They're Not Real Swiss People Trivia Quiz

Answer: Helvetia

Helvetia is the female personification of the country of Switzerland. The name is derived from the Helvetii tribe that inhabited the region before it was conquered by the Romans. Adopted from the 15th century onward, Helvetia is depicted as a woman wearing a gown and holding a spear and a shield.

Hellas, Hibernia and Hispania are the personifications of Greece, Ireland, and Spain respectively.

Answer: Victor

Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" published in 1818, is considered to be the first novel in the horror genre. In the novel a scientist creates a living creature through a laboratory experiment. Though many mistakenly think of the monster as Frankenstein, it is actually the name of the scientist. Victor Frankenstein was born in Italy but grew up in Switzerland.

His heritage is recorded as being half Italian - half Swiss.

Answer: New Year's Eve

Not to be confused with the more popular Santa Claus or Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas), Silvesterklaus is associated with Saint Sylvester. People don masks and dress up as Silvesterklaus on New Year's Eve in the northeastern Appenzell region of Switzerland. They also sing traditional yodels called zauerli.

Answer: Heidi

Written by Johanna Spyri, "Heidi" was first published in 1881 in two parts - "Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning" and "Heidi: How She Used What She Learned". Set in the Swiss Alps, the book follows the life of a little orphan girl named Heidi who is entrusted to the care of her paternal grandfather after the death of her parents.

Heidi is one of the best known works of literature from Switzerland. Its popularity led to it being translated into numerous languages around the world and the book was also adapted for film and television.

Answer: True

Betty Crocker is a fictional American brand created by the Washburn-Crosby Company in 1921. It is regarded as a cultural icon of the country. Drawing inspiration from this character, Gary Genosko created Betty Bossi, the Swiss counterpart. The brand is famous for publishing cookbooks.

Answer: Parrot

Swiss cartoonist Robert Lips created the character of Globi as a mascot for the department store chain Globus in 1932. He is depicted as a blue parrot with a yellow beak. He walks on two legs and is shown wearing red and black chequered pants and an orange shirt. Globi featured on his own comic strip and his popularity resulted in him then appearing in picture books. Eventually the character became so popular that Globus set up a separate company to market various related products.

Answer: Obadiah Oldbuck

"Histoire de Mr. Vieux Bois" was created by Swiss illustrator Rodolphe Töpffer and first published in 1837. It was translated into English as "The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck" and published in the UK and USA; albeit without the permission of Töpffer. It is often regarded as the first comic book as it was the first to combine graphics and text. Unlike later comics though, the text was as a caption below the picture, rather than the thought bubbles which are now commonly used.

The incorrect options are all made-up names.

Answer: Biochemist

The character of Arnim Zola was created by Jack Kirby. Zola was a Swiss biochemist during the Nazi regime in World War II. His skill in human genetic engineering won him favour with the Nazis who were looking to create a pure Master Race. Zola eventually survived to the 21st century by transferring his mind to a robot.

Answer: True

Originally written as a novel by Johann David Wyss, "The Swiss Family Robinson" was published in 1812. In the book, a Swiss family is on their way to Australia, when they get shipwrecked and find themselves on a tropical island. Wyss was a pastor and wrote this book to inculcate good values and Christian morals in his sons. The book was later adapted for film and television.

Answer: William Tell

William Tell is a Swiss folk hero known for his skill with the bow. According to legend, the reeve, or overlord, of the region, forced him to shoot an apple off his son's head to display his marksmanship. Tell was successful in doing this but to extract his revenge, he assassinated the tyrannical, cruel reeve.

This was the spark needed to motivate the people of the region to revolt against their foreign rulers.