How Did I Die? Trivia Quiz

Answer: By multiple gunshot wounds

How exactly Meriwether Lewis died is still not totally clear. The most prominent theory is that Lewis committed suicide. At the time of his death, Lewis was heavily in debt and had recently made a will. However, Lewis spent the night of his death at an inn that was a known target of robbers and some of his money was missing after his death. The innkeeper's wife heard the gunshots and immediately went to check on Lewis and saw no one in the room or on the way.

It is generally accepted that Lewis did commit suicide (and not murdered by robbers) and it is reported that his close family and friends, including Thomas Jefferson, believed Lewis killed himself.

Answer: A shooting attack and an explosion

Benazir Bhutto was the Chair of the Pakistan People's Party at the time of her assassination. Pakistan was holding parliamentary elections in January of 2008 and Bhutto had been campaigning for her party. She had just returned from an exile in October 2007.

During the months between her return and her assassination, there had been a few attempts on her life, all of them similar to the one that did kill her. Bhutto was killed after she was shot multiple times and an explosive device detonated near her. The ultimate cause of death was from blunt force trauma from hitting her head after being tossed in the explosion.

Who the culprits were is not clear. Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, an Al-Qaeda leader, claimed responsibility for the attack, while the Pakistani government blamed Baitullah Mehsud, a Pakistani Taliban leader. The then-President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf was also blamed for the attack for not providing enough security to Bhutto. In 2011, a court ordered an arrest warrant for Musharraf on the grounds that he may have been complicit in the assassination.

Answer: In a stabbing attack

Caligula is one of the more notorious Roman emperors. He was known for being cruel and tyrannical and for allegedly appointing his horse, Incitatus, counsel.

Caligula's actions angered many people in Rome, especially the wealthy. In AD40 Caligula announced plans to leave Rome for Alexandria. This angered many members of the Senate and other people because it would leave Senate powerless to stop Caligula from growing even more tyrannical.

On January 24, AD41 he was killed in a knife attack resembling the one that killed Julius Caesar. He was succeeded as emperor by Claudius, Caligula's uncle.

Answer: Heroin overdose

On the day of her death, Janis Joplin was supposed to record some songs for producer Paul Rothchild. When she did not show up to the studio, Rothchild went to her hotel and found her dead on the floor of a heroin overdose. Joplin was known to be a heroin (and other drugs) user for many years. She, at one time, had given up drugs but was using them again by 1969.

Answer: From something called cholera morbus

Zachary Taylor died from cholera morbus, which is not the same bacterial cholera that was commonly seen in outbreaks at the time. Cholera morbus was a term used in the mid 19th century to refer to gastroenteritis. Zachary Taylor contracted the disease during a Fourth of July fundraising event for the Washington Monument. During that event, Taylor had consumed large amounts of fruit and milk that may not have been suitable for consumption.

He was succeed by his Vice President, Millard Fillmore.

Answer: Cervical cancer

Eva Peron was first diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1950. She had a hysterectomy but it was not sufficient to prevent the cancer from spreading to the rest of her body. She underwent chemotherapy but that did not work, either. It is believed that Evita is the first person from Argentina to receive chemotherapy.

She died on July 26, 1952 at age 33. Her death sparked national grief and the government shut down for two days in her honor.

Answer: Polonium poisoning

Alexander Litvinenko had defected from Russia to the United Kingdom in 2000. While in the U.K., he became a journalist well known for his criticism of Russia and Vladimir Putin. On November 1, 2006 he suddenly fell ill with a mysterious illness. It was later determined that Litvinenko had been poisoned with Polonium-210. In the weeks leading up to his illness and death, the journalist had openly accused Vladimir Putin of murdering Anna Politkovskya, a Russian journalist and Putin critic.

It is not known exactly who killed Litvinenko. FSB officer Andrey Lugovoy was declared the prime suspect but Russia refused to extradite him to the United Kingdom.

Answer: Multiple gunshot wounds

Sister Dorothy Stang was an American nun who went to Brazil to work with the poor who lived in the Amazon Rain Forest and surrounding areas. While there, she became a vehement defender of protecting the rain forest. She was murdered on February 12, 2005 by two men who hated her for her work. The men saw Stang as a threat to their ambitions of knocking down portions of the rain forest for their personal gain. Stang read a Bible passage as the men shot her in the head, abdomen and back.

Her life story was made into the 2008 documentary film "They Killed Sister Dorothy".

Answer: Pancreatic cancer

Patrick Swayze was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer while he was filming the television series "The Beast". During his twenty month battle with the disease, Swayze suffered from many complications from the chemotherapy. These included bouts of pneumonia but he recovered from them until he succumbed to the pancreatic cancer in 2009. "The Beast" was his last acting role of his career.

Answer: My scarf got caught in the spokes of the car wheels and broke my neck

On the night of her death, Isadora Duncan was wearing a long, flowing scarf. However, her scarf got caught in the spokes a wheel, unbeknownst to her and Falchetto. Falchetto sped off but the scarf yanked Duncan out of the car and broke her neck. This was witnessed by her friend Mary Desti. Desti brought Isadora Duncan to the hospital but she had already died.