Commentary: Didactically Trivial Episode 2

It’s time to play Jeopardy again and test the parameters of your brain housing group.

Category Today: Geography and History

What is the county seat of Warren County? Easy one. But do you know the origins of our fair town?

The entire area of Front Royal and the Shenandoah Valley was the former hunting grounds of the Iroquois Confederation of Tribes by 1672. As the early settlers spread westward, the Iroquois formally sold out to the Virginia colony in 1744. Front Royal was settled about a decade later but wasn’t originally called Front Royal. What was the original name of Front Royal prior to the Revolutionary War?

Answer: Originally, Front Royal was called LeHewtown, and the LeHew family still resides in Front Royal. The family estate is known as Bel Air.

Also, Front Royal had quite the nickname.

Question: What was Front Royal’s infamous nickname by 1790?

Hint, you can purchase a pullover from The Virginia Beer Museum on Chester Street emblazoned with the name “Helltown.” This nom de guerre was due to the many livestock wranglers and commercial bargemen who rotated through town, getting over-served and letting off some steam. The offspring of those folks still get into trouble around here. The town was incorporated as Front Royal in 1788. The name ostensibly references the town & land that historically faced British ‘Royal’-owned properties.

Along the Bosporus: Recently, my wife and I toured the Grand Bizarre in one of the most famous cities of all time. Interestingly, this city has changed its name three times over the centuries. Our tour guide asked the question, “What were the three names of the city in Turkey that has historically bridged the Asian and European cultures and was fought over many times”? You are correct if you guessed that one of the names is Istanbul. We’ll move along and come back to that question after a few clues.

Part 2 of this inquiry; What was the former name of Istanbul?

The answer is Constantinople. On March 28, 1930, the Turkish cities of Constantinople and Angora changed their names. If you wanted to purchase a flight to Constantinople and Angora nowadays, where would you arrive? This is just to ensure you are paying attention.

The answer is Istanbul and Ankara.

What is the capital of Turkey? The answer was just given to you. You may remember the 1990 song by the group, ‘They Might Be Giants, ’ entitled, “Istanbul is not Constantinople.” That song was how I remembered it when I was growing up. Constantinople was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and the capital of the Ottoman Empire (as well as the Latin Empire and Byzantine Empire), but if you are not familiar with Angora/Ankara, you are hereby informed that this city is the capital of Turkey.

One last time, what are the three historic names of Istanbul?

The answer in sequence is the former Greek Colony of Byzantium (660 BCE to 324 BCE), Constantinople for hundreds of years, and now Istanbul as of 1930. Many cities, countries, and even regions have undergone name changes for many reasons. Here are a few more to ponder.

Chinese trivia for 200: Peking Duck is a rather delicious dish. But Peking is not a name that the Chinese are familiar with. The many dialects of the Chinese languages resulted in most of the rest of the world calling the capital of China – Peking for centuries.

The Chinese themselves did not call it that. The Peoples Republic of China officially made the name change in 1958, but western countries were slow to follow – mostly because the western nations backed the Chinese Nationalists that fled to the island of Formosa shortly after World War 2.

All that aside, what is the modern-day city of Peking called?

If you guessed Hong Kong – you must re-do the 6^th grade. The answer is Beijing. And for the follow-on portion of the quiz, what is the current-day name of the island of Formosa? The present-day name of Formosa is starting to become quite newsworthy. We may have a war there within the next decade. It’s Taiwan.

Russian History for 100. Most people know that Moscow is the capital of Russia but what was the previous capital of Russia that lasted for over 200 years?

The answer: Czar Peter “The Great” founded this grand city in his own name in 1703. He fashioned it “Saint Petersburg.” This city remained the capital of Imperial Russia until 1918, when the Communist regime took over and made Moscow the Russian capital.

In 1924 the Communists changed the name of St. Petersburg. What name did it go by for the next 60 years? Clue: St. Petersburg was changed in honor of the original communist leader of Russia.

Answer: St. Petersburg was renamed Leningrad in 1924 after Vladimir Lenin. When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, so did the city’s communist name, and the old name was resurrected. With 5 million people, St. Petersburg is Russia’s second-largest city and the center of Russian culture.

Let’s go Far East (with Google Maps) for 500: Quick one. What is the present-day name of Siam?  In 1939 Siam officially changed its name to Thailand. Siam was an exonym of the country before 1949. Part 2 is a vocabulary Question. What does exonym mean? Exonym implies that only foreigners and outsiders referred to the country by the name Siam. This is kind of like the previous question regarding Peking, China.

Paris of the Orient: What city was formerly known as the Paris of the Orient? Clue: Ask any military person involved in the Vietnam War, and they will know.

The answer is Saigon, which took its name in the 1600s. Saigon was the capital of French Indochina. Renowned for its beauty and charm, Saigon was renamed some 300 years later – shortly after being seized by communist forces in 1976 – at the conclusion of the Vietnam War. If you wish to purchase a flight to Saigon these days – what would you tell the travel agent today? Ask for Ho Chi Minh City. With an urban area of over 9 million people, Ho Chi Minh City is named after the famed North Vietnamese leader – Ho Chi Minh.

New York City: The most populous city in the US and the world’s financial center,  was first settled by Dutch trappers in 1624, who named it after their capital in Holland. What was the original name of New York City? I’ll let you think about it a bit. It changed names when the English took it over forty years later in 1664 and gave it a proper English name honoring King James’ brother, the Duke of York. But getting back to the question at hand – what did the original Dutch colonists name it?

The answer is New Amsterdam. New York City has been the most populous city in the U.S. since 1790. That said, what is the capital of New York? Despite its size and importance, New York City is not the capital of New York State (Albany is).

Persia: Remember the movie “300” with Gerard Butler and the Spartans making a gallant last stand against a numerically superior army of Persians led by Xerxes at the battle of Thermopylae.

The first Persian Invasion of Greece occurred in 490 BC to punish the cities (Athens and Eretria) for supporting a revolt against Persia. But that is ancient history. So now I ask you, where on the map is Persia? Answer: In 1935, the reigning Shah changed the name of the country to Iran and requested the world recognize the change. By the time the 1979 Islamic revolution came, the country’s official name became The Islamic Republic of Iran, and that’s what it’s called today.

Babylon and Mesopotamia: If you haven’t listened to the 1980’s B-52 song ‘Mesopotamia,’ you need to give it a go. It’s one of my favorites. Let’s go with geography for all the rest of your money. Where is Mesopotamia? I’ll venture a guess that you’ll lose, but here’s the answer. Clue: The name comes from ancient Greek, meaning ‘land between the rivers.’ Mesopotamia is often referred to as the cradle of civilization in Western Asia, situated within the Tigris and Euphrates River system. Does that help at all? Doubt it.

If you wish to go double or nothing, what is the present-day country straddles both rivers? Clue: This was the location of Operation Desert Storm in 1991. If that doesn’t do it for you – try Saddam Hussein.

Answer: yes, it’s Iraq now. Back in the day, though, Mesopotamia encompassed the areas of Kuwait and parts of present-day Iran, Syria, and Turkey. Now that we’re squared on that – Where is Babylon? Babylon was the capital of Babylonia, along the southern portion of Mesopotamia. Geographically speaking, Babylon was just south of Baghdad.

Well – that will do it for this rendition of Didactically Trivial Jeopardy. See you next time.