Flashbacks from the Mossbacks Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Trial of Socrates

Plato's 'Apology' was his view of the events, as told from the crowd. The crowd also served as the jury and only narrowly found Socrates guilty. In a way, it was his devotion to the gods that led Socrates to his fate. During the trial he claimed that the oracle at Delphi had told his friend, Chaerephon, that none was wiser than Socrates. Since Socrates knew himself to possess no wisdom, he began a quest to understand the riddle, which led to him questioning those among the higher ranks of government and business, people considered wise. Finding that this was not so, he concluded that he was wiser only in knowing that he wasn't wise.

However, he also made several enemies along the way, enemies that would figure prominently into his eventual arrest. To live in ancient Greece during the time of Socrates, Plato, and an entire school of philosophers would be incredible. Only 12 years after Socrates' death by self-administered hemlock, Plato founded the first higher learning facility in the western world around 387 BC. To be among such a group of individuals, all intent on wrestling with the nature of the world and their role in it, while possessing the influence to enact their ideas, is an incomparable dream in my mind. - klinski_1987

Answer: Centennial of the founding of Canada

On this date Canada turned 100! There were lots of parties all over the country, but the biggest and brightest was in Ottawa. Most major cities had fireworks, music and lots of waving flags to show our patriotism. I was lucky enough to be there for a school trip. The Articles of Confederation were signed on this date in 1867 to create the Dominion of Canada that included Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Between 1870 and 1905 Manitoba, Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, Alberta and Saskatchewan joined the Dominion. Newfoundland followed suit in 1949. On April 1, 1999, the territory of Nunavut was created from a portion of the Northwest Territories.

The road to complete autonomy from Great Britain began for Canada with the 1931 Statute of Westminster.

It was finalized through the Canada Act of 1982. - Unicornjorge

Answer: Elvis Aaron Presley

Ed Sullivan was unable to host that particular program as a result of being in a near fatal automobile accident. Actor Charles Laughton filled in as host. Elvis wasn't actually on stage, either. He performed from the CBS studios in Hollywood where he was filming his first movie, "Love Me Tender".

He sang four songs that night: "Don't Be Cruel", "Ready Teddy", "Hound Dog" and closed with "Love Me Tender." Since disc jockeys throughout the country taped and played his performance, they gave their listeners a preview of the not yet released "Love Me Tender".

He would go on to make two more appearances on the show. - brianbreese

Answer: Schenectady

The attacking force of 210 French and Native Americans had marched the 200 miles from Montreal in 22 days. When they arrived at Schenectady, the fort doors stood wide open and no guards were stationed. Sixty men, women and children lay dead or dying on the morning of February 9, 1690.

The majority of the victims were Dutch. According to an eye-witness account by Robert Livingston, "The women and children fled mostly into the woods, almost naked and there many froze to death... " Forty houses and 22 barns, filled with livestock, were razed. Nearly 30 men and boys were taken prisoner. During the Beaver Wars of the 17th century, the Iroquois and the Algonquins battled relentlessly for the most fertile hunting grounds, while the English and the French were primarily interested in securing control of the North American fur trade. During this bloody conflict, the English and Dutch allied themselves with and supplied arms to the Iroquois and the French did the same for the Algonquins. The massacre at Schenectady was in direct retaliation to the Iroquois attack and massacre of settlers at Lachine, New France - of which the French held the Dutch responsible. One of my Walloon ancestors, Isaac Du Trieux, survived the Schenectady Massacre. My life might have been quite different if he hadn't. - JudithCrafard

Answer: Christmas Truce

Pope Benedict XV originally tried to persuade the two warring factions to consent to a Christmas truce, but neither the Central nor Allied Powers would agree to a cease fire. Regardless, along much of the 500-mile-long western front -- in some cases on Christmas Eve, others Christmas day -- enemies put down their weapons, ventured into no man's land, and shook hands, exchanged gifts, played soccer, and sang carols. On a grimmer note, they also took the opportunity to bury their fallen comrades.
Opposing trenches on the front were as close as 30 yards, so it was easy enough for enemy soldiers to shout across no man's land to one another. In one area of the front, truce began when German soldiers held up a sign reading "You no shoot. We no shoot." In another it began with soldiers singing Christmas carols in their respective trenches before daring to step foot on no man's land.
As with the beginning of the truce, there was no official end to it. In some areas of the front, fighting resumed later Christmas day. In other areas the truce lasted past New Year's Day. It was never repeated and remains one of the last examples of chivalry between enemies in history.
Based on accounts from diaries, letters home, and oral history, it's believed a good two thirds of the soldiers (about 100,000) took part in the truce. - seekernym

