general trivia
general Mini Quiz
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
What popular myth about the Great Wall of China do astronauts frequently debunk?
At a maximum width of 30 feet, the structure is simply too narrow and its natural materials blend in too perfectly with the surrounding landscape to be seen from orbit.
Ming dynasty builders added what unusual ingredient to the Great Wall's mortar?
The amylopectin in this dietary staple combined with slaked lime to create a water-resistant binder so incredibly strong that weeds still cannot grow through many sections.
Soldiers on the Great Wall of China used what visual method to relay attack warnings?
Guards burned a mixture of wolf dung and dry branches to create dense, dark columns during the day, allowing warnings of nomadic raids to travel hundreds of miles in hours.
Chinese emperors expanded the Great Wall westward to protect what famous trade network?
The Han dynasty specifically extended the fortifications deep into the Gobi Desert to shield merchant caravans carrying lucrative luxury goods from nomadic Xiongnu raiders.
Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas sketched the very first Birkin bag design on what airplane item?
Dumas and Jane Birkin were seated next to each other on a 1983 flight from Paris to London when her straw tote spilled, inspiring the impromptu sketch.
Hermès maintains strict quality control by using what unique method to make each Birkin bag?
A single craftsperson can spend up to 48 hours assembling a bag from start to finish, leaving a unique signature stamp to identify who made it.
Actress Jane Birkin once asked Hermès to remove her name from the Birkin bag for what reason?
In 2015, the actress requested her name be dropped after watching an undercover video of crocodile slaughter, but she relented when Hermès reformed its practices.
Anatomists recognize the femur for holding what distinct physical record in the human body?
The femur accounts for roughly a quarter of an adult's total height and can support up to 30 times the weight of a human body.
The human body relies on the massive femur as the single, solitary bone inside which area?
Unlike the lower leg, which uses both the tibia and fibula for support, the thigh relies entirely on the femur to carry weight.
The rounded top of the femur moves inside the pelvis to create what highly mobile joint?
The femur's spherical head fits tightly into a deep pelvic cavity called the acetabulum, allowing the leg to move in multiple directions.