Mistakes in History Trivia Quiz

Answer: The sinking of the Titanic

The sinking of the mighty liner Titanic, with its loss of some 1,500 lives took place on 15 April, 1912. It should never have happened. There were several contributing factors to this loss. One included the captain's ignoring of a series of warnings about the huge icebergs adrift in the area in which the ship was sailing, and his allowing the ship to proceed as normal at full steam. Another was the shocking shortage of lifeboats on board - only one third of the number needed - toe accommodate all on board. A third was the failure of other ships in the area to heed the Titanic's distress calls after the iceberg struck. Another reason that contributed more than any other to this tragedy was that that most magnificent vessel, considered to be unsinkable because of all the advanced safety features built into her design, had overlooked a small but deadly fact during construction. The rivets and rolled steel plates that went into her construction - and theoretically kept her sixteen watertight compartments from being breached - were too brittle to withstand the force of the collision. The iceberg did its deadly work, the dark and greedy sea poured in, and darkness closed in around the lives of 1,500 souls.

(Question supplied by Creedy)

Answer: Erwin Rommel

Nobody knows for sure what might have happened if Field Marshal Erwin Rommel had still been in France at the time of the Allied invasion of Normandy.

The defenses along the French coast had already been inspected and found to be lacking, but the Germans thought a planned invasion would be delayed for a few weeks by the abysmal weather conditions. On the morning of the invasion, the Germans were caught off guard. Rommel was visiting his wife in Germany for her 50th birthday, with most of his commanders either away training or on leave. This lack of foresight irrevocably changed the outcome of the war forever.

The Allied forces were in possession of meteorological experts who noticed a 24 hour window on the 6th June when there would be a break in the weather. When Rommel was notified of the invasion, it took him hours to return back to his command post in France, but by this time, the Allied forces had advanced on all five major Normandy landing beaches.

(Question supplied by Plodd)

Answer: John Burgoyne

Burgoyne, nicknamed "Gentleman Johnny," thought his plan would end the American Revolution. After he marched his army south from Canada, he would join another British army coming up the Hudson from New York City, allowing the British to isolate New England and, maybe, end the war. Taking a supply of champagne and his mistress with him, he and his army were stopped by rebel forces at Saratoga. The British army coming up the river never arrived. (And for good reason: it went to attack Philadelphia instead!) Isolated and outnumbered, defeated in attempts to break the siege at Saratoga, Burgoyne surrendered. News of this caused France to enter the war on the American side and turned a North American rebellion into a worldwide war.

(Question supplied by obiwan04)

Answer: The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989

An attempt to slightly ease travel restrictions in East Germany was mishandled by the Government official holding a televised press conference in November 1989. Apparently Gunter Schabowski hadn't read his press release in advance and garbled his answers about trips abroad being possible for everyone in East Germany immediately. The resultant rush to the Wall became unstoppable and the East German regime bowed to the inevitable and opened the crossings through the wall. The regime soon collapsed.

(Question supplied by Fallingman)

Answer: Google

Google, which specialises in a wide range of internet services and products, was founded in 1996 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were still students at Stanford University. By 1999, however, the two entrepreneurs decided they'd sell the successful business on to another investor who could take it further. They approached Excite CEO George Bell, prepared to complete the deal for one million dollars, and even went as far as dropping the price to $750,000, but without convincing Bell of the advantages of the purchase. Today, seventeen years on, Google is worth some 365 billion dollars. George Bell must still be kicking himself.

(Question supplied by Jomarion)

Answer: Nobody knows for certain

The Royal Library of Alexandria in Egypt is considered to have been one of the most important libraries in the ancient world. In existence from the 3rd century BC, this mighty structure was more than just library. It was the centre of academic life in the entire area of the Mediterranean, catered for the top thinkers in the world, housed over 400,000 valuable books and papyrus scrolls, held beautiful gardens, lecture halls, and study centres, and contained the knowledge of many generations, societies, sciences and philosophies. Nobody knows exactly when and by whom it was destroyed, but the finger of guilt is pointed at three possible suspects. These are either Julius Caesar in 48 BC, or the Roman emperor Aurelian in circa 270 AD, or the Muslim defeat of Egypt in 642 AD. It may have even been a result of three separate attacks over time. All that is known for certain is that the loss of knowledge to mankind is incalculable.

(Question supplied by Creedy)

Answer: The chauffeur took a wrong turn

Franz Ferdinand and his wife had already survived one assassination attempt on that fateful day in 1914, when a grenade was tossed at their car as they drove by. A staff member in the car, however, had managed to deflect the grenade aside and it injured several bystanders and the occupants in the following car instead. After taking a short rest to recover, the regal couple insisted on going to visit those who were injured, at the hospital to which they had been taken. Nobody thought to tell the Archduke's chauffeur though, and he took a wrong turn. When the mistake was realised, he had to reverse the limousine back up a side street in order to turn it around. It was at that precise time that Gavrilo Princip, who was sitting in a café on the same street, spotted the royal procession - and the royal couple's vehicle stalled. Princip, unable to believe his luck, seized his opportunity, walked over, and shot them both. And the world changed forever.

(Question supplied by Jomarion)

Answer: Cleopatra

Cleopatra wished to preserve her position as queen of Egypt and the future of her son. When it looked as though the forces of Octavian (future Emperor Augustus) were going to win at the great naval battle of Actium against the fleets of Mark Anthony and the Egyptian fleet of Cleopatra, she panicked and ran for Egypt. If she had stayed cool it is possible that Anthony would have won and the history of the Roman Empire would have been different.

(Question by Fallingman)

Answer: Robert E. Lee

Lee's reason for the direct frontal assault on the Union's defensive position on Cemetery Ridge after two days of attacks on the left and right of the Union army line, must have meant that the Union had moved soldiers from the middle of the line to reinforce the two flanks, thus, making the middle vulnerable. He was wrong. The Union army had superior numbers, and its soldiers in the middle part of the line were rested, dug in, and had plenty of artillery support. General Pickett's men charged again and again up the ridge to get at the Union troops, only to fail and finally retreat. As the Confederate army left Pennsylvania and retreated to Virginia, the war had reached a turning point in the Union's favor.

(Question by Obiwan04)

Answer: Dewey defeats Truman

One of the most famous photos of the twentieth century is of a beaming Harry Truman, who had just won the 1948 US Presidential Election, holding up the Chicago Tribune of November 3 with the erroneous headline. The Tribune had gone to press too early and relied on the opinion of its correspondents rather than the facts of the election which hadn't yet been established. It is worth noting that the Tribune hated Truman and he hated them right back so it was a particularly pleasant moment for him.

(Question submitted by Fallingman)