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About This Quiz
The history of the world is written in its capitals. The capitals of the world have been touched by wars, famines, pandemics, and great men and women who distinguished themselves. The architecture, the very city plans speak of the history of nations.
While the borders and identities of nations change over time, capital cities usually don't go anywhere. World War I may have signaled the end of the age of the great empires, but it also led to the creation of many new nations, each with their own capitals. National capitals can also be cultural capitals, though that is hardly a rule. While Paris may have been home to many great artists, Washington D.C., for example, isn't primarily known as a cultural hub.
Then there are former capitals, cities that once served as the national seat of power, but have either faded or become something else entirely. Both New York and Philadelphia served as capitals of the United States, and both have thrived in the years since the capital moved south.
How much do you really know about world capitals? Can you tell fact from fiction? Put your knowledge to the test with this quiz and discover if you are the capital champion!
Which fact about London is not true?
London is the ninth-largest city in the world.
London is formed primarily by two ancient cities, London and Westminster.
The Thames is the longest river in England.
London is home to more than 150,000 vagrants.
London's homeless population is actually quite small given the size of the city. This is largely due to the nation's generous social safety net. The Thames is the longest river in England, London as we think of it, was actually formed by the expansion of two ancient cities, and London is the ninth- largest city in the world.
Which fact about Paris is not true?
The dome of Les Invalids has 27.8 pounds of gold on it.
The French Resistance sabotaged the elevators in the Eiffel Tower so Hitler could not enjoy the view.
It has a street called The Avenue de New York.
Half-timbered houses in Paris are common.
Half-timbered houses are a fairly rare sight in Paris, as they all date back to the middle ages, when building codes and fire laws didn't really exist. Most of these buildings are prized as important pieces of national history.
Which fact about Copenhagen is true?
Copenhagen is the largest city in Scandinavia.
Indeed, Copenhagen is the largest city in Scandanavia, and one of the most southern. It sits in a perfect location for shipping and commerce.
Copenhagen is the richest city in Western Europe.
The city has been under siege three times.
Copenhagen is the central seat of the Lutheran faith.
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Which fact about Madrid is not true?
Madrid became the capital of Spain in 1561
Madrid has a large separatist movement.
Madrid is not home to a separatist movement. In fact, the government in Madrid is in the midst of a fight with Catalan politicians intent on making Catalonia a separate nation.
Madrid is a major part of the nation's economy as it plays a role in both industry and banking.
Madrid has a great nightlife scene.
Which fact about Rome is not true?
Rome was founded in 753 BC
Romans invented bricks.
While the Romans invented concrete (using tufa, a substance found all over Italy) they did not invent bricks, which were used long before Rome existed, though they were used without concrete.
The Trevi Fountain has about 3,000 Euros tossed into it every day.
Romans invented concrete.
What is the capital of Switzerland?
Geneva
Bern
Bern was founded in 1191 and named for the first animal found on a hunting trip by the city's founder, Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen. The first animal he saw was a bear, and that word, slightly corrupted, became the name of the city.
Zurich
Lausanne
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What is the capital of Liechtenstein?
Steg
Malbun
Vaduz
Vaduz is the capital of the tiny principality of Liechtenstein. It is home to a calculator museum, and a castle you can rent for $70,000 a day. The nation is a favored location for wealthy people and companies eager to hide their money from the tax man, and it sports more brass plate companies than people.
Triesen
Which fact about Vienna is untrue?
The Pez Dispenser was invented there.
Vienna is home to the world's oldest amusement park.
Oil painting was invented by the Viennese.
Jan van Eyck (1390 -1441) invented oil painting in Holland, not Vienna.
The father of modern psychology, Sigmund Freud, lived in Vienna.
Which fact about Amsterdam is not true?
The city's coat of arms includes an​ "XXX."
There are 170 canals.
Amsterdam sports 165 canals, and sits on 11 million wooden pilings which keep the city above water. The Netherlands sit at, and sometimes below, sea level. The nation has been battling the oceans since it was first settled. Technically, Cannabis and other drugs are not legal in Amsterdam, but they are tolerated as long as they do not become a problem.
25,000 bicycles end up in Amsterdam's canals every year.
Cannabis is not legal in Amsterdam.
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Which fact about Luxembourg is not true?
The national language is Luxembourgish.
Luxembourg has the highest per capita GDP in the world.
Luxembourg has the second-highest sale of alcohol in the European Union.
Luxembourg has the highest sale of alcohol in the EU, hands down. This is impressive, given the drinking habits of much of Europe.
