1. Born on May 5 in 1864, Nellie Bly was the pioneer of investigative journalism. In 1888, she suggested to the editor of the New York World that she could attempt to recreate the journey from a novel that had been released in 1873. She did the 40,070 km trip and 72 days later, arrived back in New York. Which novel was she inspired by?
2. Juan Sebastián Elcano was a Spanish navigator who was on board the ship Victoria on a certain expedition that started in 1519. The original captain was killed in the Philippines during the journey, after which Elcano took over and led 17 survivors in the very first documented circumnavigation of the world. Which explorer started the expedition, after whom places and space probes have been named?
3. Maestre Anes was a German navigator who was one of the survivors who worked under Elcano. Three years later, he signed up under captain Garcia Loaisa to map the Pacific Ocean and discover spice sources in the East. The crew was captured by the Portuguese while returning and only four people survived, Anes being one of them. What record did he achieve with this feat?
4. Woodes Rogers was an Englishman who captained the ship ‘Duke’ around the world for three years starting from 1707, capturing Spanish ships. During one voyage, they discovered Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish sailor who was marooned on an island off the coast of Chile. The rescued sailor’s story inspired an author to write which popular novel?
5. Jean Baret enlisted as an assistant to the naturalist Philibert Commerson on the Bougainville expedition around the world. An expert botanist, Baret is responsible for discovering lots of new plants and in 1769, came home to document the findings. It was only much later that it came to be known that Baret’s first name was actually ‘Jeanne’. What world ‘first’ did this make Jeanne Baret?
6. Fabian Bellingshausen was a Russian explorer who was part of the very first Russian circumnavigation. His success led Emperor Alexander I to select him as the captain of another expedition to the Southern Ocean. During this journey, on January 27, 1819, they discovered what he described as ‘ice fields’. What was this, which till date remains the last of its kind to be discovered?
7. Robert Fitzroy of the English Royal Navy was a meteorologist who invented the word ‘forecast’ and set up the Met Office. He captained the HMS Beagle on a five-year scientific voyage around the world. To enliven the tedious journey, he onboarded a young naturalist with whom he could discuss science. Who did he take on board who, thanks to this trip, changed the world of biology?
8. Robin Knox-Johnston set off from England on his boat on June 14, 1968 and returned to the spot on April 22, 1969. What record did he set, which earned him the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire?
9. The INS Tarangini became the first Indian Naval ship to circumnavigate the globe when it visited 36 ports in 2003. In 2008, the ship retraced the path followed by ancient seafarers of an empire that stretched across Southeast Asia in the 9th century. By visiting Jakarta, Singapore, and Phuket, the ship emulated ancient seafarers of which empire?
10. Born on May 5 in 1943, Sir Michael Palin of the comedy group Monty Python did a trilogy of travel shows for the BBC. He retraced the steps of Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 days, and then circumnavigated the Pacific Ocean in Full Circle. In 1991, he set off on a journey following the 30-degree east line of longitude, covering Scandinavia, the Soviet Union and Africa. What was the name of the show, which referenced his starting and finishing points and the fact that they were the extremes?
A molecular biologist from Madurai, our quizmaster enjoys trivia and music, and is working on a rock ballad called ‘Coffee is a Drink, Kaapi is an Emotion’. @bertyashley
Answers
1. Around the World in 80 days
2. Ferdinand Magellan
3. Circumnavigated the globe twice
4. Robinson Crusoe
5. First woman circumnavigator (acted as a man to stay on the ship)
6. Antarctica (last continent to be discovered)
7. Charles Darwin
8. Single handed non-stop circumnavigation
9. The Chola Empire
10. Pole to Pole
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