The Environment
By what process did our universe allegedly come into existence?
a) it was created by a deity ('God')
b) it evolved from microorganisms
c) through the 'Big Bang'
c) 'Big Bang'
How many planets does our solar system have?
8 (Pluto was demoted in 2006, it's now officially a 'Dwarf Planet')
At what age do men and women in Switzerland officially reach retirement?
men 65, 64 for women (as of September 2022)
'Floppy Discs' are / were
a) mechanical storage devices
b) optical storage devices
c) flash memory
a) mechanical storage
What are the followers of the religion of Islam called?
a) Islamists
b) Arabs
c) Muslims
c) Muslims
True or false: There are no venomous snakes in Switzerland (in wildlife).
False, there are two: the 'Kreuzotter' and the 'Aspisviper'
On which continent do you find the country named 'Laos'?
a) Asia
b) Africa
c) Americas (South America)
a) Asia
Since when is homosexuality in Switzerland legal?
a) it has never been illegal
b) since 1942
c) since 1971
b) 1942
Which internet browser was released in 1994 and hugely popular, until it lost its fight for dominance to Microsoft's Internet Explorer?
a) Opera
b) Netscape Navigator
c) Safari
d) Firefox
b) Netscape Navigator
What fuel is used in most planes / aircraft?
Kerosene
What is a compound of several atoms called?
a) ion
b) molecule
c) element
b) molecule
What is the South African Flag called?
a) Rainbow Salad
b) Stars and Stripes
c) Union Jack
a) Rainbow Salad (Nickname!)
In what sports do you have expressions such as 'afraid of the dark', 'cat box', 'driver', 'handicap'?
a) Tennis
b) Ice Hockey
c) Golf
d) Horse riding
c) Golf
What is it called when a system, technology or product is also usable with older versions of that system, technology or product?
backward compatible
What type of vehicle is a 'catamaran'?
a boat (it has two hulls)
Which organ does an owl have:
a) teeth
b) ears
c) eyeballs
b) ears
they do NOT have teeth or eyeballs
The official 'birthday' of Switzerland is the 1st of August. But to which year does the 1st August refer to?
a) 1291
b) 1519
c) 1848
a) 1291 (Rütlischwur)
1519: Einleitung der Reformation (Zwingli)
1848: Annahme der Bundesverfassung
Where is the Rock Band AC / DC from?
a) Great Britain
b) The USA
c) Australia
d) Ireland
c) Australia (AC/DC was founded in 1973)
Which company produced the first mobile phone?
a) Apple
b) Motorola
c) Nokia
d) Samsung
b) Motorola (in 1973!)
What is the name of the political system where a king or a queen is head of the government?
Monarchy
Name the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to generate nutrients and oxigen from carbon dioxide and water.
Photosynthesis
What does the GDP (Gross Domestic Product, Bruttoinlandsprodukt) define? (German explanation also fine)
Gross domestic product (GDP) is the total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period.
Languages: Chinese is the language with the most native speakers (1.3 Billion). But which is the second most-spoken language (native speakers)?
a) English
b) French
c) Spanish
c) Spanish (471 Million)
(English: 370 Million, Hindi 342 Million)
Why did Twitter, Wikipedia, and AOL IM all crash at 3:15pm on June 25, 2009?
a) Prince Charles (then) and Princess Diana announced the birth of Prince Harry
b) Facebook announced the correct National Lottery Numbers mistakenly, before hastily taking them down again
c) Michael Jackson died
Twitter, Wikipedia, and AOL IM all crashed at 3:15pm on 25th June 2009 when Michael Jackson died.
Google initially believed that the millions of search requests meant their search engine was under DDoS attack, and blocked searches related to Michael Jackson for 30 minutes. Twitter reported a crash, as did Wikipedia at 3:15pm. AOL Instant Messenger collapsed for 40 minutes.
There are two modi ('Geschlechter') in music. What are they called (German also fine)?
Major and Minor
Major = 'Dur', sounds upbeat, joyful
Minor = 'Moll', sounds sad, melancholic