I was just reading about how the Nile River may not be the world’s longest river, a geographical fact we all had hammered into our heads in grade school. The Nile has been measured at 6,693 kilometres (4,160 miles), making it slightly longer than the Amazon, which is 6,436 kilometres (4,000 miles) long. But researchers in Brazil are now reporting that the Amazon is actually longer. The claim follows an expedition to Peru that established a new starting point further south, which puts the Amazon at 6,800 kilometres (4,250 miles). The Amazon is now said to begin in an ice-covered mountain in southern Peru. Researchers travelled for 14 days, sometimes in freezing temperatures, to establish the location at an altitude of 5,000 metres.

While this watery issue remains in dispute, most of the world’s other longest record-holders appear to be more definite. Let’s take a closer look at some of the longest things, and lest you get the wrong idea, I am not talking about arcane stuff such as the longest toenail, hotdog, conga line or Hollywood marriage. No, consistent with the theme of this blog, this list concerns travel, tourism, transportation or geography.

World’s longest non-stop passenger airline flight: On December 10, 2005, a Boeing 777-200LR dubbed the Worldliner completed the longest non-stop passenger airline flight, covering 21,602 kilometres from Hong Kong to London in roughly 22 hours and 40 minutes. The Boeing also captured the record for the long stay aloft by a passenger airline plane. Onboard were eight pilots, including Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann, Boeing’s first woman test pilot. Although the plane had 301 seats, there were only 27 passengers aboard. There were a couple Boeing executives; several Boeing 777 engineers; representatives from General Electric and a dozen journalists.

World’s longest corn maze: If you happen to be in Liberty, Missouri, and have an urge to get lost check, then check out the Liberty Corn Maze, which ranks as the world’s longest. Each year, using a GPS, they create a new maze in the corn with a particular theme. In 2005 the maze had a NASCAR theme; in 2006 it was dedicated to baseball’s Kansas City Royals; the 2008 design was a salute to the Kansas City Zoo. The Liberty Corn Maze boasts more than 30 kilometres of trails, but don’t worry, if you get lost one of the “corn cops” will help you out.

World’s longest sandy beach: Virtually unknown by western travellers, Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, the world’s longest natural sandy beach, runs for an unbroken 125 kilometres alongside the Bay of Bengal. Besides the endless vista of sand there are towering cliffs, surfing waves, rare conch shells, colourful pagodas and Buddhist temples. It derives its name from Captain Cox, a British naval officer. But more poetically the beach is also known as Panowa, meaning “yellow flower.”

World’s longest canyon: This gigantic gash in the ground is found in China. It’s called the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon and it out-canyons Arizona’s Grand Canyon by 50 kilometres, checking in at 496 kilometres in length. It’s also the world’s deepest canyon, reaching depths of 5,382 metres compared to 5,133 metres for the Grand Canyon.

World’s longest zip line: If you’re itching to tackle the world’s longest zip line just make your way to Sun City, South Africa. Stretching an exhilarating two kilometres, the Pronutro zip 2000 is not only the world’s longest zip line, it’s also the highest at 280 metres, as well as the fastest, with riders reaching stomach-turning speeds of over 140 kilometres per hour.

World’s longest street: Starting from Lake Ontario, splitting Toronto into east and west, and finally ending in Rainy River, Ontario, Yonge Street is the longest street in the world. Officially measured at 1,896 kilometres, the street began its history as a trail for the Huron Indians, then was used by European explorers. It was named Yonge Street in 1793, after Sir George Yonge.

World’s longest walk: On Christmas Day 1969, Arthur Blessitt left Los Angeles on a walk and took his 40-pound, 12-foot cross with him. He is still walking and carrying his cross and spreading his message about God everywhere he goes. To date, the eccentric evangelist has visited all 50 U.S. states, all seven continents and 315 nations, while covering more than 61,000 kilometres. He has walked through 52 countries at war and been arrested or jailed 24 times. He has travelled constantly with his second wife, Denise, since their marriage in 1990. To learn more about Blessitt’s 40-year journey, visit his website: www.blessitt.com/

World’s longest apartment building: The Karl-Marx-Hof in Vienna, Austria, is the world’s longest Gemeindebauten, which in German means “municipality building,” a residential building constructed by a municipality, usually to provide low-cost housing. The Karl-Marx-Hof was built from 1927 to 1930 and measures over 1.1 kilometres in length and has enough room to house about 5,000 people.

