When Things Go Wrong Trivia Quiz

Answer: No

Willie Ramirez was misdiagnosed and mistreated because the word "intoxicado" in Spanish does not mean the same word as "intoxicated" in English. In English it means that the person is drunk or drugged while the family was talking about food poisoning. The medical team who attended to Willie accepted the diagnosis of "drug overdose" and everyone missed the signs of brain hemorrhage. When the hemorrhage was diagnosed, a surgery was performed but he became a quadriplegic. Gail Price-Wise wrote a book about this case: "Intoxicating Error: Mistranslation, Medical Malpractice, and Prejudice".

Answer: The 7 women who attended the medical course but didn't receive a degree at Scotland University in 1873.

In 1869, Sophie Jex-Black applied to study at the School of Medicine but was not accepted. Through the press she invited other women to join her and a second application was submitted on behalf of seven woman (Sophie Jex-Black, Isabel Thorne, Edith Pechey, Matilda Chaplin, Helen Evans, Mary Anderson Marshall and Emily Bovell).

After the admission examination in November 1869 they were finally accepted in the course. In 1873 the University with the support of the courts refused them the right to graduate.

In 2019, 150 years after their enrollment in the University, this mistake was rectified and they were awarded a posthumous MBChB.

Answer: He was hit by a cricket ball on his temple

Raman Lamba (1960-1998) died on 23 February, 1998 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was hit on the temple by a cricket ball during a game. Although at the time the injury did not appear to be serious, he suffered internal bleeding and died three days later. He was playing without a helmet.

Answer: He won the race despite having died during the race.

On June 4, 1923, Frank Hayes riding the Sweet Kiss horse in Belmont Park's steeplechase, won the only race in his career, overtaking the favorite horse. After crossing the finish line he fell out from the saddle and after being examined by the doctor was declared dead, victim of a heart attack.

Answer: By mail

Before 1913 it was only possible to send items weighing up to 4 pounds. In 1913, the Post Office's Parcel Post accepted orders weighing up to 11 pounds. A few weeks after the beginning of this service, a couple from Ohio, Jesse and Mathilda Beagle mailed their son named James Beagle, who weighed less than 11 pounds. James was sent in a mail bag with a stamp of 15 cents plus a insurance of $50, through this service, to his grandmother who lived a few miles away.

Other children were sent in this way until 1915 when the company prohibited to sending children through their service.

Answer: Alfred Nobel

In April 1888, Ludwig Nobel, brother of Alfred Nobel, passed away in France. A small French newspaper, in a case of mistaken identity, published the obituary of Alfred Nobel in which he was described as a "merchant of death" and had enriched selling new ways to kill.

The mistake was corrected, but Alfred Nobel had the unpleasant experience of reading his own obituary. He never revealed the reasons that made him sign in 1895, his last will and testament. He died in December 10, 1896 at age 63. He left detailed instructions and most of his fortune for the creation of the Nobel Foundation and establishment of the Nobel Prize.

Answer: True

Although Maurice Garin won the Tour de France in 1904, he and the other three first finishers were disqualified for cheating and Henry Cornet, who finished fifth, was declared the winner.

Answer: Aristotle

For long time it was believed to be possible the spontaneous generation. Aristotle based this on the theories of other thinkers and their own observations. Only with the invention of the microscope and with the adoption of the scientific method such a theory began to be tested and proved to be wrong.

Answer: A robot

Robert William worked at the Ford Motor Company Flat Rock Casting Plant in Michigan. He was one of the Parts Retrievel System operators. It was a computerized system that used robots, with mechanical arms, for moving pieces. As the operators realized that the robot was providing wrong information or was a bit slow, William climbed on the shelves to move the parts by hand when he was struck in the back and crushed by one of the mechanical arms and died instantly.

This accident occurred on January 25, 1979.

Answer: She had a car accident.

Isadora Duncan (1877-1927) was known throughout Europe and America for her dance. On the night of September 14, 1927, in Nice, France Isadora wearing a very long scarf of strong silk, was in the rear seat in an open car, at full speed, when the scarf began to wind around the wheel and dragged her over the side of the car throwing her on to the street. When the car stopped she was dead.