In 1995 and 2007, Luxembourg was titled the European Capital of Culture.
Which fact about Brussels is incorrect?
Brussels is home to the largest shopping arcade in Europe, called the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert.
Brussels has 138 restaurants per square mile.
The creator of Tin Tin lived in Brussels.
Todd McFarlane lives in Brussels.
While many European comic book artists lived in Brussels, Todd McFarlane lives in the USA.
Which fact about N'Djamena is not true?
N'Djamena is the capital of Ghana.
N'Djamena is the capital of Chad, though it sits on the border of Cameroon.
It has a population of 213,342
N'Djamena was founded in 1900 by the French as Fort-Lamy.
The city was occupied by Libya in the 1960s.
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Which fact about Maseru is false?
Maseru is the capital of a kingdom.
Maseru was the capital of a British protectorate from 1869 to 1871 and from 1884 to 1966.
Maseru is linked to South Africa's rail network.
Maseru makes more false teeth than any city in Africa.
Maseru is the capital of the Kingdom of Lesotho. Its nation is a landlocked country completely surrounded by South Africa.
Which is the untrue fact about Islamabad?
It is 351 square miles in size.
Islamabad is only 350 square mile in size, not 351.
Islamabad saw many of the 966,000 tourists who visited the country in 2012.
Islamabad was founded in 1960.
The city sits at 1,770 ft above sea level..
Which fact about Astana is not true?
The average annual temperature of Astana is 3.5°C.
Astana is home to the world's largest tent!
Astana became the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997.
Astana is home to the maker of the world's largest lollipop.
Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, is home to a huge shopping arcade in a tent they say is the world's largest, but they aren't particularly known for their lollies.
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Which fact about Ulaanbaatar is not true?
Ulaanbaatar is the capital of Mongolia.
Ulaanbaatar is the coldest capital in the world.
Ulaanbaatar used to be called Urga, a Russian word meaning the flap that covers the smoke hole at the top of a yurt.
Ulaanbatar is home to 300 major hotels.
Ulaanbaatar is home to 242 hotels, many of them small. This is important considering how cold it can get!
Which fact about Ottawa is not true?
Queen Victoria chose the city as the capital of Canada.
In wintertime, Ottawa sports the longest skating rink in the world: the frozen Rideau Canal.
Nearly half the population of Ottawa is less than 35 years old.
Ottawa is the heart of the Canadian film industry.
Vancouver is home to the bulk of the Canadian film industry, not Ottawa. Vancouver has been the set for shows from "Battlestar Galactica" to "Highlander."
Which fact about Washington D.C. is not true?
Arlington National Cemetery is located in Washington D.C.
Washington D.C. is where Boeings are assembled, a ballot initiative legalized recreational marijuana, and as the city does not have a vote in Congress because it is not a state, its "state" motto on license plates reads "Taxation Without Representation," the primary complaint of the Founding Fathers about British rule.
Recreational marijuana was made legal in Washington D.C.
Boeing's final assembly plant in Washington D.C. is the world's largest building.
The motto on the district's license plates reads "Taxation Without Representation."
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Which fact about Mexico City is not true?
Mexico City is the seventh most populous city in the world.
Mexico City is the sixth most populous city in the world, and counts among that population Carlos Slim, the third-richest man in the world.
Mexico City has 8.4 murders per 100,000 People.
Mexico City sinks four inches every year.
Mexico City is home to the third-richest man in the world.
Which fact about Tokyo is not true?
Until 1868, Tokyo was called Edo, and began as a fishing village.
A building there, built in 2003, is said to be cursed.
Tokyo has the largest GDP for any city in the world.
Tokyo has the second-most Michelin star restaurants of any city in the world.
Tokyo actually sports more Michelin star restaurants than any city in the world! Roppingi Hills, a complex built in 2003, is said to be cursed. The city used to go by the name Edo until the time of the Meiji Restoration, and Tokyo has the largest GDP of any city in the world.
Which is a true fact about Asuncion?
Its major industries include the manufacture of footwear, tobacco products, and textiles.
Asuncion's major industries include tobacco products grown on nearby plantations, and items like textiles and footwear, which are made in local factories and transported by the Paraguay River.
It was founded in 1200 B.C.
There are no major gardens in the city.
Hernando Arias de Saavedra was elected governor in 1987.
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Which fact about Buenos Aires isn't a fact at all?
The Tango originated there.
Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated there.
Buenos Aires is home to the widest street in the world, Avenida 9 de Julio.