World’s longest heat wave: Generally a heat wave is considered to be the number of days with the temperature reaching or exceeding 100 °F or 37.8 °C. This unwanted record goes to the town of Marble Bar in Western Australia. From October 31, 1923 to April 7, 1924, the temperature broke the 100 °F mark for a scorching 160 consecutive days.

World’s longest streak of rain: Next time you’re complaining about the weather take some heart from the following record. Kaneohe Ranch, in Oahu, Hawaii, reported 247 straight days of rain from August 27 1993 to April 30, 1994.

World’s longest railroad: Extending a formidable 9,446 kilometres from Moscow to the port city of Vladivostok on Russia’s Pacific Coast, the Trans-Siberian Railway covers over one third of the circumference of the Earth. Czar Alexander III designed the railroad in 1891 to give Russia an accessible port on the Pacific. It was not completely finished until 1916. The cost of construction was 1.4 billion rubles (equivalent to what it cost Russia to wage World War I) and the lives of uncounted thousands of slave labourers. Oddly, though the trip spans seven times zones, the train itself and the official schedule stay on Moscow time. The week-long epic costs about $500 for a first-class ticket.

World’s longest windsurfing journey: You need to be crazy and feel at home on the water to set this record. Evidently Flavio Jardim and Diogo Guerreiro qualify. From May 17, 2004 to July 18, 2005, these two intrepid Brazilians wind-surfed an astounding 8,120 kilometres from Chui to Oiapoque on the Brazilian coast.

World’s longest road tunnel: If you’d like to take a drive through the longest road tunnel in the world get yourself and your car over to Norway where you will find the Laerdal Tunnel. Built between 1995 and 2000 at a cost of $125 million, the tunnel covers 24.5 kilometres and runs from Laerdal to Aurland. It was opened on November 27, 2000.

World’s longest staircase: Feeling full of vim? The Niesen funicular (basically a tram) in Switzerland rises up to an altitude of 2,336 metres. Next to the Niesen funicular is an outdoor service staircase, with a mind-boggling 11,674 steps. Though the staircase is normally only used by staff, it is opened to 200 people for one day a year for the Niesenlauf stair run. And quite an ordeal it is, with competitors high-stepping through cloud, rain or even snow, even though the race takes place in June. The record for the event is one hour two minutes for men and one hour nine minutes for women, which seems remarkably fast considering the number of steps is equivalent to climbing the CN Tower 4.5 times.

World’s longest lightning bolt: Most lightning bolts are a modest few kilometres in length. However, there have been much longer ones. The longest bolt ever recorded stretched an electrifying 190 kilometres near Dallas, Texas. It was an example of positive lightning, a rare form of lightning that originates from positively charged regions of the thundercloud. Also known colloquially as “bolts from the blue,” positive lightning is also believed to have been responsible for the 1963 in-flight explosion and subsequent crash of Pan Am Flight 214, a Boeing 707.

World’s longest earthquake: A massive quake that hit Sumatra in Indonesia on December 26, 2004, measured 9.3 on the Richter Scale and lasted 10 minutes. Earthquakes usually last only a few seconds, which indicates the force of this one. The energy released by it equalled the power of a 100 gigaton bomb. This quake also created the longest fault ever recorded in the sea floor, a rupture extending for 1,288 kilometres. The earthquake is believed to be the second largest ever recorded. Nearly 300,000 people lost their lives in the disaster.

World’s longest national anthem: Do the Greeks actually sing this? “Ode to Freedom,” originally written as a poem by Dionysios Soloms in 1823 and composed by Nikolaos Mantzaros in 1828, was adopted as the Greek national anthem in 1864. The anthem is 158 stanzas long.

World’s longest sea-spanning bridge: Some 600 experts spent nine years working on the design of this masterpiece of modern architecture. China’s Hangzhou Bay Bridge is an S-shaped stayed-cable bridge with six lanes of traffic in both directions The 36-kilometre long bridge, which opened in May 2008, spans the mouth of Hangzhou Bay in the East China Sea, linking the commercial capital of Shanghai and the port city of Ningbo. A 30-storey observation tower and a hotel and conference centre are going to be built in the middle of the span.

