World Capitals Quiz: Which country’s capital is La Paz? And which London monument is the Elizabeth Tower?

La Paz is the capital of Bolivia.

The La Paz 2021 Heat Record

La Paz has been hit by an unusual heatwave, with ultraviolet (UV) radiation levels soaring in November 2021 to 21 on a scale that generally goes up to 20. The World Health Organization defines a UV index of 11 as “extreme,” with people cautioned to avoid exposure to the sun. Scientists say changing rainfall patterns were adding UV radiation by reducing cloud cover.

As a tribute to the outgoing president Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Kazakh capital was renamed Nur-Sultan in 2019. As of Sept. 2022, Kazakhstan’s president announced that the capital would again be known as Astana, its former name.

Warsaw’s Polish capital saw some 100,000 protesters over the Oct. 31, 2020, weekend, disregarding government-imposed virus control restrictions. Others marched in silence in other cities across the East European country. The demonstrators protest the tightening of Poland’s strict abortion law, the government’s moves to control the judicial system, and remarks against LGBT rights by top Polish officials.

Kabul is the capital city of Afghanistan.

Kabul Seized by Taliban Facts

After a rapid advance across the country, the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan and its capital Kabul on Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021, causing many citizens to flee in panic. By Tuesday, shops reopened in the Afghani capital, and the Taliban vowed to uphold women’s rights.

Naypyidaw officially spelled Nay Pyi Taw, is Myanmar’s capital and third-largest city.

2021 Coup in Myanmar

YouTube removed five channels run by Myanmar’s military on Friday, Mar. 5, 2021, for violating its community guidelines and terms of service, following the Feb. 1 military coup that removed its elected government, provoking massive public protests.

Facebook has also banned all pages linked to Myanmar’s army. TikTok announced it would remove “all content that incites violence or spreads misinformation” after armed Myanmar soldiers and police used the app to deliver death threats to protesters against last month’s coup.

On Thursday, Mar. 4, 2021, the Biden administration demanded that military authorities in Myanmar stop their brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters and release demonstrators and journalists that the army detained.

Thousands of Belarussians took to the streets in Aug. 2020, raging about what looked like rigged elections. Their government shut off the internet in the country.

The Scorpions’ “Wind Of Change” used to open with the lyrics “Follow the Moskva / Down to Gorky Park,” but the band decided to make some changes. “It simply isn’t right to romanticize Russia,” lead singer Klaus Meine told Die Zeit on May 29, 2022. Instead, the revised lyrics say: “Now listen to my heart / It says Ukrainia / Waiting for the wind to change.”

Berlin bid farewell on Nov. 8, 2020, to the German capital’s main Tegel airport. The new Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt opened at the end of October 2020, only nine years later than initially planned, and way over its budget.

The Eiffel Tower was given the nickname The Iron Lady in 1925 and is still called this today.

Eiffel Tower Fact

Paris’ Eiffel Tower was ordered shut in October 2020 as France battled its second virus surge of the coronavirus pandemic. The monument reopened Friday, July 16, 2021, for the first time in nearly nine months.

The Big Ben clock tower in London has been officially known as the Elizabeth Tower since 2012, when it was renamed in honor of the queen’s diamond jubilee. A 5-year silencing of the Big Ben bells for renovation, which started in August 2017, finally ended in summer 2022, according to a New York Times July 3 report.

The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, was dedicated on May 30, 2022, to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln (born in 1809 and assassinated in 1865). A segregated audience of 50,000 was present during the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial on Decoration Day (now known as Memorial Day) weekend. President Warren G. Harding addressed the crowd, as did other dignitaries.

What is the Lincoln Memorial Centennial Exhibition?

An art exhibit featuring over 50 multimedia works and artifacts inspired by the iconic seated Lincoln sculpture opened on May 7, 2022, at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge. The exhibit runs in Stockbridge until Sept. 5 before moving to the Concord Museum from Sept. 22 until Feb. 26, 2023. Lincoln Memorial sculptor Daniel Chester French’s studio, Chesterwood, is located in the same Massachusetts town.

Edvard Eriksen’s famous The Little Mermaid bronze statue has been displayed on a rock by the waterside in Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital, since 1913, representing the story of Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen.

The Little Mermaid Odd New York Times Report

The Eriksen estate has initiated legal proceedings demanding that a somewhat similar sculpture, displayed since 2016 in the village of Asaa, in the north of Denmark, be torn down. According to a New York Times Aug. 17, 2021 report, the Eriksen estate also seeks 37,000 Danish crowns($6,000) in compensation. While the Asaa mermaid is plumper and her facial features coarser, her posture is identical to Eriksen’s mermaid.

You’re looking at the first and only steel 3D-printed pedestrian bridge over a canal in the heart of Amsterdam’s red-light district. The 12-meter (40-foot) bridge was created using a 3D printing technique that combines robotics with welding. Dutch Queen Maxima teamed up with a small robot Thursday, July 17, 2021, to unveil the 3D-printed bridge.

Amsterdam’s 3D-Printed Bridge Facts

The 6-ton structure is loaded with sensors that researchers at Imperial College London use to monitor the bridge in real-time and measure how it reacts to pedestrians’ use. It will remain in place for two years while the bridge that previously crossed the canal is renovated.

The word ‘Capitol’ originates in Latin and refers to Jupiter Optimus Maximus’s Temple on Capitoline Hill, Rome‘s seven hills. Thomas Jefferson insisted on naming the American legislative building ‘Capitol’ rather than ‘Congress House.’

The 2021 Capitol Riots

Rioters supporting former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, occupying parts of the building for several hours. The riots, incited by Trump, disrupted a joint session of Congress to certify Joe Biden’s  2020 election win.