Social Science Questions & Answers

High in the Andes mountains, 12,507-ft (3,812 m) above sea level, Lake Titicaca is the world’s highest navigable lake. It lies between Bolivia and Peru, covering an area of about 3,200 sq. miles (8,300 sq. km). Both ships and traditional reed boats use the lake.

It’s the increase in marketing of beauty products, which use scientific jargon that confuses consumers. This works on the premise that using words that sound scientific may be considered more effective by the consumer, and help justify high prices.

The Sistine Chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV. It’s best known for being the location of papal conclaves, for the election of a new Pope. It is famous for its architecture, evocative of Solomon’s Temple of the Old Testament and on its decoration which has been frescoed throughout by the greatest Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Raphael, and Sandro …

Singlism is a term used to describe discrimination against employees who are single. Also spelt single-ism, it is the negative stereotyping of single or divorced people which leaves them feeling left out at the workplace or other places where conversations or events tend to steer towards that which is more couple-oriented.

‘Similia similibus curantur’ is a phrase coined by Dr Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homoeopathy. Nearly 180 years ago, he did an experiment with a drug decoction made from the bark of the chincona tree, known for its curative properties in the treatment of malaria. He drank the decoction, though he was healthy, and developed the symptoms of malaria. This …

Show-jumping is a competition to see which horse and rider can best jump a series of walls, fences and other obstacles. Points are won and lost as the horses, one after the other, attempt each obstacle on a specially prepared course. Sometimes extra points are awarded to the horse which completes the course successfully in the fastest time. Some of …

Sabre-rattling is an idiomatic phrase that originated in the early 20th century when an officer would threaten to draw his sabre. It usually refers to a flamboyant display of military power as an implied threat or any other threat such as a company threatening another with a lawsuit.

Round tripping has several meanings. In finance, it refers to money that leaves the country, often routed to the diaspora, making its way back to the country in the form of foreign direct investment. It also refers to a company that sells an unused asset to another company, while agreeing to buy it or a similar asset at the same …

Rice wine is made from fermenting freshly steamed glutinous rice. Most rice wines are low in alcohol content, light in colour, non-carbonated and have a sweet flavour. Rice wine is categorised according to the degree to which rice is polished. It does not usually improve with age and should be preferably consumed within one year of bottling.

Reindeer moss is a species of lichen so called because it is the staple winter food of reindeer (and caribou) in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. The animals reach the plant by scraping away the snow with their feet. But plant growth in those cold northern lands is so slow that the lichen can take more than 30 years to recover …