50 Question Challenge #12, Guess the Country: answers and sources
Spoilers ahead! Play the video first. Here is every answer, the fun fact and the source we checked it against.
Scores: 0-19: Day tripper · 20-29: Traveler · 30-39: Globetrotter · 40+: Walking atlas. Don't forget your Couch Wager. Spotted a mistake? Email hello@ahaville.com with the question number.
Level 1: Landmarks
- 1
Which country is the Eiffel Tower in?
France It was built for the 1889 World's Fair.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower
- 2
Which country is the Statue of Liberty in?
USA It's 305 feet from the ground to the torch.
Source: nps.gov/stli/learn/historyculture/statue-statistics.htm
- 3
Which country is Big Ben in?
UK Each of its four clock faces is 23 feet wide.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ben
- 4
Which country is the Colosseum in?
Italy It opened almost 2,000 years ago, in AD 80.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum
- 5
Which country is the Sydney Opera House in?
Australia Its roof is covered in over a million tiles.
- 6
Which country is the CN Tower in?
Canada It stands 1,815 feet tall, in Toronto.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/CN_Tower
- 7
Which country is the Burj Khalifa in?
UAE It's the world's tallest building: 2,717 feet.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Khalifa
- 8
Which country is the Neuschwanstein Castle in?
Germany It inspired Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle · wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Beauty_Castle
- 9
Which country is the Himeji Castle in?
Japan It's nicknamed White Egret Castle.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Himeji_Castle
- 10
Which country is the Petronas Towers in?
Malaysia The world's tallest buildings, 1998 to 2004.
Level 2: Food
- 11
Bulgogi, grilled marinated beef, comes from which country?
South Korea Its name means fire meat in Korean.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgogi
- 12
Pastel de nata, a custard tart, comes from which country?
Portugal A Lisbon bakery has sold them since 1837.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Past%C3%A9is_de_Bel%C3%A9m · wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastel_de_nata
- 13
Chicken adobo, stewed in vinegar and soy sauce, comes from which country?
Philippines Many call it the national dish of the Philippines.
- 14
Pão de queijo, chewy cheese bread, comes from which country?
Brazil It's made with tapioca flour, so it's gluten-free.
- 15
Kanelbullar, cinnamon buns, are a classic from which country?
Sweden Sweden celebrates Cinnamon Bun Day on October 4.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon_roll · wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon_Roll_Day
- 16
Ackee and saltfish is the national dish of which country?
Jamaica Ackee is a fruit that's toxic until it's ripe.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Ackee_and_saltfish · wikipedia.org/wiki/Ackee
- 17
Poffertjes, tiny fluffy pancakes, come from which country?
Netherlands They're served with butter and powdered sugar.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Poffertjes
- 18
Khachapuri, a boat-shaped cheese bread, comes from which country?
Georgia Georgia the country, not the US state!
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Khachapuri
- 19
Doro wat, a spicy chicken stew, is a classic from which country?
Ethiopia It's eaten with injera, a spongy flatbread.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Doro_wat · wikipedia.org/wiki/Injera
- 20
Last one: hákarl, fermented shark, is a famous dish from which country?
Iceland The shark meat hangs to dry for months.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1karl
Level 3: Quick capitals
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
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- 30
Level 4: Three clues
- 31
Fjords, brown cheese and the midnight sun: which country?
Norway Brown cheese tastes a bit like caramel.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunost · wikipedia.org/wiki/Fjord
- 32
Saunas, reindeer and the Angry Birds game: which country?
Finland Finland has about three million saunas.
Source: visitfinland.com/en/articles/finnish-sauna-culture/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Rovio_Entertainment
- 33
Mozart, the Alps and Arnold Schwarzenegger: which country?
Austria Schwarzenegger later became governor of California.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schwarzenegger · wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart
- 34
Komodo dragons, Bali and over 17,000 islands: which country?
Indonesia Komodo dragons live in the wild only in Indonesia.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon · wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia
- 35
Sloths, cloud forests and the saying pura vida: which country?
Costa Rica Pura vida means pure life.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Pura_vida
- 36
Lemurs, baobab trees and the world's fourth-largest island: which country?
Madagascar Six of the eight baobab species grow only there.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Adansonia · wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar
- 37
Llamas, Lake Titicaca and the world's largest salt flat: which country?
Bolivia After rain, the salt flat turns into a giant mirror.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Salar_de_Uyuni · wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Titicaca
- 38
Watches, chocolate and four national languages: which country?
Switzerland German, French, Italian and Romansh.
- 39
Tango, gauchos and Patagonia: which country?
Argentina Gauchos are the cowboys of the pampas.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaucho · wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagonia · wikipedia.org/wiki/Tango
- 40
Last one: kiwi birds, Hobbiton and Mount Cook: which country?
New Zealand Hobbiton was built for The Lord of the Rings films.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobbiton_Movie_Set · wikipedia.org/wiki/Aoraki_/_Mount_Cook
Level 5: Impossible
- 41
Which country joined the United Nations most recently?
South Sudan It joined in 2011, days after independence.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_the_United_Nations
- 42
In which country is there a city called Batman?
Turkey It's named after the nearby Batman River.
- 43
The US bought the Virgin Islands from which country in 1917?
Denmark The price was 25 million dollars in gold.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_the_Danish_West_Indies · history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/virgin-islands
- 44
Which country had the world's first female prime minister?
Sri Lanka Sirimavo Bandaranaike took office in 1960.
- 45
Which is the most densely populated country?
Monaco It's smaller than New York's Central Park.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaco · wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Park · wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_...
- 46
Liechtenstein is doubly landlocked. Which other country is too?
Uzbekistan All of its neighbors are landlocked too.
- 47
Which country has the world's largest population of feral camels?
Australia Settlers brought them in the 1800s to cross the outback.
- 48
What is the largest country with no permanent rivers?
Saudi Arabia Its riverbeds, called wadis, fill only after rain.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Saudi_Arabia · wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadi
- 49
Which country was called Swaziland until 2018?
Eswatini The new name means land of the Swazis.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Eswatini
- 50
The very last one. Which island country lies in all four hemispheres?
Kiribati It straddles the equator and the 180th meridian.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiribati
The Big Aha stories
- The morning Sweden switched sides of the road: Until 1967, Swedes drove on the left, even though their neighbors drove on the right. In 1955, Sweden voted on switching. About 83 percent said no. In 1963, parliament ordered the switch anyway. On September 3, 1967, at 4:50 in the morning, every car stopped, moved over to the right, and waited. At 5:00, Sweden drove on. Sources: wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H · sweden.se/culture/history/the-day-sweden-switched-sides-o...
- The country that skipped a Friday: In 1892, Samoa moved to the American side of the date line, to match its trade with California. To make the switch, Samoa lived through the Fourth of July twice. A century later, most of its trade was with Australia and New Zealand: a whole day ahead. So at midnight on Thursday, December 29, 2011, Samoa jumped straight to Saturday. Friday the 30th never happened there. Sources: wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_Samoa · bbc.com/news/world-asia-16351377
Bonus question
How many countries does Brazil share a border with? We reveal the answer in the pinned comment under the video.