Wonders of the World: History & Geography

Known as the City of Light, this capital is home to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum.

Answer:Paris

Note:Capital of France.

Canberra is the federal capital of this nation, often confused with Sydney or Melbourne.

Answer:Australia

Note:Chosen as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne in 1908.

Perched high in the Andes at over 2,800 meters, this is the closest capital city to the equator.

Answer:Quito

Note:Capital of Ecuador.

This city on the Bosphorus Strait straddles both Europe and Asia, and was formerly known as Constantinople.

Answer:Istanbul

Note:Though Turkey's largest city and economic center, Ankara is its capital.

This African country has three official capitals: Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial).

Answer:South Africa

Note:South Africa uniquely balances its three branches of government across three cities.

Of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, this Egyptian monument is the only one still largely intact.

Answer:Great Pyramid of Giza (Pyramid of Khufu)

Note:Constructed around 2560 BC.

Rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911, this 15th-century Inca citadel is situated on a mountain ridge in Peru.

Answer:Machu Picchu

Note:Built during the reign of Inca emperor Pachacuti.

Carved into rose-colored sandstone cliffs, this archaeological marvel in Jordan served as the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom.

Answer:Petra

Note:Famous for its Al-Khazneh (The Treasury) facade.

Commissioned by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1632 in Agra, this white marble mausoleum honors his wife Mumtaz Mahal.

Answer:Taj Mahal

Note:One of the New 7 Wonders of the World.

This ancient Greek wonder on the island of Rhodes was a colossal bronze statue of the sun god Helios standing over 30 meters high.

Answer:The Colossus of Rhodes

Note:Destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC.

This element with atomic number 1 is the most abundant chemical substance in the universe.

Answer:Hydrogen

Note:Constitutes approximately 75% of all baryonic mass in the universe.

Light travels through a vacuum at roughly this speed in kilometers per second.

Answer:300,000 km/s (specifically 299,792 km/s)

Note:Equivalent to roughly 186,000 miles per second.

The powerhouse of eukaryotic cells, responsible for generating most of the cell's ATP supply.

Answer:Mitochondria (or Mitochondrion)

Note:Known universally as 'the powerhouse of the cell'.

James Watson, Francis Crick, and Rosalind Franklin are celebrated for discovering this molecular structure of DNA in 1953.

Answer:The Double Helix

Note:Franklin's Photo 51 was critical to the discovery.

Confirmed experimentally in 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider, this subatomic particle gives other particles mass.

Answer:The Higgs Boson (or 'God Particle')

Note:Theorized by Peter Higgs and François Englert in 1964.

In Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader delivers this iconic line to Luke Skywalker, revealing his true parentage.

Answer:'No, I am your father' (often misquoted as 'Luke, I am your father')

Note:One of the most famously misquoted lines in movie history.

This 1994 prison drama starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman holds the #1 spot on IMDb's Top 250 Movies list.

Answer:The Shawshank Redemption

Note:Adapted from a Stephen King novella.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, this 2010 thriller features thieves who steal information by infiltrating targets' dreams.

Answer:Inception

Note:Stars Leonardo DiCaprio with the famous spinning totem ending.

This 2019 South Korean black comedy thriller directed by Bong Joon-ho became the first non-English film to win Best Picture.

Answer:Parasite (Gisaengchung)

Note:Won four Oscars including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

This legendary filmmaker directed 'Citizen Kane' at just 25 years of age in 1941.

Answer:Orson Welles

Note:Welles co-wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the film.

This traditional Japanese soup is made from fermented soybean paste dissolved in dashi stock.

Answer:Miso Soup

Note:Often garnished with tofu, seaweed, and scallions.

The Scoville scale is used worldwide to measure the pungency or heat of these culinary fruits.

Answer:Chili Peppers (or Peppers)

Note:Devised by Wilbur Scoville in 1912.

Derived from the crocus flower, this vivid yellow-orange seasoning is the world's most expensive spice by weight.

Answer:Saffron

Note:Requires tens of thousands of hand-picked flower stigmas per kilogram.

This Italian cheese whose name means 'half cooked' is a hard, salty sheep's milk cheese popular across Rome and Sardinia.

Answer:Pecorino (or Pecorino Romano)

Note:The primary cheese used in classic carbonara and cacio e pepe.

The chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavor is named after this French chemist.

Answer:The Maillard Reaction

Note:Described by Louis-Camille Maillard in 1912.