Random trivia

Alright then. Czechoslovakia, Austria and Finland are all three countries founded in their depicted shapes after World War One. Austria existed before, but was a completely new entity.
All three were founded as democracies.
All three remained democracies until they were occupied by Germany with the exception of Finland, which remains the same entity today.

What is so special about this?

Out of the new countries to grow out of Europe after WWI, all except Yugoslavia were founded as democracies, however by 1937, only these three were left as democratic "nations" (I have objections using that term, especially considering Czechoslovakia). All others turned into dictatures. I'm not including Danzig/Gdánsk, because that was not a country but an independent territory governed by the League Of Nations (like today's UN Mandates). You could basicallyadd Ireland to that list, but it was not formed as a result of the Treaty of Versailles.

Admittedly, this is a bit a dodgy question, and the answer is also not so completely obvious and firm. I was hoping somebody would notice the odd shapes of Finland and Czechoslovakia and come up with them as being the pre-WW2 borders and get an idea then. Maybe I should have posed the question in a more straightforward way or given more obvious hints. I apologize for this question and promise to give you a solveable one next time I'm up. [img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/smile.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":)\" border=\"0\" alt=\"smile.gif\" /]
 
[!--quoteo(post=130022:date=Feb 28 2006, 06:46 PM:name=Perun)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Perun @ Feb 28 2006, 06:46 PM) [snapback]130022[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Admittedly, this is a bit a dodgy question, and the answer is also not so completely obvious and firm. I was hoping somebody would notice the odd shapes of Finland and Czechoslovakia and come up with them as being the pre-WW2 borders and get an idea then. Maybe I should have posed the question in a more straightforward way or given more obvious hints. I apologize for this question and promise to give you a solveable one next time I'm up. [img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/smile.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":)\" border=\"0\" alt=\"smile.gif\" /]
[/quote]
In all honesty Per, I think some of us were pretty close to this answer... I said that the answer was to do with the countries being invaded throughout WWII and this in turn would lead to the "new" borders. Not to be a whiny bith or anything [img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":P\" border=\"0\" alt=\"tongue.gif\" /]
Anyway, who gets to ask the next question?
 
[!--quoteo(post=130027:date=Feb 28 2006, 08:21 PM:name=Conor)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Conor @ Feb 28 2006, 08:21 PM) [snapback]130027[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
In all honesty Per, I think some of us were pretty close to this answer... I said that the answer was to do with the countries being invaded throughout WWII and this in turn would lead to the "new" borders. Not to be a whiny bith or anything [img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":P\" border=\"0\" alt=\"tongue.gif\" /] [/quote]

Well, you got the setting right, but I didn't want to put you on some sort of track having to do with Germany, because Finland was never invaded by Germany.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]Anyway, who gets to ask the next question?
[/quote]

How about you? [img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/smile.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":)\" border=\"0\" alt=\"smile.gif\" /]
 
spencer-perceval-1.jpg

mckinley.jpg

biggarf.jpg

I know somebody will get this within an hour but I can't think of anything harder...
Link these three men and find two other people who fit the list.
 
I think I know who the second and third are. The second looks like William McKinley and the third looks like James Garfield. I can think of one thing those two have in common, but I don't know who the first guy is.
 
[!--quoteo(post=130037:date=Feb 28 2006, 09:09 PM:name=macunaima)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(macunaima @ Feb 28 2006, 09:09 PM) [snapback]130037[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
I think I know who the second and third are. The second looks like William McKinley and the third looks like James Garfield. I can think of one thing those two have in common, but I don't know who the first guy is.
[/quote]

You're stuck exactly where I am. You are right with the two you named. But the first one is giving me a headache, especially because he does look somewhat familiar.
 
[!--quoteo(post=130032:date=Feb 28 2006, 03:44 PM:name=Conor)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Conor @ Feb 28 2006, 03:44 PM) [snapback]130032[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
spencer-perceval-1.jpg

mckinley.jpg

biggarf.jpg

I know somebody will get this within an hour but I can't think of anything harder...
Link these three men and find two other people who fit the list.
[/quote]

Prime Minister Spencer Perceval
President William McKinley
President James Garfield

Will these work as others in the list, Conor?

Yezhak%20Rabin.jpg


240john_kennedy0_2.jpg


(edited to fix a picture URL)
 
[!--quoteo(post=130045:date=Feb 28 2006, 09:20 PM:name=IronDuke)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(IronDuke @ Feb 28 2006, 09:20 PM) [snapback]130045[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Yezhak%20Rabin.jpg

[/quote]
He wouldn't really be the one I was looking for but would suffice I suppose, you know the linkage anyway.. It's your turn then Dukey if you can tell me what one person stands out who is missing from the list [img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/wink.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\";)\" border=\"0\" alt=\"wink.gif\" /]
 
[!--quoteo(post=130061:date=Feb 28 2006, 05:15 PM:name=Conor)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Conor @ Feb 28 2006, 05:15 PM) [snapback]130061[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
He wouldn't really be the one I was looking for but...
[/quote]


Just out of curiosity...why?
 
[!--quoteo(post=130062:date=Feb 28 2006, 10:27 PM:name=macunaima)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(macunaima @ Feb 28 2006, 10:27 PM) [snapback]130062[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Just out of curiosity...why?
[/quote]
I was looking for assasinated Presidents of USA or Prime Ministers of UK. I know it was a bit open to debate but hey... it doesn't really matter [img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/wink.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\";)\" border=\"0\" alt=\"wink.gif\" /]
 
Well, assassinated heads of state should go too. That's why I posted Indira Gandhi and Laurent Kabila (the two [strike]living[/strike] proofs that bodyguards do more damage than good).
 
Canada has five major national banks:
Toronto Dominion, Bank of Montreal, the Bank of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank of Canada, and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

Historically, three of them share a peculiar trait. What is it?
 
[!--quoteo(post=130196:date=Mar 1 2006, 11:03 AM:name=IronDuke)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(IronDuke @ Mar 1 2006, 11:03 AM) [snapback]130196[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
Canada has five major national banks:
Toronto Dominion, Bank of Montreal, the Bank of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank of Canada, and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

Historically, three of them share a peculiar trait. What is it?
[/quote]


No clue. But thinking about their american counterparts, I would guess that they all started out as slave-trading companies. No?
 
Is it that they were originally founded in territories that were not part of Canada at that time?
 
macunaima, nope! Decent guess though, given what we know of US banks.

Perun, all five of them pre-date Confederation, so you're technically right - there was no Canada at all! But it's not what I was going for. Good guess though!
 
Did these three start out as colonial companies (such as the Hudson's Bay Company)?
 
Is it something we'd have to research or can we find it out by guessing? (This is almost like the Yes/No answer game [img src=\"style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":P\" border=\"0\" alt=\"tongue.gif\" /])
 
Three of them started off as regional banks and grew to be federal banks? (Scotia, TD, BoM?)
 
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