Author: Game Boy

Answer: False

Her father was English, and her mother, Baroness Ella van Heemstra, was Dutch, making her lineage a blend of English, Dutch, and Austrian/German heritage through her paternal grandparents.

Answer: True

Hepburn said she wept when she saw Dutch-Jewish children placed in Nazi cattle trains. Her half-brother was sent to a Nazi labor camp.

Answer:  False

Hepburn won an Oscar for her first starring role in the 1953 film, Roman Holiday. Directed by William Wyler, Audrey plays a runaway princess incognito. Her co-star, Gregory Peck, is a down-on-his-luck reporter who pretends he doesn’t know who she really is, hoping for a big payday with the world aghast with “Where is the Princess.”

The script was written by Dalton Trumbo and John Dighton, though with Trumbo on the Hollywood blacklist, he did not receive a credit, and Ian McLellan Hunter fron

ted for him. Trumbo's name was reinstated when the film was released on DVD in 2003,

Answer:  False

The novella was by Truman Capote, who expressed disappointment with Hepburn cast as Holly Golightly - a naïve, excentric – out to land a millionaire. He had envisioned Tuesday Weld or Marilyn Monroe, actors less glamorous.

Answer:  False

Audrey Hepburn is buried in the cemetery in Tolochenaz, Switzerland, a village near Morges where she lived for the last 30 years of her life.

Her grave is marked by a simple, well-kept stone cross and is a modest resting place surrounded by flowers, reflecting her wish for simplicity.

Answer: True

German y is widely considered one of the world's most industrialized nations, consistently ranking #1 for industrial competitiveness (manufacturing) by UNIDO, leading Europe in industrial output, and known globally for its high-tech manufacturing, especially in automotive, machinery, and chemicals, despite challenges like energy costs.

Answer: False

Oktoberfest is the world's largest Volksfest ("people's festival"). It combines a beer festival with a fun fair and is held annually in Munich on the Theresienwiese from mid-September to the first Sunday in October.

The event draws around seven million visitors each year. In 2023, attendance reached a record 7.2 million. Visitors consumed approximately 7.4 million litres of beer. The festival features amusement rides, games, food stalls, and traditional Bavarian dishes.

The first Oktoberfest was held on October 12, 1810 to celebrate the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen.

Answer: False

Kings of the Road ("In The Course of Time") is a 1976 German road film directed by Wim Wenders. It was the third part of Wenders' "Road Movie trilogy" which included Alice in the Cities (1974) and The Wrong Move (1975). It was the unanimous winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival.

Answer:  False

Pennsylvania has the largest German-American population in the U.S., with roughly 2.8 to 3.3 million people claiming German ancestry, making up nearly a quarter of the state's residents, stemming from significant 17th and 18th-century immigration that established deep cultural roots still seen today in places like Lancaster, Berks, and Lehigh counties.

Answer:  False

No single person invented bratwurst; it emerged in Germany, with origins debated between regions like Thuringia and Franconia, featuring the earliest mention in Nuremberg in 1313 and a 1269 Thuringian recipe, evolving from using meat scraps ("brat") to avoid waste ("wurst").

Answer: True

With recent estimates, Japan's population is near 122.8 million (early 2026), though it's experiencing a steady decline, with figures dropping from peaks around 128 million in 2008-2010, with projections suggesting further decrease due to low birth rates. It remains one of the world's most populous nations, ranking around 12th globally.

Answer: False

Monaco consistently ranks as the country with the highest life expectancy, often around 87-89 years, followed closely by wealthy Asian territories like Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, and European microstates like San Marino, with factors like good healthcare, diet, and living standards contributing to longevity.

In Japan, recent data shows women living to around 87.13 years and men to about 81.09 years, reflecting strong healthcare, diet (plant-based, fish), lifestyle (walking, moderation), and social cohesion, though future trends face challenges from Westernized diets.

Answer. True

Japan was largely closed to the world from the 1630s until 1853.

