A Curse Be Upon You Trivia Quiz

Answer: Chicago Cubs

Sianis had two tickets to the 4th game of the 1945 World Series between the Cubs and the Detroit Tigers. He decided to bring his goat with him, and they were allowed to enter Wrigley Field and sit in the box seats that they had tickets for. However, Phillip Knight Wrigley had the two ejected because of the goats "objectionable odor." Sianis was outraged by the ejection, and placed a curse upon the Cubs, that they would never play in a World Series at Wrigley again.

Answer: 0

Proclaimed by the Shawnee Indian Prophet Tenskwatawa, who was the brother of the Chief Tecumseh, the curse claimed the lives of President Harrison (elected 1840), President Lincoln (elected 1860), President Garfield (elected 1880), President McKinley (elected 1900), President Harding (elected 1920), President Roosevelt (elected 1940), and President Kennedy (elected 1960.) The curse was finally broken by President Reagan, who survived an assassination attempt following his 1980 election victory.

Answer: Joseph P. Kennedy

Son Joseph Jr. died while flying a mission over the English Channel in 1943, son John was assassinated in 1963, and son Robert was assassinated in 1968. Grandson Patrick (son of JFK) died in 1963 (Complications after birth), grandson David (son of Robert) died in 1984 (Drug Overdose), grandson Michael (son of Robert) died in 1997 (Skiing accident), and John Jr. (son of JFK) died in 1999 (Plane Crash).

Answer: Curse of Tutankhamen

His full name was George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, and he was an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist. He had been financing the work of archeologist Howard Carter for a number of years when, on November 4th, 1922, Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings. Carnarvon's death the following April caused a media sensation, even though he was in ill health and advancing age to begin with.

Answer: Sports Illustrated

At http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/cover/2002/jinx/main/ you can see over 80 cursed covers dating back to 1958. Some of the more famous examples are August 13th 2001, when SI featured Oregon State as their preseason #1 team (they went 5-6,) November 22nd 1993, which featured Notre Dame as the #1 team after their victory over Florida State (they lost to BC the next week), and September 2nd 1974, when Evil Knievel's famed Canyon Jump was previewed (he failed miserably).

Answer: The Hope Diamond

It is unlikely that the diamond that Jean Baptiste Tavernier brought back from India in 1642 was stolen from an idol, simply because it was too big at 112 carats. The diamond was purchased by Louis XIV, the Sun King, who had it cut down to 64 carats and named it the "Blue Diamond of the Crown." It was still a crown jewel when Louis the XVI was beheaded during the French Revolution.

The diamond came into the possession of Henry Phillip Hope sometime around 1839, and remained in his family until it was sold by his grandson, Francis Hope, whose bankruptcy has been blamed on the curse, though his gambling habit may have had more to do with it. Evelyn McLean, who thought that cursed things brought her good luck, bought the diamond, and wore it constantly.

While her luck might have been good, her son died in a car accident, her daughter committed suicide, and her husband was committed. Harry Winston purchased the diamond and donated it to the Smithsonian in 1958.

Answer: James Dean

James Dean purchased his brand new Porsche Spyder in 1955. Following his fatal accident the vehicle was purchased by George Barris, who planned to use the vehicle for parts. As it arrived at Barris' s garage the vehicle fell during unloading and broke a mechanic's leg. Troy McHenry and William Eschrid purchased the engine and drive train from Barris for use in their own race cars.

At the next race McHenry was killed when his car spun out of control and hit a tree, and Eschrid was seriously injured in an accident.

The rest of the car was purchased by the California Highway Patrol for use in a safety exhibit, and at one stop, the garage housing the exhibit burned, destroying everything except for Dean's car. The vehicle was involved in at least 3 other accidents before it was crated up and sent to Los Angeles.

It never made it; it disappeared along the way.

Answer: The Masters

Since the beginning of the 9-hole contest in 1960, no man who has won it has gone on to win the Masters. In 2004 Tiger Woods finished in a tie for first with Padraig Harrington and Eduardo Romero, and a playoff was deemed necessary. Tiger had "other commitments" and had to withdraw. Hmmm.

Answer: England

David Seaman hurt his back, Dave Beasant had the run in with the mayo, Chris Woods had the difficulty with the tracksuit, Richard Wright suffered the fall, and Gordon Banks missed the 1970 World Cup quarter final because of bad beer.

Answer: William Shakespeare

It was common practice in Shakespeare's time to open graves and move the bones to the nearby charnel house, in order to make way for new burials. While it is unknown whether or not Shakespeare actually wrote the curse, it definitely has been effective. While the charnel house has long since disappeared, Shakespeare's grave has remained undisturbed.

Answer: Monaco

There are a couple of legends about this curse, but I am going to go with back in the 13th century, Prince Rainier I kidnapped and raped a beautiful woman. To get even, she became a witch, and issued the curse. The most famous Grimaldi tragedy was in 1982 when Princess Grace Kelly (yes the movie star, she married Prince Rainier III in 1956) was killed in a tragic car accident.

Answer: Seinfeld Curse

All three have had a string of unsuccessful sitcoms following the end of Seinfeld. Jason Alexander (George) had "Bob Patterson" (2001) and "Listen Up!" (2004), Michael Richards (Kramer) had "The Michael Richards Show" (2000), and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine) had "Watching Ellie" (2002).
However from 2006-2010 Julia Louis-Dreyfus had success in the TV sitcom "The New Adventures of Old Christine" where she garnered an Emmy in 2006.

Answer: Sweater Curse

Apparently if you knit something for your boyfriend before you get married, the relationship will end. Since sweaters are a common knitted gift item, they have picked up the curse.

Answer: Macbeth

The curse dates all of the way back to the plays opening in 1606, when the boy who was to play Lady Macbeth developed a sudden fever and died. Some other incidents of note: In 1672, the actor playing Macbeth used a real dagger to assassinate Duncan. In 1721 actors drove a rude nobleman and his friends from the theatre, only to have them return with the local Militia and burn the theatre.

In 1849 10,000 New Yorkers rioted outside of the Astor Palace Opera House to protest the appearance of British Actor William Macready.

In 1947 actor Harold Norman was stabbed and killed in the play's ending sword fight.

Answer: Curse of Billy Penn

A statue of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, stands atop the City Hall Building in city center. According to tradition, but not by law, no building was ever to rise above the statue. Before the Glass Skyscraper opened in 1987 Philadelphia had enjoyed several successful sports championships.

The Flyers won back to back in 1974 and 1975, the Phillies won in 1980, and the 76ers won in 1983. Since "One Liberty Plaza" obstructed Billy's view, Philadelphia teams have lost 5 championship games and 7 conference finals.