In Buenos Aires, the most popular sport is Jai alai.
In Buenos Aires, soccer is a sport that commands religious devotion. Championship games, won or lost, can result in wild celebrations, or worse.
Which fact about Hanoi isn't true?
Hanoi contains many lakes.
Hanoi is on the banks of the Yellow River.
Hanoi sits on the banks of the Red River, not the Yellow River, which is in China.
Hanoi has a popular local brand of ice cream called Trang Tien.
The oldest university in Vietnam is in Hanoi, called The Temple of Literature.
Which is not a fact about Taipei?
Taipei is home to 2,702,809 people.
Taipei never had the world's tallest building.
Taipei 101 was the world's tallest building when it was built in 2004, standing 1,667 feet tall.
Tsai Ing-Wen, the President of Taiwan, was educated at Cornell and the London School of Economics.
More than half of all registered vehicles in Taipei are motorcycles or scooters.
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Which fact about Pyongyang is not true?
Traffic lights are controlled manually, and are not automatic or on timers.
One major landmark is The Arch of Triumph.
Pyongyang translates to "Flat Land."
There is a vibrant Bohemian art scene.
Pyongyang, located in North Korea, isn't a wonderful place if you like free speech, and its art scene tends to North Korean ideas of conservatism, not Bohemianism.
Which fact about Reykjavik is false?
It is the second most northern capital in the world.
Reykjavik is the most northern capital in the world! It is not, however, the coldest capital in the world.
It is a great place for people worried about safety, as it is one of the safest cities in the world. Iceland has had only one police shooting in its history!
Many of the city's sidewalks are heated.
Reykjavik translates into English as "Smokey Bay."
Which fact about Sanaa is not true?
The average wedding feast last 21 days.
According to legend, Sanaa was founded by Shem, one of Noah's sons.
The major, all weather road connecting Sanaa to the port of Al-Hudayda was built by China.
Sanaa's 2004 population was about 1 million people.
The population of Sanaa was 1,707,586 in 2004, but it has been growing. In 2009, the population reached an estimated 2,022,867.
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Which fact about Minsk is not true?
In 1897, more than half of the city's population was Jewish.
English is the most spoken language in Minsk.
Lee Harvey Oswald lived in Minsk from 1960 to 1962.
The city was built at its elevation because of the pretty view.
Minsk was originally built as a defensive fortification. Putting it at a high elevation made it more defensible.
What is the capital of Bulgaria?
Burgas
Pernik
Sofia
Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria, and has been since the 1400s. In WW II, Bulgaria aligned itself with the Axis Powers, and since the dissolution of the USSR, it has been a republic.
Plovdiv
Which fact is not true of Rabat?
The common tongue is called Darija.
What is commonly known as Rabat is actually two cities, Rabat and Sale.
King Mohammed VI lives there.
Bahai is the dominant religion.
The predominant religion in Rabat, and indeed in all of Morocco, is Islam. The red on Morocco's flag represents the royal family, and the green star represents Islam (the color) and the five pillars of Islam (the five points).
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Which fact about Lisbon is not true?
Lisbon is estimated to be four centuries older than Rome.
Lisbon street cars are built in Portugal, a national point of pride.
Lisbon's street cars were all had second hand from the USA. Many of them served areas of New York, including Brooklyn and Harlem, while others came after retirement in New Orleans.
Lisbon enjoys 2,900-3,300 hours of sunshine, on average.
The old town district, known for its hard-working sailors, was once a vacation spot for the wealthy.
Which fact about Berlin is not true?
Berlin has something in the neighborhood of 1,400 bridges.
Half of Berlin is made up of parks.
Actually, about a third of Berlin is parkland, forests and lakes. It's a nice place to be, if you need to step out of the office and into nature.
Berlin is where Michael Jackson dangled his son out of a hotel window in 2002.
Berlin landmark, the Brandenburger Tor, is actually a monument to peace.
Which fact about Zagreb is not true?
It is the capital of Croatia.
It was once two cities, Kaptol and Gradec.
The upper part of town has 200 electric lampposts.
The upper town has 200 lampposts, but none of them are electric. They are all gas lamps.
The Zagreb Cathedral is the tallest building in the country.
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Which fact about Prague is true?
It is home to one of the only 100+ year old car companies.
Prague is home to Skoda, a major European manufacturer. Skoda translates into English as "pity."
Prague Castle is the third-largest castle in the world.
Prague was home to the world's first drug treatment center.
In Prague, you can get a car for a pair of Levis.
You Got:
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