Take Your Head Out of the Sand! Quiz

Answer: 2011

The meltdown at Fukushima was the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. The meltdown wasn't simply bad luck, though. Japan's nuclear regulator did not ensure that the plant met international standards regarding the effects that tsunamis could have on nuclear power.

The area also had a history of flooding: it had flooded around once every thousand years, and even though that seems a long time, it did mean that a disaster was inevitable.

Answer: 28th June 1914

There were many events that led to World War I and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was one them. His death that day could have been avoided and if it had, maybe history would have panned out differently.

The 28th June was a significant day for Serbian nationalists as it was the anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo. A visit from an heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire on that day was bound to have consequences. One of the seven nationalists who plotted to kill Franz Ferdinand threw a bomb at the Archduke's motorcade, but missed their main target. After visiting the town hall, Franz Ferdinand wanted to see an officer who had been injured in the bomb explosion. It was decided that the motorcade would use a different route, but the driver didn't go the way that had been planned. As they travelled back down the main road, another member of the terrorist group was able to shoot the Archduke and his wife, killing them both.

Answer: Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales was travelling through Paris by car in August 1997. She was with Dodi Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul. Diana was a huge celebrity during her life and attracted a lot of media attention. It was while her car was being followed by journalists that she and the two men died in a crash.

Although Henri Paul was over the legal blood alcohol limit (and had been taking prescription medication incompatible with alcohol), many people felt that the paparazzi who were following the car were at least partly to blame for their deaths.

Answer: 2010

In 2010, a surge of natural gas travelled up a concrete core on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, causing the rig to catch fire. A similar incident had occurred in the Caspian Sea in 2008 on an oil rig also owned by BP. Not only did eleven rig workers die, but oil began to spill uncontrollably into the Gulf of Mexico, affecting wildlife living in and around the rig.

A federal report found that the explosion was the result of poor management and a series of tests that were carried out badly.

Answer: London

Grenfell, a tower block in London, was home to over 200 residents. A fridge in a fourth floor apartment caught fire in the early hours of 14th June 2017 and fire fighters responded appropriately. A much larger problem arose as a result of a refurbishment completed in 2016. New cladding and insulation had been installed, but around £300,000 had been saved by using aluminium cladding which was significantly less fire resistant. The fire spread up the exterior of the 24 storey building.

Advice to residents also contributed to the death toll. People were told to remain in their flats with the doors and windows shut unless the fire was affecting their apartment. This advice had resulted in the deaths of residents in previous apartment block fires, but was still given to people trapped inside Grenfell.

Answer: 1986

On January 28 1986, the launch of the space shuttle Challenger was broadcast live on television. Unfortunately, a faulty O-ring prevented hot exhaust gas from escaping. Flames emerged from the booster and damaged a fuel tank. Engineers had warned that the O-rings were vulnerable in cold temperatures, like that in Florida on the morning of the launch, but the mission went ahead.

The spacecraft broke apart as a result and all seven astronauts were killed.

Answer: 12th January 2010

The 7.0 earthquake on January 12th was followed by aftershocks of 5.5 and 5.9. It has been estimated that nearly one-third of Haiti's population was affected either through homelessness, injury, or death. Most of the damage to the country's infrastructure was due to the fact that it was not fit for purpose.

There were no regulations in place to ensure buildings could withstand the effects of an earthquake, and the electric power system was unreliable. A 7.0 or higher earthquake hit the Philippines in 2001, Japan in 2004, and the USA in 2005.

In all of those cases, and many more, there were no recorded fatalities.

Answer: The building caught fire when fireworks were let off.

Kiss was well over capacity when a firework ignited foam ceiling tiles in the nightclub. The band had bought cheap outdoor fireworks instead of paying for indoor flares. One member released a firework, which set the ceiling on fire and released a poisonous gas. According to some witnesses, the band member tried to use a fire extinguisher, but it didn't work (the fire safety permit for the club was out of date).

Many people were injured trying to escape from the building as there was only one exit.

Some reports suggest that the security guards initially locked the doors, trapping people inside. Around 180 bodies were found in the bathrooms - people either tried to hide in there, or mistook them for exits.

Answer: August 2005

Category Five Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the surrounding area in Louisiana and nearby states in August 2005. The city was below sea level, but a series of flood defenses held the water back. Unfortunately, the defenses were not strong enough to hold back the surge of water that flooded over 100,000 buildings.

A report later found that the structures were inadequately designed and built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

Answer: Allowing Coventry to be bombed disguised the fact that British intelligence had cracked the Enigma code.

The first Enigma messages were decoded at Bletchley Park in January 1940. The British intelligence services could intercept German messages, like ones detailing proposed attacks. The Allies had to handle the information carefully. If every German attack was met by significant Allied resistance, the Nazis would know that their secret codes had been broken.

Some accounts suggest that Coventry was sacrificed to protect the greater good. Over 500 people were killed, with many more injured, and around two-thirds of the buildings in the city-centre were damaged. Other accounts suggest that Churchill had been informed of, and responded to, a smaller attack on London which occurred the same night - he didn't know that there would also be an air raid in Coventry. Whether he did or didn't know that Coventry would be attacked, there was little time to prepare for it.