Did you know 
What links the St. Jakob-Park football stadium in Basel with the Miami Art Museum and the Olympic Stadium in Beijing?
All three were designed by the Swiss star architects Herzog & de Meuron. Herzog & de Meuron is an architecture firm with an international reputation, founded in 1978 in Basel. It was born of the cooperation between two architects, Jacques Herzog (* 19th April 1950 in Basel) and Pierre de Meuron (* 8th May 1950 in Basel). The pair are currently planning Switzerland’s tallest building. The tower for the pharmaceutical group Roche is to be reminiscent of the shape of a double helix.
What is the most famous chemical product to be invented by a Swiss person?
65 years ago, the Swiss doctor of chemistry Albert Hofmann wrote in his diary: «16:20 Took substance. 17:00 Start of dizziness, anxiety, visual disturbances, paralysis, urge to laugh.» There followed intensive kaleidoscopic, colourful visions. It was 1943 when Albert Hofmann discovered the hallucinogenic effect of LSD and tested it on himself. The Swiss scientist studied at the University of Zürich.
It should come as no surprise that the world’s biggest watchmaker is based in Switzerland. What is its name?
It’s the Swatch Group, based in Biel in the Canton of Bern. The Swatch Group is the world’s biggest watchmaker. 10 million Swatch watches alone are made every year. The Group employs around 20,000 people in more than 50 countries and includes 19 brands in its portfolio – including recent acquisition, Tiffany. Others include Breguet, Omega, Tissot, Longines, Rado, Blancpain and of course Swatch. Not least thanks to the Group’s famous Swatch watches, the Group helped the Swiss watch industry to make a new start in the 1980s. The Swiss watch group turned over almost 6 billion Swiss Francs in 2007. That’s a 17.6 % increase over the previous year.
Did you know that a Swiss doctor was the first to describe a stroke as early as the 17th century?
In 1650, the then 30 year old Johann Jakob Wepfer was granted a permit to dissect corpses from the authorities of the city of Schaffhausen. In 1658, he published a booklet entitled “Anatomical Observations of the Bodies of those who died of strokes, with treatment of the locations in question”. This unremarkable octavo booklet made Wepfer famous in medical circles. He drew a precise distinction – unheard of at that time – between haemorrhagic and ischaemic strokes.
Swiss Quiz 5
Did you know...?
What links the St. Jakob-Park football stadium in Basel with the Miami Art Museum and the Olympic Stadium in Beijing? What is the most famous chemical product to be invented by a Swiss person? It should come as no surprise that the world’s biggest watchmaker is based in Switzerland. What is its name? Did you know that a Swiss doctor was the first to describe a stroke as early as the 17th century?