10 GK Questions and Answers in English
07/05/2022
Germany.
Chinese Checkers is a strategy board game created in 1892 and consists in a simplified version of the American game “Halma”.
There is not much consensus regarding the board game name since it was not invented in China, or even related to the classic Checkers game.
Anish Kapoor.
Born in Mumbai, India, in 1954, Anish Kapoor is a sculptor specialized in installations and abstract art.
Kapoor frequently uses mirrored materials with the purpose of “including” the observer in the artkwork, perfectly articulated with the surrounding environment.
In picture on the side one can observe “El gran árbol y el ojo” (The great tree and the eye) installed in 2009 near the Guggenheim Museum, in Bilbao, Spain
Lusia Harris.
She was the first and only women to ever be drafted by a NBA team (in 1977, by the New Orleans Jazz). Due to her pregnancy at the time, Lusia rejected playing for the Jazz but would eventually start playing professionally the following year for the Houston Angels, in the Women’s Professional Basketball League.
In 2021 Lusia narrated her own story in the short documentary “Queen of Basketball” which was later awarded an Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject in the following year.
Nepal.
Adopted in 1962, the flag from Nepal is currently the only non-rectangular state flag in the world.
Speakeasy.
The opposition to alcohol consumption was already strong at the beginning of the XX Century since this was seen as the origin of a lot of destruction in american towns.
This mindset got more and more popular until, in 1920, the 18th amendment to the USA constitution was created resulting on the prohibition of production, importation and sale of alcohol (ironically, the consumption was still allowed by law).
Almost all bars had to close doors during this time. However, some found ways to continue to sell alcohol illegally behind closed doors while their customers were encouraged to “speak quietly” or “speak easy” about these places, not to raise any suspicion with the authorities.
Caravaggio.
In 1576 the young Michelangelo Merisi and his family moved from Milan to the smaller town Caravaggio but kept in contact with the powerful Sforza family.
The painter’s talent would later be recognized in Rome, signing his works after the name of his childhood town “Caravaggio”. As part of the Baroque movement, Merisi mastered the use of chiaroscuro, a technique that uses high contrasts between bright and dark colors.
Due to the close relation that the Caravaggio had with religious themes, one can still see nowadays (and for free) many of his paintings exhibited in multiple Italian churches.
On the side, one can see “Judith Beheading Holofernes”, finished in 1602.
Jamal Kashoggi.
Kashoggi was a dissident journalist and author who was assassinated by agents of the Saudi government in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
As the editor of the newspaper Al Watan, the reporter was frequently critical of the regime of Saudi Arabia as well as a defender of secularism.
In 2018 Kashoggi was one of “The Guardians”, a group of reporters to be nominated as “Time Person of the Year” for their works in the field of journalism while facing persecution by authoritarian regimes.
Tripoli.
The modern day capital city of Libya was firstly named as “Regio Tripolitana” as the beginning of the 3rd century due to the fact that it resulted from merging three different ancient cities Oea, Sabratha and Leptis Magna.
The city name was then simplified to “Tripoli” and remains in usage even after the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire in the V Century.
Diana, Princess of Wales
Upon the accident that resulted in the death of Diana of Wales, Elton John and the songwriter Bernie Taupin rewrote their original song “Candle in the Wind” from 1973 to serve as an homage to Diana.
The song was very well received by the public and ended up being the second highest selling single of all time with more than 33 million copies sold (just behind White Christmas, by Bing Crosby). It’s also the best selling single of all time in the UK charts.
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