Oh, No, Not You Again! Multiple Choice Quiz | Mixed People

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1. AD 878 did not start well for England. For decades, Danish invaders had been conquering the small Anglo-Saxon kingdoms one by one, until only Wessex remained in English hands. The King of Wessex was a sickly, scholarly man in an age where kings were supposed to be mighty warriors. On January 8, a group of Danes led by a warrior named Guthrum attacked him, and he was barely able to escape with a handful of followers. He was reduced to seeking refuge with a peasant family, where legend says that the woman of the house rebuked him for letting the cakes she had asked him to watch burn on the hearth. Nevertheless, he rallied his forces, and in May Guthrum probably said to himself, "Oh, no, not you again!" when the English king handed him a crushing defeat at the Battle of Edington. Who was this English king, the only one known to English history as "the Great"?

Answer: Alfred

Alfred the Great was one of the best and most famous Saxon kings. Following his narrow escape from Guthrum, Alfred levied troops from present-day Somerset, Wiltshire, and Hampshire, and prepared to reclaim his kingdom. Some time in early May, 878 he met Guthrum in battle near Edington, Wiltshire, and handed him a crushing defeat. The Danes had to sue for peace, and convert to Christianity. Guthrum even had to change his name to Aethelstan.

Alfred not only secured the borders of his kingdom, he also instituted much needed legal reforms and encouraged learning, and the use of the English language. He is also responsible for England remaining a Christian nation. Alfred suffered from ill-health all his life, and died in 899 at the age of 50. His reign is often considered to be the "Golden Age" of Anglo-Saxon England.

2. History tells us of another king who refused to accept defeat. After losing battle after battle, he was forced to flee his kingdom and seek refuge in a cave on Rathlin Island off the coast of Ireland. Legend says that he was inspired by watching a spider attempt to reach its web at the top of the cave. The spider failed on its first six attempts, but succeeded on the seventh. So he rallied his forces for another attempt to to claim his throne. At the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, Edward II of England must have thought, "Oh, no, not you again!" when this resilient warrior won a decisive victory that not only secured his throne, but his country's independence as well. Who was this famous king?

Answer: Robert the Bruce

The tale of Bruce and the spider is one of Scotland's most famous folk tales. When Alexander III of Scotland perished in 1286, and his only heir died a few years later, the kingdom was plunged into chaos. Fourteen claimants emerged, each asserting he was the rightful heir to Scotland's throne. Edward I of England took advantage of the situation to invade Scotland and install a puppet king who made Scotland a vassal of England. Decades of warfare, both against England and amongst the Scots themselves, followed. Robert the Bruce managed to get himself crowned king in 1306, but was routed by the English and forced to flee the country.

He returned the following year, defeated his Scottish enemies, and by 1314 was ready to take on the English once more.

His victory at Bannockburn was so complete that the English were forced to recognize Scotland's independence, and Robert the Bruce became one Scotland's most famous heroes.

3. Being a writer is a notoriously hard way to make a living. One of them must have really had the editors saying, "Oh, no, not you again!" Which American author, who would later become famous for his novel, "The Human Comedy," and his play, "You Can't Take It With You," is said to have received over 7,000 rejection slips before selling his first short story?

Answer: William Saroyan

William Saroyan (1908-1981) was born in Fresno, California to Armenian immigrant parents fleeing persecution in the Ottoman Empire. Despite his slow start, he went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and an Academy Award for the film adaptation of his novel, "The Human Comedy." He was a cousin of Ross Bagdasarian, creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks.

4. Another writer who experienced difficulties at the beginning of his career received a rejection letter that included the following paragraph: "I was hopeful that by 1925, the brutes would have stopped sending me their offerings. We at Peacock & Peacock, are looking to publish novels that will inspire. God knows, it's what people need at this time. Certainly, what is not needed are treatises about bullfights and underemployed men who drink too much." Did the editor think "Oh, no, not you again!" when she read that this author won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954?

