::: Star Weekend Magazine :::

Trivia

Record-Breaking Trivia

1.Who provided proof to suggest that the earth was spherical?
*Francis Drake
*David Encaston
*Christopher Columbus
*Ferdinand Magellan
2.What was the speed of the initial land speed record?
*63.15 kilometres per hour
*79.19 kilometres per hour
*122.43 kilometres per hour
*92.65 kilometres per hour
3.From which country was Roald Amundsen, the person who completed the maiden voyage to the South Pole?
Answer: (name of country, 6 letters)
4.Who was the first person to swim across the English Channel?
*Matthew Webb
*Gwyneth Davies
*Brenton Hope
*Philip Rush
5.Niagara Falls once had the title of being the 'Suicide Capital of the World.' Is this true?
* Yes
* No
6.Who was the first private space tourist?
*Dennis Tito
*Mark Shuttleworth
*Larry Swanson
*Toyohiro Akiyama
7.What did Alfred Nobel hope for when he invented explosives?
*That he would become a famous author
*That he would create a new element
*That the explosive would stop war and promote peace
*That the explosions would be the biggest in history
8.Valentina Tereshkova was the first _____ in space.
Answer: (One Word)
9.Which of the following areas is one in which a Nobel Prize is not awarded?
*Peace
*Physics
*Physiology
*Biology

Answers

1.Ferdinand Magellan
Magellan was a part of the 1519-22 expedition to try and circumnavigate the globe. He was killed during the voyage, leaving it to his remaining crew to finish the sea journey.
2.63.15 kilometres per hour
The electric car was driven by a French count in 1898. Since then, the fastest speed has been recorded close to 1200km in the Nevada Desert.
3.Norway
Roald was part of a four-man team who became the first person to reach any pole, despite claims from previous explorers.
4.Matthew Webb
The English Channel is a busy stretch of water that is between England and the rest of Europe. For a matter of interest, in 1883, 8 years after swimming the Channel, Webb drowned at Niagara Falls, swimming the rough currents.
5.Yes
The sight of the Falls is quite scary in itself, but some people have tried to tackle its ferocity. In earlier days, such attempts have been made to walk across the Falls on a tightrope and falling down them in barrels.
6.Dennis Tito
In recent years, it has been made possible to purchase a ride into space. The only catch in this is that you have to be VERY rich! Tito paid $20 million to go into space in 2001. To avoid confusion, Akiyama was the first paying person to visit space.
7.That the explosive would stop war and promote peace
In his will Alfred Nobel donated the fortune he made from his invention to the innovators who did the most to aid mankind; after the Swede's death in 1896, he has been honoured with the 'Nobel Prizes' named after him, as has the element nobelium.
8.Woman
The Russian achieved this feat in 1963, only two years after Yuri Gagarin made the first successful space trip.
9.Biology
The first prizes were awarded in 1901, in the areas of peace, literature, physics, physiology/medicine and chemistry. In 1969, economics was accepted as a prize. The greatest achievement in the prize's history is by Marie Curie, who won Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry (1903 and 1911 respectively.