Answers to Ian’s Trivialus 23 June 2024

Answers

1. Thailand
2. A paperclip.
3. Threat
4. Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia – the latter has once again taken pole position from Microsoft when it shares closed 3.5% up on Tuesday.  Last week, Apple fought its way back when its share price rose on the news that OpenAI's ChatGPT was being introduced on Apple devices.
5. Zeebrugge
6. True – there are around 10 000 stores in China, more than twice the number in the US.
7. The Hunger Games – Canadian.
8. c) – Mozart.  The opera premiered on 30 September 1791.
9. Margaret Thatcher
10. Mecca in Saudi Arabia. This last week, the city has witnessed the annual pilgrimage of Hajj, a mandatory religious duty for all able-bodied and financially capable Muslims, as one of the 5 Pillars of Islam.  This year's pilgrimage was marred by the news that over a thousand people died from the extreme heat (over 50C).  More than half of these fatalities were pilgrims from Egypt.
11. North Korea – Putin and Kim Jong Un are strengthening their alliance, promising mutual assistance to counter America's aggression. After North Korea, Putin took in a visit to Vietnam, a country with strong cordial links to the US.
12. St David
13. b) – land
14. Los Angeles – the policy is likely to take effect next January.  The governor of California has intimated that it could become a state-wide restriction.  There is concern as to the effect the devices are having on the mental health of children especially during breaks when children's' preoccupation with phones undermines physical social interaction.
15. Oregon
16. World Table Tennis Championships held biennially.  The Corbillion Cup is the winning women's team trophy.
17. a) – Security concerns.  The badges were made in China and there were concerns as to the possibility of imbedded tracking devices within the badges themselves.  It seems Britain is able to produce sophisticated arms, but military badges is something that needs to be outsourced to China.
18. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
19. The Caine Mutiny (1951).
20. c ) – 3 minutes ago.  And the first human ancestor, only two seconds ago.