History Trivia Questions — page 23

Operation Torch was planned to bring Morocco and Algiers under the Allies' domination. Who was the general in charge of the operation?

• AChuichi Nagumo
• BErwin Rommel
• CPaul Tibbets
• DDwight Eisenhower

What occupation date do most archaeologists agree on for Australia?

• Asoon after 40,000 years ago
• Bno earlier than 80,000 years ago
• Cno earlier than 20,000 years ago
• Dsoon after 60,000 years ago

Which plane was the first operational turbojet to take part in WW II?

• AGloster Meteor
• BMesserschmitt 262
• CHeinkel He 178
• DArado Ar 234

The appropriateness and usefulness of pedestrian survey depends on:

• Anaturally exposed layers in which to search for artifacts, ecofacts, or bone.
• Bassociations that can be established between artifacts, ecofacts, and bone.
• Cthe existence of a cache or collection of artifacts.
• Dthe presence of primary and secondary refuse.

According to the author, what did the Olmec have in common that bound them together in different territories?

• Athey spoke the same language and were related by kinship and marriage
• Bagricultural surpluses that led to the creation of economic inequalities
• Ca system of trade and exchange, as seen in tokens used as a form of money
• Dunderlying religious beliefs, as seen in Olmec art and iconography

Having a forward-thrusting lower face is called

• Adiastema.
• Bprognathous.
• Carboreal.
• Dmandible.

Which of these statements is true about the Battle of Artemisium?

• AIt was the battle before the sacking of Athens
• BIt was the final naval battle that destroyed the Greek fleet
• CIt was the battle where king Darius was defeated
• DIt was the naval battle that took place at Thermopylae

Periods much colder than the present, which were characterized by widespread ice and snow cover, are known as:

• Aaltricials.
• Binterglacials.
• Cinterstadials.
• Dglacials.

The 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine went to three men from Oxford University who played a significant role in the discovery and development of penicillin and its use as an antibiotic. Which of these scientists did not share this prize?

• ASir Howard Walter Florey
• BErnst Boris Chain
• CSir Alexander Fleming
• DPaul Winchell

Who was Time Magazines Person of the Year for 2007?

• AVladimir Putin
• BHu Jintao
• CJ. K. Rowling
• DAl Gore

Which WWII tank ace is credited with having destroyed the most tanks?

• AKurt Knispel
• BMichael Wittmann
• COtto Carius
• DWalter Kniep

Archaic French is still spoken in the area of this once French colony, lost to the British in 1763.

• AHaiti
• BSenegal ( West Africa)
• CCambodia
• DQuebec

What was the aim of The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, signed on 23 August 1939 between Germany and the Soviet Union?

• AA united attack against Great Britain
• BDivision of the spheres of interest
• CCreating a Nazi-Soviet Federation
• DMutual economic support

In 1547 who became the 1st Tsar of Russia

• AIvan the Terrible
• BPeter the Great
• CAlexis of Russia
• DMikhail Romanov

What was the name of the decisive conflict between the Russian Empire and the German Reich which opened the Eastern front on August 1914?

• ABattle of Grunwald
• BBattle of Lemberg
• CBattle of Tannenberg
• DBattle of the Vistula River

Lewis Henry Morgan's stages of human culture are known as:

• AMultilineal evolution.
• BThree-Age system.
• CUnilineal evolution.
• DNatural selection.

In 1951 this famous actor was awarded a patent for the design of a blowout toy. He was very famous for his musical comedies.

• AJames Arness
• BMarlon Brando
• CJohnny Carson
• DDanny Kaye

What does the term Cenozoic mean?

• AMiddle life
• BRecent life
• CMammalian life
• DAncient life

What was William Frederick Cody better known as?

• ABuffalo Bill
• BWild Bill Hickok
• CPawnee Bill
• DBilly the Kid

Perhaps the greatest warrior-king in Roman history, what warrior summed up his victory in these three words, Veni, Vidi, Vici. ?

• AMarcus Aurelius
• BMark Anthony
• COctavian
• DJulius Caesar

When was the first pull-on mens underwear invented ?

• AAround 15th century
• BAround 18th century
• CAround 7th century
• DAround 13th century

What is the earliest form of writing in the world and where did it develop?

• Acuneiform, in Mesopotamia
• Brunes, at Stonehenge
• Chieroglyphics, in Egypt
• Dclay-tablets, at Knossos

In 221 BC Zheng of the Qin Dynasty defeated the last independent Chinese state, the State of Qi, and thus unified China. The same year he named himself Shi Huangdi, which means this.

• AThe Unifier
• BMightiest One
• CFirst Emperor
• DThe Conqueror

A proposed explanation for some phenomenon that may be derived initially from empirical observation through a process called induction is a:

• Ascientific method.
• Bhypothesis.
• Ctheory.
• Ddeduction.

Which of the following is not a hypothesis for why hominids walked on two legs?