World’s longest continuously inhabited city: Cities may come and go, but Damascus remains. Recent excavations have shown that the Syrian capital was inhabited as early as 8,000 to 10,000 BC, although it was not written about as an important city until about 4,000 BC.

World’s longest continuous taxi fare: Ada Beal was a wealthy spinster with a rich appetite for adventure. Charlie Heard was a working-class taxi driver, with a wife and four children. In the early years of the Depression, the two Australians settled on a most remarkable business deal. He was sitting in his taxi in Geelong, a town near Melbourne, when Ada approached him and asked if he would be interested in a long fare. The fare turned out to be much longer than he expected. Ada told Charlie that she wanted to go across the continent to Darwin and back. On June 20, 1930, Miss Beal, wearing her trade mark fur coat, along with two female friends, set out in Heard’s 1928 Hudson soft top. The three-month road trip took them from Victoria’s Great Ocean Road to Darwin, via Warrnambool, Adelaide, Port Augusta and Alice Springs, then home again down the east coast, a total of 11,500 kilometres. Miss Beal reportedly paid Heard £300 for his trouble, which equates to about $20,000 today. He used the money to buy a petrol station. On the 78th anniversary of the trip on June 20, 2008, five of Heard’s grandchildren re-created the journey in a restored 1929 Essex, a close match to the original car.

Photo Credits:

#1: vaughanwylie.com

#2: suobil.com

#3: lifeclever.com

#4: contractjournal.com 

1. The 1974 James Bond film “The Man With the Golden Gun” made the strangely shaped limestone islands of Phang Nga Bay world famous. Where is this bay located?
A. Thailand
B. Hawaii
C. Malaysia
D. Vietnam

2. According to a recent international survey of hotel employees, which nation has the most obnoxious tourists?
A. Germany
B. China
C. France
D. The United States

3. By law, all the working gondolas in Venice, Italy must be painted what colour?
A. Red
B. Blue
C. Black
D. Purple

4. How much would you have to shell out to spend a night in the world’s most expensive hotel room?
A. $10,000
B. $15,000
C. $20,000
D. $25,000

5. Which metropolis has the world’s busiest subway system?
A. Moscow
B. New York
C. Mexico City
D. Tokyo

6. In 1987, Richard Branson, the dashing founder of the Virgin business empire, set a world record by making the first crossing of what body of water in a hot-air ballon?
A. Arctic Ocean
B. Mediterranean Sea
C. Pacific Ocean
D. Atlantic

7. Which was the first city in the world to attain a population of one million?
A. Cairo
B. Rome
C. Athens
D. London

8. You are crossing a large desert called the Rub al-Khali, which means “the Empty Quarter.” What country are you in?
A. Pakistan
B. Saudi Arabia
C. Morocco
D. Sudan

9. The world’s most expensive coffee, Kopi Luwak, sells for about $400 a pound. Which country produces this rare and exorbitantly priced roast?
A. Indonesia
B. Kenya
C. Sri Lanka
D. Jamaica

10. In which U.S. state does the old London Bridge now reside, where it serves as a popular tourist attraction?
A. Vermont
B. Arizona
C. Ohio
D. Florida

11. Which nation owns the dubious distinction of recording the highest temperature on earth?
A. India
B. Brazil
C. Libya
D. Australia

12. Angel Falls is the world’s tallest waterfall. In which country does it come tumbling down?
A. Nepal
B. South Africa
C. Venezuela
D. The United States

Answers

1. A. Thailand
The sheer limestone cliffs that jut vertically out of the emerald green waters of Thailand’s Phang Nga Bay were always beautuful, but these odd-shaped islands did not draw hordes of tourists until they were prominently featured in the 1974 James Bond film “The Man With the Golden Gun.” Today, this area near Phuket is simply known on the tourist circuit as James Bond Island, although there were in fact two islands featured in the movie. Cone-shaped Koh Khao Phing Kan in Phang-Nga Bay was Scaramanga’s base, while Koh Tapu was where he hid what we would call today a “weapon of mass destruction.”

2. B. China
A survey sponsored by the French travel website Expedia.fr, asked employees in 4,000 hotels in Germany, the UK, Italy, France, the US and Canada to rank clients by nationality according to criteria such as politeness, tendency to complain, willingness to speak local languages, interest in local cuisine, generosity, discretion, politeness, and other criteria. The Chinese ranked 21st and dead last, just ahead of Indians, while the French placed in 19th place, the worst of all Westerners. The French were said to be often unwilling to communicate in a foreign language, pinched pennies to an extreme, and had an overall unpleasant attitude while on the road.

