Say WHAT? Trivia Quiz

Answer: George S. Patton

General Patton (1885-1945)was a dedicated soldier who expected no less of his men than of himself. He had little or no patience with those that did not share his feelings. Patton attended Virginia Military Institute and West Point. He excelled in almost everything he set out to do; he represented the U.S. in the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm and was placed fifth in the Pentathlon: pistol shooting, sword fencing, swimming, horseback riding and cross country running. Patton also attended French cavalry school, and later taught at the Fort Riley Mounted Service School, where he was Master of the Sword. Patton was instrumental in saving the Lippizanner horses in Vienna after WWII.

Answer: Albert Einstein

"Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war" ends the quote by Albert Einstein, a dedicated scientist and humanitarian. Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany in 1879, and was educated in Germany and Switzerland.
In 1913 he was made director of theoretical physics at Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin. In 1917 he began his major work "Relativity: The Special and General Theory". In 1921 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics.
Einstein openly opposed Hitler and had his citizenship in Germany revoked and his property seized. He moved to Princeton, NJ, in 1934 and became a citizen of the U.S. in 1940. Although his work advanced the study of nuclear physics, he was a dedicated pacifist. He died in 1955. "Einstein on Peace" was published in 1960.

Answer: Chief Joseph

Chief Joseph (1840-1904), known as 'Little Joseph' until his father died and passed on the torch to him, was born in the Wallowa Valley in Oregon. He was a chief of the Nez Perce and tried to preserve peace between native tribes and the encroaching white man. Pursued by General Howard, he led his people 1,170 miles eventually to asylum in Canada with Chief Sitting Bull of the Sioux.

After meaningless treaties and promises, when natives were pushed back to ever smaller and restricted areas of land, he once told Howard that he could not believe that "the Great Spirit Chief gave one kind of man the right to tell another kind of man what to do." At his death in 1904, his doctor said he had died of natural causes - a broken heart.

Answer: Muhammad Ali

Born Cassius Clay in 1942, in Louisville, KY, he made some boastful predictions before his fights, and usually proved himself right. Muhammad won the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship at the age of 22 from Sonny Liston; because of his refusal to enlist and fight in the Vietnam War, he was stripped of the title and it took three years of appeals to regain it. First nicknamed 'The Louisville Lip' he later declared that he was 'the greatest' and showed it.

After going 14 rounds in the 1975 'thriller in Manila' with Joe Frazier, with both fighters worn down, he conceded that Frazier was "the greatest fighter of all time...next to me".

He also said that fight was "the closest thing to dying" he had ever felt. Ali won almost all his fights, with 37 of them knockouts.

After many awards and recognition, in 1999 Ali was named "Sportsman of The Century" by "Sports Illustrated", and "Sport Personality of The Century" by the BBC. His last battle was with Parkinson's Disease, probably made worse by numerous blows to the head.

Answer: "The Art of War" - Sun Tzu

"The Art of War" is a sound and succinct manual that was written during the late Chu dynasty, ca. 770-256 BC, and remains a classic studied by many professional soldiers. Sun Tzu was a very successful general in his time, and a great strategist. The story is told that he was asked by a certain king to demonstrate leadership skills in war.

The king's courtesans were aligned on separate sides, as if soldiers, and instructed by Sun Tzu. After trying to take in what he said, the chief girls on each side giggled and "acted silly", treating the exercise as a joke. Sun Tzu apologized and stated that perhaps he had not made himself clear, as is the duty of a leader.

He then gave the same orders and the two girls exhibited the same behavior. He had them immediately beheaded.

The horrified troops behaved with utmost obedience and diligence after seeing this. The purpose of the exercise was teaching how to win at war, not to play.

Answer: George Carlin

George Carlin (1937-2008) had humor that appealed greatly to the common man. He asked questions that many wondered about but never put into words. George was born in the Morningside Heights area of New York, attended high school but dropped out at 15.

