The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Gold Coast 2018 or GC2018 is just 3 days away. A look at the rich portfolio of Commonwealth members states and we’ll know why the Games are the third-largest multi-sport event in the world, after Olympic Games and the Asian Games. As all participating countries can speak one language (English), these are sometimes known as the Friendly games.
The motto of the 2018 Gold Coast Games is ‘It’s our time to shine’.
The Commonwealth is an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states, spanning across Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific. The Queen is Head of State in 16 of the member countries, all of them fully independent.
Here, we’ve pulled together some wonderful facts about the lesser known member states of the Commonwealth, and some of the big boys.
Mozambique’s membership is unique as it is the only country (other than Britain itself) not to have been a British colony or protectorate — it was a Portuguese colony.
Dominica’s modern name comes from the day of the week it was spotted by Columbus (Sunday, in case your Latin isn’t up to it), but it’s original name is Wai’tukubuli which means “Tall is her body”.
Lesotho in Southern Africa is one of only three countries in the world completely surrounded by just one other country. The other two are San Marino and Vatican City.
Kangaroos and Emus appear on the Australian coat of arms because they can’t walk backwards and represent the forward progress Oz strives for. Rwanda has 61% women in parliament (lower house), the largest share of any country.
The Popular ‘.tv’ domains is the Internet country code top-level domain belonging to Tuvalu. Tuvalu has given the licensing rights of its ‘.tv’ Internet domain name generating around $2.2 million each year from royalties. It makes about 10% of the country’s total revenue.
Welcome to the crazytown. Welcome to the world of ‘Nutty’s Infotainment. YAYS!’
And your time starts NOW!
In 1911, the ‘Festival of Empire’ was held in London to celebrate the coronation of King George V. As part of the festival, an Inter-Empire Championships was held with teams from Australasia, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom participating. The very first Games in the modern version were held in Hamilton, Canada in the year 1930. What are we talking about?
Commonwealth Games
Which is the only US state capital city with not a single McDonald’s fast food joint?
Montpelier, Vermont. Montpelier is the smallest state capital in terms of population, with only about 7,500 people. Luckily, if you find yourself craving for McDonald’s fries in Montpelier, you need to travel around 12km to the neighbouring city, Barre.
Name the world’s largest indoor multi-purpose dome.
Aspire Dome, located in Aspire Academy, Doha.
The mother of Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon killed herself before the lunar mission, apparently because she did not think she could handle her son’s imminent fame. What was her maiden name?
Moon!!!
Sometimes used to indicate weight, how is an octothorpe better known as?
Number, Hash or Pound Sign (#)
Name the 1987 experimental movie which ran for 5,220 minutes (87 hrs)?
The Cure For Insomnia.
What is common to Ingrid Bergman (Oscar-winning Casablanca star), William Shakespeare, Walter Diemer (inventor of bubble gum), Levi P Morton (Benjamin Harrison’s vice president), Sidney Bechet (jazz saxophonist, clarinettist, and composer), Kamehameha V (King of Hawaii), among others?
They all died on their birthdays. Though William Shakespeare’s birthdate is unrecorded, what is commonly given as his birthdate was extrapolated from the date of his baptism.
Which stone can float on water?
Pumice
Identify the currency
(Answer next week. Last week’s answer to photoquiz: Enzo Ferrari)