World history quiz thread

Started by milkanannan, Sat 07/10/2017 05:13:52

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milkanannan

Quote from: Mandle on Mon 09/12/2019 23:29:07
Quote from: Jack on Mon 09/12/2019 22:38:52
Does anyone know any more incredibly stupid things that Kennedy avoided?

Old age?

Ouch! (laugh)

milkanannan


Jack

If no one else wants to make the same joke about his murder, it was operation Northwoods:

QuoteOperation Northwoods was a proposed false flag operation against the Cuban government that originated within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of the United States government in 1962. The proposals called for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or other U.S. government operatives to commit acts of terrorism against military targets and give the appearance of terrorism against American citizens, blaming them on the Cuban government, and using it to justify a war against Cuba. The possibilities detailed in the document included the possible assassination of Cuban émigrés, sinking boats of Cuban refugees on the high seas, hijacking planes to be shot down or given the appearance of being shot down, blowing up a U.S. ship, and orchestrating violent terrorism in U.S. cities. The proposals were rejected by President John F. Kennedy.



Rest in Peace.

milkanannan

(Is anyone interested in reviving this thread?)

What was the name of the dog that was aboard Sputnik 2?

Pogwizd

Laika? Whatever the name was, it still terrifies me to think about it...

milkanannan


Pogwizd

Just to let you guys know that I haven't forgotten about this thread :) I have no free time whatsoever, but will try to post sth tomorrow (tops).

Pogwizd

Ok, so here goes.

Gbadolite. A small village in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country, which he will later (to be exact, in 1971) rename Zaire, is being seized by Mobutu Sese Seko. Henceforth, the tyranny lasting 32 years begins. Mobutu becomes well-known for embezzling billions of dollars, staging public executions, torturing dissidents, and shutting down trade unions. He also becomes the owner of a luxurious residence, also called the “Versailles of the Jungle,” just outside Gbadolite, the village of mud huts. What could we find in Mobutu’s Versailles? Schools, hospitals, well-appointed homes, a five-star hotel, three large palaces (of which one was made up of Chinese pagodas), and a factory…

Now, here’s the question. What factory Mobutu establishes in his luxurious district, too?


TheFrighter


I'll try to guess: eyeglasses?
_

milkanannan

Wow, that's pure guesswork for me too: maybe shoes? Or tires (tyres)?

Pogwizd

Nope. but the factory was a of a very popular brand.

Sinitrena

That's pure guesswork for me as well. Popular brand? Maybe Coca-Cola? Or Ikea?

Pogwizd


Sinitrena

Huh, I guess you can trust Coca-Cola to go absolutely everywhere.  ;)

Okay, next one:

Churches are fascinating buildings. While all serving the same general purpose and having many features in common from an architectoral and decorative aspect, they also often couldn't be more different in these aspects. The Petersdome in Rome looks nothing like a little church in a village somewhere, romanesque and gothic art can be very differnt and you can still always see the similarities in church buildings, like a similar floor plan, probably in the form of a cross. Decorations can vary from nearly nothing to nothing but gold, gold and even more gold.

Now, some of the most interesting church buildings are the ones in Lalibela, in Ethopia. They belong to the Ethopian Orthodox Christian denomination and it is not entirely clear when they were build, though probably over several phases, maybe beginning in the 12th century. There are 11 of them and they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But what makes them special?

What is so special about the churches in Lalibela?
(This is easy to google, so please don't.)

TheFrighter


Sinitrena

Nope.

Though churches made of bones (or, more accurately, heavily decorated with human bones) do exist. For example, the Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic. Good guess, but not correct.

arj0n

They are carved out of the rock?

Sinitrena

That is basically correct, yes.

The churches in Lalibela are completely cut out of the rock there, as in, down into the ground. All architectural elements are hewn from this massive block of stone, including pillars, columns and other decorations. And, most interestingly, elements that normally exist in architecture for functional reasons only, like vaults.



This documentation has some interesting pictures, though it's a bit light on the information concerning the architecture. (I wanted to link another one, but it seems it's no longer online, oh well...)

Unfortuantely, the stone that made it possible to cut these churches out of it is also very susceptible to the weather, so these churches are getting destroyed slowly, and due to the way they were build, renovations are basically impossible.



Over to you, arj0n

arj0n

During the 'Eighty Years' War aka 'Dutch War of Independence' (1568â€"1648)
against Philip II of Spain, the Spanish soldiers couldn't beat the Dutch because
of one specific item the Dutch used which, was unknown to the Spanish soldiers.

What was that item?

milkanannan

Perhaps some apparatus/technology that allowed them to control water levels (i.e. locks along inbound canals) around the Netherlands?

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