He joined the Air Force and made it through three court martials. He later turned to radio and became a disc jockey. Both Lenny Bruce and Jack Parr nurtured his talents, and George became a recurring guest on the Tonight Show. George authored a few books.

His 1997 "Brain Droppings" was probably the most popular as it stayed on the "New York Times" best seller list for 18 weeks. George's "Seven Words" routine became the object of a court decision that upheld obscenity staying off the air from 6 am to 10 pm.

In 1975, George was the first guest host of SNL. From his bemused character "The Hippie Dippie Weatherman" to a much more radical political satirist, he was enjoyed for his pithy remarks. He summed himself up as "Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist."

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky in 1809. He studied law in Illinois and worked as a storekeeper, surveyor and postmaster. He was admitted to the bar in 1836. Abe was engaged to Ann Rutledge, but she died in 1835. He married Mary Todd in 1842 and they had four sons. Lincoln won the U.S. presidency in 1860 and again in 1864.

His original conservative attitude toward slavery changed during his tenure, and the southern states seceded from the Union, which precipitated the Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declared that all slaves in areas still in rebellion against the U.S. were henceforth to be free. Lincoln was a very popular president and has been eulogized by many poets and authors.

He continues to be portrayed on stage and screen into the 21st century.

Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon was born in Corsica, which had just been taken over by France. He rose to power in France and after a successful military career became a bit full of himself, and ignoring his own apt advice that "an army travels on its stomach" he attempted an invasion of Russia.

The Russians, using the scorched earth policy left nothing in the wake of their retreat, so most of Napoleon's ill-equipped army died of starvation, exposure or disease. Arriving finally in Moscow, they found the city in flames and nothing to conquer. Both Russian and German composers commemorated his defeat in their music: Tschaikovski in the "1812 Overture" and Beethoven by erasing his dedication of the 3rd symphony to Napoleon and calling it instead the "Eroica". Later in 1813 Napoleon did not fare well in the disastrous and costly Battle of Leipzig (the Battle of Nations).

In 1815 he met Wellington at Waterloo, where the British, aided by Prussian troops as well as contingents from the Netherlands and Hanover, defeated Napoleon in his final downfall. One of the theories of Napoleon's death is that he was poisoned by arsenic on St.

Helena, his final place of exile.

Answer: Phyllis Diller

When Phyllis Diller (1917-2012) came on the scene, her brand of humor was new, raw and hilarious. Her husband, "Fang" was often the target of her joking. Known for her wild hairdo and excessive makeup and expressions, Phyllis referred to herself as the type that gets invited to parties a lot because she kept people laughing. Phyllis made her debut on the Groucho Marx TV show "You Bet Your Life" as a contestant.

The audience enjoyed her zaniness, and she went on to make stage and screen appearances, author a few books and tour as a concert pianist for ten years with over 100 different symphony orchestras, as "Dame Ilya Pillya". Phyllis also toured with Bob Hope's Christmas specials.

In 1992 she received the American Comedy Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Answer: Malcolm X

Born Malcolm Little in 1925 Omaha, NE., Malcolm experienced prejudice from his childhood on; after harassment by the KKK and Black Legion splinter groups, the family moved to East Lansing, MI, where things were even worse. Malcolm watched as his family's home was burned down while white policemen and firefighters stood by and ignored the blaze.

When Malcolm's father, Earl Little, was found dead on the city streetcar tracks in 1931, the police ruled it a suicide, which negated his life insurance policy.

There was no investigation despite the fact that Earl Little had received many death threats before this; he was a preacher and also involved in the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Malcolm was deeply disturbed by these events and later turned to the Nation of Islam, where he labored to increase their numbers and set up more temples until his break with them in 1964. Malcolm had made his 'Hajj' and had an epiphany that left him less radical and militant.

He was gunned down by three men from the Nation of Islam at the Audubon Ballroom, NYC in 1965.