Ooh! A Sale at the Black Market! Quiz

Answer: He was shot by a fellow gang member

With his brother Frank James, he lived in Missouri and participated in the Civil War on the Confederate side, which may well have directed his future activities. After the Civil War, he became involved in bank and train robberies, and also formed an alliance with a newspaper editor, John Newman Edwards, who would support his 'innocence' whilst also supporting the Confederates at the same time. Whilst some suppose he has a Robin Hood image, giving to the poor from the rich, there is no evidence any gains were shared outside their circle.

In 1876, a raid made on the First National Bank of Northfield was a huge disaster. Only Frank and Jesse James made it out alive - the rest of the gang were killed, and little to no profits were made. Whilst a new gang was formed, it did not stay together for long, and Jesse did not have many people left to trust. However, as part of a plan to make a new raid, James moved in with the Ford brothers, unaware of their secret negotiations to collect the bounty on his head. Bob Ford is said to have killed him with a shot to the head whilst he was dusting off a painting. The brothers were almost executed for first degree murder. However, though they were pardoned, both died within 10 years of James.

Answer: Twice

'The Scream' (1893) is a highly popular painting, remembered perhaps in part due to its evocative nature. It was stolen twice, the first time being in 1994 from the National Gallery on the same day the Olympics opened in Lillehammer, Norway. Though a million dollar ransom was demanded, it was refused and officials put forward an operation to retrieve it. It was successful and the painting recovered was undamaged.

The second theft occurred in 2004. At the Munch Museum in Oslo, two paintings were stolen: 'The Scream', and 'Madonna', also a painting by Munch. Whilst many people involved in the heist were apprehended, the paintings were not found for over a year. In August 2006, the police announced that the paintings had been recovered, with some repairable damages, although, curiously, specific details on how the recovery took place were not given.

Answer: Shroud of Turin

The Shroud of Turin is a piece of cloth depicting someone who suffered physical trauma, perhaps crucifixion. It is controversial because it has not been determined how the image of a man was imprinted onto the cloth, and the exact date of its creation has never quite been determined.

The image is said to liken a photographic negative, rather than a positive image, although the consternation really lies in how that negative was created at the time. Radiocarbon dating dates the cloth back to 1260-1390 AD, although the samples of cloth used may have been medieval repair samples. Will this cloth always be shrouded in mystery?

Answer: 5th Century BC

The original was made around 450 BC. The sculpture depicts a man in balance, posed just before releasing a discus. The bronze original, which has been lost, has been attributed to the sculptor Myron. 'Discobolus Palombara', a first century AD copy of Myron's bronze original, was the first found in 1781.

It now lies in the National Museum of Rome. However, there are several other copies which are displayed in various different locales, such as the Botanical Gardens of Copenhagen. Whilst the Discus Thrower may not have ever thrown his discus, he has thrown his likeness around the world.

Answer: 78 million francs or 15 million dollars

As you can imagine, buying this huge amount of land was not exactly a simple exchange.

The island of Santo Domingo was lucrative for its sugar, and Louisiana was intended to be a granary for Napoleon's empire. In 1801, Napoleon wanted to re-establish French colonies in Louisiana, which concerned Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States of America. Particularly, Jefferson wanted to buy New Orleans due to its control over the Mississippi River, important for U.S. trade.

Napoleon failed to retake lucrative Santo Domingo, and thus Louisiana was not needed by him any more. For what sugar islanders were there to feed? To amass funds for a war with Britain, Napoleon ordered the sale of Louisiana, and quickly. Robert Livingston, a U.S. diplomat, was asked $15 million for all of Louisiana, not just New Orleans, and he accepted the deal, thinking the U.S. would accept the offer, and that the offer might not last. At the time, this purchase doubled the size of the U.S, bearing in mind that Louisiana was a much larger area of land than the state it became, and was seen as a very favourable deal.

Answer: True

Dolly was the first documented cloned mammal, created (or born, I suppose) in 1996. Cloning, as you might expect, is a complex process. However, in simple-ish terms, the cell nucleus from an adult cell is transferred into a developing egg cell, which had its nucleus removed. This cell is stimulated to split by an electric shock, and it is then implanted in a surrogate mother once it turns into a blastocyst (an embryo developed for a few days). And it was this technique which brought Dolly to life. Whilst cloning has had some success, abnormalities are frequent, and it is uncertain whether humans will ever be cloned successfully. Perhaps that's for the best.

She lived out half the average life expectancy for sheep - which is about 11-12 years. The cause of her death was a common form of lung cancer for sheep called Jaagsiekte, however, it has been theorised her cloning from a 6 year old sheep may have affected her health as well. She bore 6 lambs.

Answer: 30th June, 1997

The publisher Bloomsbury accepted the book in 1997, giving Rowling an advance of £2500. Barry Cunningham recommended the book to Bloomsbury, although as the book seemed to be for a male audience, he suggested Rowling change her pen name to what we see today, J.K. Rowling, as boys supposedly prefer male authors. Later that year, the book won a National Book Award, and a Nestle Smarties Book Prize, which is voted for by children.

Naturally, this boosted its popularity, as it was approved by its target audience, and it became the UK's best selling title up until 2001. There are six other books in the series, and Harry Potter, the protagonist, is a wizard who does battle with a Dark wizard who killed his parents, amongst other things.

Answer: Biblical texts and related non-biblical texts

The Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in eleven caves dotted about the northwest shore of the Dead Sea between 1947 and 1956. In the majority of cases, these are fragmented texts, depicting the vast majority of biblical books. However, interestingly, there are some texts not in the Bible such as prophecies by Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Daniel.
Other non-biblical writings include war conduct, thanksgiving psalms and hymn compositions. Around 850 different scrolls have been identified, and are said to have been written by the Essenes, a Jewish sect, between 200 BC and 68 AD.

Answer: Smelted in the blade of swords used in battle, in the Bronze Age

Whilst gold has many useful properties, it was not suitable for use in battle. Gold is highly malleable (shapeable) and this property causes it to bend easily in combat.
Yet, it was used to decorate the hilt (or handle). It is highly lustrous and does not corrode like several other metals, and it is very heavy. Its origins are unclear, however, it is said to have been first found by sifting in water.

Gold coins were first smelted in Lydia by King Croesus, known for his large wealth.
The Egyptians regard gold highly, particularly due to the fact that it could shine like their sun god, although they did not use it in trade at all.
And, finally, gold is an excellent conductor of electricity, particularly as it does not corrode, although silver is said to be an even better conductor of electricity.

Answer: Joseph Fry

In 1847 Joseph Fry & Sons discovered a way of mixing cocoa butter back into cocoa powder, and sugar, to create a paste that could be pressed into a mould. And lo, a chocolate bar was created. Interestingly, chocolate was drunk before it was eaten as a solid, and these drinks date back to the pre-Columbian Mayan civilization.

Yet, the chocolate bar took off, produced by Cadbury, Hershey, and others, although it has been modified according to taste. For example, Cadbury's milk chocolate has a higher milk constituent than most previous chocolate bars. The basic concept, however, has endured, and chocolate bars have remained popular.