Sporting Teasers Trivia Quiz

Answer: From a hot air balloon

It is not recorded in which part of France Mademoiselle Gargerin took this plunge, or how she fared. By the time she did take her leap into fame, hot air balloons had been around for quite a while. It is believed they were first used some 2000 years ago by the Nazca people of Peru when designing the famous Nazca lines.

The first documented use of this form of flight occurred in 1709. A gentleman named Bartolomeu de Gusmao demonstrated their use, with a flight of some 15 feet off the ground. He did this for the entertainment of the Portuguese court.

Answer: 111

The precise reason for this superstition is open to debate, but it became particularly familiar owing to the antics of international umpire David Shepherd, who developed a habit of lifting one foot off the ground whenever the score reached 111, or multiples thereof, they being regarded as unlucky by Shepherd in a ritual dating back to his childhood cricket days.

One reason the score of 111 or multiples thereof (called "Double Nelson", "Triple Nelson" etc.) is considered an ill omen in cricket is probably because the figures "111" resemble a wicket without bails.

It is believed the term Nelson stems either from the mistaken belief that he had only one eye, one arm and one leg, hence 111 (which is factually incorrect because Nelson never actually lost a leg), or possibly because it commemorates Nelson's three greatest naval victories: Copenhagen, the Nile and Trafalgar i.e. " won, won, won" or 111.

Answer: Surya Bonaly - France

It is believed that Surya was the first women ever to attempt a quadruple toe loop jump at a major competition. She made this attempt at the European Championships in 1989. Before embarking on her skating career she was a gymnast which was evident during her skating years.

At the 1998 Olympics, after realizing she was not going to medal and stand on the podium, she performed an illegal back-flip landing on one foot to the ire of the judges and was disqualified. As far as it is known she is the only women that can perform this feat.

She subsequently moved to the USA and became a citizen of that country. She was performing with Champions on Ice until its demise in 2007.

Answer: Straw

Baseball caps today are state of the art. The front part of the cap contains the team logo. The back portion has a plastic, velcro or elastic section which can be adjusted to fit the wearer's head.

Answer: Climb Mount Everest

Japanese Junko Tabei reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 16, 1975. The 35 year old was among an all women team of 15 climbers. The first woman to sail around the world solo was Krystyna Choynowski-Liskiewicz in 1976. 1935 saw Caroline Mikkelsen as the first woman to set foot on the Antarctic mainland.

In 1924, golfer Edith Cummings became the first sportswoman to appear on the cover of "Time Magazine".

Answer: Tug of War

The origins of the Tug of War are not known but are clearly very old. A reference is found to this in the Chinese military records from the 8th century BCE. The game was used then to train warriors.

Answer: Microwave

Now who would have thought to put a poor unsuspecting baseball in a microwave in the first place? The only trouble with this is that there usually isn't an electric point on the diamond into which a microwave could be plugged. Here's another more pertinent fact. The average pitched baseball rotates 15 times before it is hit by the batter.

Answer: Jousting

It was made the official sport in 1962. Jousting is an ancient sport which involves a contest between two knights carrying lances, and mounted on horses. The aim of the sport is to gallop towards each other and to try to dislodge one's opponent by knocking him flying off his steed with a well aimed blow from a lance. Jousting was first recorded as a sport way back in the eleventh century.

It remained a popular event until the 17th century, when, it is presumed people developed a little more common sense.

Answer: Volleyball

This brings to mind a comment that was once made about nude dancing on stage by the great dancer, Sir Robert Helpmann. He remarked dryly when asked his opinion about it that, "The trouble with nude dancing is that not everything stops moving when the music does". Playing volleyball in the nude would most definitely be a moving experience.

Answer: To carry goats carcasses across a goal line whilst riding horses

Competition is extremely fierce between the horsemen. In the early days before the drawing up of official rules by the Afghan Federation, the sport had very few rules, other than not whipping fellow riders intentionally or deliberately knocking them from their horses.