A Basque Quiz

OK, everybody, let's test your knowledge of things Basque. You might be surprised at how much you already know. I'll post the answers tomorrow.

1) True or False? The name basketball doesn't come from the game's scoring goal of successfully getting the ball through the hoop or basket but from the old French term "basque au balcon". This describes the ancient courtship ritual whereby young Basque swains would toss traditional loaves of bread into baskets set out onto the balconies of hopeful Basque girls. The young man to get the most loaves into the basket of the object of his affection won her hand.

2) Probably the most famous Basque contribution to the world of fashion is...

(a) ...the béret. (b) ...espadrilles. (c) ...both "a" and "b".

3) To surpress the rebellious Basques, in 1937 Generalissimo Francisco Franco invited the powerful German and Italian air forces to use which Basque town as target practice for their new war planes?

(a) Guernica (b) Bilbao (c) Irun

4) To commemorate the terrible slaughter and destruction which resulted from the air attack described in #3, which Spanish artist painted a famous work of art which is known by the name of the unfortunate city?

(a) Salvador Dali (b) Charo (c) Pablo Picasso

5) True or False? The Basque language, or Euskara, is the oldest and sole remaining pre-Indo-European language still spoken in Western Europe.

6) The shipbuilding port city of Bilbao is where you can find a famous art museum designed by Frank Gehry and funded by...

(a) ...the Guggenheim Foundation. (b) ...the Getty Trust. (c) ...both "a" and "b".

7) Which of the following is NOT a typical suffix for a Basque name?

(a) -egui (b) -uru (c) -inski

8) The Basque country is found in the bordering provinces of which two nation states?

(a) France and Italy (b) France and Spain (c) Spain and Portugal

9) Columbus sailed to the Americas in Basque-built ships, the most advanced for deep ocean travel in the 15th century, manned primarily by Basque mariners. The Basques had long experience of traveling ever further out into the Atlantic in search of ever greater resources of...

(a) ...land. (b) ...gold. (c) ...cod.

10) Pelota is...

(a) ...a Basque cake. (b) ...a Basque sport. (c) ...a Basque soccer star.

Time's up! Pencils down! Come back tomorrow and I'll let you know the answers!