Mark Brader
2024-05-19 00:19:47 UTC
These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on 2024-03-25,
and should be interpreted accordingly.
On each question you may give up to two answers, but if you give
both a right answer and a wrong answer, there is a small penalty.
Please post all your answers in a single followup to the newsgroup,
based only on your own knowledge. (In your answer posting, quote
the questions and place your answer below each one.) I will reveal
the correct answers in about 3 days.
All questions were written by members of the Misplaced Modifiers
and are used here by permission, but have been reformatted and may
have been retyped and/or edited by me. The posting and tabulation
of current-events questions is independent of the concurrent posting
of other rounds. For further information please see my 2023-05-24
companion posting on "Questions from the Canadian Inquisition
(QFTCI*)".
* Game 8, Round 4 - Geography - The Portuguese Empire
The empire of the Portuguese was the longest-enduring of the
European colonial empires. Today, its former territories form
part of 49 different sovereign states. These questions deal with
Portugal's once-vast empire.
1. It is the longest river in the Iberian peninsula. Lisbon sits
upon its estuary. From here, the Portuguese caravels set out
on their voyages of trade and discovery. Name the river.
2. Today this state is India's smallest in area and richest by GDP.
Vasco da Gama visited the place on his first voyage, and it
was a Portuguese colony from 1510 until 1961, when it was
unceremoniously annexed by India.
3. Considered the most densely populated region in the world,
it was both the first and the last European colony in China.
The Portuguese negotiated the right to use its harbor in 1535,
and stuck around until 1999. Name the place.
4. A hub of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, this African nation was
ruled by the Portuguese for three centuries. In 1975, following
two decades of guerrilla warfare, it was granted independence,
only to fall into 25 years of civil war. Since 2000, its
economy has benefited from oil revenue. Name the African nation.
5. This archipelago of 10 islands off the coast of Africa was
colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century. It prospered
from the slave trade, making it a target for buccaneers like
Francis Drake. Today it is a parliamentary republic whose
best-known cultural export is its music, particularly the late
singer Cesaria Evora.
6. The Portuguese first reached this Japanese fishing village in
1543. In 1569, a port was built to receive Portuguese ships
and their cargoes of tobacco, baked goods, and textiles.
After Japan banned Catholicism and expelled the Portuguese,
the English and Dutch picked up where they'd left off. Name
the city, known as Japan's window on the world.
7. In 1511 the Portuguese captured the strategic port of Malacca,
achieving short-lived dominance over the South Asian spice trade.
Malacca passed to the Dutch in 1641 and the British in 1824.
In what present-day country is Malacca?
8. When the Royal Family fled Lisbon in 1808 in the face of
Napoleon's invasion of Portugal, they established their court
in this colonial city, thus making it the only European capital
outside of Europe. It remained the capital of the Portuguese
Empire through much of the 19th century. Name it.
9. The end of the Salazar regime in Portugal led to a policy
of decolonization. Indonesia seized advantage of the moment
to annex which former Portuguese colony in 1975?
10. Although the Portuguese did not set down deep roots in North
America, memories of their exploration endure in many placenames,
including one region whose name derives from the Portuguese
word for "worker". Which region?
* Game 8, Round 6 - History - Predecessors
How quickly their names are forgotten! --Or are they? We name
of a political or ceremonial leader of some kind, and you name
the person who held the office or role before them.
1. Who preceded French president Emmanuel Macron?
2. Who preceded current German chancellor Olaf Scholz?
3. Who preceded Mary Simon as Governor-General of Canada?
4. Who preceded current British prime minister Rishi Sunak?
5. Who preceded Antonio Guterres as Secretary-General of the
United Nations?
6. Who preceded Xi Jinping as general secretary of the Chinese
Communist Party?
7. Who preceded Pope Francis as leader of the Roman Catholic
Church? (Number not required.)
8. Ignoring interim leaders, who preceded Marit Stiles as leader
of the Ontario New Democratic Party?
9. Ignoring interim leaders, who preceded Doug Ford as leader of
the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party?
10. In 1998 Mel Lastman became the first mayor of the amalgamated
"megacity" of Toronto. Name *either* the last mayor of the
pre-amalgamation City of Toronto or the last Metropolitan
Toronto Chairman.
and should be interpreted accordingly.
On each question you may give up to two answers, but if you give
both a right answer and a wrong answer, there is a small penalty.
