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Quiz about Famous Meals from History
Quiz about Famous Meals from History

Famous Meals from History Trivia Quiz


Some of these meals are famous because of the people or events with which they were connected, and others simply because of their extravagance. Come take your taste buds on a journey through time!

A multiple-choice quiz by looney_tunes. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
looney_tunes
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
296,660
Updated
Mar 14 23
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
12153
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: Guest 104 (6/10), bookhound (9/10), Guest 72 (5/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. There remains much debate about the extent to which Homer's chronicles of the Trojan War are based in fact, but his writings are widely considered accurate depictions of the historical period they portray. What meal does Homer record Achilles and Odysseus sharing on the battlefield? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. During the Zhou Dynasty (1,112 B.C.E to 256 B.C.E), the Chinese developed an intricate set of rites that governed a range of cultural practices, including how the emperor should be served meals. Which of the following meats would NOT have been found on the emperor's table? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The Romans are remembered for their incredibly decadent feasts. The recipes of an author known as Apicius have survived, but his dishes call for some ingredients not accessible to many modern chefs. Apicius does NOT provide advice about the preparation of which of the following? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. On to another famous glutton: Henry VIII. The king hosted any number of feasts at his court each year, and all of them featured an incredible array of consumables. Along with the grilled beavers' tails, boiled whale meat, and roasted peacock, historians estimate that the people at Hampton Court Palace consumed how much ale each year? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. You may have eaten a turducken. It's a turkey, stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a chicken. According to the cooking classic "Venus in the Kitchen", if you really want to woo your lover, you should prepare this nineteenth century French version which calls for how many different birds to be stuffed one inside the other? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. On the evening of April 14, 1912, the first class passengers aboard this craft enjoyed an elaborate feast which would be their last meal before disaster struck. Which vessel was carrying these passengers, who enjoyed a different wine with each of the first ten courses of the banquet? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. In May of 1929, a collection of starlets enjoyed a meal of Terrapin soup, Jumbo Squab Perigeaux, Lobster Eugenia, L.A. salad, and Fruit Supreme. They were attending the inaugural presentation of which award? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. In 1936 a British monarch sat down with his family to a meal that included turtle soup, lobster mousse and roast pheasant. He announced that he planned to abdicate the throne in order to marry which woman? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Towards the end of 1944, two world leaders met in Moscow for negotiations and enjoyed a meal of radishes, suckling pig, chicken, beef, mutton, a variety of fish, and potatoes. Who were they? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. In 1966, Truman Capote and Kay Graham dined on caviar, chicken and champagne prior to which famous social event? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. There remains much debate about the extent to which Homer's chronicles of the Trojan War are based in fact, but his writings are widely considered accurate depictions of the historical period they portray. What meal does Homer record Achilles and Odysseus sharing on the battlefield?

Answer: Sheep's loin, goat, chine of a fat hog and bread

Chine of a wild hog may sound exotic to modern ears, but it just means a cut of meat including at least part of the animal's backbone. Homer records this meal in Book IX of the Iliad. The meat was roasted on spits over a fire, salted, and then shared amongst the group of men. Achilles and Odysseus sat together to eat this meal. At this time soldiers' diets were based on what was available in the areas of their battles rather than what they carried with them, and consequently they often ate a lot of meat because it could be procured fairly easily by hunting.

A translation of the Iliad is available at Project Gutenberg.
2. During the Zhou Dynasty (1,112 B.C.E to 256 B.C.E), the Chinese developed an intricate set of rites that governed a range of cultural practices, including how the emperor should be served meals. Which of the following meats would NOT have been found on the emperor's table?

Answer: Spam

The 'Rites of the Zhou Dynasty' decreed that there should be twelve deep bowls with legs and twelve plates on the emperor's table, and that the meal should be accompanied by music crafted to urge the emperor to eat. This was a custom continued from the previous Shang Dynasty, and the meals were prepared by a kitchen staff of over 2,000 people. In the later Zhou Dynasty a more intricate and hierarchical set of dining rules was established and the emperor's table was set with twenty-six bowls. Meats were considered delicacies and included beef, mutton, pork, deer, fish, cured meat, intestine, stomach, horse, dog, chicken, pheasant, rabbit and quail.

