Journey of Errors Trivia Quiz

Answer: Spying

The group of eleven men and one woman were all keen plane-spotters, something virtually unknown in Greece. They often traveled abroad to indulge in their hobby. Visiting an air show in Kalamata, they were arrested and accused of taking photographs inside a restricted military area. Because of military tensions with Turkey, this was a very serious charge, and the group faced a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail. At a subsequent trial, eight were found guilty of espionage and sentenced to three years jail with the others being found guilty of abetting them. They were sentenced to one year. The convictions were eventually overturned on appeal.

(Question supplied by Christinap)

Answer: Frog

In the "Ripping Yarns" episode "Across the Andes by Frog", Captain Walter Snetterton wanted to prove that he could scale the highest mountains with his frogs. Unfortunately things went wrong from the outset. The local British consul in the sleepy village of Quequeña, from where he planned to start his journey, was interested in nothing but radio broadcasts of the FA Cup Finals and Wimbledon. The captain's requests for guides only secured him the services of an old woman. His team seemed more interested in the local girls than in starting the climb. The villagers thought that the frogs were trapped spirits and one night all of his frogs, except the Himalayan Sleeping Frog, disappeared. Maddened, Captain Snetterton shot the radio, which was broadcasting a match from Wimbledon, then, pursued by angry villagers, set out with his only remaining frog to attempt the daring climb. With a single frog he had no hope.

(Question supplied by Calpurnia09)

Answer: Endurance and Aurora

Endurance and its crew became trapped by ice off the Antarctic coast at the very start of the expedition in January 1915, and by October the partial thaw had cracked the ship's hull. Shackleton abandoned the ship to sink, and drifted with his team on ice floes in the Weddell Sea for nearly six months before sailing in three lifeboats to the remote and uninhabited Elephant Island. Along with five team members, Shackleton then made a desperate but successful bid to reach the island of South Georgia in one of the lifeboats (the James Caird) before crossing the island's mountainous terrain on foot to the whaling station at Stromness. Even then, Shackleton needed further voyages to rescue the expeditionary members left on Elephant Island, and his supply team, which had been stranded on the southern Antarctic coast when the supply ship 'Aurora' was blown out to sea and unable to return. Three men died in this heroic and hopeless journey that failed to arrive.

(Question supplied by dsimpy)

Answer: Jonathan Swift

Irish clergyman Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin in 1667, and wrote "Gulliver's Travels" in 1726. It was immediately popular with both adults and children, and has never been out of print since its publication. It is Jonathan Swift's best known work. Other books by him include "A Modest Proposal" and "Tale of a Tub".

(Question supplied by kitchen)

Answer: The Red Bikini Girl

The young woman had been working as a waitress on a Russian cruise ship. She emerged from the water at Pyrmont and asked a passing stranger who was walking his dog for clothes and help. Russian Embassy officials were quickly on the lookout for her, but the media got to her first. This started a mad bidding war to obtain her story. One of her first forays into capitalism was to accept $15,000 to appear as a nude centerfold in Australia's very first edition of Penthouse. Amongst hot debate on whether she should be permitted to stay in Australia, the government of the time was accused of cheesecake politics by granting her a visa in spite of her rather vague claims of repression.

(Question supplied by Dutty4eva)

Answer: They filled their petrol engine boat with diesel fuel.

Incredibly, one of the men filled the fuel tank with diesel instead of petrol. The Irish Naval Service recovered seventy bales of the drug to make it the largest "bust" in Europe in 2008.

(Question supplied by Irishtinytim)

Answer: The Dunera

The men were treated terribly by the British soldiers. The Australian medical officer who examined them on arrival made formal complaints. These men were intellectuals, artists, doctors and inventors. They were sent off to Hay, a small town in New South Wales, where (after being amazed at the food and the freedom) they promptly set up an unofficial "university". After WWII more than 1000 decided to stay in Australia. They helped drag Australia from a Victorian mindset into the twentieth century.

(Question supplied by em1958)

Answer: Lasseter's Reef

Harold Lasseter claimed to have found the reef whilst riding a horse from Queensland to the Western Australian goldfields. He told people that the reef was somewhere near the border of the Northern Territory and Western Australia, and made claims that the reef was, in one account, ten miles in length, and in another fourteen miles in length. He never produced any maps to document the actual location of the reef. In 1930 he managed to raise funds to mount an expedition to try and relocate the reef, but finally died alone on this quest. Many believe that the legendary reef was a figment of Lasseter's imagination, but others have remained inspired to try and find the "lost" reef.

(Question supplied by cazza2902)

Answer: Stephen King

In June 1999, Stephen King was walking near his home in Bangor, when he was hit from behind by a car. The driver had been distracted by a dog in his car and lost control. King was thrown about fourteen feet by the impact and suffered a punctured lung, broken hip and broken leg. The driver lost his driving license and received a suspended sentence.

(Question supplied by StarStruck60)

Answer: To leave more space for the First Class passengers

The story of the first and last voyage of the Titanic is well known. The ship's builders had spared no expense in making the Titanic the largest and most luxurious in the world, and they believed that it was the safest. Their error was obvious when the ship struck an iceberg and began to sink. The lack of lifeboats was an important contributing factor in the drowning of 1523 men, women and children. Only 705 persons survived.

(Question supplied by Gracie)