Why Are You So Wet? Trivia Quiz

Answer: The sinking of the Titanic

Unlike the more celebrated first class passengers, Florence, a nurse, was one of the 2nd class survivors of the Titanic. There were comparatively few of these (still fewer of the third class passengers) due to only first class passengers being allowed on to the upper decks, which gave access to the lifeboats. Mrs Angle, born Florence Hughes, had emigrated to New York City in 1906 with her husband, William, where he found work as a tile maker and fixer.
They had returned to England in 1911 to visit their family, and booked their return voyage home to New York on the Titanic.
On the night of the sinking, her husband woke her and took her to the upper decks where she was placed in a lifeboat - she last glimpsed him waving to her as the boat was lowered into the icy sea. Following her rescue, Florence returned to her native Warwickshire, suffering respiratory problems after her ordeal. After her recovery she resumed her work as a nurse and never remarried. Sometimes it is good to consider the 'ordinary' people involved in tragedies such as this.
Perhaps the saddest story I heard is of the crew member who made his way home, only to have the door slammed in his face - apparently it would have been better had he died a hero.

Answer: He was trapped 100 ft underwater off the Nigerian coast

Harrison, the 29 year old cook on the Nigerian Jacson-4 tugboat, was in the toilet below decks when heavy swells overturned the vessel. He became trapped in an air bubble which formed at the bottom (now the top) of the overturned boat.

After Harrison had spent nearly 60 hours in total darkness, and at depths that most people could not survive for more than an hour, a salvage crew arrived with divers to assess the wreckage, and try to recover the bodies. After knocking on the hull to test its soundness, the divers were shocked to hear an answering series of knocks from inside. One of the divers made his way inside, where he found Harrison trapped in a 4ft cube of air.
Knowing that he would have absorbed deadly quantities of nitrogen, the rescue team equipped him with SCUBA gear, led him to a diving bell, and he spent the next two days in a decompression chamber. Apparently a few recreational divers reach depths of 100 feet or more, but generally for periods of no more than 20 minutes at a time.

Answer: Twenty-eight, including twenty-three Gold

By the end of his amazing competitive swimming career in 2016, Michael Phelps had eclipsed the Olympic records of the sporting giants. Born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1985, his first Olympic campaign was in Sydney in 2000, where his best finish was in fifth place.

In 2004 he brought home 6 Gold and 2 Bronze medals from Athens. His trip to the 2008 Beijing Olympics failed to yield any Silver or Bronze medals, but as a consolation he won a staggering 8 Gold Medals! In the London 2012 Olympics, the "Baltimore Bullet" earned 4 Gold and 2 Silver medals.

His swansong in Rio yielded 5 Gold and 1 Silver medal. All in all, he has won 23 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze medals - a feat unequalled in the 31 Olympic games to 2016. It should be recorded that his medal swims ranged from 100m to 400m distances, and included Butterfly, Medley and Freestyle.

Some of the medal wins were as part of USA Relay teams.

Answer: The failed trans-Antarctic attempt led by Ernest Shackleton

After Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole in 1911, Sir Ernest Shackleton decided the last true Polar adventure would be to cross the Antarctic continent from shore to shore, via the South Pole. The Norwegian ship, the Endurance was fitted out and sailed with 28 men days after war with Germany was declared.

They had volunteered but were told to proceed with the mission. The idea was to make landfall in Antarctica via the Weddell sea, disembark the expedition which would travel overland to the Ross Sea (near New Zealand) where another ship, the Aurora would pick them up.

The pack ice was particularly bad that year, and one day's sail from landfall, the ship became totally trapped in ice, despite herculean attempts to free her. In the grip of the ice, the ship drifted nearly 1200 miles over the ensuing 10 months, before it finally succumbed to the pressure and started to break up.

The crew took to the boats with their provisions, and eventually landed and set up camp on Elephant Island. Still far beyond outside help, six of the 28 men took one of the small boats across the stormiest seas on earth on a voyage to the tip of South Georgia, followed by an icy mountain trek to the nearest whaling station. 137 days after leaving Elephant Island Shackleton returned in the Yelcho to find every man (and their young stowaway) had survived. Books have been written about this, but most compelling are the photographs taken by Frank Hurley, the official photographer.

Answer: Annette Kellerman

Annette Kellerman was winning swimming races and giving diving exhibitions while still a schoolgirl. She campaigned to allow women to wear one-piece bathing suits rather than the cumbersome dress and pantaloons which were required at the turn of the 20th century.

She went on to design one-piece costumes which became very popular in the USA. Soon she was invited to star in American films, show-casing her swimming and acrobatic talents. Annette Kellerman's life would one day be filmed with Esther Williams, another talented swimmer turned movie star, in the starring role.

