Question 1: How long did the Hundred Years' War last?
Question 2: Where is the legendary city of Atlantis believed to have been located, according to Plato?
According to Plato's dialogues "Timaeus" and "Critias", Atlantis was a powerful and advanced kingdom that sank, in a night and a day, into the ocean around 9,600 B.C. He described Atlantis as being beyond the "Pillars of Hercules", which are believed to be the present-day Strait of Gibraltar, thereby placing it in the Atlantic Ocean.
Question 3: Which scientist is credited with the discovery of penicillin?
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 when he noticed that a common fungus, Penicillium notatum, produced a substance that could kill a wide range of harmful bacteria. This accidental discovery revolutionized modern medicine and led to the development of antibiotics.
Question 4: In Greek mythology, who was the god of wine?
Dionysus, also known as Bacchus in Roman mythology, was not only the god of wine but also associated with fertility, theater, and ritual madness. His followers celebrated him in festivals such as Dionysia, which involved processions, plays, and wine drinking.
Question 5: Who led the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Nikita Khrushchev was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1964. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, he famously reached a compromise with US President John F. Kennedy, which ended the standoff and averted a potential nuclear war.
Question 6: When did the original "Star Wars" film (later subtitled "Episode IV - A New Hope") have its theatrical release?
The original "Star Wars" film, written and directed by George Lucas, premiered in theaters on May 25, 1977. It became a pop culture phenomenon and launched one of the most successful film franchises in history.
Question 7: How many different shapes of pasta are there?
There are over 350 different pasta shapes produced worldwide. Pasta comes in a wide variety of forms including long shapes like spaghetti, short shapes like fusilli, shells, bowties, tubes and many other unique designs. Each shape is best suited for holding certain sauces and ingredients.
Question 8: Which famous Italian artist painted The Last Supper?
Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper between 1495 and 1498. It is located in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy.
Question 9: If animals could talk, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much. Who wrote this?
This quote is from Mark Twain's "Pudd'nhead Wilson and Other Tales." Mark Twain, the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was a celebrated American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer best known for his novels "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
Question 10: The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" was written by which author?
Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published in 1960 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961. The novel addresses themes of racial inequality and moral growth, and is considered an American literary classic.
Despite its name, the Hundred Years' War actually lasted 116 years, from 1337 to 1453. The conflict was a series of separate wars between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France.