Trivia Question of the Day

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Which country is home to the world's longest suspension bridge?

Answer and explanation in next post.

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On April 5, 1998, the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge was completed over the Akashi-Kaikyo (straits) and opened to traffic. The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, which links Kobe City and Awajishima Island both in Hyogo Prefecture, has main span of 1991 m and a total length of 3911 m and thus becomes the world's largest bridge whose title had been hold by the Humber Bridge having a main span of 1410 m in England since 1981.

It was in May 1988 when real work at the site for the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge began, and the work continued while overcoming many difficulty including an encounter with the Kobe Earthquake in January 1995. Also, engineers participating in the project have had to continue wide range of technical challenges in order to realize this enormous bridge. It is also noteworthy that no fatal accident was recorded in approximate 10 year's construction work.
The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge has the following characteristics.

1. The bridge has a main span length of 1991 m and a total length of 3991 m (fraction in each length was due to the Kobe Earthquake) to meet such conditions as the waterway for navigation, the topography and geology at the straits, the land usage at both shores and so on.

2. Two main piers were constructed as spread foundations by Laying-down caisson method at positions with great sea depth and strong tidal current. Also, big and deep foundations for the anchorages were constructed on reclaimed lands with various new technology. All foundations were well designed against severe earthquake with a newly investigated seismic design method. In addition, newly developed low heat type cement and concretes with various mix were used in actual construction.

3. The main towers made of steel reached 297 m above the sea level and were erected with high accuracy while oscillation by the wind was carefully suppressed.

4. The main cables, which were erected by Prefabricated Parallel Wires Strand method, were made of newly developed high strength galvanized wires, whose breaking strength was improved to 1800 N/mmQ.

5. The suspended structure was designed to be truss stiffened, and its erection was carried out without disturbing heavy sea traffic reaching about 1400 ships per day. And, its aerodynamic stability was carefully checked in a newly constructed boundary layer large wind tunnel facility.

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All of these famous people have elements named after them except:

A) Enrico Fermi
B) Pierre and Marie Curie
C) Albert Einstein
D) Max Planck

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Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck was born on April 23, 1858, in Kiel.

When Planck was nine years old, his father received an appointment at the University of Munich, and Planck entered the city's renowned Maximilian Gymnasium. He started to study physics at the University of Munich in the fall of 1874, and received his doctoral degree in July 1878 at the unusually young age of 21. The following year he completed his Habilitationsschrift (qualifying dissertation) at Munich and became a Privatdozent (lecturer).

In 1885 he was appointed ausserordentlicher Professor (associate professor) at the University of Kiel. In 1889, Planck received an appointment to the University of Berlin, where he came to venerate Helmholtz as mentor and colleague. In 1892 he was promoted to ordentlicher Professor (full professor).

Max Planck made many contributions to theoretical physics, but his fame rests primarily on his role as originator of the quantum theory. Planck was 42 years old in 1900 when he made the famous discovery that in 1918 won him the Nobel Prize for Physics: The quantum of action, now known as Planck's constant h, relates the energy of radiation to its frequency. He also evaluated the Boltzmann constant, Avogadro's number, and the charge of the electron. Planck became permanent secretary of the mathematics and physics sections of the Prussian Academy of Sciences in 1912 and held that position until 1938; he was also president of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (now the Max Planck Society) from 1930 to 1937.

In 1909, his first wife Marie Merck died, leaving Planck with two sons and twin daughters. The elder son, Karl, was killed in action in 1916. The following year, Margarete, one of his daughters, died in childbirth, and in 1919 the same fate befell Emma, his other daughter. The younger son, Erwin, was implicated in the attempt made on Hitler's life on July 20, 1944, and in early 1945 he was killed by the Gestapo. At war's end, Planck and his second wife, Marga von Hoesslin, moved to Göttingen. There, on October 4, 1947, in his 89th year, he died.

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Miso, a basic ingredient in Japanese cooking is made from

A) Fermented rice
B) Soybean paste
C) Seaweed
D) Horseradish

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Miso is a rich, salty condiment that characterizes the essence of Japanese cooking. The Japanese begin their day with a fortifying bowl of miso soup and use miso to flavor a variety of foods in other meals throughout the day. Making miso is a household art in Asian countries, comparable to the American practice of canning foods. To make miso, soybeans and sometimes a grain such as rice, are combined with salt and a mold culture, and then aged in cedar vats for one to three years.