3. C. Black
All Venetian gondolas must be black. Only government officials are allowed to have them painted in fancy colors. At one time, gondolas came in a variety hues, but in 1562 the Doge (chief magistrate) of Venice handed down a decree that from thenceforth only gondolas in the service of transporting important personages could be coloured. All others had to be black. From that point onward the seemingly simple black gondola, unable to adorn itself with colour, began to develop elegance in shape and form, becoming a beautiful object of both art and function.

4. D. $25,000
Hard as it is to believe, the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas asks for and gets $25,000 per night from people wanting to stay in its exclusive Bridge Suite. In fact, even with its monstrous price tag, the suite currently has a five-year waiting list, and the hotel requires guests to stay at least four nights in the suite, which has 10 rooms with more than 460 square metres of living space. The Bridge Suite comes with its own butler and cook, and the kitchen has its own entrance so that the staff never bothers the guest. The suite include gold chandeliers, a baby grand piano, and balconies on both sides.

5. D. Tokyo
The Tokyo subway system is infamous for its congestion. Things get so crowded that they hire men wearing white gloves to push passengers aboard its cars like sardines. During rush hour it can be a very uncomfortable place. The system transports an incredible 2.916 billion passengers per year. One of its stations, Shinjuku, was used by an average of 3.60 million people per day in 2007, making it the busiest train station in the world in number of passengers. Moscow’s subway system is only slighly less frenetic, moving 2.529 billion riders each year.

6. D. Atlantic Ocean
Richard Branson and his partner, Swedish pilot Per Lindstrand, crossed the Atlantic Ocean in his Branson’s hot-air balloon, “Virgin Atlantic Flyer.” This was the world’s largest balloon at 65,000 cubic metres, and it reached speeds of 209 kilometres per hour on the flight. In January 1991, Branson and Lindstrand crossed the Pacific from Japan to Canada’s Arctic (a distance of 10,800 kilometres), in a balloon of 74,000 cubic metres. This broke another world the record, with a speed of ??? Kilometres per hour. Branson, who never seems to run out of inventing new challenges for himself, is currently aiming to set a new record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a motorboat.

7. B. Rome
According to ancient census keepers, the Eternal City reached a population of one million people in 133 B.C. London reached the mark in 1810 and New York, made it in 1875. Today, there are over 300 cities in the world that boast a population in excess of one million.

8. B. Saudi Arabia
One of the driest places on earth, the Rub al-Khali is said to have the largest unbroken expanse of sand in the world. The desert covers about 250,000 square miles, making it slightly smaller than the state of Texas. This massive trackless expanse of shifting sand, with enormous dunes rising as high as 250 metres, was largely unexplored until recently. Even the Bedouins only skirt the edges of this harsh land.

9. A. Indonesia
Kopi Luwak coffee comes from the Indonesian island of Sumatra.  Also native to the area is a civet-like creature that the locals call luwaks. These little mammals live in the trees and their favorite food is the red, ripe coffee cherry. They eat the cherries, bean and all. While the bean is in the cat’s stomach, it undergoes chemical treatments and fermentations. The bean finishes its journey through the digestive system, and exits. The still-intact beans are collected from the forest floor, then are cleaned, roasted and ground just like any other coffee. The resulting coffee is said to be like no other, with a rich, heavy flavour with hints of caramel or chocolate. The body is almost syrupy and it’s very smooth. But because of the strange method of collecting, there isn’t much Kopi Luwak produced in the world. The average total annual production is only about 500 pounds of beans.

10. B. Arizona
In 1967, the Common Council of the City of London placed the aging bridge on the market and began to look for potential buyers. Council member Ivan Luckin had put forward the idea of selling the bridge, and recalled: “They all thought I was completely crazy when I suggested we should sell London Bridge when it needed replacing.” In 1968, the bridge was sold to American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch for $2.4 million. The bridge was dismantled piece by piece and shipped overseas. During shipping, the bridge was classified by U.S. Customs as a “large antique.” It was then reconstructed at Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and re-dedicated on October 10, 1971. The reconstructed bridge spans a man-made canal that leads from Lake Havasu to Thomson Bay, and forms the centrepiece of an English theme park, complete with a mock-Tudor shopping mall. Old London Bridge has become Arizona’s second-biggest tourist attraction, after the Grand Canyon.

