That's One in the Eye! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Oar

In 1612 Miyamoto Musashi agreed to fight a duel with the Shogun's martial arts sensai Sasaki Kojiro. Kojiro was the epitome of a samurai and prided himself on his image as a warrior following the code of bushido. Musashi was only concerned with not being beaten.

The duel took place on an island that Musashi travelled to by boat; arriving late and wearing scruffy clothes, he achieved his aim of irritating the punctual, impeccably attired Kojiro, thus putting him off balance. In order to attain an advantage Kojito fought with a sword made to be slightly longer than standard. Aware of this, Musashi is said to have fashioned himself a longer bokken, a wooden sword, from his oar and regained the advantage and won the duel, killing Kojito and preserving his unbeaten record. Miyamoto Musashi is the author of 'The Book of Five Rings' a book centered around the art of war.

He has a record of fighting and winning 61 duels.

Answer: Khrushchev had to wear water wings

Amidst declining relations between the Soviet Union and The People's Republic of China, a meeting took place at Chairman Mao's swimming pool, knowing that Nikita Khrushchev was unable to swim. The leader of the Soviet Union was forced to wear water wings as the two men swam up and down discussing policy, with their translators walking alongside the pool. Mao Zedong was a strong swimmer, in later years managing to swim across the Yangtze river aged 72. Khrushchev eventually tired of this, and instead, sat on the side with his legs dangling in the pool, regaining the advantage of superiority by being higher in placement of Mao still in the pool below.

Answer: Chopped off both hands

Galvarino was taken prisoner in the battle of Lagunillas in 1557 along with 150 other warriors in Chile. Some warriors had one hand and their noses amputated, some, like Galvarino, had both hands removed. They were then released back to the Mapuche to act as a warning and a lesson as to what would happen if they continued to fight. Galvarino attended a council of war, displaying his injuries and called for greater force in the war against the Spanish invaders.

He was given leadership of a squadron of men, strapped blades to his stumps and led his men in battle.

Unfortunately, despite this act of immense bravery, the Mapuche were eventually subdued and Galvarino was executed

Answer: Site of the 1918 Armistice

Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Third Reich, was born in 1889 in Austria. He was purportedly very conscious of symbolism and making a point. The armistice of 1918, where Germany surrendered to the Allies, was signed in a railway carriage in the woodlands of Compiegne.

In an act of revenge by Hitler, the railway carriage was removed from the museum in which it was held and taken to the exact site of the 1918 signing and was used to accept the 'surrender' of the French. Following this use, the Compiegne Wagon was destroyed, possibly by the SS, so that it could not be used, ever again, to witness German humiliation.

Answer: Tractor

The first vehicles to bear the name Lamborghini were tractors. More interested in farming machinery than farming itself, Ferruccio Lamborghini initially opened a garage after World War II. He began modifying Fiats for fun and then moved on to more expensive cars as his finances improved.

He owned Alfa Romeos and Lancias and he liked Adolfo Orsi, the owner of Maserati, but was not a particular fan of his cars, finding them slow and heavy. He disliked Ferrari's after sales service and also told Enzo Ferrari what he thought would improve their car's performance and make them quieter and smoother, including fitting them with better clutches. Enzo took exception and dismissed his concerns. Lamborghini went on to produce his own perfect touring car encompassing what he believed was lacking in the Ferrari, and the sport cars that followed looked to challenge Ferrari's dominance in the field.

Answer: Rollo Gaange Rolf

Viking leader Rollo became the ruler of Normandy in 911. The King of West Francia ceding him land in an agreement that would see Rollo cease his plundering, swear allegiance to the King, and defend the area from other Viking raiders. Rollo accepted the position but refused to kiss the King's foot to signify his allegiance stating "I will never bow my knees at the knees of any man, and no man's foot will I kiss." According to Dudo, a potentially unreliable historian, the story continues with Rollo commanding a warrior of his party to take his place.

The warrior complies, but instead of bending to perform the deed, he lifts the King's foot to his mouth, causing the King to fall over backwards. Rollo performed his duties to Normandy well, ruling until 928.

Answer: His body was disinterred, hanged and beheaded

Despite having died in 1658, two years previously, and having been buried in a public funeral at Westminster Abbey, King Charles II's Parliament posthumously pronounced him guilty of High Treason. They ordered his body to be disinterred, where it was subjected to a public execution by hanging, at Tyburn, famous for its gallows.

The body was then beheaded and the head was put on display at Westminster Hall where it stayed until at least 1684 when it disappeared. In 1960 the head came to light again, believed to have been held in the hands of private collectors.

It has subsequently been buried at Sidney Sussex College.

Answer: Gaius Caligula

In AD 37 Caligula had a three-mile-long bridge built of wooden pontoons, impressively engineered to fulfil one purpose. Watched by his subjects the emperor donned Alexander the Great's golden breastplate, a crown and other pieces of bright armour, mounted his horse and rode across at speed.

The following day, he made the return journey by chariot. The reason, allegedly, was to disprove a comment made by an astrologer, that Caligula had no more chance of becoming Emperor than he had of riding a horse across the Bay of Baiae.

Answer: Tank

A WWI German A7V tank was issued to the German Army in 1917; following a refit it acquired the name Mephisto. During battle in France the tank became mired and had to be abandoned. The Australian Imperial Force began raids on the area and the 26th and 28th Battalion came across the tank, and encouraged by Lieutenant-Colonel James Robinson, decided to recover it as a spoil of war with the help of the British Gun Carrier company.

It caused much excitement among the troops, who adorned it with pictures and signatures.

It was eventually shipped to London where it was loaded onto the SS Armagh and taken to Brisbane. After a few moves, it is displayed in the Anzac Legacy Gallery in the Queensland Museum, the only A7V surviving in the world.

Answer: Soviet Union

Vulcan, a coal mining town in West Virginia, only had a small bridge, unsuitable for vehicles, connecting them to the rest of the county. This bridge was suffering from wood rot and collapsed in 1974. Bartender, town resident and self-styled mayor, John Robinette, began campaigning for state funding and also federal aid to build a new bridge to allow trade to resume and to save the town.

When funding was denied, the mayor became inventive. In 1977 he applied to the Soviet Union and East Germany for foreign aid.

This attracted the notice of the Press. Soviet reporter Iona Andronov visiting the town to see the scale of the problem. Funnily enough within a short time following his visit the town were granted $1.3 million to replace the bridge by the State of West Virginia.