history

August 28, 2009

Brush Up on Your History and Take The Christopher Colombus Quiz

With the political rise and fall of power, a country relies on trade in many aspects. So, when Christopher Columbus told Queen Isabella of Spain about a shorter route to Asia, she took the opportunity. But did she take a chance on a man with a bright idea and no skills or a class “A” navigator from Genoese? Christopher Columbus trivia questions can answer many of these questions.

 

Columbus began his apprenticeship in 1473. He decided to become a personal agent for a very important man from Genoese. From there, he grew his reputation. He didn’t have many hours at sea but his skills were still good. Christopher Columbus quizzes can highlight his strong points and his weaknesses.

 

Columbus started his journey out with his knowledge of navigation and sailing. He set his course with the idea that earth’s diameter was smaller than it really was and he read his map wrong. He believed that Asia was closer than it really was. A Christopher Columbus quiz will show you that he read the map in Italian miles.

 

The journey was extremely important for Spain to get better access to the spice trade. He used three boats to make his journey. The names of those boats were as follows: The Santa Maria, The Santa Clara, which most of us know as the Nina, and The Pinta. So, when Columbus landed near the Bahamas in 1492, he thought he reached East-Asia. After his new discovery, he came back four more times. During his last journey around the area, he traveled to Jamaica. His ships ended up becoming badly damaged from a storm and they became stranded on Jamaica.

 

Columbus was rescued off of Jamaica only to be sent back to Spain in chains. He was sent to trial and later released. Finally, in May 1506, Columbus died a wealthy man.

 

Columbus’s journey to the West Indies and North America might have marked an important time in history but it came with a price. Many native people of that area died of sickness and disease. They were not immune to the European sicknesses and had never been exposed to them. So, over time, there were many casualties. Due to this, a big part of their culture was lost in time.

 

Today, Columbus Day is celebrated for the journey he made. Spain celebrates this day on October 12th every year but the United States has a different tradition. They also celebrate it in the month of October, but it is always on the second Monday of the month every single year.

                                                                                            

 

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August 25, 2009

Part of America's History: Thomas Edison

Everyone knows Thomas Edison as an inventor best known for the light bulb but there are few people that know too much else about him. Testing and increasing knowledge about the inventor can be done with a simple quiz. There are several bits of Thomas Edison trivia that could be included in a quiz about him.

 

One question that might appear is what his full name is. The answer is Thomas Alva Edison. What were the dates of his birth and death? The answers are February 11, 1847 and October 18, 1931. Where these events took place might also be questions asked as part of a Thomas Edison quiz. Milan, Ohio and Fort Myers, Florida are the answers to these two questions.

 

Thomas Edison trivia will also include the fact that he was only 21 when he got his first patent. The invention was the electric vote recorder. A bit of not so well know trivia is that his parents were Samuel Ogden Edison Jr. and Nancy Matthews Elliot, he was the seventh child of the couple. The reason he began school late could also be a question included in a quiz about Edison. It was because of a childhood illness. The fact that he was only in school three months prior to being kicked out is something else that might come up as a question about Thomas Edison.

 

How did Thomas Edison receive his education after being kicked out of school? His mother had previously been employed as a teacher so she home schooled him. It was during this time that she encouraged him to experiment and even taught him to experiment in addition to teaching him reading. Where did the lessons that Edison was taught during his home school years mainly come from? R.G. Parker’s School of natural philosophy is the answer to this part of the quiz.

 

Another interesting fact that might be included in Thomas Edison trivia is that he married Mary Stilwell on the 25ht of December in 1871. What were the names of the couple’s three children? Marion Estelle Edison was the oldest and only daughter of the couple, the other two children were sons Thomas Alva Edison Jr. and William Leslie Edison are the answer to this and something that few people actually know.  

 

Another question included in Thomas Edison trivia could include that in 1884 his first wife died. Edison would remarry on the 24th of February in 1886. The age of his bride Mina Miller might also be included as a question in a quiz about Edison’s life. She was only nineteen years old at the time. The couple had three children together. Take a quiz about Thomas Edison today and see just how much you really know about the inventor.

