On This Day in February Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mounties

On February 1st 1920, the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) and the Dominion Police were merged together and renamed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It is the largest police force in Canada, with its headquarters in Ottawa.
In 1974 women were finally accepted as uniformed officers. The RCMP motto is "Mantiens le droit" (maintain the right).

Answer: Punk

Born John Simon Ritchie in London on the 10th May 1957, he played bass guitar and drums, and eventually joined the punk group the "Sex Pistols" in April 1977, until they disbanded in January 1978. He died of an overdose of heroin.

Answer: Luna 9

Luna 9 was launched on January 31st 1966 by the Soviet Union. It landed on the Moon at Oceanus Procellarum, and started sending back photographs of the Moon's surface over the next 3 days.

Answer: Charles Lindbergh

Born Charles Augustus Lindbergh in Detroit, Michigan in 1902. He studied engineering at the University of Wisconsin, and in 1925, having previously enlisted, he graduated from the flight training school of the US army. In 1927 in the "Spirit of St Louis" he became the first pilot to fly solo non stop over the Atlantic Ocean, between New York City and Paris.

He died in 1974 of cancer and is buried on Maui in the Hawaiian Islands.

Answer: Reader's Digest

Published from their own home by DeWitt and Lila Wallace, Readers' Digest was originally sold for 25 cents. DeWitt conceived the idea of a magazine with condensed articles of entertainment and topical interest, while recuperating from a World War 1 injury. It now appears in 50 editions and in 21 languages throughout the world.

Answer: Busby Babes

They were nicknamed "Busby Babes" by a journalist due to their youth and the fact that Matt Busby was their manager. The team were flying back home, having just qualified for the European Cup semi-finals. The plane, flying out from a snow covered Munich airport, was unable to take off and hit an airport building, splitting in two.

A total of 23 people were killed including club staff members and 8 journalists.

Answer: Ellen MacArthur

Ellen Patricia MacArthur was born near Matlock, Derbyshire, England in July 1976. To gain the world record for a solo non-stop voyage around the world, Ellen used a 75ft carbon fibre trimaran called B&Q/Catorama. She set of from Falmouth on the 28th November 2004 to the official starting point, which is an imaginary line stretched between Lizard Point, England and Ushant in Brittany. She took 71 days 14 hours 18 minutes and 33 seconds to set the record, travelling 27,354 miles at an average speed of 15.9 knots. On returning to Falmouth she was told she had been made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and an honorary Lieutenant-Commander of the Royal Navy Reserve.

Answer: Joanne Woodward

Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward was born in Georgia USA on 27th February 1930. The first film she acted in was "Count Three and Pray" a post Civil War western released in 1955. In 1958 she won an Oscar for "The Three Faces of Eve". The Hollywood Walk of fame is situated in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.

It lines part of both sides of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. The stars are pink, rimmed with bronze and inlaid in charcoal coloured squares. In the middle of the star is a round emblem indicating for which category the award was given, and the name of the recipient is above it.

Answer: Fanny Hill

Fanny Hill was first published in two parts, the first part in November 1748 for 3 shillings and all 750 copies were soon sold. The second part was published in 1749. It was written by John Cleland when he was in debt and without any means to pay them.

By the end of 1749 the book had been withdrawn due to public outrage and remained so for over 200 years, although illegal copies could be found. It saw the light of day briefly and then was again banned in 1964 by a Bow Street magistrate, who declared that all copies were to be confiscated. Since the early 1970s it has been readily available in bookshops in the U.K. and many other countries.

Answer: Nelson Mandela

In 1964 Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years at Robben Island Prison, and then until 1990 at Victor Verster Prison near Cape Town, as the organizer of the then banned ANC (African National Congress). At a rally to celebrate his freedom his first words were "I greet you in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all". He later became the President of South Africa from April 1994-June 1999. In 1993 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the then South African President, F. W. de Klerk.

Answer: Tutankhamen

Tutankhamen was the Pharaoh of Egypt in the 18th dynasty from about 1333-1323 BC. The tomb was first discovered in November 1922 in the Valley of the Kings at Luxor, by British archaeologists Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter.
The sarcophagus was made of quartzite, while the lid was rose granite and was cracked in the middle. The lid alone weighed over a ton and a quarter. When they finally managed to lift the lid up they found the contents were covered by fine linen shrouds, under which was the golden effigy of Tutankhamen.

Answer: True

In that time, few children were ever helped medically. Families were poor and often large, so children who were seriously ill were often thought of as being "expendable". It was viewed with suspicion by many at first, due to treatment being free, something unknown to all! Relying on donations, charity events and fund raising to keep it going, it expanded from a 10 bed unit with 3 clinical staff to a modern hospital with over 350 beds in 38 wards and over 2,500 members of staff.

