A Plague on Both Your Houses Trivia Quiz

Answer: York and Lancaster

The Wars of the Roses were fought from 1455 to 1485 between the Lancastrians and the Yorkists, as each side sought to put its own candidate on the English throne.

The origin of the dispute began after the death of the powerful King Edward III, in 1377, when his grandson Richard II succeeded him, but the throne was taken from him by Henry of Bolingbroke in 1399. He ruled as Henry IV, the first Lancastrian king. He was succeeded by his son Henry V, whose successor Henry VI, ascended the throne as an infant. His claim was disputed by Richard, Duke of York. The Yorkists were descended from the third and fifth sons of Edward III while the Lancastrians were descended from the fourth son. After various battles during one of which Richard of York was killed, the Lancastrians were defeated and the Duke's son was crowned as Edward IV. On his death in 1483, his son should have been crowned as Edward V, but his uncle, who became Richard III, claimed that his nephews were illegitimate and took over the throne. Henry Tudor used his tenuous claim to invade England and defeated Richard at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 and ruled as Henry VII. Richard was the last Yorkist king although Henry married the king's sister, Elizabeth, so his son, Henry VIII, had Yorkist ancestry.

(Question by Calpurnia09)

Answer: The Hatfields and McCoys

In 1865, Asa Harmon McCoy, a Union soldier, was murdered by Jim Vance, a relative of the Hatfields, who were Confederate sympathizers. The two families feuded and set about murdering each other until 1891 when the feuding and fighting finally came to an end. This is a story that is truly brutal and tragic; there were many deaths due to the hatred spawned by the war and murders through the years. Roseanna McCoy has been called the Juliet of the mountains for her ill-fated love affair with Johnson (Johnse) Hatfield. She died before reaching her 30th birthday.

(Question by oldstuff28)

Answer: The Clantons and the McLaurys

This gunfight took place in Tombstone, Arizona Territory in 1881. Three Earp brothers, Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan along with their friend Doc Holliday, shot and killed Billy Clanton, Tom McLaury and Frank McLaury. The whole incident probably lasted no more than 30 seconds yet it has become one the most remembered incidents from the days of the Old Wild West.

The feud between the families continued for some time after the gunfight with Virgil Earp being eventually fatally shot in the back and Morgan Earp being badly wounded. Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday remained friends until Doc's death in 1887. Wyatt went on to become very famous and he lived until 1929.


(Question by ronny8)

Answer: Cricket bail

The Ashes legend started after the 1882 Test. After the unexpected English defeat by the 'colonials', the British press lamented the death of cricket saying, "The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia".

Legend has it that, during the 1883-1883 tour of Australia by the English team, a terracotta urn was presented to the captain Ivo Bligh by a group of Melbourne ladies. The contents of the urn were reputed to be the ashes of a bail. The feud continued, while the win-loss ratio in Ashes Tests up to and including the 2011 series stood at 123 wins for Australia to 100 wins for England, with 87 draws. The Ashes themselves never leave the Lord's Cricket Ground in England, where they are displayed in the MCC Museum.

(Question by em1958)

Answer: George 'Bugs' Moran

The leader of the North Side Irish was George 'Bugs' Moran. The event was, of course, the Saint Valentine's Day massacre, the most famous meeting between the gangs of Capone and Moran. The other three answers were all victims of the shooting, though not all were in the gang. Albert 'James Clark' Kachellek was Moran's second in command and John May was an occasional car mechanic for the South Side. Albert Weinshank, a fully fledged member, had an uncanny resemblance to Bugs Moran, which allegedly caused Capone's men to start the shooting before the arrival of the leader, so Moran himself was unharmed. Al Capone was conveniently in Florida at the time and was never charged for the crime.

(Question by natagert)

Answer: Gryffindor and Slytherin

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is divided into four houses, each bearing the name of its founder. Griffindor house values courage, bravery, loyalty, nerve and chivalry and is the house to which Harry Potter belongs. Slytherin house values cunning, leadership, resourcefulness and, most of all pure wizard blood. Draco Malfoy is a member of Slytherin and Harry's greatest adversary. Voldemort also belonged to this house.


(Question by ronny8)

Answer: Lonrho

Although head of one of Britain's biggest companies, "Tiny" Rowlands was obsessed with owning Harrods. When he was outbid by Mohammed Al Fayed he spent much of the rest of his business life pursuing a feud against him. Lonrho petitioned the government to investigate the Harrods takeover by Al Fayed, and he conducted a campaign against him in "The Observer", which he also owned. He also alleged that document of his were stolen from Harrods' safe deposit, although the police found no evidence of this. It is estimated the feud cost him some £20M.


(Question by Christinap)

Answer: Jessica Lloyd

Jessica Lloyd was not one of their victims. She was kidnapped, raped and murdered by Russell Williams, the ex-military commander of Canadian Forces Base Trenton in 2010. He was sentenced to two terms of life in prison at Kingston Penitentiary.

Tammy Homolka was the younger sister of Karla Homolka who gave her a powerful drug to knock her out to allow her then fiancee Paul to rape her. According to testimony from Karla, she was a "Christmas present for Paul". Tammy choked to death and incredibly it was at first ruled a accidental death.

Leslie Mahaffy, age 14, was tortured, raped and murdered by both deviants before her body was dismembered and encased in cement blocks and disposed of.

Kristen French, age 15, was grabbed off the street and then raped and murdered. Then Paul and Karla went out for a nice Easter Dinner. Both accused the other of murdering her.

"Killer Karla" as she was known in the newspapers cut a deal with the Crown for a reduced sentence in return for testimony against Paul. After sentencing, the police acquired video tapes that suggested Karla was a willing accomplice not a reluctant participant as she said.

Paul Bernado was sentenced to 25 years in prison; he was also declared a "Dangerous Offender" meaning he would probability never get out. He resides in Kingston Penitentiary in a 8 X 4 cell, 23 hours a day. He is suspected of involvement in 15 or more unsolved rape cases.

Karla did her time, was released, and in 2007 reportedly left Canada for the Caribbean with her new baby. (The fact she has a kid scares me.)

A Plague on Both Your Houses!

(Question by Hermit007)

Answer: Kaiser Wilhelm and George V

The first world war (WWI) was called 'the war to end all wars'. If only that had been the case. It introduced trench warfare, the use of gas and tanks. It wasn't only limited to France and Belgium, but it did cost the Germans dearly in reparation costs after the armistice. If only those cousins could have sorted it out then so many people wouldn't have died.

(Question by Airmale)

Answer: Mexico

On 20 August 1940, Trotsky was attacked in his home in Mexico by an undercover NKVD officer Ramon Mercader who was armed with an ice axe. Trotsky died the next day in hospital from severe brain damage and Mercader was arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Initially, he refused to divulge his true identity and it wasn't until 10 years after his assassination of Trotsky that his real name and affiliation with the NKVD was discovered through fingerprint analysis.

(Question by Dutty4eva)