History Trivia Questions — page 21

According to Timothy Pauketat, the evidence for social stratification and political power at Cahokia suggests:

• Aa center of Mississippian civilization with conditions similar to the rise of early states.
• Ba simple chiefdom or perhaps a complex chiefdom had evolved by A.D. 1500.
• Cthe limitations of authority in a Native American society of egalitarian foragers.
• Da center of Mississippian civilization with conditions similar to societies on the Northwest Coast of North America.

Whose visit to South Korea in May of 1984 promoted the tightest security in that nations history?

• ARonald Reagan
• BMikhail Gorbachev
• CFidel Castro
• DPope John Paul II

What do the letters in laser stand for?

• ALight amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
• BLow amplitude synchronous electric rays
• CLong amplitude static electric rays
• DLight amplification and synchronic electric radiance

How many distinct kingdoms were there in Ancient Egypt?

• Atwo
• Bone
• Cthree
• Dfour

On May 2 1982, the British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror fired two torpedoes at the Argentine warship. 323 men of the 1,093 crew were killed on impact.

• AFascination
• BLusitania
• CGeneral Belgrano
• DBismarck

The collapse of the Soviet Union took place in which year?

• A1992
• B1990
• C1891
• D1991

This invention (named by Edward Jenner) is not an object, but a process of administering live, albeit weakened, microbes to people.

• AVaccination
• BDecompression
• CMastectomy
• DOphthalmoscopy

Since the end of the Pleistocene, humans have increasingly been responsible for the extinction of animal species. If allowed to continue, what are the likely consequences of these extinctions?

• AIt will have negative impacts on human health.
• BIt will have negative impacts on water quality.
• CAll of the above.
• DIt will have negative impacts on agriculture.

A celebration in which wealth is redistributed is called a:

• Asinagua.
• Btotem feasts.
• Ckiva parties.
• Dpotlatch.

The Mayan king Yax Pahsaj symbolized his royalty on a stele that depicts:

• Aa series of decisive military conquests against a rival king.
• Bthe founder of the dynasty "passing him the torch."
• Ca lightning bolt descending from heaven and marking him as the leader.
• Dan eagle, a serpent, and a jaguar, all of which were important royal animals.

This mans name is linked to a common medical procedure.

• AAlexander the Great
• BJulius Caesar
• CNeither
• DBoth

Sam Houston avenged the deaths of those killed at the Alamo in this battle.

• ABattle of San Antonio
• BBattle of Galiad
• CBattle of Goliad
• DBattle of San Jacinto

What did the Inca officials wear in order to indicate their status?

• Asword
• Bbelt
• Ctunic
• Dhat

In what movie does the protagonist call the police about the Watergate break-in, invent the smiley, and make millions on Apple Computer stock thinking he has invested in produce?

• AAmerican Beauty
• BUnforgiven
• CForrest Gump
• DThe English Patient

Which of these songs was not on Bon Jovis chart-topping 1986 album Slippery When Wet?

• AWanted Dead Or Alive
• BIll Be There for You
• CNever Say Goodbye
• DLivin on a Prayer

This May 1942 battle was the first one to be fought only by aircraft carriers.

• ABattle of Midway
• BBattle of the Aleutian Islands
• CBattle of the Leyte Gulf
• DBattle of the Coral Sea

During WWII, American troops assaulted two beaches at Normandy. Three other beaches with code names Gold, Sword and Juno were assaulted by troops who mostly came from these two nations.

• ABritain and France
• BFrance and Poland
• CBritain and Australia
• DBritain and Canada

When was the first rollercoaster built?

• A1892
• B1884
• C1939
• D1929

Which of these people holds a patent for the design of a certain toy figure?

• AFred Rogers
• BGeorge Lucas
• CLawrence Welk
• DPaul Winchell

How many Union soldiers were killed during the bombardment of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor?

• ANone
• B1
• C4
• D2

Li Ka Shing, a Hong Kong businessman and one of the worlds richest men, paid an extremely large ransom for the safe return of his son, Victor Li Tzar. How much did he pay?

• A144,000,000.00
• B134,000,000.00
• C$1,500,500.00
• D$125,000,000.00

Which of the following proved to be the greatest obstacle to saving lives in New York Citys 9/11 rescue efforts at the World Trade Center towers?

• Alack of disaster training
• Bpoor leadership
• Cpoor building design
• Doutdated fire department radios

This Yankee legends consecutive game streak of 2,130 came to an end on May 2, 1939.

• ABabe Ruth
• BLou Gehrig
• CJoe Dimaggio
• DMickey Mantle

Which one happened to the U.S. in 1774?

• AThe Bill of Rights goes into effect
• BThe Boston Massacre
• CNoah Webster publishes his American dictionary
• DRhode Island abolished slavery

What was the first state to secede from the Union?

