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Quiz about Thor Heyerdahl The Great Adventurer

Thor Heyerdahl: The Great Adventurer Quiz

Thor Heyerdahl (6 Oct 1914 - 18 Apr 2002) was a famous Norwegian scientist and adventurer. Here are some questions about the man and his adventures.

A multiple-choice quiz by mari67. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
mari67

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
287,525

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
850

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. In which city in Norway was Thor Heyerdahl born? Hint

Larvik

Stavanger

Bergen

Trondheim

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Question 2 of 10

2. In 1937 Thor Heyerdahl and his first wife Liv set out on their first expedition. Where did they go to? Hint

Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas group of Polynesia

Bismark Archipelago, Pacific

Greater Antilles, Caribbean

Lesser Antilles, Caribbean

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Question 3 of 10

3. In the years 1939-1940, Thor Heyerdahl lived amongst the Kwakiutl Indians in British Columbia. What theory did he develop there? Hint

That settlers from Easter Island were the first settlers in Canada

That the Indians originated from Japan

That Polynesia originally could have been settled by people from South America, not Asia

That the Kwakiutl Indians were the same group of people that settled in South America

4. The scientific world did not accept his theory that Polynesia could have been originally settled by people from South America. So to try and prove it, in April 1947, Thor Heyerdahl and five crew members set sail in a balsa raft. What was the name of this raft? Hint

Santa Clara

Bear

Survivor

Kon Tiki

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Question 5 of 10

5. The scientific world was still not convinced, but this started to change after Thor Heyerdahl's next two expeditions. Where did they go to? Hint

Madagascar and Maldives

Cape Verde Islands

Bahamas and Aruba

Galapagos Islands and Easter Island

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Question 6 of 10

6. With the Expeditions, "Ra" (1969) and "Ra II " (1970), Thor Heyerdahl tried to tie the South American Indians to the civilizations in Africa and The Middle East using a papyrus boat. In this way, he hoped to prove that they could have communicated and maybe transferred pyramid-building technology. What happened to Ra I? Hint

They were arrested for illegal fishing.

It safely arrived where they planned.

It had to be abandoned due to a construction error.

It got hijacked by pirates.

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Question 7 of 10

7. After the first Ra expedition, what happened to Ra II? Hint

The boat was stolen before they could set sail

An error in navigation led to them running out of food and water before the voyage could be completed

The boat judged unsafe and the expedition had to be abandoned

It arrived safely in Barbados.

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Question 8 of 10

8. What did Thor Heyerdahl hope to achieve with the "Tigris " expedition in 1977? Hint

That quite heavy equipment could be transported from Asia to South Africa in a reed raft

That it was possible to sail around the world in a reed raft

That trade and migration could have happened between the Indus Valley Civilization in India and Mesopotamia

That people could survive three months in open sea in a reed raft

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Question 9 of 10

9. In 1978 "Tigris" sailed under the UN flag but due to war conflicts near the Red Sea, what happened to it? Hint

They had to abandon Tigris in a harbour in Djibouti.

Thor Heyerdahl and his crew burned the boat outside the harbour in Djibouti.

They had to give up the trip, due to bad weather.

Tigris and the crew were arrested and put under house arrest in Djibouti.

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Question 10 of 10

10. We know that Thor Heyerdahl was born in Norway, but he settled with his third wife in another place, where he eventually died. Where is that? Hint

Alicante, Spain

Colla Micheri, Italy

Ionian Islands, Greece

Tenerife, Spain

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In which city in Norway was Thor Heyerdahl born?

Answer: Larvik

Thor Heyerdahl was born on the 6 October 1914 in Larvik, Norway. He was the son of a brewer - Thor Heyerdahl Sr. (1869-1957) and his wife, Alison Lyng (1873-1965). Already as a young boy he was very fascinated by nature, he even made a museum with an adder as the main attraction in his bedroom.

2. In 1937 Thor Heyerdahl and his first wife Liv set out on their first expedition. Where did they go to?

Answer: Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas group of Polynesia

The main goal for this expedition was to live in complete isolation, secluded from civilization while he did research on the transoceanic origins of the island's animal life.

3. In the years 1939-1940, Thor Heyerdahl lived amongst the Kwakiutl Indians in British Columbia. What theory did he develop there?

Answer: That Polynesia originally could have been settled by people from South America, not Asia

Thor Heyerdahl got the idea from studying the plant life, wind, sea currents and local oral traditions. His theories can be found in his book "American Indians in the Pacific".

Answer: Kon Tiki

In April 1947, they left from Callao, Peru and in August the same year, the trip ended on a coral reef by "Raroia" in Polynesia after a 101 day, and 4300 mile trip. By completing this journey, Thor had proved that the ancient Peruvians could have reached Polynesia in this manner. Thor Heyerdahl's documentary "Expedition Kon-Tiki" won an Oscar for best documentary in 1951.

5. The scientific world was still not convinced, but this started to change after Thor Heyerdahl's next two expeditions. Where did they go to?

Answer: Galapagos Islands and Easter Island

On Galapagos, Thor Heyerdahl and his crew found objects from the time before the Incas. On Easter Island they found traces of settlements that, by help of carbon dating, were determined to be from 380 BC. He also proved that ancient South Americans had the means to both travel great distances and to navigate across the Pacific.

Answer: It had to be abandoned due to a construction error.

Ra started to take in water off the coast of Barbados and had to be abandoned. Thor Heyerdahl determined that it was a construction error involving a supporting rope that was present in the ancient design.

7. After the first Ra expedition, what happened to Ra II?

Answer: It arrived safely in Barbados.

Ra II arrived safely in Barbados after a 57 day trip from Safi in Morocco. Both Ra I and Ra II were constructed using designs taken from old Egyptian paintings.

8. What did Thor Heyerdahl hope to achieve with the "Tigris " expedition in 1977?

Answer: That trade and migration could have happened between the Indus Valley Civilization in India and Mesopotamia

With "Tigris" they had use old boat building techniques to reconstruct a boat from that era. The goal was to prove that the Mesopotamia, Indus Culture and Egypt may have done overseas trading already in the year 300 BC.

9. In 1978 "Tigris" sailed under the UN flag but due to war conflicts near the Red Sea, what happened to it?

Answer: Thor Heyerdahl and his crew burned the boat outside the harbour in Djibouti.

Thor and his crew burned the "Tigris" in protest at the wars that were fueled by arms sales from the West and the Soviet Union. He also did not want "Tigris" to rot in the harbour in Djibouti or to be exploited for commercial benefit by someone else. Saddam Hussein was eager to use it for his own public relations, since the boat originally was assembled in Iraq.

10. We know that Thor Heyerdahl was born in Norway, but he settled with his third wife in another place, where he eventually died. Where is that?

Answer: Colla Micheri, Italy

Thor Heyerdahl found his paradise on earth at age 44 in Colla Micheri in Italy. He eventually died there aged 87.

Source: Author mari67

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Exit10 before going online.
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