thetrooper
Misanthrope
- Joined
- May 24, 2004
- Messages
- 9,088
Taliesin said:
OK you need some feedback. Your quiz is nice, just what I like - lots of pictures. I just can't find the time to do the research.
Researchable PM-based history quiz
- Thread starter Plotinus
- Start date
OK you need some feedback. Your quiz is nice, just what I like - lots of pictures. I just can't find the time to do the research.
sydhe
King of Kongs
I like the quiz. You've got lots of pictures that look familiar that I can't quite place. I know I've seen the woman in #5 before.
All right, how about I extend the deadline into next week. Next Wednesday sound good? Then thetrooper won't have any excuse. 
And hopefully some other regulars such as Rambuchan and Ciceronian will give it a go.
In other news, sydhe has added five points, raising his score to 12.
And hopefully some other regulars such as Rambuchan and Ciceronian will give it a go.In other news, sydhe has added five points, raising his score to 12.
sydhe
King of Kongs
That sounds good. I'm enjoying the research.
sydhe
King of Kongs
It took me a week to figure out what a certain object is in the first picture of the saints.
sydhe
King of Kongs
Post in error.
sydhe
King of Kongs
Post in error. Wrong forum.
I am extending the deadline by no more than 24 hours to permit Ciceronian to send me his solution. He told me he would, but has not yet done so, and I'd like to give him a last chance to submit before I post the answers.
Currently the scoreboard is
sydhe-- 14
Plotinus-- 7
Ciceronian-- 2 (he managed to get the bonus question right away, but has not yet submitted any other answers)
Currently the scoreboard is
sydhe-- 14
Plotinus-- 7
Ciceronian-- 2 (he managed to get the bonus question right away, but has not yet submitted any other answers)
My apologies to Ciceronian, if you intended to submit more answers. I've extended the deadline as long as I think is fair to the other submitters.
The final scoreboard:
sydhe-- 14
Plotinus-- 7
Ciceronian-- 7
and Aion, a late submitter, takes the prize with 20 points. Good work!
The answers:
1. As most of you figured out, this is the Basilique de Notre Dame de la Paix, to be found in the city of Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire. It became the largest church in the world when the builders placed a cross on top of its dome, in defiance of Vatican demands that it be smaller than St. Peter's. Among other features, it contains stained-glass windows depicting Jesus, the twelve Apostles-- and the President of Cote d'Ivoire.
2. A tricky question that nobody answered correctly. I was hinting at the austere and devoted theologian Jacques Fournier, Bishop of Mirepoix and, later, Pope Benedict XII. Fournier was an Avignon pope, and in fact he ordered the construction of the papal palace there (image 1). He is known for his long-lived Inquisition into the remnants of Albigensian heresy (image 3 is sometimes known as the Cathar cross) in the Languedoc region of France, particularly described in great detail in E. Leroy Ladurie's close study of the town of Montaillou (image 2).
3. These are both saints whom the Church recently pronounced to be fictional. The first image depicts St. Hugh of Lincoln, with his identifying image of the swan (at his left wrist). The second is St. Christopher, who is sometimes said to have been a member of some kind of half-dog, half-human people prior to his conversion to the Christian faith.
4. This, as most of you knew, is Gilgamesh, the legendary Sumerian king. On his journey home from Uta-napishti's island home, he dove in the sea for a plant that would make him immortal. However, before he could make it home, a snake stole the plant from him while he bathed at a watering hole.
5. I'm surprised that nobody knew that this was Michelangelo's depiction of Cleopatra VII Ptolemy. The snake at her bosom should have been a good clue, I thought.
6. Lincoln Cathedral, built by William the Conqueror himself, towered over Europe for two and a half centuries before an earthquake toppled its spire, and it was not surpassed until the construction of the Eiffel Tower. The cathedral is still a gorgeous building-- one of the two or three finest churches in England, in my opinion-- and still dominates its city.
7. This was, in fact, a rendering of Genesis 3:6-7 in King Ælfred's standard Anglo-Saxon, and describes the consumption of the forbidden fruit by Adam and Eve. The passage with modern English cognates bolded:
8. This is a tenet of Jainism, rendered in the original Sanskrit as "Parasparopagraho jivanam".
9. This is Antinous, the youthful lover of Emperor Hadrian, who drowned himself at the age of 20 while in Egypt. The grief-stricken Emperor not only established a beauty-cult to Antinous that would persist for several centuries, but also founded the now-ruined city of Antinoopolis.
10. Major recognition here to Ciceronian, who knew from first-hand experience that the bath, colosseum, and barracks are all to be found in the lovely Welsh town of Caerleon. If I remember correctly (and if the heritage signs there were accurate), the colosseum is the only intact building of its kind in the British Isles, and the barracks is the only one ever found in Britain.
It is time for Aion to set the next quiz!
The final scoreboard:
sydhe-- 14
Plotinus-- 7
Ciceronian-- 7
and Aion, a late submitter, takes the prize with 20 points. Good work!
The answers:
1. As most of you figured out, this is the Basilique de Notre Dame de la Paix, to be found in the city of Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire. It became the largest church in the world when the builders placed a cross on top of its dome, in defiance of Vatican demands that it be smaller than St. Peter's. Among other features, it contains stained-glass windows depicting Jesus, the twelve Apostles-- and the President of Cote d'Ivoire.
2. A tricky question that nobody answered correctly. I was hinting at the austere and devoted theologian Jacques Fournier, Bishop of Mirepoix and, later, Pope Benedict XII. Fournier was an Avignon pope, and in fact he ordered the construction of the papal palace there (image 1). He is known for his long-lived Inquisition into the remnants of Albigensian heresy (image 3 is sometimes known as the Cathar cross) in the Languedoc region of France, particularly described in great detail in E. Leroy Ladurie's close study of the town of Montaillou (image 2).
