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News in the Night Trivia Quiz

All of these top news stories happened in the the night hours. How many of these news stories can you identify correctly?

A multiple-choice quiz by Windswept. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
Windswept

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
298,065

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
10 / 15

Plays
2942

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. Who is the vice presidential choice who was announced in the early morning hours of August 23rd, 2008? Hint

Sarah Palin

Ross Perot

Dan Quayle

Joe Biden

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Question 2 of 15

2. What did National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy wait to tell President Kennedy in the early morning hours of October 1962? Kennedy apparently was tired following a night flight from New York. Hint

Discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba

Apparent coup against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev

The flight of Elian Gonzalez

Accidental shoot-down of an Iranian passenger plane

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Question 3 of 15

3. What event did Edwin Meese wait for more than five hours before waking President Ronald Reagan? Hint

Eruption of Mt. St. Helens

North Korea's efforts to enrich plutonium

Boris Yeltsin's loss in a tennis tournament

Navy fighters were confronted by Libyan jets and returned fire, downing the attackers

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Question 4 of 15

4. In 1970, what did Henry Kissinger avoid waking up Richard Nixon to tell him had happened in space? Hint

the Apollo 13 spacecraft had been crippled

the ending of the Vietnam War

the birth of the Dion quintuplets

the decision by Mid East countries to stop selling oil

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Question 5 of 15

5. In 2004, whose death was George Bush awakened in the middle of the night about? Hint

Ronald Reagan

Christopher Reeve

Yasser Arafat

Pat Tillman

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Question 6 of 15

6. Which Category 1 hurricane attacked High Island, Texas in the middle of the night in 2007? Hint

Miami

Camille

Humberto

Katrina

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Question 7 of 15

7. Which affable President of the United States, whose wife was named Mamie, had a major myocardial infarction in the middle of the night? Hint

Lyndon Johnson

Jimmy Carter

Calvin Coolidge

Dwight D. Eisenhower

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Question 8 of 15

8. Who was the Saudi Arabian ruler who died in the middle of the night in August 2005? Hint

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

King Fahd

Anwar Sadat

King Hussein

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Question 9 of 15

9. Who slept through phone calls from world leaders congratulating him on his election to the Presidency? Hint

Harry Truman

George H.W. Bush

George W. Bush

Bill Clinton

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Question 10 of 15

10. Where did the Night of the Barricades, occur--the 1968 General Strike which resulted in the largest demonstrations since the Second World War? Hint

Germany

Guatemala

Mexico

France

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Question 11 of 15

11. On December 3, 1984, in what city did the poisonous gas, methyl isocyanate begin to leak in the worst industrial accident in the world? Hint

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania

Bhopal, India

Calais, France

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Question 12 of 15

12. What African-American 14 year old Chicago teenager was kidnapped from his relative's home in Mississippi, beaten, killed, and thrown into a river in 1955? Hint

Medgar Evars

Jimmie Lee Jackson

Andrew Goodman

Emmett Till

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Question 13 of 15

13. What was the name of the famous/infamous radio broadcast which frightened some Americans who thought there was an attack by Martians underway? Hint

Psycho

King Kong

The War of the Worlds

Birds

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Question 14 of 15

14. What was the event occuring on April 14, 1912 in the dark at 11:30 pm which occasioned one of the most famous movies of all time? Hint

shipwreck of the Titanic

Kon Tiki

explosion of the Hindenburg

Challenger Explosion

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Question 15 of 15

15. What silversmith is famous for his famous 1775 ride from Boston to Concord? He aimed to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of changes in action in the British Army, which was commencing a march from Boston to Lexington, with the apparent purpose of arresting Hancock and Adams and seizing the weapons stores in Concord.
Hint

Benjamin Franklin

John Hancock

Alexander Hamilton

Paul Revere

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who is the vice presidential choice who was announced in the early morning hours of August 23rd, 2008?

Answer: Joe Biden

It seems this story broke in someone's 'Huffington Post' email at 1:34 a.m. with an AP story which reported Joe Biden as Barack Obama's choice. Then, it appears that at 3:08 am, there were further electronic announcements of this choice.

Answer: Discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba

Kennedy took about a week conferring with his advisers before announcing the news.