Most miso that is made in western countries is produced in a similar manner, although "quick" miso also is available. This quick miso is generally inferior in taste. Miso is actually a group of condiments. The addition of different ingredients and variations in length of aging produce different types of miso that vary greatly in flavor, texture, color, and aroma. In Japan, different types of miso are prepared and evaluated much the same way Westerners judge fine wines and cheeses.

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He is one of the foremost figures in the history of landscape painting:

A) Pablo Picasso
B) Marcel Duchamp
C) Claude Monet
D) Georges Barque

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Claude Oscar Monet was born on November 14, 1840 in Paris. Five years after Monets birth, his father (Adolphe Monet) moved the family to a seaport near the Normandy Coast called Le Havre. Monet described later in life that in his childhood years he always had an interest in the ocean and the landscapes he saw in Le Havre.

As an adolescent, Monet enjoyed painting funny and amusing caricatures of his teachers and classmates, and Monet was able to sell his collection for 2000 francs. After this, his father and aunt probably realized that Monet had enough talent to make a living at painting. Unlike many fathers who had aspiring artists for sons, Monets father did not interfere with his efforts to become an artist, although its probably true that he wanted his son to finish school even more.

Early in his life, Monet seemed destined to seek inspiration from other artists and teachers. Through his schooling in the arts, he met other famous names like Renoir and Manet. By his 20s, Monet had no financial or social support from any of his family members. Throughout his younger years, Monet had to borrow money from Bazille in order to have money for daily necessities. And for at least his younger years, constant outside financial support was always a constant.

The road to success was long and hard for Claude Monet. Like all the Impressionists of his time, Monet had trouble selling his paintings because the Salons always rejected his paintings. In 1874, Monet and other artists decided to open an independent exhibition in order to survive the rejection of the Salons. At this time, Monet began to achieve more and more success. He received work through commissions, and was able to afford new homes and farms, where he also made more paintings. In the 1900s, a simple picture of a haystack (seen above) could draw enormous money into Monets pocket.

Toward the later end of his life, Monet began work on his water lilies, perhaps his more famous works. He even painted a huge set of canvases that were made specifically for a space in Paris Orangerie. His work toward the end of his life represented a tireless painter continuing to express the freest possible art through an impression.

Claude Monet was always a character who did what he wanted to. Often times, the artists would disobey his father, his aunt, and even those vital to his prosperity. Monet always looked to his art, and the amount of money his art could earn. Monet never allowed himself to be shortchanged. He often put a sold sign on his work to make it appear that his work was in high demand.

Monet was always a person that never had enough of anything. He could never appreciated the light way he portrayed light in his paintings. He also felt he never had enough money. Monet always had to borrow money from his friends. To be a friend of Monet not only meant to give oneself socially and freely, but to give oneself financially. Monet often wrote to his wealthy friend Bazille stating that he and his wife were out of money and needed assistance as soon as possible.

Claude Monet had lived a productive life for an artist when he died in 1926. Most of his works are in museums around the world. He had remained a loyal member of Impressionism well over forty years, and you can see how evident this is when you read a statement he wrote only six months before his death. "In the end the only merit I have is to have painted directly from nature." Today, Claude Monet has become a household name and a cherished commodity for everyone who enjoys art and of course, Impressionism.

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The mainstay of a porcupine's diet is:

A) Tree bark
B) Berries
C) Leaves
D) Rats

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The answer is tree bark.

Porcupines; Order: rodent. A porcupine's habitat and range: forests, deserts, and grasslands of North and South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Porcupines can weigh from 2 to 60 pounds depending on the species. A prickly coat of needle-sharp quills is the porcupine's best defense. Ordinarily the quills lay flat. But if an enemy approaches the porcupine will raise the quills and spread them, usually deterring the enemy. If the animal is not deterred, the quills may lodge in the enemy's flesh when the porcupine brushes against the it. New quills grow in to relace the lost ones. The porcupine cannot throw its quills.

There are two groups of porcupines. They differ in habits and appearance. The porcupines of the Americas also climb trees. Some have been seen using their tails to hold on to branches. In the winter, the North American porcupine eats evergreen needles and bark. When spring arrives, they feed on leaves, buds, stems, and fruit. Depending on the species, the gestation period is from 2 to 7 months, bearing 1 to 4 young.

The life span of captive porcupines can be as much as 20 years.