11. C. Libya
Sizzle! The hottest day ever measured was September 13, 1922, in El Azizia, Libya, when the mercury hit a blistering 57.8° Centigrade. El Azizia is near the Sahara desert, so it’s no wonder the place gets so hot. Temperatures have likely gotten even hotter in the actual desert, but weather stations aren’t there to record it. Extremely high temperatures have also been recorded in Death Valley, California, where temperatures reached 56.7° C on July 10, 1913, the highest recorded temperature in the U.S.

12. C. Venezuela
Angel Falls is the world’s highest free-falling waterfall at 979 metres, with a clear drop of 807 metres. The falls are located in a remote jungle region of Venezuela and were not known to the outside world until  American aviator Jimmy Angel flew over the site in 1933 while searching for a valuable ore bed. Angel, who owned a Fokker monoplane of 1930’s vintage, capable of carrying three passengers and freight, became a legendary figure in Venezuela, in his quest for gold and his daredevil flying. Returning on October 9, 1937, Angel tried to land his Flamingo monoplane “El Rio Caroni” atop the waterfall but the plane was damaged when the wheels sunk into the marshy ground and he and his three companions, including his wife Marie, were forced to descend on foot. It took them 11 days to make their way back to civilization, but news of their adventure spread and the waterfall was named “Angel Falls” in his honour.

2. A small bronze statue known as “The Little Mermaid” is a major tourist attraction in which city’s harbour?
A. Amsterdam
B. Budapest
C. Copenhagen
D. Helsinki

3. Earth’s largest lizard, the dangerous Komodo Dragon, can be found prowling the islands of Komodo, Rintja, Padar and Flores. Which country owns these islands?
A. Indonesia
B. Portugal
C. Ecuador
D. The Philippines

4. A wind called “the Mistral” begins to blow. Where are you?
A. Hungary
B. France
C. Argentina
D. Bahrain

5. Which nation leads the world in the production of coffee?
A. Colombia
B. Kenya
C. Brazil
D. Indonesia

6. Which is the only country in the world to have a national flag that is flown differently in times of peace and war?
A. Iran
B. Nicaragua
C. Ethiopia
D. The Philippines

7. This prominent mountain was originally named Kaiser Wilhelm-Spitze. Fortunately, the name never stuck. What do we call it today?
A. Mt. Everest
B. The Matterhorn
C. Mt. Kilimanjaro
D. Annapurna

8. What is the only U.S. state that allows its residents to cast absentee ballots from outer space?
A. Florida
B. Texas
C. California
D. Wisconsin

9. The world’s largest concentration of barbers, more than 500 in all, can be found a building near what famous shrine?
A. India’s Taj Mahal
B. Thailand’s Wat Arun
C. Japan’s Ise Jingu
D. Mexico’s Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

10. Where can you attend a summer festival known as “the White Nights?”
A. Auckland, New Zealand
B. St. Petersburg, Russia
C. Havana, Cuba
D. Reykjavik, Iceland

11. Which is the largest country to have only one time zone?
A. Peru
B. China
C. Zimbabwe
D. Saudi Arabia

12. Discovered in 1879, Altamira has been called “the Sistine Chapel of Paleolithic Art.” Where will you find this famous cave?
A. France
B. Turkey
C. Spain
D. Greece

13. Which newspaper has the highest daily circulation in the world?
A. Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun
B. USA’s Wall Street Journal
C. Germany’s Bild
D. China’s People’s Daily

14. In 1961, which airline became the first to show a feature film on a regularly scheduled commercial flight?
A. United
B. Air Canada
C. TWA
D. Cathay-Pacific

15. The six-day Marathon des Sables (‘Marathon of the Sands’) is one of the most gruelling races in the world. Where is this torture test held?
A. Chile
B. Djibouti
C. Syria
D. Morocco

Answers:

1. D. Atlantic City
The board game Monopoly was patented by Charles Darrow, an unemployed salesman living in Germantown, Pennsylvania, who was struggling with odd jobs to support his family in the years following the great stock market crash of 1929. Remembering past summers spent in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Darrow spent his free time drawing the streets of the resort town on his kitchen tablecloth, with found pieces of material contributed by local merchants. He would eventually sell his invention to Parker Brothers in 1935. A month later, Parker Brothers started producing over 20,000 copies of the game per week. The royalties made Darrow a millionaire. In 1970, a few years after Darrow’s death, Atlantic City erected a commemorative plaque in his honour. It stands on the Boardwalk, near the corner of Park Place.