Please post all your answers in a single followup to the newsgroup,
based only on your own knowledge. (In your answer posting, quote
the questions and place your answer below each one.) I will reveal
the correct answers in about 3 days.
All questions were written by members of the Misplaced Modifiers
and are used here by permission, but have been reformatted and may
have been retyped and/or edited by me. The posting and tabulation
of current-events questions is independent of the concurrent posting
of other rounds. For further information please see my 2023-05-24
companion posting on "Questions from the Canadian Inquisition
(QFTCI*)".
* Game 8, Round 4 - Geography - The Portuguese Empire
The empire of the Portuguese was the longest-enduring of the
European colonial empires. Today, its former territories form
part of 49 different sovereign states. These questions deal with
Portugal's once-vast empire.
1. It is the longest river in the Iberian peninsula. Lisbon sits
upon its estuary. From here, the Portuguese caravels set out
on their voyages of trade and discovery. Name the river.
2. Today this state is India's smallest in area and richest by GDP.
Vasco da Gama visited the place on his first voyage, and it
was a Portuguese colony from 1510 until 1961, when it was
unceremoniously annexed by India.
3. Considered the most densely populated region in the world,
it was both the first and the last European colony in China.
The Portuguese negotiated the right to use its harbor in 1535,
and stuck around until 1999. Name the place.
4. A hub of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, this African nation was
ruled by the Portuguese for three centuries. In 1975, following
two decades of guerrilla warfare, it was granted independence,
only to fall into 25 years of civil war. Since 2000, its
economy has benefited from oil revenue. Name the African nation.
5. This archipelago of 10 islands off the coast of Africa was
colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century. It prospered
from the slave trade, making it a target for buccaneers like
Francis Drake. Today it is a parliamentary republic whose
best-known cultural export is its music, particularly the late
singer Cesaria Evora.
6. The Portuguese first reached this Japanese fishing village in
1543. In 1569, a port was built to receive Portuguese ships
and their cargoes of tobacco, baked goods, and textiles.
After Japan banned Catholicism and expelled the Portuguese,
the English and Dutch picked up where they'd left off. Name
the city, known as Japan's window on the world.
7. In 1511 the Portuguese captured the strategic port of Malacca,
achieving short-lived dominance over the South Asian spice trade.
Malacca passed to the Dutch in 1641 and the British in 1824.
In what present-day country is Malacca?
8. When the Royal Family fled Lisbon in 1808 in the face of
Napoleon's invasion of Portugal, they established their court
in this colonial city, thus making it the only European capital
outside of Europe. It remained the capital of the Portuguese
Empire through much of the 19th century. Name it.
9. The end of the Salazar regime in Portugal led to a policy
of decolonization. Indonesia seized advantage of the moment
to annex which former Portuguese colony in 1975?
10. Although the Portuguese did not set down deep roots in North
America, memories of their exploration endure in many placenames,
including one region whose name derives from the Portuguese
word for "worker". Which region?
* Game 8, Round 6 - History - Predecessors
How quickly their names are forgotten! --Or are they? We name
of a political or ceremonial leader of some kind, and you name
the person who held the office or role before them.
1. Who preceded French president Emmanuel Macron?
2. Who preceded current German chancellor Olaf Scholz?
3. Who preceded Mary Simon as Governor-General of Canada?
4. Who preceded current British prime minister Rishi Sunak?
5. Who preceded Antonio Guterres as Secretary-General of the
United Nations?
6. Who preceded Xi Jinping as general secretary of the Chinese
Communist Party?
7. Who preceded Pope Francis as leader of the Roman Catholic
Church? (Number not required.)
8. Ignoring interim leaders, who preceded Marit Stiles as leader
of the Ontario New Democratic Party?
9. Ignoring interim leaders, who preceded Doug Ford as leader of
the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party?
10. In 1998 Mel Lastman became the first mayor of the amalgamated
"megacity" of Toronto. Name *either* the last mayor of the
pre-amalgamation City of Toronto or the last Metropolitan
Toronto Chairman.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto Rocket, 1829: The first 30 mph train.
***@vex.net TGV-A, 1989: The first 300 mph train.
My text in this article is in the public domain.
Mark Brader, Toronto Rocket, 1829: The first 30 mph train.
***@vex.net TGV-A, 1989: The first 300 mph train.
My text in this article is in the public domain.