• ASouth Carolina
• BVirginia
• CNorth Carolina
• DGeorgia

What does the German word Blitzkrieg mean?

• Alightning war
• Bpatriotic war
• Choly war
• Dspeed war

The minigun was designed in 1960 by which manufacturer.

• ASig Sauer
• BHeckler & Koch
• CColt Firearms
• DGeneral Electric

Who was the Confederate commander at the Battle of Antietam?

• AGeorge B. McClellan
• BJames Longstreet
• CRobert E. Lee
• DStonewall Jackson

Who did Soviet leader Joseph Stalin appoint as his successor before his death in 1953?

• ANobody
• BBulganin
• CKhrushchev
• DBeria

Australian and America megafauna were probably wiped out by:

• Aenvironmental changes.
• Bhumans who carried diseases over the land bridge.
• Cboth humans and environmental changes.
• Dhumans.

When did Francis Drake enter San Francisco bay and what country did he claim it for?

• A1610 - Spain
• B1603 - Portugal
• C1536 - France
• D1579 - Britain

Which Academy Award winning American actor who died in 2003 played Ed Norton on The Honeymooners?

• ARodney Dangerfield
• BPaul Lynde
• CArt Carney
• DJackie Gleason

This conflict ended in a humiliating defeat for China and forced the opening of 5 ports to international trade; Canton, Shanghai, Foochow, Ningpo, and Amoy. Which conflict was it?

• AThe Korean War 1950 - 1953
• BThe first Opium War 1839 - 1842
• CThe 2nd Sin--Japanese War 1937 - 1945
• DThe Vietnam invasion - 1979

When did Boston become a settlement and who led it?

• A1590 - Charles H. Connelly III
• B1630 - John Winthrop
• C1502 - William James
• D1610 - James Kennedy

The date July 2, 1937 is remembered with what event?

• AAmelia Earhart and her co-pilot disappeared flying across the Pacific Ocean
• BThe Spanish Civil War ended
• CJapan bombed Shanghai, off the coast of China, killing over 2,000
• DCharles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic

Which of the following city states was not on the territory of present-day Greece?

• ATroy
• BArgos
• CSparta
• DAthens

WW II broke out in 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. What month did this invasion take place?

• ADecember
• BFebruary
• CSeptember
• DMarch

Where was the assault rifle invented?

• Ain Italy
• Bin Russia
• Cin Germany
• Din Mexico

What King of France was popularly known as the Sun King?

• ALouis XVI
• BLouis XIV
• CLouis X
• DLouis XV

Who commanded the Union cavalry corps at the battle of Gettysburg?

• AAlfred Pleasanton
• BJudson Kilpatrick
• CGeorge Armstrong Custer
• DPhil Sheridan

Which culture was centered in the Ohio River valley around 2,800 years ago?

• Athe Kwakiutl
• Bthe Adena
• Cthe Mogollon
• Dthe Sinagua

General Lees three corps commanders at Gettysburg were Longstreet, A.P. Hill and who else?

• ARichard Garnett
• BRichard Ewell
• CJohnston Pettigrew
• DIssac Trimble

A pattern of social integration in which individuals are placed into a hierarchy of social levels is called:

• Aa social system.
• Bsocial stratification.
• Ca necropolis.
• Durbanization.

Following the classical period, which ended around A.D. 800, Mayan civilization:

• Aentered the second classical period, lost a great war with Teotihuacán, and faded away.
• Bfell into decline, moved its center north, resurged, and fell into decline once again.
• Cinexplicably disappeared, then began a slow development ending with Aztec civilization.
• Dfell into a sudden decline; the population disappeared and never again built monumental structures.

The date November 11, 1918 is famous with what event?

• AThe first case of Asian flu was reported in the USA
• BAdolf Hitler was born
• CWorld War I ended
• DMarie Curie discovered Radium

Which of the following appears to be a hybridization of Neandertal and modern human stone tool technologies?

• ALevallois
• BAurignacian
• CChâtelperronian
• DMousterian

The Great Chicago Fire, one of the worst disasters of the nineteenth century, started on October 8, 1871. The fire destroyed approximately 17,450 buildings, killed 250 people and left another 90,000 homeless, before it was extinguished on this date.

• AOctober 24
• BOctober 18
• COctober 14
• DOctober 10

What decade was nicknamed the Mauve Decade, and saw the discovery of the X-rays by Wilhelm Rontgen?

• A1940s
• B1890s
• C1820s
• D1920s

What happened on July 14,1789?

• AThe American Revolution ended
• BJapan opened ports to international shipping
• CArgentina gained independence from Spanish rule
• DA mob of French peasants stormed the Bastille and started the French Revolution

The record-keeping system used by the Inca in which a series of knotted strings were used as mnemonic devices is called:

• Akhipu.
• Bmit'a.
• Crachis.
• Dcuneiform.