2. C. Copenhagen
The Little Mermaid was a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen. The statue of her likeness sits on a rock in the Copenhagen harbour. It was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg Brewery, after he viewed a ballet based on the fairy tale. Sculptor Edward Eriksen created the statue, which was unveiled in 1913. His wife Elin was the model.

3. A. Indonesia
Growing to a length of three metres and weighing about 70 kilograms, Komodo Dragons were first documented by Europeans in 1910, when rumours of a “land crocodile” reached the Dutch colonial administration of Indonesia. In 1926, the Komodo Dragon would become the driving factor for an expedition to Komodo Island by adventurer W. Douglas Burden. After returning with 12 preserved specimens and two live Komodos, Burden told the strange story of his trip to Merian C. Cooper, a motion-picture producer. Cooper later changed the objective from a giant lizard to a giant ape, and added a beautiful heroine, in the person of Fay Wray to produce the classic 1933 film King Kong.

4. B. France
Peter Mayle, the author A Year in Provence, described the Mistral as a “brutal exhausting wind that can blow the ears off a donkey.” Cold, dry and often violent, it blows throughout the year, but is most frequent in winter and spring. The Mistral sweeps down from the northwest of Europe through France’s Rhone Valley to the Mediterranean Sea.

5. C. Brazil
Brazil produces about 30 percent of all the coffee grown in the world, the equivalent of 423 billion cups per year. The country turns out everything from mass produced coffees that rank among the world’s cheapest, to elegant coffees prized as the world’s finest for espresso brewing. World renowned Colombia ranks a distant second in’coffee production at 16 percent, with Indonesia in third at seven percent.

6. D. The Philippines
The flag of the Philippines is the only national flag that is flown differently during times of peace or war. A section of the flag is blue, while the other is red. The blue portion is flown on top in time of peace. But during times of war, the flag is tuned upside down so that the red portion appears on top.

7. C. Mt. Kilimanjaro
German explorers were the first Europeans to see and climb Kilimanjaro–and establish the mountain’s existence. In 1889, geographer Hans Meyer became the first person known to have reached the summit of the 5,895-metre volcano. Meyer and his team made the climb the hard way, cutting their way up over a glacier. Meyer named the summit Kaiser-Wilhelm-Spitze (Emperor Wilhelm’s Peak) for the Prussian leader Wilhelm I. The name was used until Germany’s defeat in World War I, when the territory became British-administered Tanganyika and the name was changed to Kilimanjaro, a Swahili word.

8. B. Texas
It makes a weird kind of sense. In 1997, the Texas legislature passed a bill allowing its residents to cast absentee ballots from space, because of the presence of the NASA Johnson Space Centre and the astronauts that live in the Houston area, home of the U.S. space program.

9. A. India’s Taj Mahal
Some 5,000 pilgrims visit this fabled landmark each day. Hindus consider it a privilege to shave their heads at the shrine in a vow called “tonsuring.” More than 500 barbers are in constant demand and work in a five-storey building around the clock in three shifts. The shorn locks are gathered together and later auctioned off.

10. B. St. Petersburg, Russia
The sun barely sets in St. Petersburg in summer and well past midnight the spires and domes of the city’s architectural treasures are bathed in a magical twilight. How better to celebrate this ethereal white light than at a month-long cultural festival of the greatest opera, ballet and classical music on earth? Held during May and June, the festival features Russia’s greatest choreographers and composers. The phenomenon of the White Nights (Beliye Nochi) can be explained by geography. St. Petersburg is is the world’s most northern city with a population over one million. It is located at roughly the same latitude as Oslo, Norway and Seward, Alaska. Due to such a high latitude the sun does not go under the horizon deep enough for the sky to get dark.

11. B. China
Any one crossing the border from Afghanistan into China has to turn back their watch 3.5 hours. Oddly,’despite spanning a slightly greater longitude than the continental U.S., China has only one time zone. The entire country operates on Beijing time. Talk about a centralist government! Before the Communists took control of the mainland in 1949, China was separated into five time zones.