Answer: Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway worked as a reporter before becoming a professional writer. He published a few short stories, but had more difficulty in becoming a novelist. The rejection slip quoted above was in reaction to his first major novel, "The Sun Also Rises," which was rejected several times before finally being published by Scribner's in 1926. "The Sun Also Rises" was a commercial success, but met with mixed reviews from literary critics.

For example, the "Chicago Daily Tribune" said it was a "bushel of sensationalism and triviality." Oh, well, you can't please everyone.

5. Artists also have their problems. Today this Frenchman is considered to be one of the most important of the Post-Impressionists. Pablo Picasso called him "my one and only master." In 2011, one of his paintings, "The Card Players," sold for an incredible $250 million! But recognition did not come easy. The Salon rejected his submissions every single year from 1864 through 1869. The jury must have said, "Oh, no, not you again!" when they rejected his work again in 1876, 1877, 1878 and 1879. Who was this man who is known for his many paintings of Mont Sainte-Victoire and human skulls?

Answer: Paul Cezanne

At least, Cezanne never had to be a "starving artist." He came from a very wealthy family and was always financially well off, even before he became famous. Cezanne was a very versatile painter, producing still lifes, portraits, and landscapes. As is often the case, Cezanne's genius was not always recognized by his contemporaries; one critic said his work "recalls the designs that schoolchildren make by squeezing the heads of flies between the folds of a sheet of paper." But eventually he did gain some recognition; the Salon finally accepted him in 1882, and towards the end of his life his reputation was on the rise. Cezanne died in 1906 at the age of 67.

6. Politics can be a rough business. Consider one man's career. At the age of 23, he ran for a seat in the state legislature and lost. He was elected a state representative two years later, but failed in two attempts to become speaker of his state's House of Representatives. At the age of 34, he tried to get his party's nomination to run for Congress, and lost again. He was eventually elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, but served only one two-year term. When he was 45, he ran for the U.S. Senate, and lost. Four years later, he ran for the Senate again, and lost again. By this time, some of the voters were surely saying, "Oh, no, not you again!" when he ran for president at the age of 51. Who was this man who was to become one of America's greatest and best loved presidents?

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Although he has a homespun image, Lincoln was actually a very ambitious and canny politician. Many of his political setbacks were the result of divisions within the Whig party, to which Lincoln belonged before joining the newly created Republican party.

He was fortunate in some ways as well; in the presidential election of 1860, he received only 39% of the popular vote, but a clear majority in the electoral college because the opposition vote was split between three other candidates. Here's a bit of trivia for you: Lincoln failed to carry Sangamon County, where his hometown of Springfield is located, in both the 1860 and 1864 presidential elections!

7. The Broadway musical, "1776" is about this man, one of the Founding Fathers who was dedicated to the cause of American independence. Described as "obnoxious and disliked," his single-minded devotion to the cause of independence soon had the other delegates to the Continental Congress saying, "Oh, no, not you again!" But his perseverance paid off, and he not only achieved his "resolution for independency," but went on to become president, and lived to see his son also serve in that same capacity. Who is the main character in this musical?

Answer: John Adams

"1776" takes a lot of liberties with historical facts, but is nevertheless very entertaining. It opened on Broadway in 1969, and ran for 1,217 performances. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical. John Adams' presidency was not very successful. He lacked personal charisma, and was roundly criticized for his support of the Alien and Sedition Acts, which he used to stifle political opponents. Nevertheless, he was a true patriot, and did much to ensure that the United States would survive as an independent nation, including building a substantial Navy.

His son, John Quincy Adams, was elected president in 1824, but he, too, had a notably unsuccessful term of office. John Adams died on July 4, 1826, the same day as Thomas Jefferson.

8. It must have been frustrating for this beautiful and talented actress to see her efforts go unrewarded by her peers. She received six nominations for Best Actress, starting with "Edward, My Son," in 1949, but never won the Academy Award. By the time of her final nomination, for "The Sundowners" in 1960, Academy voters must have been saying, "Oh, no, not you again!" She died in 2007 without ever having won a competitive Academy Award, but will always be remembered for her performances in such films as "The King and I" and "From Here to Eternity." Who was this talented British actress?

