General Knowledge Quiz
30/12/2022
Berlin Wall.
Checkpoint Charlie was one of and the most famous crossing point of the Berlin Wall, a wall built in 1961 in East Germany to halt emigration to West Berlin. The Berlin Wall was torn down in 1989.
Approximately 3%.
Due to the lack of gravity, the human body expands in space up to 3% (although many other factors impact this percentage, so it varies between individuals). This height increase comes mainly from changes in the spinal column. Once astronauts return to Earth, their height returns to normal in a short amount of time.
Moreover, space suits need to be specially tailored to account for this height expansion.
Damocles.
The famous adage Damocles Sword refers to the looming and constant danger experienced by those in positions of power.
The original story narrates an episode between the Greek ruler Dionysius II of Syracuse and his courtier Damocles. According to it, on a certain day, Damocles was praising his king for his wisdom, power and fortune. In response, Dionysius offered Damocles his position for one day so that he could experience first-hand what it was like live the life of a Greek ruler.
Damocles was not aware that there was a twist. Dionysius arranged for a sword to be held above the throne by a single horse tail’s hair, to evoke the constant anxiety, fear and danger felt by rulers due to all the anomisities and hostilities created while one ascends to positions of power. Damocles eventually begs Dionysius to go back to his original role, realizing that there is more to ruling than power and riches.
Kirstie Alley.
Alley was an American actress best known for her performances as Rebecca Howe in the TV series Cheers. During her 6 year long contribute for the series, she would be awarded with both an Emmy Award and Globe Globe in 1991.
A Tree.
The Ginkgo Biloba is a large tree original from China known both for its leaves extract (used as a diet suplement) and for its tenacity (one of the few lifeforms that continued to live near the atomic bomb explosion zone in Hiroshima, in 1945).
Wassily Kandinsky.
The picture is named “Composition 6” and is one of the examples of abstract artworks of the Russian painter. After embracing the world of arts relatively late (in his 30’s), Kandinsky would become recognized not only as a painter but also as an art theorist, having published multiple books on art and color theory.
Aaron Swartz.
The American programmer would become widely recognized after the development of the RSS web feed and the creation of Reddit, along with Huffman and Ohanian.
Also known for his hacktivist initiatives, Swartz was a convict defender of information in public domain and his actions would later result in him being convicted in court, ultimately resulting in his suicide at the age of 26, after being sentenced to 35 years in prison.
5 points.
In snooker the balls are worth a different amount of points according to their color: red – 1, yellow – 2, green – 3, brown – 4, blue – 5, pink – 6, black – 7.
By performing the perfect sequence, players can get up to 147 points. This achievement, also known as “Maximum Break”, is usually rewarded with a bonus prize money in most tournaments.
Spain.
Rosalía Villa Tobella was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1992 and would later experience an astronomic ascension after combining traditional Spanish flamenco with Pop and Hip Hop tones.
The picture shows Rosalía in her concert in Chile, during the Motomami Tour 2022
Word Play: What word can be related to these other four?
League.
Justice League (2017) – DC based superhero movie
Premier League – First division in the English Football system.
The Human League – English pop band from Sheffield, UK, formed in 1977
League of Legends – Multiplayer online game created by Riot Games in 2009
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