I See Blind People Trivia Quiz

Answer: Piano

The cause of Tatum's loss of sight is contentious. The favoured argument is through cataracts at a very early age. Fortunately for Art he was blessed with perfect pitch or, to put it another way, he didn't need a reference tone to be able to identify and re-create any given note. Tatum was heavily influenced by the likes of Fats Waller, Earl Hines and James P. Johnson, all great exponents of the stride piano style.

It is ironic then that it was against Johnson and Waller that Tatum would compete with in a cutting contest in 1933 that would trigger his rise to prominence in the industry. Art's rendition of "Tea For Two" had Johnson proclaiming "it was the first time I had ever heard it ("Tea For Two") really played". Tatum's extended improvisations and technical brilliance would serve to promote great innovations in jazz and influence luminaries such as Charlie Parker ("I wish I could play like Tatum's right hand") and Oscar Peterson ("Tatum was and is my musical God").

Answer: Blinded by a childhood accident

Braille lost the sight of one eye at age three after an accident with an awl in his father's workshop. An infection developed a little later that spread to his other eye and by age five he would be blind in both eyes. Two of Braille's key attributes were intelligence and his persistence. Thanks to his intelligence he was admitted into the prestigious and forward thinking Royal Institute for Blind Youth.

Here he encountered a mode of reading promoted by philanthropist Valentin Hauy that used a system of raised imprints on letters.

The system was cumbersome and limiting because it "talked to the fingers with the language of the eye". A few years later Braille was to meet Captain Charles Barbier who'd designed a system of lettering that used a series of dots and dashes impressed on thick paper.

The system, called 'night writing', suffered from the use of too many dots and dashes that proved difficult to identify or read. This is where Braille's persistence came in. He worked tirelessly over the next few years to create a more efficient system which, eventually, did away with the dashes and reduced the number of dots to a maximum of six per letter. Braille, at age twenty, would publish his system in 1829. Ironically the tool that he would use to create the raised dots was an awl.

Answer: Kilimanjaro

Kibuucka climbed Kilimanjaro in 1968 and immediately became the centre of widespread media attention. As a consequence he was given an invite to travel to Norway at the behest of a disabled sporting organisation to provide inspiration and motivation to disabled people.

The invite arrived not long after Idi Amin had gained power in Uganda, and Kibuucka felt it would be a wise move to remain in Norway. Whilst climbing the mountain made him newsworthy, what added to his reputation were his sporting achievements.

In 1976 he would attend the first Winter Paralympic Games. Despite living in Norway he went as a representative of Uganda and, in doing so, became Uganda's sole representative and the first African to compete at the Winter Paralympics. He would compete again for his native land in 1980. By 1984 he was a naturalised Norwegian and competed for his adopted country, this time as a runner in the Summer Paralympics, winning medals in the 800, 1,500 and 5,000 metre events.

Answer: MacGyver

Elcar was originally cast in the pilot episode of "MacGyver" (1985) in a completely different role (Andy Colson) but would emerge in the series proper as MacGyver's boss and best friend, a role he held for the duration of the programme. In 1991, prior to the start of the sixth season, he developed glaucoma. Rather than write him out of the series the writers cleverly included the condition in the storyline, beginning with the first episode "Blind Faith". Elcar would see his television days out playing other blind characters in shows such as "E.R.", "Law and Order" and "The Magic School Bus".

He passed away from pneumonia at the age of 77 in 2005.

Answer: Hungary

Also known as Bela II he was the nephew of the then king, King Coloman. Bela's father, Almos, had made several attempts to overthrow Coloman without success which resulted in Coloman stripping him of his duchy and ordering the blinding of both Almos and his son Bela. On Coloman's passing his son (and Bela's cousin) Stephen II ascended to the throne. Stephen, who died childless, discovered Bela in the last years of his reign and welcomed him back to the fold with open arms.

He granted him the town of Tolna and arranged his marriage to Helena of Rascia. On Stephen's death Bela would take the throne and immediately acknowledged his wife as his co-ruler fearing that without her support he would be unable to rule the country effectively. Bela's rule was notable for his expansionist policies, the overthrow of Boris, a supposed bastard child of Coloman laying claim to the throne and the execution of all the nobles reportedly involved in the decision to blind both himself and his father.

