Maybe True, Maybe Not! Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

John Pemberton came up with the recipe for Coca-Cola in the back of his chemist shop. He sold the rights to his concoction for about $1700.00. Dr. Pepper was invented in 1891 in Waco, Texas.

Answer: False

Actually, Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits was very pleased to have an 80 pound predator named after him. Scott Sampson, the University of Utah paleontologist who headed the dig to Madagascar, said that it seemed whenever the music of Dire Straits played on his portable stereo during the dig, the team found fossils. So when the bones of a new dinosaur was found, Sampson named it masikasaursknopfleri, 'vicious lizard of Knopfler'.

Answer: True

Not since the crew of Apollo 17 left the moon on Dec. 14, 1972, has anybody set foot on the lunar surface.

Answer: False

Actually, Mary Ann Smith took apple tree cuttings with her when her family emigrated to Australia from England in 1839. Her apples became famous, and the Granny Smith apple is named for her. American John Chapman, better known as "Johnny Appleseed" had orchards of apples that he sold or gave away to pioneer families heading westward.

He was also a very religious man who conducted services for those he met during his travels who were interested. Chapman was one of America's gentle heroes, carrying no weapons and leaving behind good feelings everywhere he went.

Answer: True

Yes, Stevenson did! We all know about his famous dream and how Stevenson got up and wrote it all down. What most people do not know, is that after Stevenson wrote it down (some 30,000 words), he read it to Mrs. Stevenson. She simply hated it! He became so angry that he gathered it all up and threw it into the fireplace, burning it up! The next day, Stevenson had second thoughts about burning up his story and sat down and wrote it down again while it was still fresh in his mind.

This time Mrs. Stevenson kept her opinions to herself.

Answer: True

Polo wrote of "veins of black stones which when lighted would burn like charcoal", in other words, coal. When the book of his travels came out in Venice, it was thought to be nothing but a pack of lies. Polo also described asbestos 'material that would not burn when thrown into a fire'.

He also described oil as "a substance spouting out of the ground and used for burning in lamps." On his deathbed, in 1324, Polo was begged by a priest to retract some of his outrageous tales. Marco Polo's last words were, 'I have not told half of what I saw'.

Answer: False

Shalmes were medieval reed pipes. Other medieval instruments included the sackbut (a sort of medieval trombone), lutes, harps, cornets, and trumpets.

Answer: True

One of the attractions at the Chicago World's Fair was the world's largest Ferris wheel which was 250 feet in diameter and had cars which held 40 passengers each.

Answer: True

It was discovered by Dutch Admiral Jakob Roggeveen on Easter Sunday in 1722. Some of these questions are so tricky, that I am putting in this nice, simple one!

Answer: True

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes stories and novels, was born on May 22, 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He graduated from Edinburgh University with a degree in medicine in 1885. Doyle practiced medicine until 1891 and then quit to write full time. Doyle was a great admirer of American Oliver Wendell Holmes and gave his Consulting Detective his last name.

The "Sherlock" is said to have come from Alfred Sherlock, a prominent violinist of Doyle's day. As Sherlock Holmes fans know, Holmes was quite a good violinist himself. Thank you very much for taking my quiz. I hope you enjoyed it.