3. These are both saints whom the Church recently pronounced to be fictional. The first image depicts St. Hugh of Lincoln, with his identifying image of the swan (at his left wrist). The second is St. Christopher, who is sometimes said to have been a member of some kind of half-dog, half-human people prior to his conversion to the Christian faith.
4. This, as most of you knew, is Gilgamesh, the legendary Sumerian king. On his journey home from Uta-napishti's island home, he dove in the sea for a plant that would make him immortal. However, before he could make it home, a snake stole the plant from him while he bathed at a watering hole.
5. I'm surprised that nobody knew that this was Michelangelo's depiction of Cleopatra VII Ptolemy. The snake at her bosom should have been a good clue, I thought.
6. Lincoln Cathedral, built by William the Conqueror himself, towered over Europe for two and a half centuries before an earthquake toppled its spire, and it was not surpassed until the construction of the Eiffel Tower. The cathedral is still a gorgeous building-- one of the two or three finest churches in England, in my opinion-- and still dominates its city.
7. This was, in fact, a rendering of Genesis 3:6-7 in King Ælfred's standard Anglo-Saxon, and describes the consumption of the forbidden fruit by Adam and Eve. The passage with modern English cognates bolded:
Congratulations to Aion for working that one out!
8. This is a tenet of Jainism, rendered in the original Sanskrit as "Parasparopagraho jivanam".
9. This is Antinous, the youthful lover of Emperor Hadrian, who drowned himself at the age of 20 while in Egypt. The grief-stricken Emperor not only established a beauty-cult to Antinous that would persist for several centuries, but also founded the now-ruined city of Antinoopolis.
10. Major recognition here to Ciceronian, who knew from first-hand experience that the bath, colosseum, and barracks are all to be found in the lovely Welsh town of Caerleon. If I remember correctly (and if the heritage signs there were accurate), the colosseum is the only intact building of its kind in the British Isles, and the barracks is the only one ever found in Britain.
It is time for Aion to set the next quiz!
Aion
King
Wow... First time I even noticed this quiz, and I'm winning right away. Cool
Anyway, here are my questions:
-1-
An ancient city in present day Syria, which saw its golden age at the turn of the third and second milennium BC until it was sacked by Hammurabi. The supreme goddess of the ancient Iberians. A finnic people native to an autonomous republic in Russia. What do they have in common?
(3 points)
-2-
An island of the Caribbean was owned in the 17th century by a duchy in present-day Latvia. Which island (1 point)? And which duchy (1 point)?
-3-
What connects these people:
(4 points)
-4-
It should be clear which country this is. But why does it have such an irregular form? What name does the north-eastern protrusion have (1 point)? Explain its history (1 point) and state whom it got its name from (1 point).
-5-
This statue can found on the Capitoline Hill in Rome. Whom does it depict (1 point)? Why was it saved from destruction during the middle ages (1 point)?
-6-
According to Homer's original description in the Iliad, how many feet did the Trojan Horse measure?
(2 points)
Anyway, here are my questions:
-1-
An ancient city in present day Syria, which saw its golden age at the turn of the third and second milennium BC until it was sacked by Hammurabi. The supreme goddess of the ancient Iberians. A finnic people native to an autonomous republic in Russia. What do they have in common?
(3 points)
-2-
An island of the Caribbean was owned in the 17th century by a duchy in present-day Latvia. Which island (1 point)? And which duchy (1 point)?
-3-
What connects these people:
(4 points)
-4-
It should be clear which country this is. But why does it have such an irregular form? What name does the north-eastern protrusion have (1 point)? Explain its history (1 point) and state whom it got its name from (1 point).
-5-
This statue can found on the Capitoline Hill in Rome. Whom does it depict (1 point)? Why was it saved from destruction during the middle ages (1 point)?
-6-
According to Homer's original description in the Iliad, how many feet did the Trojan Horse measure?
(2 points)
Aion
King
-7-
What do these cities have in common:
(3 points)
-8-
Where was this statue found?
(2 points)
-9-
Which script is this (2 points)? Which famous ruler was the first one to use this script for his inscriptions (1 point)?
-10-
Which culture does this artefact belong to?
(2 points)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total number of points: 26
Deadline: 7 days from now (October 21st)
Good luck!
What do these cities have in common:
(3 points)
-8-
Where was this statue found?
(2 points)
-9-
Which script is this (2 points)? Which famous ruler was the first one to use this script for his inscriptions (1 point)?
-10-
Which culture does this artefact belong to?
(2 points)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total number of points: 26
Deadline: 7 days from now (October 21st)
Good luck!
Ciceronian
Latin Scholar
First of all thanks to Taliesin for a great quiz, but I'm very impressed with Aion's effort. Nice use of pictures. I know an answer or two offhand, so I will submit sometime.
Aion
King
Are my questions too difficult or are you guys just being lazy?
sydhe
King of Kongs
I'm being lazy. I'll send you answers to the ones I know.
sydhe
King of Kongs
I'm doing research. I sent you my answers to 1-5. I'm working on the rest.
Aion
King
sydhe said:
Well, not that lazy, obviously
Good effort, though I'm a bit disappointed that you have such a low opinion about the French prime minister! No, he hasn't been in prison 
So sydhe starts the competition with a partial solution and gets 9 points.
Aion
King
I'd just like to remind you that the deadline expires in less than 24 hours and I have only one (partial) solution.
I will extend the deadline if there is a realistic prospect that more people take part.
I might also be giving some hints, if necessary...
I will extend the deadline if there is a realistic prospect that more people take part.
I might also be giving some hints, if necessary...