3. What event did Edwin Meese wait for more than five hours before waking President Ronald Reagan?

Answer: Navy fighters were confronted by Libyan jets and returned fire, downing the attackers

Ronald Reagan at this time was vacationing in California. Edwin Meese's decision not to wake him up was one part of a pattern which would lead to Meese's resignation as Consultant to the President. In this episode with Libya, US jets had been taunted by Libyan jet fighters, returned fire, thus shooting down these jets over the Gulf of Sidra.

4. In 1970, what did Henry Kissinger avoid waking up Richard Nixon to tell him had happened in space?

Answer: the Apollo 13 spacecraft had been crippled

There was an explosion in this 1970 flight, commanded by James A. Lovell, John L. "Jack" Swigert, and Fred W. Haise. This flight is associated with the communication, "Houston, we have a problem." This flight returned to earth after many adventures. This mission has been deemed a "successful failure." Many astrology minded, superstitious people have made much of the fact that this mission was number 13.

5. In 2004, whose death was George Bush awakened in the middle of the night about?

Answer: Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States died of complications from Alzheimer's Disease in 2004 at the age of 93 years. Reagan was President from 1981-1989.

6. Which Category 1 hurricane attacked High Island, Texas in the middle of the night in 2007?

Answer: Humberto

In the wrath of Humberto, a house was said to move backwards some seven feet. After 44 years of living in their house, a family's roof was sheered off their house. Humberto's power collapsed a carport on a man.

7. Which affable President of the United States, whose wife was named Mamie, had a major myocardial infarction in the middle of the night?

Answer: Dwight D. Eisenhower

Eisenhower is said to have said that he realized that he had suddenly with this heart attack become a seriously sick person.

8. Who was the Saudi Arabian ruler who died in the middle of the night in August 2005?

Answer: King Fahd

King Fahd deliberately chose titles to indicate his commitment to an Islamic order. He was a complex political figure who opposed the State of Israel while supporting wars against terrorism at the same time. In an effort to protect Saudi Arabia and balance new configurations of powers, he supported the regime of Saddam Hussein.

9. Who slept through phone calls from world leaders congratulating him on his election to the Presidency?

Answer: Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton was also caught nodding off during the January 2008 ceremony honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.

10. Where did the Night of the Barricades, occur--the 1968 General Strike which resulted in the largest demonstrations since the Second World War?

Answer: France

In May, 1968, there was an enormous strike in France which began with a protest demanding the release of prisoners. In the evening of May 10, reports said there were some 60,000 demonstrators. In the middle of the night, there were steady efforts to negotiate. One could hear, it is said, shouts, of "De Gaulle, assassin." Ultimately, these demonstrations would lead to the end of the De Gaulle government

11. On December 3, 1984, in what city did the poisonous gas, methyl isocyanate begin to leak in the worst industrial accident in the world?

Answer: Bhopal, India

In the chaos of trying to escape the gas, at least 2,500 people died and between 50,000 and 100,00 people had injuries. Many survivors suffered long-lasting medical conditions, such as problems with vision and respiration.

12. What African-American 14 year old Chicago teenager was kidnapped from his relative's home in Mississippi, beaten, killed, and thrown into a river in 1955?

Answer: Emmett Till

The killers claimed that Till had accosted a white woman and that he had a picture of a white woman in his wallet.

13. What was the name of the famous/infamous radio broadcast which frightened some Americans who thought there was an attack by Martians underway?

Answer: The War of the Worlds

Before the airing of this episode, WABC News aired a long simulacrum of a regular newscast, giving listeners the impression that an invastion by Mars was taking place. Some students of this event estimate that there were about more than five million people listening and that many were terrified, imagining that they smelled poisonous gas or that there were flashes of light in the sky. Adolf Hitler made a comment about this episode. Newspapers were flooded with articles. Today, people question whether the audience was that big; there is, however, no doubt that this event had a huge positive effect on the career of Orson Welles.

14. What was the event occuring on April 14, 1912 in the dark at 11:30 pm which occasioned one of the most famous movies of all time?

Answer: shipwreck of the Titanic

The Titanic left Southampton, England for New York City in April 1912. It ran into an iceberg one night and became the subject of one of the most famous films ever made. There was apparently room for only 1,178 people in the lifeboats and there were 2,227 people on board including the passengers and crew members. http://www.shipwrecktreasures.com/titanics_history.htm

Answer: Paul Revere

In the light of Revere's pluck and organization, there ended up being about 40 riders able to give the word of the British advancements. Although people still like to say that Revere proclamed, "The British are coming," he could not have said that since secrecy was necessary. It is now estimated that he actually said "the regulars are coming out."

Source: Author Windswept

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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