Frankly My Dear, I Do Give A Dam Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What creatures are noted for building dams to keep themselves safe from predators?

Answer: Beaver

Beavers (Castor Canadensis) are North America's largest rodent. They often live in lodges and build conical dams of rock and mud to have water all around for protection.

2. Which dam named after a President was for many years the tallest in the USA?

Answer: Hoover

At 726 feet high (221m) the Hoover Dam (aka Boulder Dam) was completed in 1936. It is located on the Colorado River. Situated on the border between Nevada and Arizona, it was dedicated by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935.
It was named after President Herbert Hoover (incumbent from March 1929 to March 1933) who had supported its construction as part of a programme of public works designed to lift America out of the great depression.

3. When it was completed in 2013, the Jinping-I Dam became the tallest in the world. In which country is it located?

Answer: China

The dam is 1,001 feet high (305 metres). It took nine years to construct. Located on the Yalong River, it provides hydroelectricity for a wide geographical area.

4. Which hymn is often sung to the tune of "The Dambusters' March"?

Answer: God Is Our Strength And Refuge

"God is our strength and refuge,
Our present help in trouble;
and we therefore will not fear,
though the earth should change!
Though mountains shake and tremble,
though swirling floods are raging,
God the Lord of hosts is with us evermore!"

The Hymn is based on Psalm 46 and was adapted by Richard T. Bewes in 1982. The music was written by Eric Coates for the 1955 British war movie "The Dam Busters". This was the true story of the RAF bombing raid on three German dams in 1943. The raid, using newly developed 'bouncing bombs' was aimed towards crippling German industrial war production.

5. The world's first known dam dates to about 4,000 BC. Where was it built?

Answer: Jordan

According to www.britannica.com, the Jawa Dam was built to hold back water on a stream for irrigation purposes. The first known Chinese dam was built in about 240BC. The Romans were not noted dam builders, but two that they did construct in Spain are still in use.

6. Which famous folk singer who often sided with oppressed workers and unions wrote a song called "Grand Coulee Dam"?

Answer: Woody Guthrie

Although Guthrie usually sided with the underdogs of American society, he also accepted commissions to write songs for commercial enterprises. "Grand Coulee Dam" was written in 1941 when Guthrie was commissioned to provide songs and music by the Bonneville Power Administration for a documentary film. Guthrie wrote 26 songs and although the movie was never completed, he recorded the songs.

7. When it was completed in 1959 the Kariba Dam held back the greatest volume of water of any dam in the world. On which African river was it built?

Answer: Zambesi

Located at Kariba Gorge, the dam creates Lake Kariba. The lake has a storage capacity of 185 billion cubic metres of water and a surface area of 5,580km2. It is 280km long and 32km wide at its widest point. It also has two power stations generating a combined 1,470MW of energy - 60% of the hydropower outputs of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

8. As constructions of its type go, the Cheoah Dam in North Carolina is probably unremarkable, except for one thing: Which 1993 Hollywood movie based on a 1960s TV series had scenes filmed there?

Answer: The Fugitive

Harrison Ford starred as Dr. Richard Kimble in the 1993 movie which grossed $368 million worldwide. The dam provided the setting for the showdown between the on-the-run Kimble and U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones). Gerard chased Kimble through tunnels below the dam until the final confrontation at the mouth of a tunnel high above the water.
The Cheoah Dam is located in Graham County, North Carolina, on the Tennessee River, and was built between 1916 and 1919.
Sorry to let the facts get in the way of a good story, but the dam does not have any internal tunnels: those scenes in the movie were shot in Chicago.

9. How many dams are there in Canada?

Answer: More than 10,000

The Canadian Dam Association states there are more than 10,000 dams in the country. Just under 1,000, though, are in the "large dam' category. While many were built to generate hydro-electricity, others were constructed for flood prevention and irrigation purposes.
In terms of the reservoir it creates, the Daniel Johnson Dam, aka Manic 5 Dam, on the Manicouagan River has a storage capacity of 139.8 billion cubic metres. With a surface area of 1,973km2, it is the fourth biggest in the world.

10. When the Banqiao and Shimantan Dams failed in 1975 it led to what was to that time the greatest loss of life in a dam disaster. Approximately how many people died?

Answer: 171,000

Typhoon Nina dumped more rain on that area of China than the dams were capable of holding back - more than a year's rain fell inside 24 hours. Eleven million homes were lost in the flooding.

Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Frankly My Dear, I Do Give A Dam Quiz

No. I haven't accidentally left an 'n' off the last word in the question title. These are questions on the theme of dams, the constructions that hold back water.

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