Answer: William Bligh and his loyal crewmen from HMS Bounty

William Bligh was sleeping when set upon by mutineers, who placed him in the ship's launch with 18 loyal followers. There were several more loyalists on board, but the launch was already low in the water. Fletcher Christian and the crew of the Bounty cast them adrift with sufficient supplies for 5 days.

They landed on the nearby island of Tofua, but one of the crew, John Norton, was killed by natives. Bligh then decided their best hope for survival was to sail to the Dutch settlement on Timor (mostly into the prevailing winds) with strict rationing. Fortunately he had sailed these waters as James Cook's junior officer, and must have had an amazing memory, as he had not been allowed any of his charts.

They landed briefly on an island in the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of what is now called Northern Queensland, where they found oysters and berries to ease their starvation.

They sailed on and eventually sailed into Coupang Harbour 48 days after being cast adrift. All his men (apart from the unfortunate Norton) survived, though some were so weak from their ordeal that they died from the tropical fevers on the islands. Bligh appeared to have been a superb seaman and navigator, but he lacked any understanding of how to earn men's loyalty - while not as harsh as many of his fellow officers, he constantly found fault with and humiliated his crew, where a few words of encouragement or praise could have saved him from two major mutinies. (He was later the victim of the Rum Rebellion when serving as Governor in New South Wales).

Answer: Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a French naval officer, explorer, author, photographer and scientist who had a lifelong passion for the sea and its inhabitants. His first book "The Silent World" inspired many youngsters to take up marine biology. In 1950 he fitted out the Calypso as a field research vessel for diving and filming work.

He had a great deal to do with developing the aqua-lung and open-circuit scuba technology, which greatly improved safety and submersion times, allowing more efficient exploration.

He introduced entertainment into informative documentaries, allowing viewers to experience marine life close-up from the safety of their armchairs. Above all he was a passionate advocate for the oceans, campaigning for a stop to pollution (including preventing the dumping of radio-active waste on the sea floor).

Answer: Tham Luang Nang Non caves in Chiang Rai, Thailand

As part of a group bonding session after football practice, the boys set out on 23rd June with their bikes on a planned short excursion to the caves, a popular site during the dry season. The biggest problem was that it was the start of the monsoon, and it had started raining in the mountains. The plan was to walk in and out for a short distance and then ride back down the trail to their homes. Not long after they entered the cave, the entrance became flooded and water started to pour into the cave. The group quickly retreated further into the cave, and eventually found a high ledge large enough to accommodate them 4 km into the mountain. It would be 9 days later before they were located alive by two divers, and experienced volunteers from around the world began to arrive. More than 10,000 people were involved including over 100 experienced divers - one, Saman Kunam, an experienced former Thai Navy Seal, unfortunately lost his life during the mission.

As a result of great planning, and courage and skill on the part of the divers, every one of the boys was brought out through the flooded cave system - the boys were dressed in buoyancy jackets and positive pressure full face masks for their three hour journey. They were rendered unconscious and the anaesthetic had to be re-administered part way to ensure that they did not panic and jeopardize the whole mission. All the boys and their coach made a full and complete recovery.

Footnote: Beiret Bureerak, a Thai Navy Seal, also died later as a result of a blood infection incurred during the rescue. You can read the full story in the Penguin book "Against All Odds" by Drs. Craig Challen and Richard Harris, who performed vital roles during the rescue.

Answer: Annie Edson Taylor

Annie Edson Taylor was a widowed teacher, who hit on the idea of gaining some fame and money by riding over Niagara Falls in a barrel. She wasn't entirely an idiot - she sent her pet cat over the edge first. It survived, highly traumatised, no doubt, so on her 63rd birthday, on October 24, 1901 she stepped into her sparsely cushioned oak barrel, and was launched from a rowboat tethered upstream of the falls. Apart from a wound to the head she survived the drop amazingly well, considering the crudeness of her vehicle. Unfortunately the stunt did her little good, as she died penniless. I wonder if her cat ever forgave her?

Answer: Captain Matthew Webb

Matthew Webb was a Shropshire lad, born in 1848. At the age of 12 he joined the training ship HMS Conway for two years, then entered the Merchant Navy. While serving on the ship Russia he dived into the mid-Atlantic in a futile attempt to save a man who had fallen overboard.

This won him the first Stanhope Medal, given for an outstanding act of courage. On 24th August 1875, having been driven back by bad weather 12 days before, he dived into the sea from the Admiralty Pier at Dover. He was accompanied by three boats.

He was stung by jellyfish and held back for five hours by strong currents near his goal; but eventually beached near Calais. Matthew Webb died in an unsuccessful attempt to swim through the Whirlpool Rapids beneath Niagara Falls.