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Interesting Things in History

Total questions: 55

Worksheet time: 29mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Who was the richest man in history?

a)

Augustus Caesar

b)

Mansa Musa

c)

Andrew Carnagie

d)

Alan Rufus

e)

Jacob Fugger

2.

How many times was Julius Caesar stabbed?

(a)  

3.

How did the Colosseum get its name?

a)

It was next to a statue called the Colossus.

b)

Its main architect was named Marcellus Colossean.

c)

The first play performed there was called "Mendacium

Colossal".

d)

Historians disagree about it, and no one really knows.

e)

It was the biggest amphitheater at the time.

4.

Fill in the blank.

The UK government collected postcards as intelligence for _____.

a)

the D-Day landings

b)

suspicions of attacks on Pearl Harbor

c)

suspicions of a ghetto in Warshaw

d)

suspicions of a concentration camp in Auschwitz

e)

the dropping of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima

5.

What was poured down Marcus Crassus' throat when he died?

a)

Molten gold

b)

His entire fortune in banknotes

c)

Pearls

d)

Red wine

e)

Saltwater

6.

How many tons of unexploded bombs did Germany recover every year?

a)

2,000

b)

34

c)

150,000

d)

97,000

e)

300

7.

Fill in the blank.

A singing birthday card has more _____ power in it than the entire Allied Army of WWII.

a)

dangerous

b)

computer

c)

electric

d)

ammunition

e)

gas

8.

In 1386, a pig was executed in France. It was arrested, kept in prison, and then sent to court where it stood trial, was found guilty, and then executed by hanging. What was its crime?

a)

It attacked a person's face, and the person died from the wounds.

b)

It escaped from its pen and destroyed a market stand.

c)

It escaped from its pen and entered its owner's house, which it destroyed.

d)

It was a runt and would not grow. Its owner thought the pig was doing it on purpose.

e)

It escaped from its pen and destroyed a neighbor's vineyard.

9.

What is Shrapnel named after?

a)

Its inventor

b)

The World War I battle it was first used in

c)

The place it was first tested at

d)

The name of the officer it was used against

10.

Since when have all British tanks are equipped with tea-making facilities?

a)

1945

b)

Since tanks were invented

c)

1894

d)

1977

e)

1911

11.

During what war did the French built a “fake Paris”?

(This picture is of the real thing)

a)

World War I

b)

World War II

c)

The French Revolution

d)

Anglo-French War

e)

War of Second Coalition

12.

Fill in the blank.

The Eastern Roman Empire’s weapon called Greek Fire was used in _____-mounted flamethrowers.

a)

ship

b)

statue

c)

amphitheater

d)

watermill

e)

volcano

13.

Fill in the blank.

A Japanese fighter pilot once dropped _____ over the ocean to commemorate the dead from both sides.

a)

wreaths

b)

tombstones

c)

ferns

d)

roses

e)

fighter plane charms

14.

What percent of the Normandy beaches is made up of shrapnel from the D-Day Landings?

a)

4%

b)

0.01%

c)

1.3%

d)

6.25%

e)

0% - D-Day wasn't even in Normandy!

15.

Where does the saying "fly off the handle" come from?

a)

cheap axe-heads flying off their handles when swung backwards before a chop

b)

cheap purses flying off their handles while the purse's owner was looking through it.

c)

cheap forks' tines flying off their handles when the owner was trying to eat things like steak

d)

when the owner of a silverware factory threw a fit, and his employees joked that he "was off the handle"

16.

Which of these religions was Genghis Khan tolerant of?

a)

Buddhism

b)

Christianity

c)

Islam

d)

No religions

e)

All religions

17.

Albert Einstein turned down the presidency of what country?

a)

Israel

b)

Spain

c)

Turkey

d)

Soviet Union

e)

United States

18.

Which Roman Emperor made one of his favorite horses a senator?

a)

Caligula

b)

Tiberius

c)

Claudius

d)

Nerva

e)

Domitian

19.

