Historical happenings
1. Which former leading American politician was mocked for his public inability to spell the word potatoes?
Dan Quayle
2. Which of Hitler's associates is paraphrased as saying, in a 1936 broadcast: "Guns will make us powerful; butter will only make us fat"?
Goering
3. Which was the first woman to be shot and killed by the American agency the FBI?
Bonney Parker
4. What was the first condom made of, a)Leather, b)Linen, c)Goat Skin or d)Tree Bark
Linen
5. Which hotel had Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed just left when they were involved in the fatal car crash?
The Ritz
6. Which of Henry VIII's wives gave him the male heir he wanted?
Jane Seymour
7. Which Sioux Indian was killed in 1877 after surrendering to American troops?
Crazy Horse
8. Who is said to have been the first to bring potatoes back to England in 1588?
Sir Walter Raleigh
9. Which is the only dead language that has been totally resurrected for every day use?
Hebrew - dead for 2,300 years
10. During the Second World War, who were said to be "Overpaid,
oversexed and over here"?
American troops
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Friday, July 9, 2010
History 2
6 - History
1 -
Named after a French minister of the 20th century, what effort is considered one of the great failures of military history, and is now used as a metaphor for something that is confidently relied upon but which ended up being ineffective?
Answer
The Maginot Line
The Maginot Line named after French minister of defence André Maginot was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, machine gun posts and other defenses which France constructed along its borders with Germany and with Italy, in the light of experience from World War I, and in the run-up to World War II. However, the fortification system utterly failed to contain the invading German forces in World War II, who largely manuevered around it.
2.
The name of which symbol means 'well-being' in Sanskrit, though it became associated with men of dubious repute in history?
Answer
The Swastika (from Sanskrit 'svasti')
The use of the swastika was associated by Nazi theorists with their conjecture of Aryan cultural descent of the German people. Following the Nordicist version of the Aryan invasion theory, the Nazis claimed that the early Aryans of India, from whose Vedic tradition the swastika sprang, were the prototypical white invaders.
3 - The current queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom belongs to which royal house?
Answer
The House of Windsor
The name of the house was originally the House of Wettin but in 1917, during World War I, anti-German feeling among the people resulted in the Royal Family exchanging use of all of their German titles and house names for English-sounding versions.
4 -.
If 'Little Boy-Enola Gay' is to Hiroshima, what is to Nagasaki?
Answer
Fatman - Bockscar
An implosion-type weapon with a plutonium core, 'Fat Man' was detonated at an altitude of about 1,800 feet (550 m) over the city, and was dropped from a B-29 bomber Bockscar, piloted by Major Charles Sweeney. Because of Nagasaki's hilly terrain, the damage was somewhat less extensive than that in relatively flat Hiroshima. An estimated 40,000 people were killed outright by the bombing ,and about 25,000 were injured. Many thousands more would die later from related injuries, and radiation sickness from nuclear fallout.
5 - One of the mottos of which lethal 20th century regime was "To keep you is no benefit. To destroy you is no loss." in reference to civilian Cambodians?
Answer
Khmer Rouge
It was the ruling political party of Cambodia -- which it renamed to Democratic Kampuchea -- from 1975 to 1979. The Khmer regime is remembered mainly for the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million people (estimates range from 850,000 to 3 million) under its regime, through execution, starvation and forced labor.
6.
Julius Caesar crossed this river in 49 BC as an act of war where he supposedly said "the die is cast", giving rise to a popular idiom. Which river?
Answer
The Rubicon
"Crossing the Rubicon" is a popular idiom meaning to go past a point of no return because it was an ancient boundary between Gaul and Italy. The river is notable as Roman law forbade any general from crossing it with an army.
.
7 After hearing what news did Winston Churchill write "Being saturated and satiated with emotion and sensation, I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved and thankful."?
Answer
Attack on Pearl Harbor drawing the US into WWII
This battle has had history-altering consequences. It only had a small strategic military effect because the Japanese Navy failed to sink U.S. aircraft carriers or destroy the Submarine Base, but even if this had been achieved, it would not have helped Japan in the long term. The attack firmly drew the United States and its massive industrial and service economy into World War II.
8.
What name was given to the man-portable anti-tank rocket launcher which saw widespread use during World War II?
Answer
Bazooka
It was nicknamed "bazooka" from a vague resemblance to the musical instrument of the same name invented and used by Bob Burns. The word "bazooka" is often incorrectly used to refer to any shoulder-launched missile weapon.
9.
Which city in central Spain was renowned throughout the middle ages as an important center for the production of swords and other bladed instruments?
Answer
Toledo
10 - The transfer of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in 1997 from Great Britian is well-known. But at around the same time (in 1999), which country relinquished its claim on Macau and handed it over to China?
Answer
Portugal
Portugal and China agreed in 1979 to regard Macau as "a Chinese territory under (temporary) Portuguese administration". Negotiations between the Chinese and Portuguese governments on the question of Macau started in June 1986. In 1987, an international treaty, known as the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, was signed to make Macau a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. The Chinese government assumed sovereignty over Macau on December 20, 1999, ending 329 years of Portuguese rule.
