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Did They Really Say That? Trivia Quiz

Throughout history some military leaders, politicians, scientists and philosophers have made statements later disproved or discredited or that were just plain daft. Your challenge is to identify who made the remarks.

A multiple-choice quiz by bracklaman. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
bracklaman

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
226,778

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
544

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Who suggested that 'The world was created on 22nd October 4004 B.C. at 6 o'clock in the evening'? Hint

John Lightfoot (Vice-Chancellor University of Cambridge, 19th Century)

Philip Melanchthon (German scholar, 16th Century )

James Ussher (Archbishop of Armagh, 17th Century)

Martin Luther (German leader of Protestant Reformation, 16th Century)

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Question 2 of 10

2. Who originally said; "Nature intended women to be our slaves ..."? Hint

St Augustine of Hippo

Napoleon

Aristotle

Nietzsche

3. This occasionally shoeless political leader forcibly expressed his view that the political system to which he ascribed would win in time; "Whether you like it or not history is on our side. We will bury you." Who was it? Hint

Nikita Khrushchev

Leonard Brezhnev

Fidel Castro

Karl Marx

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Question 4 of 10

4. This US Presidential candidate regularly displayed his rather inadequate grasp of arithmetic and logic as these two examples show;
"There are only two ways to reduce the budget deficit ... We must do both."
And,
"There are only three ways to reduce the deficit ... We must do all three."
Can you identify him, please? Hint

George W Bush

Al Gore

Sam Brownback

John Kerry

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Question 5 of 10

5. This subsequent US President originally firmly supported the Civil Rights Act (CRA) of 1964. He made these conflicting statements; "I favour the CRA 1964 and it must be enforced at gunpoint if necessary" but within three years had taken a different view altogether when he said, "I would have voted against CRA 1964". Who this it?
Hint

Richard Nixon

Ronald Reagan

Jimmy Carter

Lyndon Johnson

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Question 6 of 10

6. According to this World War I Allied general "the idea that cavalry will be replaced by these iron coaches (tanks) is absurd. It is little short of treasonous".
Who was this military man? Hint

Field Marshall Haig

Lord Kitchener

Marshall Foche

Marshall Petain

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Question 7 of 10

7. The advent of radio was initially greeted by a number of people with cynicism about its usefulness and doubts about likely popularity in the long term. Among these cynics was a noted man of letters who said, "I am reported to be pessimistic about broadcasting ... I have anticipated its complete disappearance - confident that the unfortunate people, who must now subdue themselves to "listening-in," will soon find a better pastime for their leisure.' Who this was? Hint

A C Doyle

J R R Tolkien

Lord Kelvin

H G Wells

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Question 8 of 10

8. This military leader rejected the ideas of Robert Fulton and so, one might conjecture, lost an opportunity to add maritime supremacy to his otherwise global military successes. 'What Sir? Would you make a ship sail against the wind and currents by lighting a bonfire under her deck? I have no time to listen to such nonsense." Can you identify this man? Hint

Pierre-Charles Villeneuve

Arthur Wellesley

Napoleon Bonaparte

Horatio Nelson

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Question 9 of 10

9. It was October 15th 1987 and using all of the authority associated with his position as the BBC Weatherman this man infamously put down the suggestion of a nervous viewer that there was no hurricane about.
'A woman rang and said she heard a hurricane is on the way. Well, if you are watching and waiting, there isn't.' Which broadcaster was caught out in grand style by the storm which hit the UK within hours of this statement?
Hint

George Cowling

Jack Scott

Michael Fish

Bert Foord

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Question 10 of 10

10. This noted early 20th century professor of physics claimed: 'The energy produced by the atom is a very poor kind of thing. Anyone who expects a source of power from the transformation of these atoms is talking moonshine." So who was this? Hint

Millikan

Kelvin

Rutherford

Einstein

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who suggested that 'The world was created on 22nd October 4004 B.C. at 6 o'clock in the evening'?