12. C. Spain
The painted cave of Altamira was discovered in northern Spain in 1879. The cave’s vivid likenesses of horses, cattle and bison seemed so fresh and “modern” that critics initially doubted their authenticity, and suspected an elaborate hoax. Only in 1905, with the first scholarly analysis of the works, were they finally accepted as Paleolithic art, dating back 15,000 years. The cave consists of a series of rooms and passages shaped like an S. The main hall measures about 18 metres by nine metres. Several painters were influenced by this prehistoric art. After a visit, Picasso exclaimed, “After Altamira, all is decadence.”

13. A. Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun:
Founded in 1874, the Yomiuri Shimbun is credited with having the largest newspaper circulation in the world, with a combined morning and evening circulation of 14,067,000. In fact, Japan can boast the five highest circulation newspapers in the world. No English paper even ranks in the top 10.

14. C. TWA
On July 19, 1961, during a flight from New York to Los Angeles, travellers saw By Love Possessed starring Lana Turner and Efrem Zimbalist Jr.. The film was shown only to first-class passengers.

15. D. Morocco
This sadistic six-day, 143-mile trek across the Sahara Desert severely tests the stamina, endurance and will of racers, who face soaring temperatures, as well as sandstorms, rocky terrain and huge sand dunes. The dangers of the race are apparent on the application form, which contains a section called “Notification of the corpse repatriation fee.”

2. The fabled Orient Express originally began its rail journey in which European city?
A. Paris
B. Vienna
C. London
D. Prague

3. Which cruise line offers the “Elvis Cruise,” a rocking four-day voyage that takes passengers from New Orleans to Cozumel, Mexico?
A. Holland America
B. Carnival
C. Royal Caribbean
D. Norwegian

4. What nation is often referred to as “the Hermit Kingdom”?
A. Bhutan
B. Laos
C. Saudi Arabia
D. North Korea

5. Based on its annual number of arrivals and departures, what is the world’s busiest airport?
A. London’s Gatwick Airport
B. Los Angeles’ International Airport
C. Tokyo’s Narita International Airport
D. Atlanta’s Hartfield-Jackson International Airport

6. In which city would you be in if you were gazing at the Bridge of Sighs?
A. Stockholm
B. Budapest
C. Venice
D. Amsterdam

7. Seattle’s Fremont district is known for its eclectic offerings, including yoga studios, organic espresso shops and a Summer Solstice parade featuring participants clad only in body paint. A large bronze statue of what former world leader can be seen on Fremont’s main boulevard, posed in front of a Taco Del Mar restaurant?
A. Vladimir Lenin
B. Benito Mussolini
C. Saddam Hussein
D. Fidel Castro

8. Panama hats are not made in Panama. Which country actually produces them?
A. Brazil
B. Ecuador
C. Portugal
D. Argentina

9. In which European capital do tourists climb the Spanish Steps?
A. Paris
B. Madrid
C. Rome
D. Helsinki

10. Where is the world’s highest railway located?
A. China
B. Peru
C. Mexico
D. Switzerland

11. If Superman was going to leap over the world’s tallest building, which structure would he have to hop over?
A. Taipei 101, Taiwan
B. Petrona Towers, Malaysia
C. CN Tower, Canada
D. Burj Dubai, United Arab Emirates

12. Which European country uses its Latin name–Helvetia–on its postage stamps?
A. Denmark
B. Switzerland
C. Italy
D. Belgium

13. In which state will you find the southernmost point in the U.S.?
A. Florida
B. Texas
C. Hawaii
D. California

14. In August 1986, a large volume of poisonous gas mysteriously emanated from Lake Nyos, killing more than 1,700 people in which African country?
A. Ghana
B. Ethiopia
C. Cameroon
D. Angola

15. Which famous cocktail was was invented in the early 1900s by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon at the Raffles Hotel?
A. Golden Cadillac
B. Bloody Mary
C. Pina Colada
D. Singapore Sling

Answers

1. C) KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was founded by a group of investors and bankers on October 7, 1919, making it the oldest carrier in the world still operating under its original name. The airline’s first flight departed on May 17, 1920, carrying two British journalists and a number of newspapers. Pilot Jerry Shaw flew a De Havilland DH-16 from Amsterdam to London.