Under the Tokugawa Shogunate's sakoku (locked country) policy, which banned most foreigners from entry and Japanese citizens from leaving, limiting foreign trade to a small Dutch and Chinese presence in Nagasaki to preserve control and suppress Christianity. This period of over 200 years ended when U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's "Black Ships" forced Japan to open for trade.

Answer: True

Japanese woodblocks refer to the woodblock prints (ukiyo-e), a traditional art form where images are carved into wooden blocks, inked, and pressed onto paper to create multiple copies, popular for depicting scenes of everyday life, landscapes, and actors during Japan's Edo period (1603-1868). This complex process involved specialized artists, carvers, and printers, using water-based inks and distinct registration marks for colorful prints, resulting in iconic artworks like Hokusai's The Great Wave.

How They're Made (The Ukiyo-e Process)

Design: An artist draws the image, often on thin paper, which is then glued face-down onto a wooden block (usually cherry wood).

Carving: A skilled carver uses chisels to carve away wood, leaving the design in relief (raised), creating a master block for the lines.

Color Blocks: For multi-colored prints, separate blocks are carved for each color, with special registration marks (ki-zuri) to align them perfectly.

Printing: A printer applies water-based pigments (not oil-based like in the West) to the inked block, places paper over it, and uses a baren (a smooth pad) to rub and transfer the image.

Tokyo Story, 1953

Answer: False

Tokyo Story is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujiro Ozu and starring Chishu Ryu and Chieko Higashiyama, about an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children.

Upon release, it did not immediately gain international recognition and was considered "too Japanese" to be marketable by Japanese film exporters. It was screened in 1957 in London, where it won the inaugural Sutherland Trophy the following year, and received praise from U.S. film critics after a 1972 screening in New York City.

Tokyo Story is widely regarded as Ozu's magnum opus and one of the greatest films in the history of cinema. It was voted the greatest film of all time in the 2012 edition of a poll of film directors by Sight and Sound magazine.

In Irish (or Gaelic) Christmas is 'Nollaig', Santa Claus is known as 'San Nioclás' (Saint Nicholas) or 'Daidí na Nollag' (Father Christmas) and Happy/Merry Christmas is 'Nollaig Shona Dhuit'.

Of course it's true.

Would we ever lie to you?

FALSE

Finland consumes the most coffee in the world approximately 26 pounds per person annually.

This is followed be the Nordic countries: Norway, Iceland and Denmark.

FALSE:

NIGERIA is a country located on the WESTERN coast of Africa.

It has a diverse geography, with climates ranging from arid to humid equatorial. However, Nigeria's most diverse feature is its people. Hundreds of languages are spoken in the country, including Yoruba, Igbo, Fula, Hausa, Edo, Ibibio, Tiv, and English. The country has abundant natural resources, notably large deposits of petroleum and natural gas.

TRUE

Lagos, the former capital, retains its standing as the country's leading commercial and industrial city.

Nigeria is bordered to the north by Niger, to the east by Chad and Cameroon, to the south by the Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west by Benin. Nigeria is not only large in area-larger than the U.S. state of Texas-but also Africa's most populous country. Nigeria has the largest black population in Africa.

FALSE

Nigerian Americans consistently rank as one of the most highly educated groups in the U.S., with strikingly high rates of advanced degrees, including PhDs, often surpassing the general U.S. population and even some Asian groups, though Indian Americans sometimes show higher graduate attainment.

Data shows significant percentages of Nigerian immigrants and their children holding Master's, PhD, or professional degrees, indicating a strong focus on higher education.

One of the reasons is because (relatively speaking) education is not that expensive. An interesting factoid is that, in the Universities, the Christian and Muslim students mingle well together.  It is only in Northern Nigeria where violence is rampant.

FALSE

Clemens was born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri, the sixth of seven children. At age 4, Sam and his family moved to the small frontier town of Hannibal, Missouri.

