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History Multiple Choice #5

Can you answer these multiple choice questions about world history?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: December 11, 2020
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First submittedDecember 11, 2020
Times taken17,989
Average score66.7%
Rating4.32
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1. Why did Great Britain establish colonies in Australia?
As a base to raid Spanish gold ships
As a place to send prisoners
To grow valuable breadfruit
2. What style of facial hair did Joseph Stalin wear?
Beard
Clean-shaven
Mustache
Sideburns
3. How did Cato the Elder end his speeches in the Roman Senate?
Carthage must be destroyed
If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look around you
Praise be to Jupiter
Those who are about to die salute you!
4. What was a Potemkin village?
A group of battleships
A fake village built to impress Catherine the Great
A Jewish settlement, or "shtetl", in Eastern Europe
5. What country accepted responsibility for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland?
Libya
North Korea
Panama
Russia
6. What term refers to a branch of a royal family founded by younger sons?
Cadet branch
Ensign branch
Lieutenant branch
7. What does détente refer to?
A "thawing" of relations, especially between the U.S. and the Soviet Union
The agreement between France and the UK prior to WWI
The overthrow of a ruler
The heir to the French throne
8. New York City has famously held ticker tape parades for such luminaries as Dwight Eisenhower and the Apollo 11 astronauts. What is ticker tape?
Leftover scraps from garment-making
Shredded phone books
Thin strips of paper on which stock prices are printed
9. Which of these is the correct spelling of the first (and only) female Prime Minister of Israel?
Glinda Meyer
Gelda Myor
Golda Meir
10. Why did England's King Edward VIII abdicate in 1936?
For better weather and lifestyle in the Bahamas
It was discovered he was an illegitimate child
To marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson
11. What did Wernher von Braun design?
Furniture
Rockets
Women's clothing
12. Lord Nelson famously led the English navy to victory at Cape Trafalgar. Where is Cape Trafalgar?
Algeria
Canada
England
Spain
13. Who hosted the Olympics in 1940?
Lake Placid
Los Angeles
Paris
No one
The Olympics were canceled in 1940 and 1944 due to WWII
14. In the Bible, Goliath measured 6 cubits and a span. How big is a cubit?
The distance from the elbow to the tip of the fingers (about 18")
The length of a human foot
The length of a person's outstretched arms
15. The Crystal Palace was built for the first World's Fair in London in 1851. Does it still stand today?
Yes
No
It was destroyed by fire in 1936
+3
Level 56
Dec 11, 2020
It's the third time I have encountered a quizmaster quiz with 0 takes! All 3 within about couple of months!
+1
Level 55
Dec 11, 2020
Maybe because he just made it.
+4
Level 84
Dec 11, 2020
"Once the rockets go up

Who cares where they come down

That's not my department,"

says Wernher von Braun

--- Tom Lehrer

+1
Level 89
Dec 13, 2020
:-)
+2
Level 63
Jan 18, 2021
You too could be a big hero,

Once you learn to count backward to zero.

+1
Level 77
Dec 13, 2020
Really great quiz! Had to think about a few of the answers.
+3
Level 84
Dec 13, 2020
"In the Bible, Goliath measured 6 cubits and a span."

The oldest manuscripts, namely the Dead Sea Scrolls text of Samuel from the late 1st century BCE, the 1st-century CE historian Josephus, and the major Septuagint manuscripts, all give Goliath's height as "four cubits and a span" (6 feet 9 inches), whereas the Masoretic Text has "six cubits and a span" (9 feet 9 inches). The Septuagint was used for most translations of the Bible until around the time of Martin Luther. Observant Jews hold that the Masoretic Text is identical, to the letter, to the original, but the archeological evidence says otherwise. "The Bible", until recently, measured Goliath as 4 cubits and a span.

+1
Level 72
Dec 14, 2020
Either way, he would qualify for the Golden State Warriors.
+1
Level 84
Dec 14, 2020
With the latter he wouldn't need to jump to dunk.
+1
Level ∞
Dec 15, 2020
In the King James Bible, he's six cubits and a span. But, yeah, four cubits and a span is much more believable.
+2
Level 84
Dec 15, 2020
Just remember that the King James Version is not "the" Bible. The Septuagint is still the basis for the Bible in the Eastern Orthrodox church, so an entire branch of Christianity checks their Bible and says, "Nope, the Bible says that Goliath was four cubits and a span." Instead of saying "the Bible", you could specify KJV.

During David's lifetime, roughly 1000 BC, the average human male was about 5'6". Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who played The Mountain (Gregor Clegane) on Game of Thrones is 6'9", and no one in his right mind would want to get into a fight with him. Four cubits and a span, and ripped, would have been more than enough to cause the level of intimidation described in the Bible. (Oberyn Martell refuses armor, just as David did.)

+4
Level 84
Dec 15, 2020
That would make a great "Interesting Facts", by the way.

"Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who played The Mountain (Gregor Clegane) on Game of Thrones is 6'9", the same height as Goliath according to the oldest manuscripts of the Bible."

+1
Level 79
Jan 18, 2021
I got all but the branch and the speech ending (the two least-guessed)
+2
Level 57
Jan 18, 2021
Carthago delenda est
+3
Level 56
Jan 18, 2021
Quizzes like this make me realise how much I've learnt from Asterix. Although for some reason they always leave out the "est" and just say "delenda Carthago"
+1
Level 71
Jan 18, 2021
I don't believe Australia was colonised for the sole purpose of sending prisoners there. There were so many other places they could have used, that it just doesn't make sense.

Prisoners were sent there on forced labour, so, as much as I don't know what were they working on, the answer is false/misleading.

+1
Level 78
Jan 18, 2021
Look up "First Fleet".
+1
Level 66
Jan 22, 2021
Basically the UK used to send convicts to colonies in North America but once they won independence they refused to take any more. Australia was seen as more or less useless so they started sending convicts there. The very first European settlement in Australia was a convict colony.
+2
Level 46
Jan 18, 2021
Lol Goliath was supposed to be over 9 feet? It's amazing how many people believe this stuff...
+2
Level 44
Oct 3, 2022
Great hidden Michigan reference
+2
Level ∞
Jul 22, 2023
Someone noticed!
+1
Level 72
Oct 31, 2023
Whoa that's crazy. This is the first time I've seen this quiz and I just learned about the Crystal Palace and the Great Exhibition today.