Answer: James Ussher (Archbishop of Armagh, 17th Century)

James Ussher (his name was also spelled Usher) was a Churchman acceptable to both King Charles I (who promoted him to Bishop of Meath and later Archbishop of Armagh) and later to Oliver Cromwell. He was a noted biblical scholar and he was the author of a work entitled "Annals of the Old and New Testament".

2. Who originally said; "Nature intended women to be our slaves ..."?

Answer: Aristotle

Aristotle's views have had a profound effect on political development in the western world. He lived from 384-322 BC having been born in Macedonia. As a young man he joined Plato's Academy in Athens and much of what we know of Plato today (as his words were not written down) derive from Aristotle's references to his master and mentor. After about twenty yeas he left the Academy and set up his own school known as the Lyceum.

His views on women are certainly worthy of study.

Answer: Nikita Khrushchev

At the height of his power Khrushchev (1894-1971) was Secretary General of the Soviet Communist Party. He was a firm believer in the superiority of the Communist system, and felt that it was only a matter of time (as did Karl Marx) before it would destroy capitalism once and for all. Most of his large scale programmes relating to agriculture and industrial modernisation were doomed to failure.

His behaviour was frequently boorish and on one famous occasion during a debate at the UN he took off his shoe and pounded the desk top in anger as another speaker made a point. (At the end of the tirade Prime Minister Macmillan of the United Kingdom cause much mirth by asking for a translation').

4. This US Presidential candidate regularly displayed his rather inadequate grasp of arithmetic and logic as these two examples show; "There are only two ways to reduce the budget deficit ... We must do both." And, "There are only three ways to reduce the deficit ... We must do all three." Can you identify him, please?

Answer: Al Gore

Albert (Al) Arnold Gore was born March 31st 1948. He had been a US Presidential candidate and served as the 45th Vice President from 1993-2001. Following a closely fought campaign for the Presidency against the eventual winner George Bush he polled more in the popular vote but lost the ultimate Supreme Court decision by 5 against 4.

Answer: Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911-2004) was the 40th President (1981-1989) of the USA. The achievements personal to him through several different careers and of the USA during his presidency are well documented. But, as with most politicians, there are things that appear inconsistent at times.

6. According to this World War I Allied general "the idea that cavalry will be replaced by these iron coaches (tanks) is absurd. It is little short of treasonous". Who was this military man?

Answer: Field Marshall Haig

Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE (1861-1928) was a British soldier and senior commander during World War I. His reputation is as frequently disputed today by historians, as it was by his contemporaries.

Answer: H G Wells

H.G. Wells (1866-1946) was an English novelist, journalist, sociologist, and historian, most famous for his works of science fiction. His best known works strongly featured his view of the future and included; 'The Time Machine' (1895), 'The Invisible Man' (1897), and 'The War Of The Worlds' (1898).

Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 -1821) Emperor of the French and King of Italy under the title of Napoleon I was a military genius who conquered much of Europe and instigated far reaching reform to legal and economic systems in many of the States he conquered.

But he was blind to the submarine, or the steam driven battleship which might well have allowed him to defeat the British, whose opposition was based on their maritime might.

9. It was October 15th 1987 and using all of the authority associated with his position as the BBC Weatherman this man infamously put down the suggestion of a nervous viewer that there was no hurricane about. 'A woman rang and said she heard a hurricane is on the way. Well, if you are watching and waiting, there isn't.' Which broadcaster was caught out in grand style by the storm which hit the UK within hours of this statement?

Answer: Michael Fish

According to the BBC web site "Michael Fish was one of the longest serving Broadcast Meteorologists in the world, celebrating his 30 years of TV forecasting on 4th January 2004."

Answer: Rutherford

Considering the quotation in the question, it was amazing to me to discover that it was expressed by none other than Ernest Rutherford, a world renowned nuclear physicist and winner of the 1908 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. He has been called by some 'the father of nuclear energy'.

Source: Author bracklaman

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