Answer: Black Bart

That November day was Black Bart's final robbery and his first to fail. Since the strong box was bolted to the rig, it took him more than a half hour to hack it open. The driver, Reason E. McConnell, was steadied by 19-year-old Jimmy Rolleri who had rode the stage to hunt deer. Black Bart took one in the hand from Rolleri's .44 Henry rifle. Bleeding and worn out, the near 54-year-old robber was forced to stash his gun, the majority of the gold and anything else that might weigh him down as he took flight back to his home in San Francisco.

A handkerchief left at the scene was his undoing. Harry Morse, who was specifically hired by Wells Fargo to track Black Bart, traced the laundry mark on the silk piece of evidence to a San Francisco laundry and eventually to Black Bart. Bart did time, but just six years because he confessed only to the final holdup.

He was born Charles Earl Bowles in 1829, faded into history following his release from San Quentin, and died sometime after 1888. He was also know as PO8 (poet), his signature on the taunting poems he left behind, and Charles Bolton. My fascination with the Old West, and Black Bart in particular, inspired this question. - jackslade

Answer: Blackbeard's

Edward Teach, or Blackbeard, began his career as a privateer during Queen Anne's War. When the war ended in 1714, Blackbeard signed on with another well known pirate, Benjamin Hornigold. Teach served under Hornigold until he captured the ship Queen Anne's Revenge. He and his newly formed crew set off on their own, targeting ports in Virginia and North Carolina. He even went so far as to capture and hold hostage wealthy citizens and blocked the port of South Carolina in exchange for medical supplies. It was during this time that he became known as Blackbeard. He cultivated a fierce persona - pistols strapped to his chest, fuses braided into his long beard and hair that would surround his head in smoke when lit, and even flew a unique flag - a skeleton with a spear pointed at a heart. It was effective, most crews simply surrendered and Blackbeard would plunder the cargo then let the crews go unharmed.
In 1717 Blackbeard accepted a pardon from North Carolina's Governor Eden. He settled down for a bit but the life of piracy called to him. This time, with Governor Eden's sanction, Blackbeard returned to piracy, terrorizing the busy merchant ports along the North Carolina and Virginia coasts. The merchants, aware or suspecting the involvement of Governor Eden, appealed to the neighboring governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood.
Governor Spotswood put a bounty on Blackbeard's head, and hired Lieutenant Robert Maynard along with a crew of British Naval officers. He also supplied Maynard with two light ships that could navigate the shoals and narrow inlets around North Carolina where Blackbeard made his home.
Maynard found Blackbeard on November 21, 1718 and decided to wait until morning to attack. Unfortunately both Maynard's and the other ship ran aground on a sandbar and were spotted by Blackbeard that fateful morning of November, 22. Blackbeard opened fire while the ships were still stranded. Maynard, however, managed, under fire, to get his ship off the sandbar and moving again. He had the foresight to have the bulk of his crew hide below deck and when Blackbeard saw how few hands Maynard had, he and his men swarmed onto Maynard's ship. Maynard's crew rushed onto deck from below and the battle was joined. Blackbeard fought like a demon, taking no fewer than 5 gunshot wounds and twenty sword cuts, but was killed by one of Maynard's crew. Maynard decapitated Blackbeard, taking his head as proof of the victory so he could claim the bounty. Blackbeard's ship was searched and papers were discovered proving the collusion between Eden and Blackbeard. Of Blackbeard's surviving crew, all were executed but one, who was pardoned and gave testimony against the rest. My favorite legend, though, is that when Blackbeard's decapitated body was thrown overboard, it swam three times around his ship before sinking. - seekernym