Information about these rituals of eating and the food consumed can be found at:
http://china.org.cn/english/culture/58121.htm and http://www.china.org.cn/english/imperial/25995.htm
3. The Romans are remembered for their incredibly decadent feasts. The recipes of an author known as Apicius have survived, but his dishes call for some ingredients not accessible to many modern chefs. Apicius does NOT provide advice about the preparation of which of the following?

Answer: Human flesh

Although Roman feasts featured decadent displays of a variety of meats, these meals are not known to have included human flesh. An incredible array of animals did end up as dishes on Roman dining tables, including: mammals of all sizes (deer, wild boar, suckling pig, sheep, lamb, goat, kid, hare and dormice); birds big and small (pheasant, goose, capon, thrush, starling woodcock); and seafood of all kinds (lobster, crab, urchin, scallops, clams, mussels, sea snails, eel, red mullet, tuna, sea bream, sea bass, and scorpion fish).

Much of the information about Roman meals comes to us from archeologists. The article which provided the information in this question was: Deborah Ruscillio, 'When Gluttony Ruled!' in "Archeology", Vol. 54, No. 6, 2001. An abstract is available at
http://www.archaeology.org/0111/abstracts/romans.html
4. On to another famous glutton: Henry VIII. The king hosted any number of feasts at his court each year, and all of them featured an incredible array of consumables. Along with the grilled beavers' tails, boiled whale meat, and roasted peacock, historians estimate that the people at Hampton Court Palace consumed how much ale each year?

Answer: Enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool

A great deal of attention was paid to the presentation of these feasts. For example, the roast peacock was served with its beak gilded in gold leaf and featured its impressive feathers which were removed before roasting and replaced before serving. One wonders how much the diners noticed this since incredible amounts of alcohol were also consumed. Historians estimate that 600,000 gallons of ale and 75,000 gallons of wine were consumed at the court each year. In case you're trying to visualize how much ale that really is, the volume of an Olympic-sized swimming pool depends on its depth, but the minimum acceptable depth of 2m gives a volume of 550,000 imperial gallons, or 660,000 US gallons. There were significant numbers of people partaking of this drink, but it was still a remarkable amount per person by contemporary standards.

The information for this question was based on the material on these websites:
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/12-items-at-a-feast-of-henry-viii.htm
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/12-items-at-a-feast-of-henry-viii1.htm
Check them out to read even more about the incredible edibles that made it to the king's table.
5. You may have eaten a turducken. It's a turkey, stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a chicken. According to the cooking classic "Venus in the Kitchen", if you really want to woo your lover, you should prepare this nineteenth century French version which calls for how many different birds to be stuffed one inside the other?

Answer: 17

This dish is called 'Roti Sans Pareil' (which translates as 'roast without equal'). The birds called for, in order, are: bustard, turkey, goose, pheasant, chicken, duck, guinea fowl, teal, woodcock, partridge, plover, lapwing, quail, thrush, lark, Ortolan Bunting, and Garden Warbler. A single olive stuffed with anchovy paste should be placed inside the smallest bird. Other astounding dishes suggested for lovers include pie of bull's testicles, scrambled eggs and kidney, hysterical water (with dried millipedes), lamb's ears with sorrel, marrow of leopard, carnation marmalade, stuffed pig's head, skink, sparrows' brains, suckling pig with eels, and vulvae steriles (sow's womb).

See Norman Douglas (ed), "Venus in the Kitchen: Or Love's Cookery Book". It was first published in 1952 but has subsequently been re-released by both Bloomsbury and St Martin's Press.
6. On the evening of April 14, 1912, the first class passengers aboard this craft enjoyed an elaborate feast which would be their last meal before disaster struck. Which vessel was carrying these passengers, who enjoyed a different wine with each of the first ten courses of the banquet?

Answer: Titanic

The private menu of the first-class dining saloon of the R.M.S. Titanic on that night featured the following courses: (1st) Hors D'Oeuvres, Oysters; (2nd) Consomme Olga, Cream of Barley; (3rd) Poached Salmon with Mousseline Sauce, Cucumbers; (4th) Filet Mignons Lili, Saute of Chicken Lyonnaise, Vegetable Marrow Farci; (5th) Lamb with Mint Sauce Roast Duckling, Apple Sauce, Sirloin of Beef with Chateau Potatoes, Green Peas, Creamed Carrots, Boiled Rice Parmentier and Boiled New Potatoes; (6th) Punch Romaine; (7th) Roast Squab and Cress; (8th) Cold Asparagus Vinaigrette; (9th) Pate de Foie Gras; (10th) Waldorf Pudding, Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly, Chocolate and Vanilla Eclairs, French Ice Cream - followed by fresh fruits, cheeses, coffee and cigars.

