert's fauna and the culture of the people living there.

Answer: Dinosaur eggs

Andrews first made a trip to Mongolia in the 1920s while searching for remains of the earliest human settlements in Asia. Instead he stumbled upon a nest of dinosaur eggs, the first such recorded find in the world. The discovery also included bones of a number of dinosaur genera like Saurornithoides, Oviraptors and Velociraptors which were hitherto unknown. Andrews is regarded by some as the inspiration for the fictional character of Indiana Jones.

Answer: lbert-Felix de Lapparent

Lapparent lived from 1905 to 1975 and named other dinosaurs that he discovered. Henry Fairfield Osborn was another important paleontologist, responsible for naming the Albertosaurus (discovered in Alberta, Canada) and the Tyrannosaurus Rex, among others. Barnum Brown discovered one of the most famous Tyrannosaurus Rex specimens, and Othniel March is the paleontologist responsible for naming the Stegosaurus.

Answer: 26

In 2008 Curl became the first non-African to cross the Tanezrouft region of the Sahara without using any type of motorized transportation, the youngest person to traverse the Sahara by camel. Having been born in Tokyo to English parents and discovering his love of Egypt and Egyptology, Curl lived among nomads and shared their precarious lifestyle, crossing the 1200 miles on foot and by camel from the Hoggar mountains in Algeria to Timbuktu in Mali in only 50 days.

Answer: The Gobi

It was indeed the Gobi Desert, which covers part of China and Mongolia. The Gobi is remembered for being part of the great Mongol Empire and the location of several important stops along the Silk Road, in addition to being home to the first dinosaur eggs ever discovered.

Answer: Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills

Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills, commonly referred to as Burke and Wills, made the northern journey to the sea successfully, though they weren't able to actually reach shore. They set off on their return journey to the contingent of their group that they'd left waiting with provisions. Of the men embarking on the return expedition, only one, John King, got back to Melbourne alive.

There is some conjecture as to the exact date that Burke and Wills died (within two days of each other, yet miles apart), though no one disputes that both men died at the end of June 1861. Though Burke's leadership was considered deficient by some of the exploration financing committee, a monument was raised to Burke and Wills which read: "In memory of Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills, The first to cross the continent of Australia, Comrades in a Great Achievement, Companions in Death, And Associates in Renown."

Answer: Edward John Eyre

In 1840 Edward John Eyre set off from Adelaide in the hope of reaching the Western Australian coast. Of the nine people who started off on the expedition, only Eyre and his Aboriginal friend, Wylie (who had no recorded last name), completed the journey.

Some were left near the start as Eyre thought that a smaller party would have more luck during such a long journey and one was shot dead by two others who also stole supplies, clothing and firearms before disappearing into the night, leaving Wylie and Eyre to complete the trip by themselves.

Answer: Libyan

Credited with being the first person to cross the Libyan Desert, Hassanein's expedition in 1923 took eight long months as he covered a distance of almost 2200 miles. His discovery of rock art including drawings of giraffes, lions, gazelles and other animals at Uweinat proved the existence of human settlements in the region before the complete desertification forced them to seek out alternate places of dwelling.

He also managed to find the lost oases of Arkenu and Uweinat in the southwest corner of present day Egypt.

Answer: The Great Sandy Desert

Warburton almost didn't survive the trip, and was starving and blind in one eye on his return. He gave full credit to having lived to the help of his Aboriginal companion, Charley. Ironically enough, the indigenous people were later forced to leave the Great Sandy Desert in the 1950s due to military missile testing.

Of the other deserts mentioned, two are in Australia (Gibson and Great Victoria) and one is in the US (Death Valley).

Answer: Iran

The Valley of Assassins is located five hours north of Teheran, the capital of Iran. It is alleged that the area was occupied by a sect known as the Assassins of Alamut between the 11th and 13th centuries who were infamous for committing both religious and political murders.

Dame Freya Stark undertook a number of expeditions into the regions of western Iran and southern Arabia, often journeying into areas which were relatively unexplored by Westerners at the time. Her treks resulted in over two dozen travel books which helped fund her future trips. She was awarded a Cross of the British Empire in 1953 and honored as a Dame of the British Empire in 1972.