2. A) The Orient Express’s original route, which was inaugurated on October 4, 1883, went from Paris to Giurgiu in Romania, via Munich and Vienna. At Giurgiu, passengers were ferried across the Danube River to Rousse in Bulgaria to pick up another train to Varna, from where they completed their journey to Istanbul by ferry.

3. B) Created in 2007, this cruise brings together some 1,400 Elvis Presley fanatics for a four-day celebration of the various phases of the King’s musical life and career. A number of themed events are also featured, including an Elvis tribute contest.

4. D) Although the term “the Hermit Kingdom” is applied to North Korea today because of its political isolationism, the nickname originated in the 19th century when Korea’s rulers tried to prevent the opening of the country to foreign trade by closing its borders. The first documented use of “hermit” in reference to Korea is in the title of William Elliot Griffis’s 1882 book, Corea: The Hermit Nation. Oddly, Griffis had never visited Korea, did not speak the language and had no first-hand experience with the country.

5. D) For the last three years, Atlanta’s Hartfield-Jackson has ranked number one in air traffic. In 2007, it set the world record for most aircraft movements in one year with 994,346. The world’s second busiest airport is Chicago’s O’Hare; the third busiest is London’s Gatwick.

6. C) Spanning the Palazzo Rio, or Palace River, the enclosed bridge is made of white limestone and has windows with stone bars. It passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the old prisons with the interrogation rooms in the Doge’s palace. The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. It was given the name by Lord Byron in the 19th century.

7. A) The statue originated in Poprad, Slovakia, where it was erected in 1988. It tumbled along with other out of fashion statues when the Soviets went down in 1989. For a time, the 7-ton Lenin lay face down in the mud at the Poprad dump–until rescued by American entrepreneur Lewis Carpenter, who mortgaged his house to buy and transport the statue to Seattle. Carpenter died in a car accident in 1994. To recover the statue debt, Carpenter’s family made an arrangement to loan it to the Fremont district until a buyer emerged. To date, no one has. The current asking price is $250,000.

8. B) These misnamed hats were popular with the workers who built the Panama Canal; when U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt visited the site. The fibre used to make the hats comes from the plaited leaves of the toquilla plant in Ecuador’s lowland jungle, but the centre of production is Cuenca, an Andean city situated at 8,468 feet above sea level.

9. C) This monumental Roman stairway of 138 steps was built with funds supplied by French diplomat Étienne Gueffier in 1725. It linked the Bourbon Spanish Embassy to the Holy See, still located in Palazzo Monaldeschi in the piazza below, with the Trinità dei Monti above.

10. A) Completed in 2005, China’s Qinghai-Tibet railway stretches 1,956 kilometres. The highest point of the railway (Tanggula Pass) is 5,072 meters above sea level, at least 200 meters higher than the Peruvian railway in the Andes, which was previously the world’s most elevated track. More than 960 kilometres of the line runs at an altitude higher than 4,000 metres.

11. D) The Burj Dubai is currently the tallest skyscraper, freestanding structure, and man-made structure of any type on the planet. Still under construction, the behemoth is slated to be completed in September 2009. The final height of Burj Dubai is officially being kept a secret due to competition from other buildings under construction. However, figures released by a contractor on the project have suggested a height of around 818 metres.

12. B) The name Helvetia was the Roman name for an ancient region of central Europe between the Alps and the Jura Mountains that corresponds to the western part of modern Switzerland. The country continues to use the name when it is inappropriate or inconvenient to use any or all of its four official languages. Thus, the name Helvetia appears on Swiss postage stamps and coins.

13. C) To find the most southerly point in the 50 U.S. states, you have to travel west to Ka Lae, Hawaii, located at (18°55′N). Cape Sable, Florida, located at (25°7′N), is the southernmost point on the U.S. mainland.

14. C) The tragedy occurred at Lake Nyos, about 322 kilometres northwest of Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé. The gas killed all living things within a 25-kilometre radius of the lake. Most of the victims died in their sleep. Scientists later concluded that the lake’s lower levels had become saturated with carbon dioxide gas due to gaseous discharge from the extinct volcano beneath.

15. D) The pink “girly drink,” was invented around 1910 at Singapore’s Raffles Hotel. The original recipe used gin, cherry brandy and Benedictine. The drink was shaken and strained into a glass, and then filled to individual taste with club soda.