The Misplaced & Poles Apart History Quiz: Events

Answer: 30,000

There is evidence of thimbles being used 30,000 years ago by mammoth hunters. It's believed they were used to sew and decorate hides. Thimbles have been made of metals-usually brass, stone, bones, ivory, wood, horns and glass.

Thimbles were considered a very good gift for young ladies. Queen Elizabeth I is said to have had a thimble made of precious stones to give to a lady-in-waiting.
The term thimble knocking came from two sources, prostitutes who once used thimbles to indicate that they were ready for business by rapping the thimble on their window. Some female school teachers would keep a thimble on a finger, using it to knock on the heads of students who were either not concentrating or were misbehaving.

The phrase "just a thimble full" to indicate a small amount of a drink came from a time when large thimbels were used to measure out liquor and gun powder.

Most thimbles sold now are for collectors, called digitabulists. The first commemorative thimbles were made for The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations, held in London in 1851.

Information for this question has been gathered from Wikipedia and The History of Thimbles by Banasch's Sewing Supplies.

Question submitted by dekeaunt (The Misplaced)

Answer: Monarch

Monarch is the name of the bear and he was named for a real bear of the same name who was found in the Ventura Mountains in 1889. He was captured and lived in captivity until his death in the Golden Gate Park Zoo in San Francisco 22 years later.

The Bear Flag is the official flag of the U.S. state of California. It has one red star, a grizzly bear with the name California Republic under the bear and a red strip below that. It was adopted in 1911 but the picture of the bear was not standardized until 1953 and is based on a watercolor by Charles Christian Nahl painted in 1855.

Question submitted by jackslade (Poles Apart)

Answer: The Great Plague of 1665-66

"Ring a Ring O'Roses" is thought to have arisen at the time of The Great Plague of London 1665-66, which was spread by the bite of the black rat flea. It was the last major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in England.

The rose part refers to the colour of the pus filled pustules and the ring part refers to the area around the pustules that had become infected by the plague.

Question submitted by philphiphp (The Misplaced)

Answer: Florida

Columbus never landed on the North American mainland on any of his voyages. He visited Cuba on three occasions, the first being in October of 1492 during his first voyage and twice on his second voyage in April and May of 1494.

He landed at Jamaica in May 1494 between his two Cuban visits and again in June 1503 where he was stranded for over a year after his ship was beached following a storm. Hispaniola (Dominican Republic/Haiti) received visits from Columbus on each on his four voyages.

Question submitted bt donkeehote (Poles Apart)

Answer: The Homestead Act

The Homestead Act was signed on May 20 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln. It granted Americans 160 acre plots of public land for a minimal fee.

They were required to grow 10 acres of crops each year for five years and if filing on a tree claim, they were required to grow another 10 acres of trees. If they succeeded, they were given the title to the land.

Question submitted by kennell (The Misplaced)

Answer: The Battle of Bosworth Field

Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22 1485. The Battle was fought near the village of Stoke Golding in Leicestershire, England. It was during the wars of the roses between the houses of Lancaster and York.

The Yorkist Richard III had usurped the crown sometime after his brother Edward IV had died, but before his nephew could be crowned as Edward V. Henry Tudor who had been living in exile in France came back to England to challenge Richard III for the crown of England. After Richard III was killed Henry Tudor became king as Henry VII.

Question submitted by shipyardbernie (The Misplaced)

Answer: A Flood of Molasses

The Great Molasses Flood, also known as the Boston Molasses Disaster, occurred at the Purity Distilling Company. A molasses tank that was 50 ft (15 m) tall and 90 ft (27 m) in diameter, and contained as much as 2.3 million US gallons (8.7 million litres) burst.

The previous day a ship had delivered a fresh load of molasses, which was warmed to reduce its viscosity for transfer. Possibly due to the thermal expansion of the older cold molasses inside, the tank burst open. Molasses' density is more dense than water, so it had a great deal of potential energy. The collapse caused a wave of molasses 25 ft (8 m) high at its peak, moving at 35 mph (56 km/h). There were 21 fatalities.

Question submitted by jackslade (Poles Apart)

Answer: Breed's Hill

In June of 1775 the colonial army near Boston found out that the British army was planning on invading the Charleston peninsula in an attempt to have complete control of Boston Harbor.

Under the cover of darkness the colonists arrived on the peninsula and began building fortifications around both Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill. On June 17, when daylight revealed the colonial forces, the British prepared to attack. Although heavily outnumbered the colonists managed to force the British to retreat after the first two attempts. With the third attempt the colonists ran out of ammunition and were forced to retreat, leaving the peninsula to the British.

The first monument, built in 1794, was to commemorate the death of Dr. Joseph Warren who died near Bunker Hill during the retreat. It was a wooden obelisk with an urn on top. There was a statue of Col. William Prescott, one of the colonial commanders, in front of the obelisk, these were placed on Bunker Hill.

It was decided to build a more prominent monument in 1825 and at the same time to move the monument to Breed's Hill where most of the battle took place. Breed's Hill is believed to be named for the farmer who owned the fields and hill in that area, Ebenezer Breed

The majority of the fighting took place on and around Breed's Hill but the artist John Trumbull painted a picture, naming it The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill. That is how, many believe, it became to be known more familiarly as the Battle of Bunker Hill.

This was considered a tactical win for the British but a loss, in that the British army had more men and better arms but were forced to retreat twice, having twice as many soldiers killed and injured.

Question submitted by dekeaunt (The Misplaced)

Answer: WWII

Fanta was created by Max Keith in Nazi Germany following a boycott by Coca-Cola in 1940. As head of Coca-Cola Deutschland, Keith was faced with creating a substitute for Coca-Cola with limited supplies of ingredients. He created a drink using whey, apple fibre, sugar substitute, and whatever fruits were available at the time.

His creation needed a name so Keith threw it open to his employees and told them to let their imaginations, run wild ("die Phantasie") in German. A certain Joe Knipp won out with his suggestion of "Fanta", which it is the name it is still known as today.

Question submitted by donkeehote (Poles Apart)

Answer: March on, boys!

Jacob Astley, 1st Baron Astley of Reading (1579 - 1652) was a Royalist commander during the English Civil War. He said this prayer before the Battle of Edgehill. "Oh Lord, Thou knowest how busy I must be this day. If I forget Thee, do not thou forget me". Then he said "March on, boys" to the men he commanded.

Question submitted by Waitakere (The Misplaced)