Why did Pope Gregory IX declared war on cats?

a)

He said they worked for the devil.

b)

He'd had a cat once, and it died. He was so heartbroken, he couldn't bear to see another one.

c)

No one really knows the reason.

d)

He had read an obsolete verse of the Bible that said cats were evil.

e)

He said cats were the meanest animals alive, and he never wanted to see one again.

20.

During what century was the Leaning Tower of Pisa constructed?

a)

12th

b)

18th

c)

16th

d)

15th

21.

What country has the world’s oldest parliament in history.

a)

Iceland

b)

Greenland

c)

Canada

d)

Soviet Union/Russia

e)

U.S.A. (in Alaska)

22.

Over 1,000 people died from leftover unexploded bombs since the end of what war?

a)

World War I

b)

World War II

c)

Civil War

d)

Cold War

e)

Vietnam War

23.

How many days long was 46 BC?

a)

445

b)

365

c)

366

d)

367

e)

186

24.

During the what time was it normal to photograph relatives after they died?

a)

Victorian period

b)

Great Depression

c)

Roaring Twenties

d)

1930s

e)

Early 1900s

25.

How long did the shortest war in history last?

a)

38 minutes

b)

2 hours, 4 minutes

c)

3 days, 8 hours, 57 minutes

d)

13 seconds

e)

24 seconds

26.

Before the 19th century, dentures were made from what?

a)

Dead soldiers’ teeth

b)

Butchered cows' teeth

c)

Tortoise and turtle shells

d)

Horses' ribs

e)

Copper

27.

What did people use to do to make sure loved ones weren't buried alive?

a)

Attach bells to their coffins

b)

Chop the peoples' heads off to kill them for good

c)

Squeeze the person to see if they screamed

d)

Put poisonous gases in the coffin

28.

What sport does the term "saved by a bell" come from?

a)

Boxing

b)

Horse-racing

c)

Hockey

d)

Donkey Kong (the video game)

e)

Cornhole

29.

George Washington actually did NOT have wooden teeth. What were his dentures really made of?

a)

Gold

b)

Lead

c)

Ivory

d)

Human teeth

e)

Animal teeth

30.

How would Egyptian Pharaohs use their slaves as fly-catchers?

a)

They would cover the slaves in honey.

b)

They would attach cymbal-like disks which had honey in them to the slaves' hands, so the slaves could mash any flies that tried to eat the honey.

c)

They would use a special kind of gel in the slaves' hair that attracted flies.

d)

They would force the slaves to make buzzing sounds that attracted other flies. Then the slaves would have to slap the flies when they came near.

31.

Fill in the blank.

In the Victorian era, men with moustaches used special ___.

a)

Cups

b)

Forks

c)

Plates

d)

Spoons

e)

Knives

32.

When was the earliest lottery?

a)

Han Dynasty (China)

b)

When Jesus found the temple that was being used for a mall

c)

Mongolian Empire at the time of Genghis Khan

d)

Macedonian Dynasty (Persia)

e)

Julio–Claudian Dynasty (Roman)

33.

Which university is older than the Aztec Empire?

a)

Oxford

b)

Harvard

c)

Yale

d)

Princeton

34.

What army is the biggest in history?

a)

U.S. WWII army

b)

French WWI army

c)

German WWI army

d)

Japanese WWII army

e)

British WWI army

35.

How many people died in the Great Fire of London?

a)

6

b)

782

c)

9,425

d)

78

e)

117,394

36.

For 12 years during the what time period did France have a whole new calendar?

a)

French Revolution

b)

World War I

c)

World War II

d)

Great Depression

e)

French and Indian War

37.

During WWII, the which two countries launched a joint invasion of neutral Iran?

a)

Britain

b)

Soviet Union

c)

Germany

d)

Japan

e)

France

38.

One in how many men are direct descendants of Genghis Khan?

a)

200

b)

2

c)

20,000

d)

2,000

e)

200,0000

39.

