The Insight of Hindsight Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Hope Diamond

The story goes that Jean Baptiste Tavernier stole the Hope Diamond from a statue of the Goddess Sita during his visit to India. The anger of the goddess was said to be the cause of the curse of this diamond, and Tavernier was later torn apart by wild dogs whilst in Russia. It is true that there was a French man named Jean Baptiste Tavernier who retrieved a blue diamond (later known as the Hope Diamond) from India and returned to France. There, he sold the piece to Louis XIV. Whilst it is also true that Tavernier died in Russia, he most likely died of old age, rather than being torn apart by dogs, as he was 84.

The curse of the Hope Diamond is discarded by many as pure myth, as many of its owners lived fairly happy lives without massive misfortune. Louis XVI, although having been executed in 1793, can hardly have his misfortunes pinned down to the curse of a diamond.

The Hope Diamond was given its present name by Henry Philip Hope - owner of the piece in 1939.

Answer: James Dean

The legend of the curse of "Little Bastard" stemmed from Dean himself, as he was killed in a road accident whilst driving the car.

The wreck was later bought by George Barris - a car customizer who said that he had many reservations about the car from the first moment he saw it. Shortly after its purchase, the wreck fell on top of two mechanics, breaking both of their legs. Barris later sold the engine to Troy McHenry - a doctor who raced cars for sport. Whilst racing in the car which contained the engine of "Little Bastard", McHenry lost control and hit a tree. The impact was fatal.

The curse of the car continued as the garage in which it was later kept burned to the ground.

Answer: Scandinavia

Most rune stones are found in Scandinavia and this particular rune stone (Bjorktorpe) is found in Sweden.

This particular folk tale tells us of how a man attempted to remove the Bjorktorpe rune stone so that he could create a greater area of land for him to cultivate. Knowing that the stone was inscribed with a curse, the man did not plan to touch it, but surrounded it with fire before dousing it with water in the hope that it would crack. It is told that a sudden gust of air came from the previously calm weather, and blew the embers on to the man who set alight and burned to death. The fire surrounding the rune stone was then extinguished.

Answer: A fire at the town hall

This curse, now known as the "Curse of Carlisle", dates back to 1525 when Archbishop Dunbar of Glasgow used it as an attempt to deter "border-crossers" from coming into Scotland and stealing cattle. The curse was not specifically aimed at Carlisle and became known as the "Curse of Carlisle" much later.

Andy Altman, the man who placed the text onto the stone, was originally held responsible by some for the happenings in the local area after its commission, and many demanded that the stone should be destroyed. Kevin Carlyon (the self proclaimed "Living God of all Witches") claimed that destroying the stone would only strengthen the belief in the curse, thus strengthening its power.

As well as floods, team relegations and the outbreak of disease, the sharp rise in local unemployment and the murder of a young boy was put down to the power of the 16th century curse.

Answer: An eskimo

The "curse of Atuk" has become a well known urban legend in Hollywood, as many who have shown interest in playing the lead role died shortly after displaying their interest. The actors include John Belushi (1982), Sam Kinison (1992), John Candy (1994), and Chris Farley (1997).

The screenplay was based on the book, "The Incomparable Atuk", written in 1963 by Mordecai Richler. It is a satirical depiction of an Eskimo who moves to the city of New York.

With Sam Kinison playing the main role, some scenes of "Atuk" were shot, but numerous problems delayed its production and it was eventually scrapped. Due to the apparent curse of this screenplay, it is thought that it will never be turned into a movie.

Answer: He refused to give money to a poor lady

The curse was placed on the Earl of Shrewsbury in 1821 after ignoring an old woman's pleas for money whilst on his way home. The woman cursed him, saying that for every branch that fell from the old oak, a family member of his would die. After a death in the family that night, the Earl became scared by the curse and ordered that its branches were chained so as to prevent any more loved ones dying. As the chain is no longer present, some say that it rusted away and the many branches which have fallen since then have been to blame for the deaths of anyone related to the Earl of Shrewsbury.

The Earl's home was in Alton Towers - now a popular British theme park. In 2000, a ride called "Hex" was added to the park, which is themed on this very curse.

Answer: 9th

This has come to be a very mysterious curse in classical music. Austrian composer, Arnold Shoenberg, writes, "It seems that the ninth is a limit. He who wants to go beyond it must pass away. It seems as if something might be imparted to us in the Tenth which we ought not yet to know, for which we are not ready. Those who have written a Ninth stood too close to the hereafter." (Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_ninth).

Other composers to have fallen victim to this curse are Mahler, Schubert, Vaughan Williams and Bruckner.

There are obvious inconsistencies in this legend, such as Bruckner who, although having died whilst writing his 9th symphony, was actually found to have two other symphonies which he had not numbered.

Many composers dismissed this curse as ludicrous, but some took it very seriously and some, such as Mahler, were terrified of writing their ninth. Mahler tried to "trick the curse" by not numbering his ninth symphony, but he died nevertheless after its completion. It is said that his last word was "Mozart".

Answer: Kosovo

In the face of Ottoman aggression, Prince Lazar of Kosovo called for all Serbs to join the war against their growing power. As many refused, Lazar declared a curse on all of those who did not fight.

The curse is as follows:
"Whoever is a Serb, of Serbian blood,
Whoever shares with me this heritage,
And he comes not to fight at Kosovo,
May he never have the progeny
His heart desires, neither son nor daughter;
Beneath his hand let nothing decent grow-
Neither purple grapes nor wholesome wheat;
Let him rust away like dripping iron
Until his name shall be extinguished!" (taken from http://balkania.tripod.com/resources/history/battle_of_kosovo.html).

The Serbs were defeated in the battle which took place on Kosovo field. In this field is the Gazimestan monument, which is inscribed with the curse.

Answer: William Penn

It was said that no building in Philadelphia should exceed the height of the figure of city founder, William Penn, who stands atop the City Hall. However, in 1987, One Liberty Place was built, which was almost 400 ft higher than the figure.

Many speculated that the town's sports teams thus became cursed by William Penn. This was due to several significant losses throughout the next 15 years or so, such as the Stanley cup finals of 1986-7 (to the Edmonton Oilers) and 1996-7 (to the Detroit Red Wings). There were also losses in the finals of the World Series in 1993 (Phillies lost to Toronto Blue Jays), and in Superbowl XXXIX (Eagles lost to the New England Patriots).

Interestingly, a group of builders seemed to break the curse in 2007 by placing a figure of Penn to the then latest skyscraper, the Comcast Centre, once again making Penn the highest part of Philadelphia. Many justified the breaking of the curse with the World Series victory achieved by the Phillies the following year.

Answer: The Omen

The Curse of "The Omen" is one of the most intriguing legends of Hollywood, not least for its religious associations.

The numerous strange occurrences which surrounded those associated with the film have caused many to claim that the Devil himself tried to stop its release.

Speculation began when it was reported that two planes carrying people involved with the film were struck by lightning on separate occasions. Another plane accident occurred after the camera crew had booked a flight over London. A last minute change of plan meant that a group of Chinese businessmen took the flight instead of the crew. After taking off, a flock of birds flew into the engines, causing it to crash. Six people died.

The idea of a curse grew when the crew were filming in a safari park. It is often claimed that animals can sense the presence of the Devil and, to some, the strange behaviour of the animals that day could be seen as reflecting just that. Baboons were out of control and a park keeper who helped with the film was attacked and killed by a tiger (the scene involving the big cats was later cut from the film).