One Clue to the Truth Trivia Quiz

Answer: Vesuvius

Two cities were destroyed by the smothering ash of Mount Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum. Pompeii in particular has given us vivid displays of what the ancient citizens went through in the excavated voids where bodies had fallen while meeting their death.

Answer: King Charles I

King Charles I believed that he ruled because God chose him to rule, and he need not consult his Parlement. He attempted to rule without them from 1629 to 1642. Civil war broke out in 1642 and Charles not only lost his country but also his head.

Answer: The Cold War

Two super-powers, the USA and the USSR, squared off after the Second World War to wrest control of the world ideologically from each other. It did not end until the dissolution of the USSR under Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991.

Answer: Botswana

Bechuanaland attained its independence from Britain in 1966, becoming Botswana. It is not a populous country, but has gained recognition from Alexander McCall Smith's fictional Mma Ramotswe's adventures in the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" books.

Answer: Krakatoa, Indonesia

When Krakatoa erupted in late August 1883 it was the climax of a series of smaller eruptions. Its violence was literally earth-shattering, causing the island and parts of the Indonesian archipelago to collapse into the volcano's caldera. At least 4000 people died due to the explosion.

Answer: Zimbabwe

Rhodesia was named after Cecil Rhodes, the man who colonized it for British mining rights. The implementation of these rights meant abuse of native workers, wars and rebellions. There is a long bloody history blighting the colonial period as well as the post-independence era.

Answer: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared in December 8th, "Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." It propelled the United States into the Second World War, thereby ensuring the Allied victory.

Answer: The Great San Francisco earthquake

At the time, this earthquake was thought to have killed approximately 700 people. It is now believed that up to 3000 lost their lives. The horrifying fires that followed the earthquake were responsible for the destruction of 80% of the city.

Answer: First manned moon landing

Neil Armstrong's and Buzz Aldrin's feet touched down on our moon on this date. They returned to Earth safely four days later.

Answer: First manned flight into space

Yuri Gagarin flew one orbit of the earth on that date in the USSR's Vostok I. The USA launched their manned space flight, which didn't orbit the planet but was manually controlled by pilot Alan Shepherd, in May 1961.