K.D Muir’s History Quiz

We are halfway through the pieces of the Trivial Pursuit pie. I am going to leave sport until last as it’s the most fun. So that leaves History or Arts & Literature. Let me just flip a coin here. ‘Heads’ for history and ‘Tails’ for A & L.

Now as I rummage through my wallet, I find an ancient 5 cent coin dated from 2002 which was the year Ireland first distributed the Euro currency. Before then, Ireland had the Punt (or Irish Pound). The very first Euro’s I spent were in ‘The Kitchen’ nightclub just after midnight on the 1^st of January 2002. The Kitchen was under the Clarence Hotel which is owned by none other than King Bono I of Ireland. King Bono has a lot of coins and rules the land from his homestead in Dalkey, County Dublin. Right that’s enough history. I don’t even need to toss the coin now.

King Bono I of Ireland. History is important!!

So history it is. I know some would turn their nose up at the ‘yellow pie’ decrying history as the most boring subject in the universe but you only have to read my posts to know that without history, I would have nothing to show. It’s true I spend a great deal of time churning through pop culture, recent history and nostalgia from my childhood but without history there can be no direction (I like that. I think I’m going to claim it as mine). The direction we can choose to take is wide and varied but everything must have that starting point. That cold night in 2002 was the starting point for the Euro. And what a tumultuous history it has had. My own starting point was a cold morning in 1976 (or a very cold evening in 1975 – for the pedants out there). Now, I am a ruggedly handsome pre-forties dad-about-the-house. Each grain of salt in my fetching salt ‘n’ pepper beard tells a tale of some struggle or triumph or just a really late night on the booze. Each missing hair on my head was shed in search of something. I’ve been chasing rhinos on the back of an elephant in Nepal, I’ve chased shark in the islands of Thailand and I’ve even been known to chase the number 27 bus on Talbot Street.

So you see history isn’t nearly as boring as you thought. With that in mind, please attempt these questions on the subject of history. None of the questions will be related to me because you probably know me well and that’s just like cheating. Put your answers in the comments section. Here Goes:

1. Where did Napoleon Bonaparte die?
2. In what year was the Russian revolution?
3. Who sank the Rainbow Warrior?
4. Who was the only Pope to visit Ireland?
5. What is the fifth amendment of the U.S. constitution?
6. Who was the first man to climb Everest without oxygen?
7. On what street did the leaders of the Easter Rising surrender?
8. When was Tutankhamun’s tomb discovered?
9. By death toll, what is New Zealand’s worst natural disaster?
10. When was the Boston Tea Party?

Bonus Question: How many wives did King Henry VIII have? What were their names and fates?