Trivia Bits 26 June

 

The first film granted permission by the Chinese government to be filmed in the Forbidden City was The Last Emperor (poster pictured), 1987 which won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Formerly known as French Guinea, Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea is a country in West Africa with the capital being Conakry, a port city on the Atlantic Ocean which serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea.

Ernst Reuter, after having not been approved by the Soviets as the elected mayor of post-war Berlin, became the first mayor of the non-Soviet controlled part of the city, West Berlin in 1947.

Although construction of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Strasbourg started in 1015, it was not until 1439 the spire was completed.

Russian sculptor Pavel Sokolov designed sphinxes for Egyptian Bridge, griffins for Bank Bridge, and lions for Bridge of Four Lions all situated in Saint Petersburg and built between 1825 and 1826.

Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44BC on the Ides of March, 15 March, Caesar was due to appear at a session of the Senate but was waylaid on the steps of the Senate, Caesar attempted to get away, but, blinded by blood, he tripped and fell; the men continued stabbing him as he lay defenceless on the lower steps of the portico and according to Eutropius, an Ancient Roman historian, around 60 or more men participated in the assassination resulting in being stabbed 23 times.

John Cadbury, an English Quaker, began roasting and grinding chocolate beans to sell in his tea and coffee shop in 1824 and in 1842 Cadbury's Chocolate Company in England created the first chocolate bar.

The name of the town Railton in northern Tasmania supposedly came about because the lines of the Mersey and Deloraine Tramway Company connected there when the line was completed in 1885.

The Pietà, sculptured during 1498 to 1499, is a world-famous work of Renaissance sculpture, in Carrara marble, by Michelangelo Buonarroti, housed in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City and has carved MICHAELA[N]GELUS BONAROTUS FLORENTIN[US] FACIEBA[T] (Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florentine, made this) on the sash running across Mary's chest.

The study of snakes is called ophiology with the branch of zoology that is concerned with the study of amphibians and reptiles, which include snakes, lizards, turtles, terrapins and tortoises alongside others is known as herpetology.