There is only one known surviving menu from the first class banquet described here. It has been reproduced in a number of places including several websites.

The Lusitania was sunk in 1915. The Hindenburg disaster was in 1937. The infamous Concorde crash occurred in 2000.
7. In May of 1929, a collection of starlets enjoyed a meal of Terrapin soup, Jumbo Squab Perigeaux, Lobster Eugenia, L.A. salad, and Fruit Supreme. They were attending the inaugural presentation of which award?

Answer: Oscar

The first Academy Awards were presented in 1929, though they considered films from both 1927 and 1928. Some of the big winners were: 'Wings' (Outstanding Picture), Emil Jannings (Best Actor - for performances in two different films) and Janet Gaynor (Best Actress - for her roles in three separate movies).

Summary information about the first Academy Awards can be found at:
http://history1900s.about.com/od/fadsfashion/a/1928awards.htm
The menu for this event was provided by
http://www.collectiblemeals.com/library/1929AcademyAwards.php

The Tony Awards date from 1947, the Emmy Awards from 1949, and the Grammy Awards from 1958.
8. In 1936 a British monarch sat down with his family to a meal that included turtle soup, lobster mousse and roast pheasant. He announced that he planned to abdicate the throne in order to marry which woman?

Answer: Bessie 'Wallis' Simpson

The king in question was King Edward VIII. He had fallen in love with the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson and decided that he would abdicate in order to avoid the constitutional crisis that would eventuate should he try to force the government to allow him to marry Wallis while still king. On 16 November, 1936, Edward went to dinner with his mother, his sister Mary, and his sister-in-law Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. His mother vociferously objected to Edward's decision, but despite the tension at the table, those present enjoyed a sumptuous feast. The full menu was: Clear turtle soup, lobster mousse with light piquant sauce, roast pheasant, potatoes souffle, mixed green salad, frozen fresh pineapple and toasted cheese savory, accompanied by Bordeaux wine and followed by coffee and liqueurs.

Menu provided by
http://www.collectiblemeals.com/library/Windsor.php

For information about other aspects of the event see:
Ed Wright, "History's Greatest Scandals: Shocking Stories of Powerful People", published by Pier 9, 2006.
9. Towards the end of 1944, two world leaders met in Moscow for negotiations and enjoyed a meal of radishes, suckling pig, chicken, beef, mutton, a variety of fish, and potatoes. Who were they?

Answer: Josef Stalin and Winston Churchill

Josef Stalin and Winston Churchill were, respectively, the leaders of the Soviet Union and Britain during World War II. In October of 1944 they met in Moscow and discussed policies relating to Poland, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia. One of the meals they shared was the menu listed in this question. The incorrect answers were all national leaders during the WWII period (Adolf Hitler: Germany, Franklin Delano Roosevelt: USA, Charles de Gaulle: France, Emperor Hirohito: Japan, Benito Mussolini: Italy, Francisco Franco: Spain) but they did not meet with each other in Moscow.

The menu for this meeting can be found at
http://www.collectiblemeals.com/library/Churchill.php
10. In 1966, Truman Capote and Kay Graham dined on caviar, chicken and champagne prior to which famous social event?

Answer: The Black and White Ball

In 1966 Truman Capote hosted the Black and White Ball which has subsequently often been referred to as 'the party of the century'. Guests lucky enough to secure one of the much-sought-after invitations were instructed to wear black and white, and to wear masks. Some notable guests were Frank Sinatra, Joan Fontaine, Mia Farrow, Norman Mailer, Ann Birstein, Lauren Bacall.

The menu can be found at:
http://www.collectiblemeals.com/library/Capote_Graham.php

The first 'Vogue' magazine was published in 1892, 'Casablanca' premiered in 1942, and the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer took place in 1981.
Source: Author looney_tunes

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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