Answer: Deborah Kerr

Deborah Kerr began acting as a teenager, and continued to do so well into her 60s. She appeared in a number of famous films, including "An Affair to Remember," "Black Narcissus," "Quo Vadis," and "Separate Tables," but was never able to take home an Oscar.

She was finally recognized with an Academy Honorary Award in 1993, for "a full career's worth of elegant and beautifully crafted performances." Kerr's final years were troubled by poor health. She died of Parkinson's disease in 2007 at the age of 86.

9. Sometime's it isn't one's professional life that is notable, but one's private affairs. This woman began as a beauty queen, and later became an actress, but is now probably best known for her many marriages. She was married for the first time at age 20, but had little success in matrimonial matters. By the time she went to the altar for the ninth time in 1986, the parson was probably saying, "Oh, no, not you again!" Who is this often married celebrity who said, "I never hated a man enough to give him diamonds back"?

Answer: Zsa Zsa Gabor

She was born G�bor S�ri in Budapest, Hungary in 1917. Crowned Miss Hungary at the age of 15, Zsa Zsa was married for the first time in 1937 to Burhan Asaf Belge, a Turkish politician nearly 20 years her senior. After they divorced in 1941, she married hotel magnate Conrad Hilton in 1942; that marriage lasted five years.

In 1949, she married fellow actor George Sanders (who would later marry Zsa Zsa's sister, Magda). She said that Sanders was the only husband she really loved. After divorcing Sanders in 1954, she waited until 1962 to marry investment banker Herbert Hutner, who reportedly gave her a 23-carat diamond engagement ring.

In 1966 she and Hutner parted ways, and, just a few days after her divorce was final, she married oil millionaire Joshua Cosden, Jr. That marriage lasted just over a year.

She waited until January 1, 1975 to tie the knot with consultant and inventor Jack Ryan, who was nine years her junior. This marriage, too, ended in divorce in August, 1976. Three days later, Zsa Zsa wed Michael O'Hara, who was 12 years younger than her, and also happened to be her divorce lawyer.

This marriage lasted until 1983. Husband number eight was Mexican lawyer and sometime actor Felipe de Alba. They were married on April 13, 1983, and Gabor had the marriage annulled the following day! Continuing her trend of marrying younger men, on August 14, 1986, she wed Fr�d�ric Prinz von Anhalt, who is 26 years younger than her. Gabor seems to have kept her sense of humor about her tumultuous marital history. She is quoted as saying, "I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man I keep his house." By the way, Elizabeth Taylor and Lana Turner were each married eight times, while Ava Gardner was only married three times.

10. No wonder this pitcher's nickname was "Meal Ticket." On July 13, 1936 he pitched a two-hitter, but still lost the game, 1-0, to the Chicago Cubs. It was the last time he would lose a game for a long, long time. On July 17, he beat the Pirates 6-0, and two days later set down the Reds, 4-3. And he kept on winning. In fact, he didn't lose another game the rest of the entire season! But wait, there's more. He began the 1937 season with a 3-0 shutout of the Braves. And he kept winning. He didn't lose a game until May 31. He had won an amazing 24 games in a row! No wonder opposing hitters were saying, "Oh, no, not you again!" Who was this Hall of Fame pitcher, the first National League player to have his number permanently retired?

Answer: Carl Hubbell

Carl Hubbell's feat of winning 24 straight games without a loss (he had three no decisions during the streak) made him a national hero. He was 25 years old by the time he finally reached the major leagues, but still enjoyed a long and successful 16 year career, pitching exclusively for the New York Giants.

His string of victories wasn't a fluke; he won over 20 games every year from 1933 through 1937, and never had a losing season. Carl Hubbell was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947.

Source: Author daver852

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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Oh, No, Not You Again! Trivia Quiz

This is a quiz about people who have made miraculous comebacks, overcoming failure and adversity to finally achieve success, or who have otherwise distinguished themselves. How many do you know?

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