New Zealand Country Quiz

I'm American and got 19/20 which I would say is pretty good... The only one I missed was the rugby one which is more my lack of knowledge about sports than geography.

while the UK cabinet office has stated that you lose the honour of a knighthood when you die, in general the public still use the Sir to show respect and I suppose to distinguish between some other Edmund Hillary or whoever else it may be e.g. Sir Walter Raleigh is still called Sir even though he is very dead.

In general no one cares about snobby nobility crap.

It seems to make sense to recognise important contributions. The US does have some civilian awards that are comparable e.g. the Medal of Freedom. Yes, in the UK originally it was horse-battle related and it is important to reward people for defending the country well (the US military definitely has this) but it evolved into a system that at the top provides good advisors to the monarch (the House of Lords). Would you suggest there is no point electing someone to the senate and giving them the title senator? Honours are often given to celebrities for important charitable work rather than their normal work, so its about encouraging some extra input in society. With the British system, at a basic level it still provides a pool of people who can defend the country in a different way (instead of doing so in battle there are people who can help govern, advise, create artistic work, develop cultural relations in sport or other arts, and assist others in need). Seems ok to me.

@kogatora, on this site the answers don't include honorifics for Americans who have them. It doesn't read President George Washington or Senator Ted Kennedy or Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps or Medal of Freedom Winner Richard Garwin. In formal environments, one will refer to elected officials by the highest rank they achieved, even if they are no longer governor/senator/etc. But that wouldn't apply to a quiz site.

Agree with you completely, in fact I refuse to use the term "Sir: or "Dame" for anyone. Knighthoods were actually abolished in New Zealand by prime minister Helen Clark in 2000, but were reinstated in 2009 by John Key. Time for them to go for once and for all.

Well, as a Brit I agree with QM and disagree with kogatora. Nothing wrong with having an honours system that recognizes people's contributions, and most countries have one. The trouble with the British one is that it's all wrapped up in the language of aristocracy and empire, which given the social divisions and delusions of grandeur that persist in British society is unhelpful. Give someone a medal with a fancy name, by all means, even some letters after their name if you have to, but don't give them a title.

Some may not know that Americans have been knighted by the Queen of England. Some of them include Bill Gates, George Herbert Walker Bush, Colin Powell, Steven Spielberg, and Bob Hope. Since it is honorary they don't use the title, Sir.

What's the difference between a knighthood and the Presidential Medal of Freedom? I reckon presidents and governors having the right to unilaterally pardon anyone they please is a more alarming feudal hangover.

Jane Campion?

Campion makes three now. :)

And recently I learned that Andrew Niccol (guy who directed Gattaca) is from New Zealand, so I'm up to four now.

Niki Caro. Whale Rider was her first movie I saw back in the early 2000s and I thought it was a wonderful film. I think she's getting pretty good reviews with Mulan this year but I haven't seen it.

Roger Donaldson, Lee Tamahori and Martin Campbell are also respected directors. New Zealand is impressive in that regard.

Taika Waititi visited our home recently. Nice guy. Very smart and funny.