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 * a Google a day **

**Geography** 2/5/2011: How long is the river bordering the two countries that once were home to the Hamangia?

13/5/2011: What colors are the flags in Lupa on July 2 and August 16?

10/6/2011: Können Sie die Bevölkerungsdichte der größten Stadt in Deutschland finden?

29/7/2011: You are blindfolded in a small flat-bottomed boat on either the River Cam or the Venice Canals. You can hear nothing but the sound of the oar in the water. Where are you?

30/7/2011: The crater from the meteor that is believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs is notable in size. What position does it rank among the largest meteor craters on Earth?

23/8/2011: If you were to drive from the world's smallest country to the world's second-smallest country, which two other countries would you have to drive through?

25/8/2011: The first known examples of the hairstyle known in some cultures as Jata can be seen on a certain group of semi-nomadic East Africans. What color can be found in their hair?

9/9/2011: You’re eating in a square named after Saint Wenceslas and a waiter asks, “Byste jako zákusek?” What is he offering you?

13/9/2011: If you walked from the world's largest rock to the second-largest (and slightly better-known) rock, which desert reserve would you cross?

2/10/2011: You’re riding the fastest roller coaster in the world. What currency did you use to buy your ticket?

9/10/2011: You plan to visit the most powerful waterfall in Europe and the hotel concierge says, “Ferðina þína uppfyllir í anddyri.” Where’s he sending you?

19/10/2011: You bought a wedding gift at the world’s largest shopping mall and you’re heading to the ceremony nearby. What color do you expect the bride to wear?

24/10/2011: A coconut hits your head and you have no idea where you are. It’s pitch dark and all you can hear are proboscis monkeys shrieking and Friendly Bush-warblers chirping. What country are you in?

12/11/2011: Which nation shares a border with the world's second-smallest country in geographic area?

16/11/2011: You’ll need diving gear to visit most of the Earth’s longest mountain range. Where does it extend above the ocean to form its largest island?

24/5/2011: Rembrandt painted a philosopher looking at the bust of a Greek poet. The gold medallion on the chain represents another famous Greek. Who is it?
 * History **

26/5/2011: The second wife of King Henry VIII is said to haunt the grounds where she was executed. What does she supposedly have tucked under her arm?

29/5/2011: The column style used for this Greek temple completed in 438 BCE was borrowed from which ancient civilization?

1/5/2011: During his circumnavigation of the globe in 1519-1522, this expedition leader spent more money on this liquid than on weapons. What is it?

7/9/2011: A medieval artisan's secret to creating red stained-glass windows was a precious metal compound. What metal held the secret to red stained glass?

8/10/2011: As a medieval king, would you have felt safer having your castle’s spiral staircase ascend clockwise or counterclockwise?

15/9/2011: This ancient city named for a kind of sharp-nosed fish is best known for its trash heaps. What kind of paper in the trash is so valuable?

5/10/2011: Bluetooth is a wireless technology, but the term originally referred to a king who erected two runic stones. What are these stones called?

20/11/2011: You’d never catch a triceratops, stegosaurus, and tyrannosaurus rex living together. Which Mesozoic Era dinosaur doesn’t belong with the others?

25/11/2011: Shani is to Cronus as Prithvi is to...?

9/12/2011: The Bayeux Tapestry depicts a visit from a celestial body that was considered a bad omen in medieval times. What year did this “apparition” next appear?

25/1/2012: I was arrested by the Inquisition in 1633 and then pardoned by the Catholic Church in 1992. One of my students had my story written in stone scrolls at his castle. What was my student's name?

18/2/2012: You’ve just finished your “jentaculum” and are headed out when you suddenly remember it’s “Saturnalia"! You rush back home to put what on your head?
 * Ancient Rome **

22/6/2011: After everyday exposure to this element with 82 protons and 126 neutrons, the Huns were the least of the Roman Empire’s problems. This cumulative poison was used as a preservative in what drink?

20/7/2011: The sea called “Mare Nostrum” by the Romans touches three continents. What are they?

13/11/2011: The Carthaginian general who once catapulted venomous snakes at the Pergamese also misled the Romans with a stampeding herd of cattle. What did he tie to the animals’ horns?

8/4/2011: If you were in the basin of the Somme River at summer’s end in 1918, what language would you have had to speak to understand coded British communications?
 * War **

10/2/2011: What was the Allied code name for the evacuation of 338,000 troops from a French port during World War II?

**Science** 7/4/2011: I can grow my body back in about two days if cut in half. Many scientists believe I do not undergo senescence. What am I?

15/4/2011: If you were to have a certain type of boiled breakfast, an odd gray-green layer may form around its core. What chemical compound causes this discoloration?

17/4/2011: This type of radiation is commonly known for quickly heating frozen dinners, but also provides evidence in support of Georges Lemaître’s theory. What was that astronomical evidence?

30/4/2011: What is the triple point of the element that makes up most of what you’re inhaling right now (in degrees C)?

1/5/2011: Lonesome George’s chances of being a dad improved because two ladies moved to his island. Where exactly did they move from?

30/5/2011: I was looking at cork under a microscope and coined a term to describe what I saw. What is that (now common) term?

4/4/2011: This invention was initially created as a walking machine and then was tweaked in 1932 to become amphibious. But neither of these are its main purpose now. What is the invention?

5/5/2011: What animal lives in the Yangtze River and is represented by its own rare Xingyiquan form?

