Question 1: Which war saw the famous Battle of Waterloo?
Question 2: Why is yawning contagious?
Researchers believe that contagious yawning may be related to the activation of "mirror neurons" in the brain, which are cells that fire both when an individual performs an action and when they see another individual performing the same action. This neurological mechanism is thought to be linked to empathy and social bonding.
Question 3: When was the Eiffel Tower officially opened?
The Eiffel Tower was constructed for the 1889 World's Fair in Paris to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution. It officially opened on March 31, 1889. At the time, it was the tallest man-made structure in the world.
Question 4: What does the acronym ABS stand for in automotive terminology?
ABS, which stands for Anti-lock Braking System, is a safety feature in modern vehicles that prevents the wheels from locking up during sudden or hard braking, allowing the driver to maintain steering control and reduce stopping distances on slippery surfaces.
Question 5: What term is used to describe the total market value of all finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period?
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. It is used as a broad measure of a nation's overall economic activity and standard of living.
Question 6: Who is considered the father of the World Wide Web?
Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist, invented the World Wide Web in 1989 while working at CERN. He wrote the first web browser and server software, and defined key concepts like HTML, HTTP and URLs that form the foundation of the modern web.
Question 7: If someone described a situation as a "Catch-22", what would they mean?
The term "Catch-22" originated from Joseph Heller's 1961 novel of the same name. In the book, a U.S. Air Force airman who wants to avoid combat missions is considered insane if he's willing to fly dangerous missions, but if he applies for a psychiatric evaluation to avoid the missions, this act of self-preservation proves he is sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved from duty.
Question 8: Who is credited with developing the three laws of motion and the universal law of gravitation?
Sir Isaac Newton, an English mathematician and physicist, is widely recognized as one of the most influential scientists of all time. His book Principia, published in 1687, laid the foundations for classical mechanics by describing universal gravitation and the three laws of motion, which dominated the scientific view of the physical universe for the next three centuries.
Question 9: If a plant is a gymnosperm, which of the following does it lack?
Gymnosperms are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, and ginkgos. They do not produce flowers or fruit, but instead bear their seeds in cones or similar structures.
Question 10: How many countries are located on the equator?
The equator passes through 13 countries: São Tomé and Príncipe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia, Kiribati, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil. The equator is the imaginary line that divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
The Battle of Waterloo, fought on June 18, 1815, was the decisive engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. It resulted in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte by the allied forces under the Duke of Wellington and Prussian Field Marshal Blücher, leading to the end of Napoleon's rule as Emperor of France.