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Question 1: In which country did fireworks originate?
Question 2: Who directed the 2000 movie Memento?
The movie Memento was directed by Christopher Nolan, an acclaimed film director and writer best known for directing the Batman trilogy and Inception. Memento is one of Nolan’s earlier works, known for its unique structure. It won several awards, including Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing.
Question 3: What percentage of a jellyfish is water?
Jellyfishes are 95 per cent water, and the remaining five per cent is made up of three simple layers of tissue and very primitive body systems. Jellyfish belong to phylum Cnidaria, which is the same branch of the animal kingdom as sea anemones and corals.
Question 4: What was the ancient Egyptian writing system known as?
The ancient Egyptians used the writing system called hieroglyphics (Greek for ‘sacred words’) for almost 4,000 years. Hieroglyphs were written on papyrus, carved in stone on tomb and temple walls, and used to decorate many objects of religious and daily use.
Question 5: Which planet was originally known as the Georgian Star?
Uranus was originally dubbed as the ‘Georgian star’ or the ‘Georgian planet’. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1781, who then named it to honour his patron, King George III.
Question 6: Apple seeds contain which poisonous substance?
Apple seeds contain a compound called amygdalin in their seeds, which degrades to cyanide when the body's enzymes come into contact with the seed. Don't worry though, it would take swallowing a lot of apple seeds to have an adverse effect on you!
Question 7: Who designed the Sydney Opera House?
Danish architect Jorn Utzon initially designed the Sydney Opera house. However, he wasn’t able to finish it amid several controversies that forced him to pack up and leave the country with his family. William F. Lamb was the designer behind the Empire State Building, Stephen Sauvestre was the architect behind the Eiffel Tower, and Moshe Safdie was the architect behind Singapore’s iconic Marina Bay Sands.
Question 8: Which popular Aussie actor was an avid chess player and even won a championship at 10 years old?
Heath Ledger was an avid chess player, winning an Australian Junior Chess Championship when he was 10. He said he made it a point to play at least one game a day in an interview many years later. It also seems Ledger’s passion for the game never faltered, as former competitors he faced well into adulthood in New York, USA’s Washington Square Park recalled that the unassuming actor would get into cheeky trash-talking during casual matches.
Question 9: Achluophobia is the fear of what?
Achluophobia is the fear of the dark. The term is derived from the Greek words ‘achluo’, which means dark, and ‘phobia’, which means fear.
Question 10: If you were standing on Mars, which planet would appear as the most prominent visible object in the night sky?
While Earth and Venus would still appear as bright objects in the sky, Jupiter would be the most prominent due to its size and brightness. From the Mars perspective, Jupiter would often outshine all the other planets.
Several historians believe that fireworks originated in China. It is believed that the very first ‘firecrackers’ were bamboo stalks. When thrown in a fire, they would explode from the overheating of the hollow air pockets in the bamboo. To this day, China remains the largest manufacturer and exporter of fireworks across the globe.