15 tricky questions for knowledge of history, etymology and art. Try to answer without errors

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Check your horizons. Don't look at Google!

– 1 –

To this literary hero, the demigod Aeolus handed a bag of winds and ordered not to open it in any case - only then the character will be lucky. The hero's companions untied the sack, thinking that there was treasure. The winds blew out, messed up everything they could, and knocked the traveler's ship out of the way. Who are we talking about?

About the Odyssey. The winds drove the hero's ship back to the domain of Aeolus, but he refused to help Odysseus again.

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– 2 –

In Russia, city dwellers settled in accordance with their professional affiliation. Potters lived near clay pits, butchers - at city gates and cattle-driving roads, tanners - at rivers (water is needed when skin is crumpled). Who lived on the outskirts?

Blacksmiths. Blacksmithing was fire hazardous, so representatives of this profession settled far from cities.

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– 3 –

The name of what kind of home clothes came into Russian from Persian, in which it means "clothes for the feet"?

Pajamas. Initially, this word was used only for loose pants that were tightened around the waist with a drawstring.

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– 4 –

In 1547 Ivan the Terrible ascended the throne. Three years later, he created the country's first standing infantry infantry army with a total number of 3,000 people. It was located in Moscow, in Vorobyovskaya Sloboda. Whose duties were assigned to the archers in peacetime?

Firefighters, but not only. In peacetime, the archers also served as police officers.

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– 5 –

Hat merchant John Hetherington in 1797 appeared on the embankment of London in a kind of headdress. For this he was arrested and fined £ 500. What was on his head?

Cylinder. Hetherington walked along the embankment, wearing a huge silk tube over his head, which gleamed strangely. From such an unusual and unusual sight, women fainted, children screamed, dogs squealed, and one guy even broke his arm. Therefore, it was decided to punish the violator of public peace.

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– 6 –

If in the old days an aristocrat wanted a messenger to deliver his letter as soon as possible, then he left a special sign on the paper. Which?

Hangman. At the beginning of the XIV century, phrases like these were left on the letters sent - "Hurry, messenger, hurry!", "Mail, hurry" or "Hurry for life." The drawing of the gallows was supposed to remind the messenger that he was in danger of death if he did not deliver the letter as soon as possible.

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– 7 –

When installing the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg, its foundation was filled with a solution of a peculiar composition. Here is what the architect Montferrand, who supervised the construction work, wrote about him: "Since the work was carried out in the winter, I ordered to mix cement with vodka and add a tenth of this."

The fact is that initially the column sat down incorrectly, and it was raised and lowered several times. It turned out to be done only because this component was part of the solution. What is it about?

About soap. Here is a quote from Montferrand in its entirety: “Since the work was carried out in the winter, I ordered to mix cement with vodka and add a tenth of soap. Due to the fact that the stone initially sat down incorrectly, it had to be moved several times, which was done with the help of only two capstans and with particular ease, of course, thanks to the soap, which I ordered to be mixed into the solution."

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– 8 –

In Vasnetsov's famous painting "Heroes", Alyosha Popovich sits on a brown horse. What is he holding in his hand?

Onion.

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– 9 –

In what device in the 30s of the XX century in America were cactus spines used?

In a gramophone. Special needles were expensive and often broke, so music lovers found an alternative.

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– 10 –

In 1823, a certain Scottish chemist, conducting another experiment, smeared the sleeve of his jacket with a solution of rubber and after a while noticed that it did not get wet. He patented this invention and founded a company to manufacture waterproof products from a new material. What is the name of the chemist?

Mac.

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– 11 –

In ancient Rome, a special posthumous punishment was applied to state criminals - a curse. What exactly was being cursed?

Memory. The punishment was applied to state criminals. It consisted in the fact that any material evidence of the existence of the criminal was destroyed: statues, references in laws and chronicles, wall and gravestone inscriptions. Everything was done to erase the memory of a person.

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– 12 –

In the old days, the value of coins was determined in accordance with the amount of precious metal they contained. Unclean people often cut pieces from coins and smelted new money out of them.

To prevent fraud, they came up with thin lines on the edges of the coin - then the traces of metal cutting immediately became noticeable. What is the name of the part of the coin on which such lines or other drawing are applied?

Edge or welt.

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– 13 –

According to the decree of Peter I, all those who came to St. Petersburg on ships or wagons had to bring it with them since 1714 without fail. What?

Stones. In 1714, Peter I issued a "Decree on the transport by river ships and by dry road on carts arriving to St. Petersburg, according to a certain number of wild stones."

In those days, the roads of St. Petersburg were unpaved. In spring and autumn, they became difficult to pass, so Peter ordered to pave them with cobblestones. The decree was in effect for over 60 years, and was canceled only in 1776.

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– 14 –

What subject, according to the Moscow writer and journalist of the mid-19th century Nikolai Polyakov, replaced tea for Muscovites? This applies equally to England.

Watch.

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– 15 –

What invention of Benjamin Franklin was fashionable to decorate women's hats in Paris in the second half of the 18th century?

Lightning rod or lightning rod.

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This article uses questions from the archive.