::: Star Weekend Magazine :::

Trivia

The Truth about Cities

1.The city is: San Francisco
History: A mayor of San Francisco was murdered by a man who proffered depression and a junk food diet as his defense.
Geography: The Haight-Ashbury district, epicenter of 1967's Summer of Love, is within the San Francisco city limits.
Which of the above facts is true?
*The history fact only
*Neither
*The geography fact only
*Both
2.The city is: Rome
History: The famous sculptor and painter Michelangelo was also the official architect of St. Peter's Basilica.
Geography: Although the Tiber river flows through Rome, the Po River encircles the city as well and forms two of its ancient boundaries.
Which of these facts is true?
*The geography fact only
*The history fact only
*Both
*Neither
3.The city is: Tokyo
History: Japanese emperors, including Emperor Hirohito, were crowned at the Aoyama Palace in Tokyo.
Geography: The port city for Tokyo is Hiroshima.
Which of the above facts is true?
*Neither
*The geography fact only
*The history fact only
*Both
4.The city is: Paris
History: Both Joan of Arc and Marie Antoinette were executed in Paris.
Geography: The Eiffel Tower is located on an island in the middle of the River Seine.
Which of these is true?
*Neither
*The history fact only
*Both
*The geography fact only
5.The city is: Amsterdam
History: The oldest building in Amsterdam is the Oude Kerk (Old Church).
Geography: Although Amsterdam once had more canals than Venice (and was called "The Venice of the North"), most of them have been filled in and the resulting land used for building.
Which of these facts is true?
*Both
*Neither
*The history fact only
*The geography fact only
6.The city is: Cairo
History: The medieval warrior Saladin built a stronghold in Cairo.
Geography: Cairo lies almost exactly due south from Athens, Greece.
Which of these facts is true?
*Neither
*The geography fact only
*The history fact only
*Both
7.The city is: Moscow
History: The Kremlin in Moscow was founded by Ivan the Terrible.
Geography: Moscow, like Rome, is built on seven hills.
Which of these facts is true?
*The history fact only
*Neither
*Both
*The geography fact only
8.The city is: Dublin
History: One of the earliest historical references to Dublin is in the writings of Ptolemy, who called it "Eblana".
Geography: Dublin is located where the River Shannon meets the Irish Sea.
Which of these facts is true?
*The geography fact only
*Neither
*Both
*The history fact only
9.The city is: Bangkok
History: Bangkok became the capital of Siam (later Thailand) in 1782.
Geography: Bangkok's many canals ("klongs") give the city its nickname, "Venice of the East".
Which of these facts is true?
*Neither
*The geography fact only
*The history fact only
*Both
10.The city is: Jerusalem
History: The Jerusalem historic site most sacred to Islam is the Ka'ba.
Geography: The River Jordan does not flow through Jerusalem.
Which of these facts is true?
*The history fact only
*Neither
*Both
*The geography fact only

Answers
1. Horatio
In W.J.Craig 's compact Oxford Shakespeare edition of the Complete Works:Act V ,Scene Two, line 373.- Hamlet's mother dies first after drinking the poisoned cup. - Fortinbras is the foreigner who takes over Elsinore after Hamlet's death and organises the funeral. - Osric is a joke in the play.
2. Julius Caesar
II.ii.32 - Has been quoted already in 'defence' of those committing suicidal bomb attacks in the Middle- East.
3. Miranda in 'The Tempest'
V.i.183.- Source of inspiration for Aldous Huxley.
4. Caliban in the Tempest
The Tempest I,ii,363. - Caliban protests against his state of half-animal half-human. - Not unlike Frankenstein 's Monster?
5. Richard III in Richard III
6. Roderigo
Roderigo is rather foolishly in love with Desdemona.And Jago suggests he can buy her. - I,iii.345
7. Shylock himself
III.i.63 - All the others are too short-sighted to see the other side of the coin. - Portia , though a talented 'lawyer', sees the shortcomings in Shylock's character , but is unable to look beyond her 'christian cliches'.- Jessica is not really aware of the causes of her father's behaviour and marries a christian without thinking too much of the injustices done to her (Jewish) people.
8. Macbeth himself
I.vii.1 .- Quite typically Shakespeare represents Lady Macbeth as the temptress and Macbeth himself as the hesitating male who has to overcome his scruples. Inspired by 'Genesis' ? - Later Lady Macbeth turns out to be the weaker and goes mad. - Macbeth faces his fate courageously.
9. Lear himself
III,ii.59 - Lear knows he is not offering a spectacle of great dignity , but remembers it was his daughters who caused his misery.
10. Brutus
V,v.73 - Brutus is portrayed as a noble defender of democracy , killing not for personal gain but for a noble cause. Marcus Antonius , though himself a demagogue , is clever enough to recognise the qualities of his opponent.- Cinna the Poet is mistaken for Cinna the Consprirator by the angry mob. Kind of inside joke on Shakespeare's part?