What is this a picture of?

a)

Dance marathon

b)

King George V's wedding

c)

Herbert Hoover's inauguration party

d)

Franklin D. Roosevelt's inauguration party

e)

None of these

40.

What is special about the Circus Maximus in Rome?

a)

It is the biggest sports arena ever

b)

It took over 350 years to build

c)

It took over 475 years to build

d)

It was built in less than 1 month

e)

It was the last Roman arena to be built and built during the fall of the Rman empire

41.

Surgeon Robert Liston was considered “the fastest knife in the West”. One time, when performing a battlefield amputation in front of a group of spectators, Liston cut through his patient’s leg so quickly that he accidentally cut the fingers off his assistant. One man who witnessed the surgery was also caught by the doctor’s knife. Upon feeling it tug on his coat and seeing blood splash on him, he collapsed and died of a heart attack. Then, to make matters worse, Liston’s patient and his assistant died of blood poisoning from their joint-amputation. So what was Liston's mortality rate in this surgery?

a)

300%

b)

100%

c)

50%

d)

10%

42.

Whose nephew fought against the Axis Powers in World War II?

a)

Adolph Hitler (Germany's leader)

b)

Benito Mussolini (Italy's leader)

c)

Tōjō Hideki (Japan's leader)

43.

During what war were the first official Medals of Honor awarded?

a)

American Civil War

b)

American Revolution

c)

World War I

d)

World War II

e)

Vietnam War

44.

Why did Hollywood moved from New York to Los Angeles?

a)

To escape Thomas Edison’s inventions

b)

Famous movie stars preferred to live in California because it was less populated, and they refused to work at Hollywood unless it moved

c)

To be in a city called the "Big Red Apple" was embarrassing

d)

To escape the hustle and bustle of New York City (this was back when Los Angeles was not big)

e)

The president at the time (William Howard Taft) complained of the abundance of movie theaters in the east, especially of one near the White House

45.

Which of these phrases did Shakespeare coin?

a)

"Elbow room"

b)

"Heartsick"

c)

"Mind's eye"

d)

"It's Greek to me"

e)

"Knock on wood"

46.

A war between what two places lasted 335 years and had no battles or deaths?

a)

Isles of Scilly

b)

Solomon Islands

c)

Netherlands

d)

Kiribati

e)

India

47.

During World War II, why did Americans call hamburgers "liberty steaks"?

a)

The name sounded too German

b)

The rations made it to where a person could not eat a hamburger often, and it seemed like a liberty to be able to do it

c)

Adolf Hitler loved hamburgers, and radical Americans saw hamburger eaters as people who supported the Nazis

d)

Because of rations, a hamburger was as close as a regular person could get to real steak

48.

Fill in the blank.

In 18th century England, pineapples were seen as a ___.

a)

Status symbol

b)

Sign of bad luck

c)

Symbol of the devil

d)

Sign of good luck if you shared the pineapple with someone you loved

49.

Which car did Adolf Hitler help design?

a)

Volkswagon

b)

Porsche

c)

Mercedes

d)

Cadillac

e)

Renault

50.

Who had a Doctor’s note to drink an “indefinite” amount of alcohol in Prohibition America?

a)

Winston Churchill

b)

Albert Einstein

c)

Woodrow Wilson

d)

Calvin Coolidge

e)

Adolf Hitler

51.

Fill in the blank.

In Ancient Greece, they believed redheads became ___ after death.

a)

Vampires

b)

Unicorns

c)

Werewolves

d)

Griffins

e)

Mermaids

52.

Which U.S. president was a wrestling champion?

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
53.

What were the three most popular pets in the Roman Empire?

a)

Ferrets

b)

Dogs

c)

Monkeys

d)

Fennec fox

e)

Capybara

54.

Which Egyptian ruler wasn’t actually Egyptian?

a)

Cleopatra

b)

Djoser

c)

Khufu

d)

Thutmose III

e)

Tutankhamun

55.

How many cities did Alexander the Great name after himself?

a)

70

b)

6

c)

60

d)

150

e)

30