Dec. 3 Friday News Quiz of the Week: Cities, Heroes

Singer and fashion icon Rihanna had been declared a member of the Barbadian Order of National Heroes by the Barbadian government. President-elect Sandra Mason bestowed her with a title, “the right excellent,” on Nov. 30, 2021, as the island celebrated becoming a republic for the first time in history. That means Queen Elizabeth II is now no longer Barbados’s head of state.

Omicron is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. It comes after Xi and before Pi. It means little O (as opposed to Omega, which means big O) and is written and pronounced like the English “O.” Omicron is also the coronavirus variant threatening to shut down world travel in Dec. 2021. The World Health Organization skipped the Greek letter Xi when naming Covid-19 variants, perhaps to avoid angering one dominant Chinese leader.

Israel’s Tel Aviv has been ranked the world’s most expensive city to live in, according to an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report published Nov. 30, 2021. The Israeli seaside city climbed five spots in 2021 to take the title from last year’s joint winners of Paris, Hong Kong, and Zurich. The French capital tied in second with Singapore, while Zurich and Hong Kong made up the rest of the top five. New York was in sixth, with Geneva in seventh, and Copenhagen, Los Angeles, and Osaka rounding off the Top 10.

Why is Tel Aviv so expensive?

Tel Aviv’s surge up the Economist’s table was partly due to the strength of the Israeli shekel against the dollar, as well as increases in prices for transport and groceries. It was ranked the second most expensive city for alcohol and transport, fifth for personal care, and sixth for recreation.

Catherine the Great was the last reigning Empress of Russia from 1762 until 1796—the country’s longest-ruling female leader. The period of Catherine the Great’s rule is considered a Golden Age of Russia.

Was Catherine the Great a Pro-Vaxxer?

In a letter sold at MacDougall’s auction house in London on December 1, 2021, dated April 20, 1787, the Russian empress instructed a governor-general to ensure that a precursor of the smallpox vaccine, called variolation, was readily available in his province for widespread access. The letter was sold along with a portrait of the Empress by Dmitry Levitsky for $1.3 Million.

“Weekends With Adele” was supposed to find singer Adele performing two shows every weekend between Jan. 21 and Apr. 16, 2022, at the Colosseum at Las Vegas’s Caesars Palace. In a July 2022 interview, the singer revealed that the “show was not good enough.” Adele eventually postponed her Las Vegas residency on Jan. 20, a day before it was due to begin. “I’m so sorry, but my show ain’t ready,” Adele said in a video posted to Instagram, blaming “delivery delays and Covid.” Adele later announced that her “Weekends with Adele” concerts start on Nov. 18, 2022, running to Mar. 25, 2023, taking in 32 shows.

Parag Agrawal is the new Twitter CEO, replacing Jack Dorsey. Agrawal, a 37-year-old immigrant from India, has been with the company for ten years – most recently as chief technology officer.

What?! Jack Dorsey left Twitter? Again?

Jack Dorsey announced his departure from the role of Twitter’s CEO on Nov. 29, 2021, effective immediately. He will now focus primarily on his payments processing company Square and other pursuits such as philanthropy.

Jessica Watkins, 33, is the first Black woman to live and work at the International Space Station. She will join a SpaceX crew-4 mission after April 2022, marking her first flight into space.

Who was the first Black person on the International Space Station?

Victor Glover, part of SpaceX’s Crew-2 mission that launched in November 2020, became the first Black astronaut to join the station crew. Others have visited the space station for a shorter period. A total of 248 people have visited the 21-year-old ISS. Seven of them have been Black.

Who were the first Black astronauts?

In 1983, Guion Bluford became the first Black astronaut to travel to space. Mae Jemison followed nine years later and became the first Black woman in space.

Who was the youngest American to launch into space?

29-year-old childhood bone-cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux became the youngest American to travel to space on Sept. 16, 2021, after SpaceX launched the world’s first all-civilian human spaceflight into Earth’s orbit. She is also the first person in space with a prosthesis, a titanium rod in her left leg.

The privately run “Overdose Prevention Centers” (OPCs) are New York City’s supervised drug injection sites, meant to reduce deadly overdoses in the city. The OPCs provide a monitored place for drug users where an antidote can be served if needed. Also known as safer consumption spaces, they exist in Canada, Australia, and Europe and have been officially authorized in NYC on Nov. 30, 2021.

About two weeks before the candidate filing deadline for the Texas primary, Matthew McConaughey, 52, posted a video on Twitter and Instagram on Nov. 29, 2021, stating that a run for Texas governor is “a path that I’m choosing NOT to take at this moment.”

Annie’s dog is named Sandy in the hit Broadway musical “Annie.” The character also appears in the two films based on the musical.

What’s “Annie Live!”?

“Annie Live!” is the tale of the young orphan and her dog during the 1930s’ Depression in a live musical form, which aired on NBC on Dec. 2, 2021. It’s NBC’s first live musical since 2018’s “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.”

Chris Noth portrayed John James Preston, AKA Mr. Big, in the original Sex and the City series. The creators only revealed Mr. Big’s real name in the final episode. In Sex and the City: The Movie, Mr. Big and Carrie Bradshaw quietly marry at New York City Hall, celebrating afterward at a diner with their friends.

Spider-Man: No Way Home runs 148 minutes long (2 hours, 28 minutes), making it the fourth-longest Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. The longest MCU movie is 2019’s whopping 3 hours, 2 minutes, Avengers: Endgame. Spider-Man: No Way Home was released worldwide on Dec. 15, 2021.

Kanye West has erased all photos and videos from his Instagram page on Nov. 29, 2021. The deletion comes days after Ye shared a 5-minute Thanksgiving prayer, saying he wants to reunite with his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian. Kardashian filed for divorce in Feb. 2021 after nearly seven years of marriage.

According to the annual Rover survey, Bella, Luna, Lucy, and Daisy were the top four most popular female dog names in the US in 2021. Number five this year is Zoe, which didn’t make the top ten in 2020.