Answers

1.Both
November 27, 1978 was a horrible day in San Francisco's history.
Dan White shot and killed Mayor George Moscone and openly gay (and proud) City Supervisor Harvey Milk. You can read about White's so-called "Twinkie Defense" at http://www.ohnonews.com/twinkie.html
Haight and Ashbury streets converge not far from Golden Gate Park.
2.The history fact only
The multi-talented Michelangelo was appointed official architect of St. Peter's in 1546 and designed the soaring dome. St. Peter's was part of Rome until 1929, when Vatican City was established.
The Po River is in northern Italy.
3.Neither
Although Emperor Hirohito was born at the Tokyo palace, he was crowned in Japan's ancient capital, Kyoto.
Tokyo's port is Yokohama.
4. Neither
Although Marie Antoinette was indeed guillotined in Paris, the Maid of Orléans was burned at the stake in Rouen, France, in 1431.
The Eiffel Tower is on the Left Bank (Rive Gauche) in Paris. However, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame is on the Ile-de-la-Cité, an island in the Seine. Like so many Catholic holy places, it is built on the site of a former pagan Roman temple.
5. The history fact only
The Oude Kerk dates from the second half of the 13th century, although there have been many additions and renovations since then. It is not to be missed if you are in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam's canals remain a prominent, lovely, and useful feature of the "Venice of the North".
6. The history fact only
Salah-el-Din the Ayyubid, or Saladin, became governor of Egypt in 1169. He is best known for fighting Richard the Lion-Hearted of England in the Crusades, but he also built a fortification in Cairo, called the Citadel, which still exists today.
If you travel due south from Athens, you will wind up in Libya, west of Egypt. Cairo is south of Turkey.
7. The history fact only
Salah-el-Din the Ayyubid, or Saladin, became governor of Egypt in 1169. He is best known for fighting Richard the Lion-Hearted of England in the Crusades, but he also built a fortification in Cairo, called the Citadel, which still exists today.
If you travel due south from Athens, you will wind up in Libya, west of Egypt. Cairo is south of Turkey.
8. The history fact only
"The first known settlement on the site of Dublin was called Eblana, a name found in the writings of the 2nd-century Alexandrian geographer Ptolemy, though the earliest accounts of the city go back to AD 140. The town later appears in history as Dubhlinn (Gaelic, "Black Pool")."
(from "Dublin (city)," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2004)
In Gaelic, Dublin is Baile Átha Cliath, "Town of the Ford of the Hurdles".
Dublin is located on the River Liffey and Dublin Bay, which is part of the Irish Sea.
9. Both
Siam's ancient capital was Ayutthaya, which was burned by the Burmese in 1767. In 1782 King Rama I established his capital in the place now called Bangkok, although the Thai people know it as Krung Thep, "City of Angels".
While many of the klongs have been filled in and paved over (and many of the remaining ones are polluted and malodorous), more than 50,000 people a day still take canal buses in Bangkok.
10. The geography fact only
The Ka'ba is indeed the site most sacred to Islam, but it is located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Jerusalem site most sacred to Islam is the Dome of the Rock, built on the site where, according to Islamic tradition, the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.
The River Jordan flows south from its source near Mount Hermon, ending at the Dead Sea. Jerusalem is about 35 km west of the town of Jericho, which is located on the Jordan.