Historical Trivia Game
 

How about a nice educational trivia game of sorts. Very basic premise, just like many other games on these forums...

Ask a historical trivia question, any time period is good, and you can also go into literature of the times, mythologies, etc. First person to answer the question gets to ask their own.

Fairly straight forward, but a good way to pick up useless facts and maybe have some fun.

I'd prefer if you refrained from jumping straight to google for things - if you don't know offhand perhaps try to wait a while and see if someone will come along with the knowledge already... Definitely an honor system type of thing here don't worry about it too much...

Anyways, to start things off...:

In September 1939, a radio station in Germany was supposedly attacked by Polish soldiers. The station was taken over quickly and a message transmitted before German troops could respond to the scene. The "Poles" had to retreat suddenly, but left a dead man and some documents behind.

In truth, these "raiders" were actually Germans who staged the event to mount tensions against Poland. The corpse left behind was a concentration camp inmate, and the uniforms and documents were obtained from Poland. The person who supplied the Germans with these critical materials had close ties to the SS, and during the war would use his position to get slave labourers for his munitions enterprise. What was his name?

Oscar Schindler

Which person once allegedly killed one quarter of the world's population?

Cain.

Although Columbus found the "new land", the coutry(ies) aren't named after him. Who is it named after and what was his job?

Amerigo Vespucci. He was a navigator

What did Elizabeth Bathory do to make her skin more healthy?

I posted, but TIO's reply was marginally faster. I delete and acquiesce.

Bathed in the blood of young woman. Her family bricked her up in her castle.

What was the name of the songwriter who said when it was announced he was going to be executed, "Don't mourn, organize."

The great Joe Hill.

Who was the fattest president, so large that a new bathtub was needed in the White House?

I'm guessing Taft, only because he got stuck in one.

And?

What was the name of the disinfectant that was used to Murder the Jews in the death camps of Nazi Germany

It was a pesticide, and it was called Zyclone-B. (a little too grimm a question I think).

Why do engineers wear a steel ring? And the location of the incident the precipitated it?

The steel ring is a reminder that engineers are not infallible, and that they must take their work seriously etc. The original rings were rumored to be made out of the steel from the collapsed Quebec Bridge - The Quebec Bridge's 1,800 foot cantilever structure collapsed in 1907.

Next question...

Agathocles was a tyrant of Syracuse, and rose to prominence after inheriting the wealth (and wife) of whom?

Damas, his patron.

Who were the four commanders of the Second Corps of the Confederate Army?

Using the honor system I cannot complete the answer.....

Ewell was in charge of the Second Corps during Gettysburg and Jubal Early assumed command when Ewell took to the defenses of Richmond.

That's all I know....:) hope it helps...or should I have not posted at all?:confused:

Hehe, honor system is just a suggestion because I think it should be more fun and gives others a chance to come across something where they have the knowledge already. But in the interest of the thread Google should still be allowed, especially for hard specific questions. If you want to answer go ahead and do some research, don't worry about it.

Yeah...I used Google to find the answer to the one I got. Definatly didn't cover THAT in world history ;)

And you're missing the first and last ones, by the way. One should be obvious, the other...not so.

Jeez, I really stumped you all, huh?

Even after using Google it's not an easy question to answer.

Stonewall Jackson (he didn't even enter my mind)
Jeb Stuart - he was an interim commander between Jackson, suffering from an ultimately fatal injury, and Ewell who was officially given command after Jackson's death.

Do we count Stuart? Is he a "fifth" commander?

I say post the answer and let's get another question going...this one is making my brain bleed. :)

I didn't count Stuart.

From the book I looked at it was, in order:

Thomas Jackson
Richard Ewell
Jubal Early
John Gordon

Actually, I'm reading Last Full Measure by Jeff Shaara, and I'm not too sure if the last one in completely correct. Oh well ;)

Anyways, a gopher ball to make up for that..

Who is traditionally considered the first to have died in the Boston Massacre?

Crispus Attucks - also remembered as the first black man to die in the cause of the American Revolution.
(Thank you, Discovery Channel)

Who passed out drunk on his wedding night, suffered a nosebleed, and drowned in his own blood in 453 A.D.?

Attilla the Hun


Melba toast and the dessert Peach Melba were both named after whom? Bonus points: Why?