31/5/2011: In November 2010 a spacecraft rendezvoused with a comet. That spacecraft had earlier photographed another comet. What was the first comet it photographed?

14/6/2011: What is the molecular formula of the ingredient in dynamite that is made from the oil of a legume that’s often mistaken for a nut?

20/6/2011: I am an animal that can grow more than 20,000 teeth in my lifetime. Which of my species, extinct or living, has the largest teeth?

21/6/2011: All cephalopod mollusks with three hearts are carnivorous, but only one type living in temperate waters is deadly to humans. What does this deadly cephalopod normally feed on?

23/6/2011: My route is marked by the shells of scallops, a journey that thousands take each year to a cathedral in my honor, deep in the heart of Galicia. Who am I?

29/6/2011: After coining the term “radioactive,” she discovered two radioactive elements, one of which you can find easily in cigarette smoke. What is that element?

12/7/2011: Chili pepper plants make the chemical that causes that burning sensation you get from eating the peppers. What are the plants trying to protect?

21/7/2011: I was the first animal to have my complete genome sequenced, and even though my nervous system has only 302 cells, I am helping researchers investigate nerve cell development, nerve cell function and human neurological diseases. What am I?

25/7/2011: An organic compound created a color so fashionable that it inspired a nickname for the decade of the 1890s. What is the name of that organic compound?

26/7/2011: Zea mays everta, a cereal grain commonly used for snacking, can explode under the right conditions because it contains what compound?

3/8/2011: If your doorknob is made with this alloy of copper and zinc, it naturally disinfects itself. How many hours does it take to sanitize?

10/9/2011: The glow you see in your cat’s eyes at night is caused by a reflective surface behind the retina that’s made of what kind of crystals?

12/9/2011: What is the rarest naturally occurring element?

23/9/2011: What is the most commonly mined ore yielding the neurotoxin that inspired the phrase “mad as a hatter"?

28/9/2011: You can tell just by looking at your friend that she has high levels of pheomelanin and relatively low levels of the pigment eumelanin. What color is her hair?

13/10/2011: What term describes the transcendental feelings astronauts have after viewing Earth from the unique vantage point of space?

30/10/2011: You’re a detective at a crime scene with no visible evidence. On a hunch, you spray the carpet with a light-emitting solution and it glows, revealing blood. What component of hemoglobin catalyzed the reaction?

4/11/2011: Molecules of the third most abundant element in the universe were recently discovered in a star-forming region of which nebula?

5/11/2011: Which main ingredient of air is preferred inside potato chip bags?

11/11/2011: This mineral functions as a compass inside the brains of birds. What is its chemical name?

27/11/2011: Only one part of your body has no blood supply. Where does it get its oxygen?

18/12/2011: An 18-foot (5.5-meter) brownish-black fish is swimming at you. It has an enormous mouth and large rubbery lips. Are you in danger?

5/1/2012: Consider the element that makes rubies red. What color does this element become when it’s added to beryl to create another precious gem?

**Mathematics** 12/5/11: If you stacked $20 bills until you reached $1 million, would the stack be higher than the rim of a basketball hoop?

8/7/2011: A daisy with 89 petals is an example of this mathematical set of numbers. Starting with 0, what is the 11th number in this series?

24/7/2011: Tortoises often have a convex 3-D shape with just one stable and one unstable point of equilibrium, allowing them to return to right side up when turned over. What is the shape's name?

7/8/2011: How much does a sphere of pure gold with a radius of 50 cm weigh in kilograms?

6/9/2011: How tall (in meters) is the largest hill at 22.97908, 53.78433?

3/10/2011: Which is faster: a detonation or deflagration?

21/12/2011: Which is longer, the largest cruise ship now in service or the largest aircraft carrier now in service?

26/12/2011: What American pastime incorporates the use of a prolate spheroid with pointed ends?

4/1/2012: What’s the difference, in metres, between the highest point on land and the deepest point in the ocean?

6/1/2012: Which would be bigger: the offspring of a female lion and a male tiger, or the offspring of a male lion and a female tiger?

9/2/2011: If you live to be 110, how many times will Uranus orbit the sun?

**English** 19/5/2011: "Four legs good, two legs bad” is a slogan from a story featuring a cast of anthropomorphic characters. What revolution inspired this story?

22/5/2011: I was celebrated as the paladin of Uruk, but my legacy is in the realm of ancient literature. Who am I?

9/7/2011: The author whose father inspired Mr. Micawber slept facing which direction, because he thought it improved his writing?

18/7/2011: In Norse mythology, which god’s son will poison Thor at Ragnarök?

22/9/2011: I threw Sicily’s highest mountain on top of a mythological monster. Who am I?

22/10/2011: What color flag would the Globe Theatre have flown during a performance of "Henry VIII" in 1613?

31/10/2011: A famous literary character suffers from kyphosis. What title does he receive with his crown?"

25/12/2011: The largest moon orbiting the “sideways planet” is named for a character created by what playwright?

1/1/2012: You're facing a Chimera, a Minotaur, and a centaur. Which of these mythological creatures looks least like you?

12/2/2011: Reading one stanza a night, how long would it take to finish the first poem written using Spenserian stanzas?

19/1/2012: If these people didn't make what they make with their truss rods and kerfing and braces, then I couldn't play what I play.

To find these questions, link to "A Google A Day" pages in the format: http://agoogleaday.com/#date=2011-05-02

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