Bridge over Troubled Water Trivia Quiz

Answer: It has shops built along it

The original Ponte Vecchio was built some time before 996. First mentioned in an old document dating from that year, it is believed to have been constructed in the Ancient Roman era. It was once a common sight for old bridges in bygone ages to have small shops and stalls built along their length.

The Ponte Vecchio is one of the very few bridges left in the world that still features these. It had been destroyed by flood several times, but rebuilt each time. An interesting feature of this fascinating old structure is the number of padlocks attached to its railings.

These are there because of a belief by lovers in the old romantic tradition that locking a padlock on the bridge, and throwing away the key, ensures their love will last forever. Oh dear. Let's hope they don't had to dive in the drink searching for that key if they change their minds.

Answer: The highest bridge tower in the world

This incredible engineering marvel is an astonishing 1,125 feet above terra firma. It also boasted the highest pylons in the world when it was constructed. The thought occurs that that particular statistic somewhat overstated the obvious. Others records the Millau Viaduct claimed were that it was twice as tall as other bridges in Europe, it was the highest road bridge in Europe, and it was taller than the tallest spire on the Eiffel Tower.

The bridge is a dizzying 8,000 feet in length and curves in a long arc over part of its journey to counter the unsettling feeling of drifting off into space. That's basically one and a half miles of air sickness.

The most alarming statistic of all about this bridge is that it is nowhere near the tallest one in the world.

Answer: It collapsed

The Westgate Bridge is a major connecting link in Melbourne. Twice as long as our more famous Sydney Harbour Bridge, it is ten traffic lanes wide and spans more than 1,000 feet of the Yarra River. In 1970, while still under construction, a 2,000 tonne section of the bridge between two of its central pylons collapsed and fell into the water below, killing thirty-two workers. The explosion when this occurred was deafening. It was heard twelve miles away, and homes that were hundreds of feet away from the site were sprayed with mud that was thrown up into the air. The blame for the collapse was well and truly shared between the designers of the construction and the on-site contractors. During construction, a difference of more than four inches was discovered between two main spans of the work. It was subsequently decided, in an attempt to level it up, to weigh down the still only partially reinforced higher side with blocks of concrete totalling 110 tons in weight. Unbelievable. Under this load, the weighed-down side began to buckle. In their efforts to remove the buckle, the engineering dunces then decided to remove some connecting bolts from the girders. Eyewitnesses said that, when this happened, the "bridge snapped back and the span collapsed".

Periodic safety checks since then have revealed cracking, corrosion and more potential for buckling in the bridge. When it was built, the Westgate Bridge was only designed to carry maximum loads of 25 tonnes, but trucks with loads of 68 tonnes cross it many times a day instead. It was also designed to only take 40,000 vehicles a day, but by the turn of the century, was carrying 160,000 every twenty-four hours. I wouldn't go across the Westgate Bridge if you paid me.

Answer: The Marco Polo Bridge

This lovely old bridge, featuring statues spaced out at intervals along its length, was built in 1189. It became known there as the Marco Polo Bridge when that Venetian traveller stopped to admire and highly praise it on his travels in China in the 13th century.

The statues along its length are all of lions in various positions, and wearing slightly different expressions. There were more than six hundred of these when the bridge was originally constructed. China has some truly exquisite ancient bridges, breathtakingly lovely in fact, as well as its monstrously impressive engineering giants of the modern era.

Answer: Brazil

The Octávio Frias de Oliveira Bridge in São Paulo, Brazil, was opened in 2008. By means of special lighting, it displays various designs at certain times of the year. This includes an immense, beautifully lit tree at Christmas time. Sadly, vandals and thieves periodically attack this lovely piece of engineering design.

This includes smashing the lighting and stealing immense length of wires. Let's hope the Brazilian authorities throw the book at them for such stupid, mindless and moronic crimes. In spite of this, this lovely work of art and engineering combined continues to throw its joyous and happy kiss to the world every day.

Answer: By convicts

Compared to other bridges in the world, this one in Tasmania is not very old at all. However, we are still a very young country, settled by Europeans only in 1788. This bridge was constructed by convict labour, and was completed in 1825. It was a dreadful life there for them, as many convicts were treated barbarically by their guards and overseers. George Grover was a jailer at the prison used to house these prisoners.

He was noted far and wide for his excessive use of flogging as a punishment for the inmates if they committed even the slightest offence. One day, while drunk on duty, he fell asleep on the bridge, and was pushed over the edge by the desperate men. Nobody was ever convicted of his murder.

There's justice and there's justice. If you look carefully at this photo, you'll note that the bridge is quite crooked along the top. Of course this could well be just a result of the age of the structure, but do you know what I think? I think the convicts made it that way on purpose.

Answer: Saudi Arabia and Bahrain

Opened in 1986, this impressive construction spans the Gulf of Bahrain for an amazing twenty-five miles to connect the two countries of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Not only of great practical use, it also signifies the brotherly love between the two Islamic nations.

It is widely travelled upon on a daily basis, experiencing in 2010, for example, a yearly traffic of some nineteen million passengers. Future expansion for this engineering marvel includes the construction of restaurants, rest rooms and telephone stalls along its length, with a mosque to be built at both termination points.

Answer: Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated here

This little bridge's unassuming beginning was some time in the sixteenth century. Mention of it appears in a Bosnian census taken in 1541, but the exact date it was constructed is apparently unknown. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip in 1914 was the spark that lit the fuse to what would become the most deadly war the world had ever known up until that time in history. World War I lasted from 1914 until 1918 as a result of this murder, and our sad old globe has never been the same since.

The Archduke was assassinated at the northern end of this structure, and nearby is a large museum dedicated to all the events of that dreadful war.

Answer: Africa and Eurasia

Completed in 2001, the Suez Canal Bridge is also known as the Shohada 25 January Bridge, the Friendship Bridge and the Egyptian-Japanese Friendship Bridge. How annoying. You wouldn't know how to describe it unless you had half an hour to spare. It links Africa with Eurasia across the Suez Canal at a place called El Qantara.

This translates to, wait for it, "The Bridge". This construction linking two continents is almost two and a half miles long, thirty-three feet wide, and, with a height of five hundred feet, is tall enough to, sadly so, let massive warships sail beneath it.

It was built with a great deal of assistance from Japan as part of a planned project to develop the Sinai Peninsula. Let us all hope that this is all it is used for in all the years to come.

Answer: The Berlin Wall

As a result of the ubiquitous Berlin Wall, erected in 1961, coming tumbling down in 1989, this lovely old bridge has now become a visible symbol of the country's reunification. Ever since that wonderful event took place, residents of the boroughs of Freidrichshain and Kreuzberg now have an annual light-hearted celebration, partly perhaps to try to deal with the sad memory of all those lost years, but also just out of good old German fun.

At this annual mock battle, groups from both sides hurl rotten vegetables, eggs and flour at each other, as each tries to retain possession of the bridge.