Trivia time: 20 questions all about the sea

Time for some more Expat Living trivia! With World Oceans Day being celebrated on 8 June, we’ve prepared a quiz of 20 questions all about the seas, their creatures and the things they’ve inspired. Dive on in!

#1 In which ocean would you find the Maldives?

#2 Is coral a plant, a fungus or an animal? 

#3 Who wrote The Old Man and the Sea?

#4 What do sailors call the strong westerly winds they encounter in the southern hemisphere, generally between a latitude of 40 and 50 degrees?

#5 Orcas are the largest species of dolphin, true or false?

#6 The word SCUBA stands for “Self Contained Underwater” what?

#7 There are four films in the Ocean’s film franchise; the first was called Ocean’s Eleven; what were the next three called?

#8 Which country’s coastline is easily the longest in the world, more than double that of the second-placed country, Norway?

#9 What two words starting with “f” and “j” refer to specific types of marine debris from ships?

#10 What’s the name of the large and very salty lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west?

#11 Of the six biggest recorded waves ever to have been surfed, five have been caught at the same beach in which European country?

#12 True or false: Point Nemo is the name for a spot in the Pacific Ocean that is the farthest place on Earth from land.

#13 With a surname of Ocean, which singer had success in the 1980s with hits including “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going” and “Caribbean Queen”?

#14 Do more of the world’s oceans lie north or south of the equator?

#15 Which of the following is not the name of a sea on the Moon: Sea of Nectar, Sea of Cleverness, Sea of Champagne, Sea of Serenity? 

#16 Is an eel a fish?

#17 Starting with A, what island from Greek mythology is said to have sunk into the ocean after falling out of favour with the gods?

#18 The sun sets over the ocean in Perth, Australia: true or false?

#19 Beginning with the letters “M” and “C”, which two islands of the Mediterranean Sea are also independent nations? (Hint: not Mallorca, Corsica or Crete.)

#20 What is the two-word name for the pirate flag featuring a skull and crossbones?

Bonus

Who am I?

(If you can answer correctly on the first clue, you get 10 points, but you lose a point for each additional clue you require after that.)

• I was born in 1954 in Canada, and I currently live in New Zealand. (10)
• I’ve been married five times. (9)
• In 2010, I was named by Time magazine as one of 100 most influential people in the world. (8)
• After seeing Star Wars in 1977, I quit my job as a truck driver to try my luck in the film industry in California. (7)
• My first project was a short film about a robot battle; it was funded by money borrowed from a group of dentists. (6)
• Things got better after that. A lot better. In fact, my films have grossed US$6 billion worldwide. (5)
• What’s all this got to do with oceans? Well, in 2012, I became the first person ever to make a solo descent to Challenger Deep, the deepest known point on the Earth’s seabed. It’s more than 10km below the surface of the sea. (4)
• I’m also well known for making films set in and around water, including 1989’s The Abyss. (3)
• Though my most lucrative film to date has been Avatar, I’m best known for another ocean-themed film, Titanic. (2)
• I am James who, starting with C? (1)

All the answers!

#1 Indian
#2 Animal – it’s a marine invertebrate
#3 Ernest Hemingway
#4 The Roaring Forties
#5 True
#6 Breathing Apparatus
#7 Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Thirteen, Ocean’s Eight
#8 Canada
#9 Flotsam and jetsam
#10 Dead Sea
#11 Portugal
#12 True
#13 Billy Ocean
#14 South
#15 Sea of Champagne
#16 Yes
#17 Atlantis
#18 True
#19 Malta and Cyprus
#20 Jolly Roger

Bonus:

James Cameron

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