Dark World Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sharp implement

Three year old Louis Braille was playing in his father's workshop, trying to pierce a piece of leather with a pointed tool. The tool slipped and struck his eye, causing immediate blindness. He also lost the sight from his other eye after that became infected. Despite the odds, Braille completed his education at the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris. It was here that he became a professor, and in 1824, first published the braille system for reading and writing.

Answer: Tuscany, Italy

Italian singer, Andrea Bocelli, suffered with glaucoma from when he was a baby and it was this that impaired his vision throughout his childhood. He showed a love of music from a very young age, learning to play the flute, saxophone and piano. A soccer accident when he was 12 years old resulted in a brain haemorrhage followed by total blindness.

Although he started training to become a lawyer, his singing career suddenly took off and he has since sung before Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

His most notable hit singles have been duets with Sarah Brightman in 1996 with "Time to Say Goodbye", and "The Prayer" in 1999 with Céline Dion.

Answer: Stevland Hardaway Judkins

Stevie Wonder suffered with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) when he was a premature new born; the retina became detached because the blood vessels had not had time enough to develop properly. This did not stop him from reaching worldwide popularity as a singer and musician. "Fingertips - Part 1 & 2" was his first hit single and reached number one in the US singles chart in 1963. This was followed by other number one hit singles on a global level including "Ebony and Ivory" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You".

Answer: John Milton

John Milton wrote "On His Blindness" in 1655, not long after he became blind due to glaucoma. In the poem, Milton alluded to the "parable of the talents" from the Gospel of Matthew 25:14-30; a story which told of three servants of God, two of which made a profit for their master while the third made no attempt to do so. If the third servant had used his money and ability wisely, he would have reaped benefits and been commended. Milton was more famous for his later poem "Paradise Lost" which was published in 1667, and the sequel "Paradise Regained" in 1671, published three years before his death.

Answer: David Blunkett

David Blunkett was blinded from birth due to a genetic disorder. Despite his disability and growing up in poverty, he attended schools for the blind and gained a BA at the University of Sheffield. His political career took off from 1970 and he eventually worked in the cabinet run by Prime Minister, Tony Blair. He became the Education and Employment Secretary in 1997, Home Secretary in 2001, and the Work and Pensions Secretary in 2005.

Answer: Marla Runyan

Californian born Marla Runyan developed Stargardt's Disease when she was nine years old which left her legally blind. While attending San Diego State University, she started to compete in track and field athletics including the heptathlon, high jump, shot put, 100 meter hurdle, long jump, javelin and the 800 meter. She won gold medals in 100m, 200m, 400m and woman's long jump at the 1992 Barcelona games, followed with another gold medal at Atlanta 1996 in the women's pentathlon. She has continued to compete in athletics but Stargardt's is a degenerative disease and so her eyesight is worsening with age.

NB: A person with "normal" vision can see 20/20. This means that they are able to read an eye chart if they stand 20 feet away from it.

A person is declared legally blind if their vision is worse than 20/200 without the use of corrective aid. That person would see an object from 20 feet away, where a person with "normal" vision would see the same object if they stood 200 feet away.

A person who is legally blind may still be able to distinguish light and dark shapes where a totally blind person would not.

Answer: First blind person to climb Mount Everest

Erik Weihenmayer was born with retinoschisis, a degenerative eye disease which resulted in the retina neurosensory layers splitting. Totally blind at 13 years old, he excelled in sports at school and has since become proficient in sky diving, skiing and running the marathon. He climbed his first mountain in Tajikistan when he was 23 years old. Raising his sights (excuse the pun!) he went on to climb Mt. McKinley, Kilimanjaro and then the highest of them all, Mount Everest.

Answer: Joseph Pulitzer

Hungarian born Joseph Pulitzer emigrated to America when he was 17 years, studying English before working for a German language newspaper in St. Louis. By his mid-30s, he had become a very wealthy man and bought the New York World, using it to publish sensational stories and exposing fraudulent activity. He eventually withdrew from managing the newspaper due to his progressive blindness and depression. The Pulitzer Prize has been awarded to the authors of famous novels including "Gone with the Wind", "The Grapes of Wrath" and "The Color Purple".

Answer: Thomas Rhodes Armitage

Thomas Rhodes Armitage was born in 1824 to a privileged life, being raised in England, France and Germany. He became a physician and served during the Crimean war, later returning home to England as a general practitioner and consultant. He had to withdraw from active medical work when his eyesight deteriorated. He founded his charity, adopting the Braille system of reading and writing for the blind. His eventual death when he was 66 years old was caused by a horse riding accident.

Answer: Horatio Nelson

Horatio Nelson was blinded in one eye when he was fighting in Corsica during 1794, and lost his arm three years later at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. He is always remembered for his most famous role in the Napoleonic Wars, and the battle that eventually cost him his life - of Trafalgar. The idiom "turning a blind eye" has often been credited to Horatio Nelson after he allegedly disobeyed orders, excusing his error by exclaiming "I really do not see the signal" after lifting his telescope up to his blinded eye.