• Ait freed the hands to carry things
• Bit expended less energy than quadrupedalism for going long distances
• Cit allowed hominids to see greater distances
• Dit allowed for braincase expansion

Peter Lymburner Robertson received a patent in 1909 for the invention of what tool?

• AThe square-headed screwdriver
• BThe automatic swimming pool filter
• CThe electric chair
• DThe swiveling lawn sprinkler

What disease crippled President Franklin D. Roosevelt and led him to help the nation find a cure?

• ACancer
• BPolio
• CMeningitis
• DHIV

What marine reptiles evolved during the Triassic period and thrived during much of the Mesozoic era?

• APliosaurs
• BIchthyosaurs
• CDinosaurs
• DPlesiosaurs

The first novel ever is believed to have been written in this century by the Japanese Lady Murasaki Shikibu.

• A2nd century BC
• B3rd century AD
• C11th century AD
• D5th century AD

In 1944 the US Navy air arm effectively destroyed the Japanese naval air power by sinking three Japanese aircraft carriers and shooting down about 600 Japanese planes in a battle the Americans nicknamed the turkey shoot. In what sea, which gives the battle its name, did this happen?

• ACelebes Sea
• BEast China Sea
• CPhilippine Sea
• DSea of Japan

Who was a serf in the Middle Ages?

• AA farmer who was not free
• BA craft apprentice
• CA landowner
• DA free peasant

Which film won the Best Picture award at the 2006 Academy Awards?

• AMarch of the Penguins
• BBrokeback Mountain
• CKing Kong
• DCrash

In 1931 a big flood hit this country/area causing the deaths of approximately 850.000 - 4.000.000 people.

• AThe flooding of the Nile - Egypt
• BThe flooding of the Volga - Russia
• CThe Yellow River flooding - China
• DTsunami - Indonesia

What year did the Battle of Agincourt take place?

• A1401
• B1463
• C1415
• D1422

What was the main purpose of the Truman Doctrine, that was first announced in 1947?

• Aeconomic aid to European allies and Japan
• Bcontainment of communism
• Ckeeping the US isolated from conflicts in Europe and Asia
• DUS support for the United Nations Organization for maintaining world peace

The "Lion Man" from Hohlenstein-Stadel cave is an example of:

• Along-distance trade of exotic raw materials.
• Ba Venus figurine.
• Cmobiliary art.
• Dparietal art.

The legends of King Arthur and the Round Table are some of the most famous tales about knights. Who was the head of the table?

• ALancelot
• BNobody
• CArthur
• DMerlin

What is the Mayflowers estimated length?

• A100-125 feet
• B115-130 feet
• C90-110 feet
• D80-100 feet

What federal institution was founded on July 26, 1908?

• AFBI
• BOSS
• CCIA
• DNSA

What nation, subject of the 1994 Operation Uphold Democracy, is the only nation whose independence was gained as part of a successful slave rebellion?

• ABarbados
• BNigeria
• CHaiti
• DGabon

This 15,000 ton, German-built ship maintained a route from Tallinn to Stockholm. In 1994, it sunk to the bottom of the Baltic Sea due to a badly designed bow door.

• ACastor to Circe
• BBarge of Calais
• CBlak Bark of Ostend
• DEstonia Ferry

Which of the following is NOT one of Joseph Tainter's proposed causes for the collapse of ancient civilizations?

• Aresource depletion
• Beconomic decline
• Cepidemic disease
• Delite mismanagement

What year did George Washington win his first victory against Hessian Soldiers at Trenton New Jersey?

• A1776
• B1778
• C1777
• D1775

When did maize-based agriculture replace the traditional foraging subsistence system in the Southwest?

• A500 B.P.
• B3000 B.P.
• C1000 B.P.
• D2000 B.P.

The Black Death, one of the deadliest infectious diseases in history, took the lives of between 25-50 million people in Europe. What writer depicts the lives of people at that time?

• ADante in Divine Comedy
• BSir Thomas More in Utopia
• CGiovanni Boccaccio in The Decameron
• DErasmus in In Praise of Folly

From 1847 to 1923, there were eight U. S. Presidents hailing from this state.

• AMaryland
• BVirginia
• CNew York
• DOhio

According to legend, Ancient Rome was founded by the brothers Romulus and Remus who were raised by what animal?

• AMonkey
• BTiger
• CWolf
• DBear

Who assassinated President James A. Garfield?

• ALeon Czolgosz
• BCharles Guiteau
• CJohn Wilkes Booth
• DSirhan Sirhan

Who unified Upper and Lower Egypt?

• AImhotep
• BThutmose III
• CMenes
• DKahfre

Which of the following are four of the characteristics of civilization?

• Afood surpluses, monumental architecture, religious buildings, and museums
• Bmuseums, libraries, monumental architecture, and artwork
• Cfood surpluses, a standing army, artwork, and a system of plumbing
• Dfood surpluses, specialists, urban settlements, and a system of record keeping