Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
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"?
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?
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?
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?
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?
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?
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?
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?
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"?
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?
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daver852
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