Answer: True

Homer is often described as a balladeer or a minstrel poet. Part of the reasoning behind this is that his works contain quite a few repetitive components, similar to a chorus, giving his stories a sing-song quality. In "The Odyssey" he goes to great lengths to describe a highly praised blind minstrel, Demodokos, who is welcomed into towns where he would entertain the crowds with his epic stories of wars and their heroes. Homer treats Demodokos with great warmth and, as a result, a number of scholars have taken the view that Homer is creating a parallel view of his own life and presenting that to his audience.

Answer: Alabama

The founding members of the band were Clarence Fountain, Jimmy Carter, Johnny Fields, George Scott, Velma Bozman Taylor, Ollie Thomas and (sighted member) J.T. Hutton. They toured a gospel circuit as the Happyland Jubilee Singers while their average age was only nine years.

In 1948 they changed their name to the Five Blind Boys of Alabama and released their first single "I Can See Everybody's Mother But Mine". They chose to remain true to their roots (gospel) which, at the time, provided them with a strong market.

The desire to remain with this genre was tested during the 1960s and 1970s as their popularity began to wane with the rise in prominence of soul music. It wasn't until the 1980s that their work in the stage production "The Gospel of Colonus" managed to bring them to the attention of a mainstream audience.

This exposure saw them start to explore other genres and work in collaboration with popular artists such as k.d. lang, Prince and Lou Reed.

Answer: Swimming

Born blind it wasn't until she was ten that Trischa started swimming. Remarkably she was competing for her country (the United States) six years later at the 1980 Arnhem Summer Paralympics in The Netherlands. Even more remarkable was her haul of seven gold medals. Her subsequent games built upon her legend.
1984 New York Games - six gold medals
1988 Seoul - 12 gold medals
1992 Barcelona - 10 gold medals
In all, Zorn would compete in seven Summer Paralympic Games, culminating in her being the USA's flag bearer at the closing ceremony of the 2004 Athens' Games. Her tally of 55 medals would include 41 gold.

Answer: No

Euler's eyesight began to deteriorate in his middle years. In 1738, at age 31, he was virtually blind in his right eye, earning himself the nickname "Cyclops". Twenty eight years later a cataract was discovered in his left eye which rendered him totally blind a few weeks later. Two of Euler's strengths were his amazing abilities at mental calculations and his extraordinary memory. Of the latter it was said that he could recite the "Aeneid of Virgil" from start to finish and identify the first and last lines of each page.

As a consequence, far from slowing down, his productivity improved. One anecdote indicates that he managed to churn out a mathematical paper each week during 1775. Widely considered to be the most prolific mathematician of all time he is the only scientist of his ilk to have two numbers named after him - Euler's number in calculus, "e", and the Euler-Mascheroni constant, used in number theory.

Answer: Sport broadcaster

According to Ed's mother it was her son's love of baseball that maintained his spirits during his early dark days (seriously, that pun is not intended). She wrote to the New York Giants and told them his story. The Giants responded by making the (then) thirteen year old a guest at the Polo Ground for the entire 1952 season, which entrenched his love of the game and directed his future career.

While studying at Seton Hall University he started up a radio show interviewing baseball players called "Around the Bases with Ed Lucas".

His move into broadcasting after college proved to be a trial. Initially it was a task to rise above his handicap and convince prospective employers that he was (a) capable and (b) able to make a difference. He then had to endure resentment from his co-workers who baulked at the idea of a non-sighted person providing coverage of baseball games. Lucas' approach was unique.

His handicap enabled him to focus (again, no pun intended) on areas of the game that sighted people took for granted thereby adding another dimension to the station's presentation.

He is now seen as one of the elder statesmen in the Press Box. Lucas married in 1965 and had two boys with his first wife. In 1972 his wife left, leaving him with two young boys to raise on his own. Seven years later his wife sought custody of the children and won on the basis of Ed's handicap. Undeterred, Ed appealed in 1980 and won back full custody. This proved to be a landmark court decision. Not only did Ed win custody as a male, which was rare at the time, he also became the first disabled to win custody over a non-disabled spouse.