 

 

 

 

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Take The Alsace Lorraine Quiz

Alsace Lorraine is an area in northeast France that is located to the west of the River Rhine. How much do you know about the area and how much do you have left to learn about it? Taking an Alsace Lorraine quiz will show you just how much you don’t know about the area or it could surprise you to the amount of knowledge that you possess.

 

A question that might appear during the quiz is when Alsace Lorraine was created. The answer to this bit of Alsace Lorraine trivia is in 1871 after the end of the Franco-Prussian War by the creation of the Treaty of Frankfurt. What two languages are spoken in the area might also come up. These are French and German.

 

It is a little known trivia fact that Alsace Lorraine was conquered by Germany with the Treaty of Frankfurt mainly for the iron ores there from 1870 to 1871. It was this conquest that caused German power to grow afterward. What year France regained the area might also come up in Alsace Lorraine trivia. The answer would be 1919, to go further in debt with this bit of trivia about Alsace Lorraine you could include that the area was re-annexed by Germany for the time period of 1940 to 1944 at which time it became liberated by the Allies. The fact that it was the Treaty of Versailles that returned the area of Alsace Lorraine to France in 1919 might also come up in a quiz about the area.

 

What about the fact that Alsace Lorraine’s occupation by French troops began on November 18, 1918? It is also not well known the allies did not seriously challenge this occupancy of the area.

 

Another piece of Alsace Lorraine trivia might include the fact that from 1945 until present day it has been under the rule of France. What name did the area of Alsace Lorraine become known as between the years of 1871 and 1914 in schools and in political circles? The answer is the “twin sisters’ or the “lost providence” it is believe the nation would not be complete without them. What else might come up in a trivia quiz about the Alsace Lorraine area?

 

Anything could come up in a quiz about the area and taking one could develop your knowledge of history. What are you waiting for get out a history book and brush up on the area so that you can stump your friends with your knowledge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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August 24, 2009

The “Wide Island”

It is a well known fact that the United States bombed Hiroshima during World War II in retaliation for the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor but what else is known about Hiroshima? Taking a quiz on Hiroshima can show you how much you know about the history of World War II and the actual city that was bombed. Hiroshima trivia can assist you in brushing up on your knowledge of this Japanese city.

A question on a Hiroshima quiz might include how many people were injured, killed or missing when the first atomic bomb was dropped on the city. The answer would be 130,000 people. What else might come up? What date was the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima? The answer to this piece of historical trivia is August 6, 1945 and it leveled ninety percent of the city itself. Now what else could you learn about the city of Hiroshima?

An interesting fact that might come up during a quiz about Hiroshima might be what year the First Sino-Japanese War started. The answer is 1894. How many streetcar lines were opened by the Hiroshima Electric Railway Co. Ltd during November of 1912? The answer would be four and they replaced the system of horse drawn carriages as Hiroshima’s main transportation. Where did the streetcar line that opened in April of 1915 run? The answer is between Miyuki-bashi Bridge and Ujina.

When it comes to Hiroshima trivia there is an abundance of possibilities since the history of Hiroshima goes back for centuries. For instance did you know that Hiroshima means “Wide Island” and got its name in 1589? What led up to the naming? The construction of a castle was started by Terumoto Mori on an area known as Goka meaning “five villages’ and the area became Hiroshima. These are the facts that come up when asked about how the area got its name.

An interesting piece of trivia is that for performing unauthorized repairs to Hiroshima Castle the Fukushima clan received a penalty from the shogun. The punishment was having the territories confiscated and being transferred. Who occupied the Hiroshima Castle during 1916 while controlling the entire Aki Province and eight counties of Bingo? The answer would be Nagaakira Asano.

Trivia about Hiroshima has to include what happened after the atomic bomb nearly destroyed it. For instance, do you know what the first special law was in Japan after the bombing to assist in the rebuilding? The answer to this is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Construction Law that came to be on August 6, 1949. A Hiroshima quiz can reveal numerous historical facts that you might not have known.

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