Geography: Asia
Most Dangerous Animals
V2 Staff
The US Civil War
World Religions and Myths
100
TRIPLE JEOPARDY
What is the name of the imperial palace complex at the heart of Beijing, China?
a) Angkor Wat
b) Forbidden City
c) Potala Palace
d) Summer Palace
b) Forbidden City
The Forbidden City is the imperial palace complex at the heart of Beijing, China. It was so named because access to the area was barred to most of the subjects of the realm: government functionaries and even the imperial family were permitted only limited access with the emperor alone able to enter any section at will.
100
Which animal kills the most humans annually?
Mosquito
Spreading diseases like malaria, yellow fever, and dengue, mosquitoes are responsible for an estimated 725,000 human deaths a year—vastly more than any other nonhuman animal kills.
100
This part-time V2 staff member enjoyed peanut butter (and syrup!) on their pancakes as a kid.
Ms. Gleason
100
Which American Civil War general later became president of the United States?
a. George Armstrong Custer
b. Abner Doubleday
c. Robert E. Lee
d. Ulysses S. Grant
d. Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant commanded the Union armies during the Civil War and became president soon after the war ended.
100
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
The voodoo religion combines different beliefs, traditions and practices from African religions and Roman Catholic Christianity. In which country was this religion created?
Haiti
Haitian voodoo is practiced in a number of Caribbean countries as well as parts of South America. It is also practiced in the southern United States, particularly Louisiana, where it is called New Orleans voodoo.
The word voodoo comes from a word meaning spirit, god or sacred object. Haitian voodoo has its roots in a West African religion called Vodun, practiced in Benin and Togo.
Slaves from Africa were brought to Haiti in the 1600s and it was these slaves who created voodoo, wanting to keep their African beliefs. Their Spanish slavers, and later the French, followed Roman Catholic traditions. Over time, voodoo became intertwined with Christianity.
200
The Chinese name of which Southeast Asian port means “fragrant harbor”?
a) Qingdao
b) Hong Kong
c) Tianjin
d) Shanghai
b) Hong Kong
The Chinese name of Hong Kong means “fragrant harbor,” referring to its excellent natural harbor and the lucrative trade it allowed.
200
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
According to scientists, an attack on a person by which of these animals is most likely to kill the person?
a. Shark
b. Crocodile
c. Hippo
d. Grizzly bear
c. Hippo
Hippos are vegetarian and only attack people who encroach on their territory. This animal can weigh up to four tons, can reach speeds of nearly 20 miles per hour on land, and can wield tusk-like lower canine teeth measuring more than one and a half feet long.
200
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
This teaching assistant has broken his/her/their right arm twice in his/her/their life.
A. Mr. Johnson
B. Mr. Jones
C. Ms. Sanders
D. Ms. (Aimee) Williams
B. Mr. Jones
200
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Which era immediately followed the American Civil War?
a. Renaissance
b. Gilded Age
c. Reconstruction
d. Reformation
c. Reconstruction
The Reconstruction era followed the Civil War. It takes its name from the "reconstruction" of the Union with the defeated Southern states.
200
What is the second book of the Bible’s Old Testament?
Exodus
300
In what city in Japan would you find a cenotaph (a monument to a person buried elsewhere) located in Peace Memorial Park?
a) Kyoto
b) Yokohama
c) Hiroshima
d) Nagasaki
c) Hiroshima
A cenotaph is located in Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. The monument is shaped like an enormous saddle, resembling small clay saddles placed in ancient Japanese tombs, and contains a stone chest with a scroll listing the names of those killed when Hiroshima was struck by an atomic bomb dropped by U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.
300
From 1979 to 2019, attacks by which animal killed the most people in the United States and Canada?
(Brown) bear
300
This former substitute teacher got a detention as a kid for pranking a substitute teacher!
Ms. Dietz
300
What was the famous speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln at the site of one of the most decisive battles of the American Civil War?
The Gettysburg Address
300
Followers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster refer to themselves as what?
a) Rigatonuts
b) Pastafarians
c) Fusilladies
d) Macaroneighbors
b) Pastafarians
The word "Pastafarian" is a combination of Pasta and Rastafarian.
Pastafarians don't really care about doing good, as long as they don't cause hurt, and sauce is optional as well as noodle choice.
400
Which desert in Asia takes its name from a Mongolian term meaning “waterless place”?
a) Gobi Desert
b) Thar Desert
c) Kyzylkum Desert
d) Karakum Desert
a) Gobi Desert
The Gobi, meaning “waterless place” in Mongolian, is a vast desert and semidesert region of Central Asia. It stretches across huge portions of Mongolia and China.
400
Accused of devouring more than 130 people, the “man-eaters of Tsavo” were a pair of what?
Lions
The pair made headlines in 1898 by eating railway workers building a bridge over the Tsavo River in what is now Kenya. Later analysis of their bones and hair suggests that those lions ate “only” 35 people.
400
This staffer is is descended from Ulysses S Grant, the 18th President of the United States (1869-1877)
Ms. Aimee
400
What name was given to people who relocated to the South from the North during the Reconstruction period, and were accused by Southerners of exploiting the newly enfranchised freedmen?
a. Contraband
b. Scalawags
c. Carpetbaggers
d. Bootleggers
c. Carpetbaggers
In the United States, Carpetbagger was a derogatory term for an individual from the North who relocated to the South during the Reconstruction period (1865–77), following the American Civil War. The term was applied to Northern politicians and financial adventurers whom Southerners accused of coming to the South to use the newly enfranchised freedmen as a means of obtaining office or profit.
400
Which Protestant denominations is known as the "Religious Society of Friends"?
Quakers
500
Which region was a Portuguese colony that received its full independence in 2002 after some 25 years of Indonesian rule?
a) East Timor
b) Tamil Eelam
c) Bali
d) Macau
a) East Timor
East Timor, which occupies the eastern half of the island of Timor and small nearby islands, received full status as a sovereign state in 2002 after being controlled first as a Portuguese colony and then being subject to Indonesian rule.
500
To help prevent deadly encounters between elephants and humans, farmers rely on which method to ward off the elephants?
a. Burning chili powder
b. Using flashing TV screens
c. Setting up elephant-shaped “scarecrows”
d. Using air horns
a. Burning chili powder
To avert potentially deadly run-ins with crop-stealing elephants, farmers use “chili bombs”—devices composed of extremely potent chili powder mixed into elephant dung and set ablaze. Elephants, which have sensitive trunks, hate the smell and stay away.
500
This staffer travelled to another country just to eat dinner! (Woo hoo!)
Mr. Steve
500
Which of these machine guns was invented during the American Civil War?
a. Submachine gun
b. Gatling gun
c. MAG machine gun
d. Bren machine gun
b. Gatling gun
The Gatling gun was a hand-driven machine gun that was the first to solve the problems of loading, reliability, and the firing of sustained bursts. It was invented in 1862 by Richard Jordan Gatling during the American Civil War. Gatling contrived a cluster of 10 barrels, each of which, when rotated by a crank, was loaded and fired once during a complete rotation.
500
Which colorful festival is celebrated and named after Shrove Tuesday, the day before the Lenten fast?
Mardi Gras