All the News that's Not Fit to Print Quiz

Answer: Passengers Safely Moved and Steamer Titanic Taken In Tow

The "Christian Science Monitor" did report that the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg, but then had a few historically questionable lines: "Wireless dispatches immediately sent out that vessel is sinking. Women and children in life boats ready for release. Steamers Virginian and Parisian of Allan line and Carpathia of Cunard line reach side of the Titanic... Passengers transferred to the Parisian and Carpathia, while Virginian takes vessel in tow for Halifax."

However, the "Christian Science Monitor" was not the only paper to report the Titanic as still afloat. "The Syracuse Herald," for example, printed its headline on April 15 that "Titanic's Passengers All Rescued," and below: "Giant New Liner Limping in Toward Halifax, Badly Damaged."

Answer: Pope Benedict XV

When "Pope Benedict XV is Dead" streaked across the headlines, Catholic New Yorkers went into mourning, but it wasn't exactly true. While the pope was battling pneumonia in January 1922, he would not succumb to the illness until later in the month. This made the second headline proclaiming that he had made a miraculous recovery also incorrect, damaging the unidentified New York newspaper's reputation once again.

Answer: Kerry's Choice: Dem picks Gephardt as VP candidate

In the front-page cover story of the "New York Post" on July 6, 2004, the paper loudly proclaimed they had found John Kerry's running mate in Dick Gephardt, and noted it was a "stunning choice for his vice president." It was probably most stunning to John Kerry, who hours later would announce that he had chosen John Edwards as his running mate instead.

When mentioning Edwards in the article, the "Post" mentioned "Edwards also could have been competitive in the south, and the choice of Gephardt could be a sign that Kerry is 'writing off' that region."

Answer: Hughes Sweeps Country as the Election Winner

The 1916 election was one of the closest in American history. Republican Charles Evans Hughes won several states in the East and Midwest, including Wilson's home state of New Jersey, for a quick total of 244 electoral votes. Needing only 266 to win, he was almost assured of victory. However, he would then only win South Dakota and Oregon for an additional 10 votes, and Wilson edged him in California by a mere 0.3% of the vote, meaning Wilson had won re-election.

A popular story about the results states that Evans went to bed thinking that he was the new president. When a reporter called his residence to get a reaction on the stunning upset, the butler said "The president is sleeping." The reporter replied "When he wakes up, tell him he isn't the president anymore."

Answer: JFK Raps Fault-Finders in Nation

With only the text of John F Kennedy's Dallas speech to work with, Associated Press writers sent out a story about it to outlets, but before he could give it, he was assassinated. While several papers printed the story about the speech, others ran it with a note that JFK was shot before actually delivering the speech. Had it actually taken place, Kennedy planned on taking to task political opponents that "confuse rhetoric with reality."

Answer: The report of my death was an exaggeration

Although commonly misquoted as "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated," Twain simply remarked "The report of my death was an exaggeration." This was not the only time he responded to a report of his death, as ten years later in 1907 the "New York Times" reported that he was lost at sea, when in fact he was solidly on land. Twain put out an article in the "Times" the next day, entitled "Mark Twain Investigating: And If the Report That He's Lost at Sea is So, He'll Let the Public Know." He also included this fake interview with himself:

"'You can assure my Virginia friends,' said he, 'that I will make an exhaustive investigation of this report that I have been lost at sea. If there is any foundation for the report, I will at once apprise the anxious public. I sincerely hope that there is no foundation for the report, and I also hope that judgment will be suspended until I ascertain the true state of affairs."

The other choices were also responses to (or variations of) premature reports of death. Dave Swarbrick responded to his by saying "It's not the first time I have died in Coventry." Alice Cooper remarked "I'm alive, and drunk as usual," and Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi returned home after fighting the lost World War II until 1972 by saying "It is with much embarrassment that I have returned alive."

Answer: It was shot down by Soviet fighters

En route from Anchorage, Alaska, US, to Seoul, South Korea, KAL 007 deviated from its flight course by taking a direct route instead of an arc in order to avoid Soviet airspace. The plane flew directly over the Kamchatka Peninsula, followed by the Soviet-occupied Sakhalin, before being shot down by a Soviet interceptor due to fears it was an American spy plane using KAL as a shield.

The original UPI article has been a source for many conspiracy theories about the incident, since it indicates that KAL Vice President Cho Choong-keun had already flown to Tokyo to negotiate the release of the passengers.

The correct story was published the following day, September 2, 1983, reported that all 269 passengers and crew had been killed in the attack.

Answer: Ford Reportedly Accepts No. 2 spot on GOP Ticket

It is true that Ronald Reagan was attempting to get Gerald Ford to join him on the ticket for the 1980 election, but it was reported that Ford wanted Henry Kissinger and Alan Greenspan both in the Cabinet, something that Reagan was not fully on board with. Bush was Reagan's only real competition during Republican primaries, although Reagan still won nearly 60% of the vote to Bush's 24%.

The two went on to defeat incumbent Jimmy Carter by an electoral count of 489 to 44, one of the most lopsided elections in American history.

Answer: "Tragedy is Now Triumph: 12 Found Alive in Sago" from "Washington Post"

On January 2, 2006, just before noon Eastern, an explosion rocked Sago, West Virginia Over the next 36 hours, the scene became a media frenzy, and in the last few minutes of January 3 reports began to surface that 12 of the 13 trapped miners had been found alive, but three hours later they were found to be false as officials told family members that in fact only one survivor was found in the mine. Officials at the scene had never made an official announcement to the media during this time, and actually delayed telling family members because of the reports of the survivors, thinking they might have been incorrect believing only one man had survived. During this time, major outlets had already been published both in print and online, leading the nation to mistakenly believe for a short time that the tragedy had a somewhat happy ending.

Answer: "Chicago Tribune"

One of the most iconic photographs of any US presidential election is President Harry Truman laughing while he holds up the "Chicago Tribune" paper loudly proclaiming "Dewey Defeats Truman." The paper jumped the gun due to many factors, including their over-reliance on political analysts and the fact the paper was pro-Republican.

The paper was nearly correct, as Truman only won in Ohio by 0.24%, California by 0.44%, and Illinois by 0.84%. Had all three states gone the other way, Dewey would have in fact been elected.