Before They Were in Politics Trivia Quiz

Answer: Thomas Jefferson (US)

Tom Jefferson is reputed to have been a skilled musician. He has written some songs. But his instrument was the violin. Paderewski had one of the biggest pairs of hands in history, and could play up to a 12th (octave + 5th) in one hand. Moshe Sharet is not very well known, but he was the 2nd prime minister of Israel.

Answer: Henry VIII

He may have written the words, but there is little evidence to suggest that King Henry VIII actually wrote the famous melody. One thing is for certain - some four or five centuries later another composer decided to orchestrate the theme, and did not credit the Henry VIII as the composer.

Answer: King Frederick the Great of Prussia

King George I of England started out as Duke Georg of Hanover, and his musical employees apparently didn't think too highly of him (the most famous of these was G. F. Handel). The composer that Frederick of Prussia commissioned was none other than Johann Sebastian Bach, who wrote a full set of musical puzzles to challenge the king's mind and occupy him in his spare hours.

Answer: Albert Einstein

Most famous for the equation E=MC^2, Einstein was offered a chance at the presidency of the state of Israel in 1948. While he was an ardent supporter of Zionism (Israeli nationalism), he felt he was a better physicist than he was a politician, and he turned down the post.

The presidency (in Israel, more a symbolic title than active, like the English monarchy) was then offered to Chaim Weizman, and he accepted.

Answer: True

The second language he speaks is Yiddish, which he'd learned in his younger years in the Bronx. In fact, the first time he visited Israel, he surprised then prime minister Itzhak Shamir with his Yiddish.

Answer: Composing dark, anguished music

As far as I know, Machiavelli is not anyone's pen name. Gesualdo's music is very strange, not quite the simple stuff one would expect of a late 16th-century composer.

Answer: Paramount Chief of American Samoa

"I chose football," said Logo. "My uncle became ruler for life. It really hits me when I'm alone."

Answer: Gynecologist

Very few people manage to live in the Mid-East without ever being involved in politics... Most Israeli prime ministers were generals and even chiefs of staff. And the members of parliament come from rather interesting backgrounds.

Answer: Lightbulb

Generally credit for the light bulb has been given to Edison, among his many patents. (Edison didn't actually invent the bulb, it was actually invented by one Sir Joseph Swan in England.)

But Ben Franklin deserves the credit for many inventions which had a tremendous effect on modern life. Until the invention of the microwave oven, the Franklin stove was considered the best instrument for heavy cooking in most homes. And people still use lightning rods and bifocals.

Answer: Athens

Democracy was not a new idea when the United States were established in 1776. Although some primitive form of democratic system of ruling was practiced in ancient Israeli courts, the first place where leaders were chosen democratically was practiced was in Athens, Greece.