True or False:
This week, France officially banned TikTok on all government-issued devices.
➤ Answer: True
(France expanded digital privacy protections across public sector networks.)
True or False:
The Mona Lisa is displayed behind bulletproof glass at the Louvre.
➤ Answer: True
(Due to its high value and history of vandalism, it's heavily protected.)
True or False:
Natural pearls are formed when a grain of sand gets inside an oyster.
➤ Answer: False
(While common belief, pearls usually form when a parasite—not sand—enters the oyster.)
What is considered the first permanent photograph ever taken?
A) A portrait of a woman
B) A landscape from a window
C) A war scene
D) A fruit bowl
➤ Answer: B) A landscape from a window
(Taken by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826, titled "View from the Window at Le Gras.")
True or False:
Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941.
➤ Answer: True
(A date President Franklin D. Roosevelt called “a day which will live in infamy.”)
True or False:
The United Nations declared June 18 as “World Water Day” to address global shortages.
➤ Answer: False
(World Water Day is March 22 — no new declaration was made this week.)
True or False:
The Venus de Milo statue still has both of her arms.
➤ Answer: False
(She is famously armless — and that mystery adds to her intrigue.)
True or False:
Black pearls are only found in the Pacific Ocean.
➤ Answer: True
(Especially from the black-lipped oyster in places like Tahiti.)
What invention in 1888 revolutionized photography for the general public?
A) The flashbulb
B) The digital sensor
C) The Kodak camera
D) The tripod
➤ Answer: C) The Kodak camera
(George Eastman's Kodak allowed anyone to “press the button” and send in the film.)
True or False:
The attack on Pearl Harbor was carried out by German forces.
➤ Answer: False
(It was carried out by the Japanese Imperial Navy.)
True or False:
Protests erupted in Nairobi this week over a controversial finance bill that would raise taxes.
➤ Answer: True
(Thousands of young Kenyans took to the streets in protest.)
True or False:
The Louvre was originally built as a museum in the 1700s.
➤ Answer: False
(It was originally a royal palace before becoming a museum in 1793.)
True or False:
All pearls are white in color.
➤ Answer: False
(Pearls can also be pink, gold, lavender, grey, or black depending on the oyster and environment.)
Which war was the first to be extensively photographed?
A) World War I
B) The Vietnam War
C) The Crimean War
D) The American Civil War
➤ Answer: C) The Crimean War
(Photographed by Roger Fenton in the 1850s.)
True or False:
The attack on Pearl Harbor led directly to the United States entering World War II.
➤ Answer: True
(The U.S. declared war on Japan the very next day.)
True or False:
Canada announced it would ban gasoline-powered cars by the end of 2025.
➤ Answer: False
(Canada’s actual goal is 2035 for new vehicle sales — not this year.)
True or False:
The Louvre houses the Code of Hammurabi, one of the world’s oldest legal texts.
➤ Answer: True
(It's a prized Mesopotamian artifact on display in the museum.)
True or False:
Pearls are the only gemstone made by a living creature.
➤ Answer: True
(They’re created by mollusks, unlike stones formed in the earth.)
What photographic process became popular in the 19th century and used silver-coated copper plates?
A) Cyanotype
B) Daguerreotype
C) Film roll
D) Digital imaging
➤ Answer: B) Daguerreotype
(Named after Louis Daguerre, it was one of the earliest public photography methods.)
True or False:
Only naval ships were damaged in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
➤ Answer: False
(In addition to ships, airfields and planes were also targeted.
True or False:
The International Criminal Court issued new arrest warrants related to war crimes in Sudan this week.
➤ Answer: True
(Focused on atrocities in Darfur linked to the ongoing civil conflict.)
True or False:
The Winged Victory of Samothrace is missing its head and arms.
➤ Answer: True
(Despite the damage, it's one of the Louvre’s most iconic sculptures.)
True or False:
Pearl divers used to risk their lives diving without oxygen tanks to collect natural pearls.
➤ Answer: True
(Before cultured pearls, divers would free-dive to dangerous depths for them.)
When was the first digital camera invented?
A) 1962
B) 1975
C) 1989
D) 1995
➤ Answer: B) 1975
(Invented by Steve Sasson at Kodak — it used a cassette tape to store images!)
True or False:
The USS Arizona still lies underwater at Pearl Harbor and serves as a memorial.
➤ Answer: True
(Over 1,000 sailors are entombed within the ship; it's now a national memorial.)