Answer: True

Japanese troops had landed the week before under heavy bombardment. Although Singapore had been thought impregnable, the British forces holding it had virtually no tank fuel, and were almost out of water and food. Unknown to the British, the Japanese were also nearly out of supplies and ammunition.

The two commanders in chiefs, Lt General Arthur Percival and Lt General Tomoyuki Yamashita met at the Ford Motor Factory plant at the foot of Bukit Timah Hill and surrender documents were signed.

Answer: Pluto

Pluto was found orbiting beyond Neptune by US astronomer Clyde Tombaugh. Its surface is composed of rock and ice, primarily frozen methane. Mickey Mouse's dog was named in its honour. Until 2006 it was considered to be the ninth planet in the solar system, but in 2006 the International Astronomical Union redefined the term planet and Pluto failed to fulfill the criteria.

Answer: Lee Marvin

Lee Marvin was born in New York City. He joined the marines and in World War II was wounded and given a medical discharge. He later moved to Hollywood were he began acting; his first film was "You're in the Navy Now" in 1951. He later went on to win a Best Actor Oscar for "Cat Ballou" in 1965, and a Gold record for hit song "Wand'rin Star" from "Paint Your Wagon". He died in 1987.

Answer: John Glenn

In spacecraft "Friendship 7" John Glen circled the world three times, travelled 81,000 miles at 17,000mph and took 4hr 56 mins to do so. The spacecraft landed 240 miles north-west of Puerto Rico were it was picked up by the US destroyer "Noa". In 1998 at the age of 77 he became the oldest person to fly in space, when he flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery.

Answer: Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov

Mikhail was born on the 12th July 1596, so he was only 16 years old when elected. He was elected by the Russian Estates in his absence. The coronation had to wait five months while they found him and talked his mother and himself into taking the title.

He married twice, having ten children from the second marriage. He died from dropsy in 1645 and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral in Moscow.

Answer: Dolly

Dolly was cloned from the mammary cell of a 6-year-old ewe, which is why they named her after Dolly Parton. Although she was born on July 5th 1996, the Roslin Institute in Midlothian Scotland kept her birth secret until 1997. She was successfully cloned from an adult cell, the first mammal to be so.

She had an offspring herself, "Bonnie" born in 1998. Dolly died as the result of a progressive lung disease on the 14th February 2003. Her preserved body can be seen at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Answer: England

Stan was born Arthur Stanley Jefferson in Ulverston, Cumbria, England, on June 16th 1890. As a young actor he under studied for Charlie Chaplin, both in England and the USA. Along with his partner Oliver Hardy, they made over 105 films together. Stan often produced, directed, wrote and edited much of their work. He was awarded and honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1961.

Answer: Kindergarten assistant

After Diana left finishing school in Rougemont, Switzerland, she became a nanny for a short while before working as a kindergarten assistant at the Young England School in Pimlico, London.

The official announcement of their engagement came three weeks after Prince Charles proposed.

Answer: Pan American Games

The first Pan American games should have been held in 1942, but World War II caused them to be postponed. Like the Olympic Games they are held every four years, and they also have a torch ceremony. The first torch came from Olympia, Greece and, apart from the 1963 games in Sao Paulo, when the torch was lit in Brasilia by Guarani Indigiens, the torch was lit in 1955 in Serra da Estrella and since then at the Temple of the Sun God in Teotihuacan Pyramids.

Answer: The Hundred Days

Napoleon had been exiled to Elba, of the Tuscany coast in May 1814. When he escaped from the island he returned to Paris, on March 20th 1815. The "Hundred Days" was from that date till June 28th 1815, when he departed Paris after loosing the Battle of Waterloo on the 18th June. He was then exiled to St Helena where he eventually died in 1821

Answer: Spike Milligan

Spike Milligan was born as Terence Alan Milligan in 1918 in India, the son of an Irish captain in the Royal Artillery. His family returned to England in 1933 and some years later he enlisted in the army himself, when he met Harry Secombe for the first time.
He wrote most of the material for the "Goon Show" which was named after a character in the Popeye cartoon which Spike loved. He's buried at St Thomas's Church in Winchelsea, East Sussex. On his gravestone in Gaelic are the words "I told you I was ill".

Answer: True

As a commoner, Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony was not able to hold the throne in his own right. He married Queen Rasherina the widow of King Radama II, then on her death in 1863 he married her cousin and successor Queen Ranavalona II. When she died in 1883 he quickly married her cousin and successor Queen Ranavalona III.

She was the last Queen of Madagascar. She spent the rest of her life in Algiers, were she died in 1917.

Answer: Gone with the Wind

Hattie was not only the first African American to win an award she was also the first to be nominated.