1 -
Named after a French minister of the 20th century, what effort is considered one of the great failures of military history, and is now used as a metaphor for something that is confidently relied upon but which ended up being ineffective?
Answer
The Maginot Line
The Maginot Line named after French minister of defence André Maginot was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, machine gun posts and other defenses which France constructed along its borders with Germany and with Italy, in the light of experience from World War I, and in the run-up to World War II. However, the fortification system utterly failed to contain the invading German forces in World War II, who largely manuevered around it.
2.
The name of which symbol means 'well-being' in Sanskrit, though it became associated with men of dubious repute in history?
Answer
The Swastika (from Sanskrit 'svasti')
The use of the swastika was associated by Nazi theorists with their conjecture of Aryan cultural descent of the German people. Following the Nordicist version of the Aryan invasion theory, the Nazis claimed that the early Aryans of India, from whose Vedic tradition the swastika sprang, were the prototypical white invaders.
3 - The current queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom belongs to which royal house?
Answer
The House of Windsor
The name of the house was originally the House of Wettin but in 1917, during World War I, anti-German feeling among the people resulted in the Royal Family exchanging use of all of their German titles and house names for English-sounding versions.
4 -.
If 'Little Boy-Enola Gay' is to Hiroshima, what is to Nagasaki?
Answer
Fatman - Bockscar
An implosion-type weapon with a plutonium core, 'Fat Man' was detonated at an altitude of about 1,800 feet (550 m) over the city, and was dropped from a B-29 bomber Bockscar, piloted by Major Charles Sweeney. Because of Nagasaki's hilly terrain, the damage was somewhat less extensive than that in relatively flat Hiroshima. An estimated 40,000 people were killed outright by the bombing ,and about 25,000 were injured. Many thousands more would die later from related injuries, and radiation sickness from nuclear fallout.
5 - One of the mottos of which lethal 20th century regime was "To keep you is no benefit. To destroy you is no loss." in reference to civilian Cambodians?
Answer
Khmer Rouge
It was the ruling political party of Cambodia -- which it renamed to Democratic Kampuchea -- from 1975 to 1979. The Khmer regime is remembered mainly for the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million people (estimates range from 850,000 to 3 million) under its regime, through execution, starvation and forced labor.
6.
Julius Caesar crossed this river in 49 BC as an act of war where he supposedly said "the die is cast", giving rise to a popular idiom. Which river?
Answer
The Rubicon
"Crossing the Rubicon" is a popular idiom meaning to go past a point of no return because it was an ancient boundary between Gaul and Italy. The river is notable as Roman law forbade any general from crossing it with an army.
.
7 After hearing what news did Winston Churchill write "Being saturated and satiated with emotion and sensation, I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved and thankful."?
Answer
Attack on Pearl Harbor drawing the US into WWII
This battle has had history-altering consequences. It only had a small strategic military effect because the Japanese Navy failed to sink U.S. aircraft carriers or destroy the Submarine Base, but even if this had been achieved, it would not have helped Japan in the long term. The attack firmly drew the United States and its massive industrial and service economy into World War II.
8.
What name was given to the man-portable anti-tank rocket launcher which saw widespread use during World War II?
Answer
Bazooka
It was nicknamed "bazooka" from a vague resemblance to the musical instrument of the same name invented and used by Bob Burns. The word "bazooka" is often incorrectly used to refer to any shoulder-launched missile weapon.
9.
Which city in central Spain was renowned throughout the middle ages as an important center for the production of swords and other bladed instruments?
Answer
Toledo
10 - The transfer of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in 1997 from Great Britian is well-known. But at around the same time (in 1999), which country relinquished its claim on Macau and handed it over to China?
Answer
Portugal
Portugal and China agreed in 1979 to regard Macau as "a Chinese territory under (temporary) Portuguese administration". Negotiations between the Chinese and Portuguese governments on the question of Macau started in June 1986. In 1987, an international treaty, known as the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, was signed to make Macau a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. The Chinese government assumed sovereignty over Macau on December 20, 1999, ending 329 years of Portuguese rule.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
History 1
History
1. Who discovered Penicillin?
[Alexander Fleming]
2. Which country did Christopher Columbus discover first, Panama or
Venezuela?
[Venezuela]
3. Who preceded Kofi Annan as UN secretary general?
[Boutros Boutros Gali]
4. Who was Russian Prime Minister from 1991 to 1992?
[Boris Yeltsin]
5. In what year was the Boston Tea Party?
[1773]
6. Which country did Japan invade in 1931?
[Manchuria]
7. In what year was the Cuban Missile Crisis?
[1962]
8. When did Abel Tasman discover Tasmania and NZ?
a) 1642
b) 1712
c) 1790
[a)1642]
9. Who discovered Radium?
[Marie Curie]
10. Which country did Nicolae Ceausescu rule from 1965 to 1989? [Romania]
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