FunTrivia History Mix: Vol 17 Trivia Quiz

Answer: An illegal daily lottery

The numbers racket, also called policy, was a popular form of gambling in many large cities. Bettors would choose a three digit number from 000 to 999. The winning number was usually taken from the last three digits of the handle, or total amount of money wagered, at a local racetrack, which could be found in the newspaper. Winning bettors would receive 600 times the amount of their wager, and the syndicate would reap a 40% profit. State run lotteries have largely replaced the numbers racket.

Question by player daver852

Answer: Chicago

The story of the cow as the originator of the blaze is unproven - a few newspapermen later claimed they made it up. Although the fire devastated the city of Chicago, rebuilding started almost before all of the flames were put out. Much of the rubble was pushed into the lake. Over 100 years after the Great Fire, new skyscrapers stand on land that was created from debris from the ruined city.

Question by player kpb421

Answer: 1982

Argentina briefly occupied the Falklands in 1982 (which they called Islas Malvinas) until Margaret Thatcher mobilized a task force to regain the islands. In the aftermath, there were anti-government protests and riots in Buenos Aires, and three-man Argentinian dictatorship was forced to resign.

Question by player brm50diboll

Answer: di Buonaparte

He was born Napoleone di Buonaparte but he adopted the more French-sounding name of Napoléon Bonaparte when he started his military career. Buonaparte translates as "good side". Italian writer Kurt Suckert chose Curzio Malaparte as his pen name, as a pun on Napoleon's name.

Question by player chabenao1

Answer: 1945

On July 16th, 1945, the first nuclear explosion took place at the Trinity Site, Almagordo, New Mexico, USA.

Question by player peterjc

Answer: The Babylonians

King Hammurabi ruled Babylon from circa 1792 BC on. His collection of 282 laws became known as the "Code of Hammurabi". He even had them engraved on eight foot high stones and displayed where any literate person who wanted to know the law could read it.

Question by player dallasbluedog

Answer: Wright Brothers' first powered flight

Orville Wright was the first to pilot the "Flyer" aircraft that he and his brother Wilbur had built. The flight took place in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina and lasted all of 12 seconds. This event, however, would revolutionize the way people and goods are moved around the world as well as have a giant impact on warfare.

Question by player StetsonHat

Answer: 1967

In one brief summer, you could go to a corner of San Francisco, Haight-Ashury, and feel the beginning of a cultural revolution - sex, drugs and rock-and-roll. A few months later the Summer of Love was over, but the movement never died, although it has faded somewhat.

Question by player mpkitty

Answer: Aircraft

The Sopwith Camel was one of the most advanced fighter aircraft of its time and turned the aerial war to Britain's advantage in 1917. The Bristol Fighter was another British aircraft, while Spads were of French origin. The Bristol was a two-seater, while the others were single-seaters and remained in production into the 1930s.

Question by player darksplash

Answer: Pinball

It was NYC mayor Fiorello LaGuardia who banned pinball machines from the city. In January 1942, he stated that "pinball machine pushers were slimy crews of tinhorns, well dressed and living in luxury on penny thievery and the game was part of a broader craze for gambling".

He ordered police to make raids and seizures and was photographed with a sledgehammer, smashing the seized machines. The ban was not removed until 1976 when Roger Sharpe showed his game skills before a committee in a Manhattan courtroom to prove that pinball games were not games of chance and had nothing to do with gambling.

Question by player wellenbrecher