Razing Hell Trivia Quiz

Answer: Colossus of Rhodes

Built in Rhodes to celebrate an ancient war victory, the Colossus was one of the shortest-lived ancient wonders built, lasting less than a decade before being razed by a significant Mediterranean earthquake in 226 BC. Allegedly, the statue, depicting Helios, crumbled at the joints in the shockwave of the quake. The cleanup took several centuries and once stood in the harbour. Pillars still remain in the harbour, signifying the original sites of the colossus' feet.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria also crumbled to the ground in a series of earthquakes in the fourteenth century (AD). Only the Great Pyramids of Giza lasted the centuries (until now).

Answer: Hagia Sophia

In its first few centuries, the Hagia Sophia was wrecked in a quake shattering its central dome (in 558AD) although the rest of the structure stayed intact. After rebuilding and reinforcement, the Hagia Sophia became one of the most lavish monuments in what was then Constantinople, standing as a landmark to the present day. For its first millennium, it was an Orthodox and Catholic cathedral before it was converted into a mosque in the mid-fifteenth century.

In 1935 it became a museum housing art, religious artifacts, and architecture from several ages of Turkish history.

Answer: England

Lincoln Cathedral, (perhaps lesser-known as The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln) built in Lincolnshire in the thirteenth century, is a Gothic-style church also known for containing a copy of the Magna Carta. Originally, the building was the tallest in the world until its tallest spire fell in 1549 due to poor construction and years of wear and tear. Continuous restoration is done to ensure that the ages-old cathedral remains standing.

Answer: Riga

Built nearly a millennium ago, St. Peter's Church in Riga, one of the tallest Gothic structures in the city, took quite a long time to construct. It's a shame that it took as long as it did; in 1666 its tallest tower collapsed. After renovations in the late seventeenth century, it was struck by lightning, setting on fire and burning down in 1721.

It was, nonetheless, rebuilt again shortly thereafter, lasting until the Second World War when it was blasted with artillery fire. It took thirty more years to rebuild fully.

Answer: Pemberton Mill

Pemberton Mill, a clothing factory in Lawrence, Massachusetts, was quite the profitable structure...at least until its collapse in 1860. After breaking down due to a too-heavy load of machinery on its upper floors and poor structural maintenance, more workers died that evening when the ruins were accidentally set ablaze. The mill was later rebuilt.

Grover Shoe Factory, also in Massachusetts, was destroyed in a boiler explosion in 1905, killing five dozen.

Answer: Molasses

The Boston Molasses Disaster was an event occurring in the dead of winter. Despite a cold start to the season, the weather heated up too fast and the molasses inside one of the Purity Distilling Company's tanks could not be contained. The tank buckled and broke open, sending molasses flooding through the nearby streets and engulfing several people-- killing twenty-- and rising to waist-level before dissipating.

The resulting sticky mess took weeks to scrub clean. The destruction was blamed on poor workmanship.

Answer: Two

The St. Francis Dam was built in the San Francisquito Canyon north of Los Angeles and was constructed to accommodate the overwhelming growth of the city in the early part of the twentieth century. The building commenced in 1924 and it was finished two years later...only to burst due to rising waters and poor structural integrity in 1928.

The ensuing flood killed hundreds as it passed through the surrounding area, spilling several years-worth of built up reserves. It is not completely known what dealt the final blow to the dam, but a combination of causes is responsible for the destruction.

Answer: Dunes

The Dunes was one of the earliest implosions in Vegas. Brought down in 1993 after almost forty years on the strip, it was later replaced by the Bellagio Resort and Casino. It was originally known for being a mob-operated establishment. The Stardust imploded in 2007 after forty-eight years of continuous gambling while the Westward Ho was closed in 2006; both sites were purchased to make a newer, larger casino.

The El Rancho closed earlier in 1992 though it was originally known as the Thunderbird and the Silverbird. El Rancho (the later one; an earlier casino with a similar name, the El Rancho Vegas, was demolished in 1978) imploded in 2000 to make room for the Fontainebleau.

Answer: St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church

Aside from the Twin Towers and surrounding buildings in the World Trade Center complex, the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was the only building to fall on 9/11. Built in 1832, it could not withstand the damages when the buildings, the tallest in the city, were razed on this disastrous, tragic day. 7 WTC, an adjacent building, almost immediately went down on the same day while many others were destroyed due to significant damages and structural instabilities.

In their place, One World Trade Center was constructed.

Answer: Dhaka, Bangladesh

Dhaka, one of the most densely-populated urban centers in the world, faced this tragedy in April 2013 when a clothing factory collapsed, killing thousands inside and in the surrounding area. Why? the building was never meant to support the weight of itself; to accommodate more workers and output, an additional several floors were added on top, making it a hazard in every possible way.

While the problem was apparent the day before and many businesses inside were evacuated, the clothing manufacturer inside continued to work the next day as it caved in.