It was names after Dame Nellie Melba a popular opera singer in the 1800s and later on in her life she lost control over her bladder and another dessert was named after the Wet Nellie.

Next Question:

What is the name of the first jet air plane?

ME-262

What was the first supersonic jet fighter?

Actually, the turbojet-powered Heinkel He-178 was flown in 1939 - 5 years before the ME-262.
(Sorry - I'm a WWII buff <i>and</i> an aviation buff)

To answer your question, I assume you mean in "level flight." If so - it was the F-100 Super Sabre (1953). It was flown by the same test pilot who "unofficially" broke the sound barrier mere minutes before Chuck Yeager "officially" did it in the X-1.

Who was he?

Col. F.K. Everest in October of that year.

What military F series plane was found to be more aerodynamic in reverse? HINT: The A series was not outfitted with a machine gun because they felt that machine guns were outdated.

(I'm cheating here 'cause I don't know the answer. A friend asked me this last week and it's been driving me nuts. Figured a fellow aviation buff might know!)

Er - I think the pilot was George Welch - known for being one of only two pilots to get airborne during the Pearl Harbor attack. He is credited with shooting down four Japanes planes on December 7, 16 kills during the war, and went on to break the sound barrier in the F-100 (and die in one a year later).

As for your question - I'm stumped. I would guess the F-105 Thunderchief - they were known for being slow, but I'm pretty sure they had a gattling gun in the nose - maybe not the A series?

Not sure without a Google search - so yours is still the question to answer.

Edited later to include question, to avoid confusion
:
<b>What military F series plane was found to be more aerodynamic in reverse? HINT: The A series was not outfitted with a machine gun because they felt that machine guns were outdated.</b>

Well it depends on who you talk to. Welch was probably the first one (and probably the answer looked for as well!) but Everest was the first to be recognized as breaking the jet speed record - - in other words, in the record books it's Everest, but in real life it was probably Welch.

Im justs guessing but is it the Heinkel He 112 or was it the Messerschmitt Bf 109.

"What military F series plane was found to be more aerodynamic in reverse? HINT: The A series was not outfitted with a machine gun because they felt that machine guns were outdated."

The F-4?

<b>shakran,</b>

You'd better call your friend.
Otherwise, this thread just died.

I've tried! He'll only tell me when I've got the right answer. Refuses to give it to me. Question withdrawn, since apparantly he's the only one on the planet who knows it ;)

That is one Hell of a tough question! Here are a couple of possibilities (starting with the one I find most likely):

The F-101 "Voodoo". It's got a unique fuselage design which would lend itself well to the concept of being better aerodynamically from reverse, and it wasn't outfitted with any machine guns or cannon.

The F-4 "Phantom". This one really doesn't fit the bill, but since it didn't originally have any weaponry other than missiles, it meets part of the criteria you specified.

Other than that, I'm stumped!


If you need a new question, try this one:

Who was the first man to break the sound barrier without the use of a vehicle of any kind?

<b>Wry1</b>,
Thanks for reviving a fun thread.

USAF Colonel Joe Kittenger jumped from a high altitude balloon at just over 100,000 ft. in 1960. During his free-fall back to earth, in the ultra-thin atmosphere, his body accelerated to over Mach 1.

Next question:
On July 29, 1967, a stray Zuni rocket from an F-4 Phantom, triggered by stray voltage, set off a chain of events that left 134 dead and more than 300 injured from a fire on the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal.
The deadly chain reaction began when the rocket hit a parked and armed A-4 Skyhawk, rupturing its fuel tanks and feeding fires that enveloped planes parked on deck.

Who was the pilot of that A-4 Skyhawk that was hit?

John McCain

How many cities did Alexander of Macedonia name after himself?

I like this thread.

I'm going to guess one - Alexandria. But I suspect I'm probably wrong, so I won't post another question until I see the answer.

Mr Mephisto

Nope sorry, he was a rather vain individual (you can google it if you want, just a random fact I picked up awhile ago)

It was something like 38 or so, maybe more. If that's not it, I'll go look.

bit more

The only reference I can find says "at least 17".

Mr Mephisto

"For his greater glory, Alexander founded some 70 cities in the lands he conquered and ordered them named after himself."

I'll just come up with another question.

Who was the Canadian general in charge of the battle of Vimy Ridge?