Answer: Eliot Ness

Elliot Ness was tasked to lead a group with enforcing prohibition in the increasingly corrupt city of Chicago in 1927. They became known as 'The Untouchables' due to their clear-cut attitude with respect to bribery. When Al Capone was brought in on tax evasion charges, it was in large part due to the diligence of Ness' squad.
Prohibition ended in 1933 and by 1934, Ness was working in Cleveland. By the very next year, he was the Director of Public Safety. In this capacity, he immediately began cleaning up the police department (in addition to the fire and building departments) which had been on the payroll of gangsters and corporate thugs. Within the first year and a half, he managed to lower Cleveland's crime rate by a fourth. Cleveland also saw its juvenile crime rate go down by a whopping 80% in this same time frame.
In 1947, Ness made an unsuccessful bid for Cleveland's mayor position, while simultaneously bankrupting himself. Just ten years later, he passed away in Pennsylvania at the age of 54.
Watching such an honest, intelligent man take on the resources and lack of moral standards entrenching two separate cities in crime and chaos- and succeeding- would be a thrilling experience. It could be the romance of Eliot Ness' legacy (including a best-selling novel of which he did not approve, television series, and movie, amid a myriad of other references) that makes the era seem so vibrant, but certainly the steadfast and open-eyed approach he employed would serve as a wonderful reminder that honesty and integrity can win the day. Good guys don't always finish last. - Klinski_1987

http://www.clevelandpolicemuseum.org/collections/eliotness.html

Answer: Sojourner Truth

Actually, "Ain't I a Woman" wasn't a part of Truth's address that day. The first printing of her speech appeared a month later in Ohio's "The Anti-Slavery Bugle" by an editor who attended the convention and recorded Truth's words. Twelve years later, in 1863, the "enhanced" version was printed by Frances Dana Gage in the "Anti-Slavery Standard".

It is unlikely, since Truth was born in New York and her first language was Dutch, she would have used Southern phraseology. But it held and is how her inspiring words are remembered today. Sojourner Truth (c. 1797-1883) was born into slavery as Isabella Baumfree in Ulster County, New York.

She changed her name in 1843. Truth overcame tremendous hardships early on, including being auctioned off with a flock of sheep for $100 when she was nine.

It was in late 1826 that Truth escaped to freedom. She could only take one of her three children with her. When the son she left behind, Peter, was illegally sold to a man in Alabama Truth petitioned for his return.

This was one of the first court cases where a black woman sued a white man and won. Truth embraced Christianity, Abolitionism and Women's Rights. She was an advocate of prison reform and unyielding on her stance against capital punishment. While considered controversial by many, she became friend and ally to many notable reformers of the day. Truth died, at the estimated age of 105, at her home in Battle Creek, Michigan on November 26, 1883. "Is God Dead?" are the words inscribed on her tombstone. -- seekernym and JudithCrafard with thanks to colinu-nyc.

Answer: The Presidio

This became known as the Presidio Mutiny and the men were called the Presidio 27. During that turbulent time of the Vietnam War, the Presidio stockade was often jam-packed and overflowing in capacity. This was its plight in 1968. Most of the inmates were AWOL cases who, for various reasons, couldn't adjust to the Army and had fled. Many were emotionally disturbed and others were conscientious objectors. The congested conditions in the antiquated 50-year-old facility created additional problems. Food rationing was often necessary and the wait for one of the four latrines, repeatedly clogged with excrement, could be more than two hours. The guards were easily provoked and physically abusive. Suicide attempts were common. Thirty-three attempts were counted between May and October, 1968. Some drank poisonous chemicals while others slashed their wrists or tried hanging themselves. The decision to hold the sit-down came directly after the mentally unbalanced Pvt. Richard Bunch "committed suicide by cop". Bunch was on a work detail when he taunted the guard, "If I run, will you shoot me?" The guard responded, "You'll have to run to find out." Bunch ran and was killed by the blast of a 12-gauge shotgun.
The nonviolent sit-down demonstration began shortly after 7:30 a.m. on October 14th. The 27 men fell out of formation and occupied a piece of grassy ground where they sang patriotic songs and planned to read a list of grievances. Capt. Robert S. Lamont, the stockade's 25-year-old commanding officer, wasn't interested in hearing the grievances. Instead he requested that the chief of the on-site fire truck hose the men down. When the chief refused, the men were either peacefully escorted or carried back to their cellblock. All 27 were charged with mutiny -- a crime that could net the death penalty -- and all but five were convicted. Sentences ranged from six months to 16 years. It took more than a year for military appeals judge Colonel Jacob Hagopian to reduce the charges to "willful disobedience of a lawful order" and the sentences to a maximum of one year, which equated to time served.
A local television station picked up some of my footage from the day and ran it on the evening news. It was my first published piece. That I remember the make of the camera but not the specific date of the rally tells all. -JudithCrafard