Why Is It So Dark Outside? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Akhenaten

Amenhotep IV, named himself Akhenaten (living spirit of Aten) in the fifth year of his reign as pharaoh. He tried to institute Aten - the disk of the sun as the supreme god of Egypt. As a recompense for his heresy he was virtualy erased from history by his successors and forgotten for over 3000 years until the findings at Amarna brought him back to light in the 19th century.

Answer: Hemlock

His philosophy required constant questioning and his questions about the status quo of Athenian society led him to be at odds with his fellow citizens, who found him annoying and ultimately dangerous. He was sentenced to death by drinking hemlock. In a "Monty Python moment" at the end of his trial, when he was asked about his own punishment, he suggested a government wage free dinners for the rest of his life.

He is remembered for his ethics, his method, his life and his death. Very few people in the history of mankind have left such a profound legacy - and he never even wrote a book!

Answer: Babylon

He died at the age of 32 in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, in Babylon in 323 BC. His empire although shortlived left a profound impression in the cultures it emcompassed, greatly enhancing contact and trade between east and west. The Hellenistic period following to his death was a period of great cultural advances. His campaigns and tactics are still studied in military academies all over the world. He was also a builder of cities, many of them with his name (Alexandria) and one with his horse's name Bucephalus - Bucephala in India.

Answer: Zhao Zheng

Though not a nice person by any standards, Qin Shi Huang built a stable foundation for an empire that for most of its history was much more advanced than anything in the rest of the world. In his quest for unity Qin Shi Huang buried alive scholars and burned writings throughout his empire.

He is quoted as saying. "I have collected all the writings of the Empire and burnt those which were of no use". Mao Zedong, when compared to the First Emperor for his persecution of intellectuals, responded: "He buried 460 scholars alive; we have buried forty-six thousand scholars alive ... You revile us for being Qin Shi Huangs. You are wrong. We have surpassed Qin Shi Huang a hundredfold".

Answer: Commodus

Marcus Aurelius was the last of the Five Good Emperors, and is considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. Some quotes from him:

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth."
"You have power over your mind, not over outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength."
"When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love."
"The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury."

His passing in many ways represents the begining of the downfall of Rome. After maybe the longest sequence of good rulers Rome had ever seen (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius) he was suceeded by his son Commodus who sent the empire in a downward spiral that it never fully recovered.

Answer: Tikrit

Born in Tikrit, in modern day Iraq, a Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin's life is an inspiring example to us all - a man who rose to sultan on merit, a successful ruler who was as well regarded by his people as by his enemies, a man whose actions were in complete accord with his beliefs.

He retook Jerusalem and successfully defended it against Richard the Lionheart in the Third Crusade. Perhaps his most famous chivalrous act was when Richard lost his horse in the battle of Arsuf, Saladin sent him two replacements.

He died in Damascus, Syria, without enough money for his own burial, having given away all his fortune to the needy.

Answer: Tordesillas

Even though John II rejected help for Columbus plan to get to India by a westerly route, when Columbus returned from his discovery of America, he went to Lisbon first, to offer his discoveries. This offer was rejected as Columbus claimed to have reached India and the Portuguese king knew this to be impossible.

This man, compared to Machiavelli's "perfect prince", died before his plans could come to fruition. His dynastic union with Spain never came to pass and his dreams of India's riches would be realized by his successor. Even though his successors were not nearly as capable as him, his legacy kept Portugal a world power for almost a century.

Answer: 5

These early pieces (Köchel catalogue 1-5), were recorded in the Nannerl Notenbuch (a book of compositions by Mozart's father to his sister). At six years of age he wrote his first sonata (Sonata in C for Violin and Keyboard) and began a three and half year tour that took him to play at the courts of Munich, Vienna ,Prague, Munich, Mannheim, Paris, London, The Hague, Paris, and back home via Zurich, Donaueschingen, and Munich.

His first symphony was composed at eight (symphony in E-flat, No. 1) and his first opera (Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots) at eleven... Can you imagine what he'd do if he was transported to our times and was introduced to modern composing equipment?

Answer: Alan Turing

His chemical castration occurred in 1952, not in the Dark Ages. He killed himself with cyanide in 1954. He was just 41 years old. The concepts of algorithm and computation, the first conceptual model of a general purpose computer (Turing Machine) are his legacy to computer science and artificial intelligence.

His later works on mathematical biology, specifically morphogenesis (some of them undiscovered until 1992) are now providing insights into in comprehending life and evolution through pattern formation.

Answer: Imagine

On the day Mark Chapman killed him, John Lennon had autographed a copy of "Double Fantasy" for Chapman. Can you "imagine" a world without John Lennon and his music? What about one with him alive? Or a world were his dreams came true? Just remember:

"You may say I'm a dreamer,
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will live as one".