The World’s Geo Quiz tests your knowledge of world geography, and introduces you to fascinating people and places around the globe. Produced by The World’s David Leveille.

 

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Geo Quiz


North Korea’s Ryugyong ‘Hotel of Doom’

The 105 storey Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo: AP/Greg Baker)

Our Geo Quiz today takes us to North Korea’s capital where construction of the Ryugyong skyscraper hotel has been underway for 25 years. Rumor has it the spaceship-like, pyramid-shaped, and, according to some, “hideously ugly” hotel won’t be ready for a few more years. Hannah Barraclough leads tour groups to North Korea and recently had the chance to take a tour herself of the Ryugyong Hotel.

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Chilean Cemetery’s Party-Like Atmosphere

A beautiful leafy row of tombs in the "better part" of the General Cemetery. (Photo: Olivia Crellin)

What if the Red Sox decided to fork out for a group crypt or Lady Gaga got to build her own grave the size of a small pyramid guarded by two huge sphinxes? In the General Cemetery of Santiago, Chile, such things are possible, as Olivia Crellin reports.

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Medieval Feasting Hall Discovered Under English Village Green

Aerial view of the excavated Anglo-Saxon feasting hall found below the village green in Lyminge, Kent (Photo: University of Reading)

Archaeologists have discovered remnants of a 1,300-year-old Anglo Saxon feasting hall just inches below a village green in the south-eastern corner of England. The team found evidence that suggests elite Anglo Saxons gathered there to enjoy food and drink in what’s described as “a pretty lively gathering probably fueled by lots of meade (& wine) probably drunk from colorful and prestigious glass vessels.”

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Cruise Ship Waits Out Sandy in Canadian Port

Emerald Princess Waits Out Sandy in Port Saguenay (Photo: Sago4/Flickr)

For our Geo Quiz — we’re looking for a Canadian city getting a boost from Sandy. The storm brought some unexpectedly good fortune to a city in Northern Quebec. The city is known for its protected, deep water harbor on a tributary of the St Lawrence River. Can you name this Canadian city?

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Tracking Hurricanes from the Caribbean

Hurricane Sandy over the Caribbean, October 2012 (Photo: NOAA)

Meteorologist Kathy Ann Caesar of the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology in Barbados says the islands along the southern rim of the Caribbean rarely experience direct hits by hurricanes, due to their proximity to the equator, and to the way tropical storms form. But she adds, these islands still need to be vigilant.

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World Series: Bringing Baseball Alive for the BBC

Commemorative sculpture for the old Baseball Ground in Derby, England.

The World’s Clark Boyd catches up with Simon Brotherton and Josh Chetwynd, who are tasked with bringing the World Series alive for the BBC audience in Britain.

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Where is ‘South Detroit’?

Ouellette Avenue (Photo: Jason Paris/Flickr)

The Geo Quiz is looking for a place that may or may not exist: South Detroit.

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Cyberattack on Saudi Oil Company Aramco Reverberates

Saudi Aramco's core area which includes the headquarters and office buildings. (Photo: Wiki Commons)

Geo Quiz: We’re looking for a city that’s a major oil port in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. It’s home base for the Saudi oil and natural gas company Saudi Aramco. The company owns several massive oil fields, including the world’s largest, the Ghawar Field. Can you name the Saudi city where Aramco is headquartered?

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‘Horses and Bayonets’

Chris Woolf and friends, with bayonets fixed, being charged by cavalry in Millbury, Mass. (Photo: Kim Nuttall)

The most tweeted line of the debate was President Obama’s zinger that the military has fewer horses and bayonets as well as fewer ships than it did in 1916. So where are bayonets from? Anchor Marco Werman gets the answer, plus the history of bayonets and horses in the military, from The World’s resident military history buff, Chris Woolf.

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Vatican Declares First Ever Native American Saint

Kateri Tekakwitha is depicted in this detail of the oldest known portrait of her painted after her death in 1680. It was painted by Jesuit Father Claude Chauchetiere, (Photo courtesy of the Cause of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha)

Kateri Tekakwitha, the first ever Native American to be declared a saint, figures in today’s Geo Quiz. Pope Benedict XVI conducted a special mass to canonize seven new saints including Tekakwitha at St. Peter’s square in Vatican City. Where is the tomb of the the 17th century spiritual icon located?

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Mexico May be the Secret to California Town’s Baseball Success

Brawley high school baseball players Tristen Carranza, Alan Hernandez, Alan Mamer and Chris Carpio cool off after practice. Of 15 boys on the team, eight say they hope to go pro someday. (Photo: Marcus Teply)

Brawley’s proximity to Mexico and Mexican Winter League baseball has given some Brawley kids a path to the major leagues.

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At a Vital Kenyan Lake, Striving to Balance Commerce and Ecology

Kenya's Lake Naivasha (Photo:NASA)

Kenya’s most economically important lake is known for its scenic beauty and wildlife. The World’s Anders Kelto reports the lake is also part of a booming agricultural and fishing economy that’s threatening to tilt the delicate ecological balance.

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Measuring the Impact of Bhutan’s Melting Glaciers

Ganges-Brahmaputra Rivers (Photo: Wiki)

Can you name the 1,800 mile long river that originates in Tibet, high in the Himalayas, then winds its way south through India and Bangladesh before it finally empties into the Bay of Bengal?

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Deciphering Ancient Manuscripts at Saint Catherine’s Monastery

Monk at St. Catherine's Monastary (Photo: Noel King)

The Geo Quiz takes us to a monastery this time. Monks have lived for at least 17 centuries at Saint Catherine’s monastery — where monks have lived for at least 17 centuries.

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Argentina’s Ship Libertad Seized In Dispute Over Debt Repayment

The Argentine ship Libertad tied up at the dock in Ghana (Photo: Reuters)

A financial dispute between a New York based financial services company and Argentina has led to the seizure of an Argentine naval ship, the Libertad in a seaport of the West African nation Ghana.

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