TRUE

After failing as a silver prospector, Sam began writing for the "Territorial Enterprise" (a  historic flamboyant Nevada newspaper founded in 1858 ) where he used (for the first time) his pen name: Mark Twain.

TRUE

As a riverboat pilot up and down the Mississippi River, he knew the culture and vernacular the boat would port at and had his characters speak that way. Mainstream critics protested and tried to ban the book: The jargon was not appropriate for literature. Twain himself protested, demanding not a single word be revised.

False.

William McKinley was nicknamed "Napoleon of Protection."

C'mon! You've seen those ginormous COSTCO container ships. As of late 2025, the country whose imports generate the most U.S. tariff revenue is actually China.

False

Tea is believed to have been discovered in China

A popular legend attributing its origin to Emperor Shen Nong around 2373 BCE. The story goes that while boiling water, leaves from a nearby tree fell in, and upon tasting the resulting brew, the emperor found it to be both flavorful and restorative.

True

Approximately 2,000 tiny leaves is required make just one pound of finished tea. There are more than 1,500 types of teas in the world. Tea plants grow wild in parts of Asia, but over 25 countries cultivate tea as a plantation crop. The very best tea comes from high elevations and is hand-picked.

False

Water is the most consumed beverage globally.

Tea, the second most consumed beverage globally, is one of the world's most popular beverages, boasts a rich history and fascinating facts. All true teas, including black, green, white, and oolong, come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. Tea is the second most consumed beverage globally, after water. Beyond its popularity, tea is also known for potential health benefits, like antioxidants and possible heart health improvements.

False

While China is the largest overall consumer of tea by volume, Turkey drinks the most tea per capita. In Turkey, tea is a cultural staple, and the average person consumes 3.16 kg (6.96 lb) per year,

True

Both coffee and tea are rich in bioactive compounds-plant-based chemicals that promote health-but tea stands out for its particularly diverse array of antioxidants. These compounds, including flavonoids, polyphenols, and catechins, are linked to lower risks of heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Several recent analyses have found that higher consumption of tea, especially black tea and green tea, are associated with reduced risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and early death.

False

The Roadrunner is not the fastest bird in the world. While it's known for its speed and is the fastest running bird capable of flight, the fastest bird overall is the Ostrich a flightless bird that can run up to 43 miles per hour. The roadrunner can reach speeds of up to 26 miles per hour.

True
The largest bird in the world is the Common Ostrich (Struthio camelus). It is both the tallest and heaviest bird alive today. Reaching heights of up to 9 feet (2.7 meters) and weighing as much as 346 pounds (157 kilograms), the ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa.

True

A Hummingbird is a small bird from the family Trochilidae, the only bird capable of sustained hovering, flying backward, and upside-down. Native to the Americas, these birds have unique physical and behavioral traits, including long bills for nectar feeding, wing patterns that create a distinctive humming sound, and an ability to enter a state of torpor to conserve energy.

The Hummingbird is also the smallest bird in the world. Native to Cuba, it measures around 6 cm (2.4 in) in length, and males weigh approximately 1.95 g (0.069 oz). Females are slightly larger, weighing about 2.6 g (0.092 oz).

False

The bird's-eye shot is attributed to Alfred Hitchcock in the movie, The Birds (1963).

A bird's-eye shot is a high-angle camera view from directly overhead a subject, simulating the perspective of a bird in flight to provide a unique overview or establishing shot of a scene, location, or action. This specialized camera angle can be used to establish scale, convey emotions like awe or terror, provide context, or create a detached, omniscient feeling for the viewer.

True

The Spix's macaw is considered the rarest bird in the world, having been declared extinct in the wild in 2000. While approximately 180 remain in captivity, their natural habitat has been devastated. Another contender for the title of rarest bird is the Night Parrot, a nocturnal parrot rediscovered in Australia after being thought extinct. Sightings and sounds of the Night Parrot are rare, and it prefers remote areas.