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Quiz about Yesterday
Quiz about Yesterday

Yesterday ... Trivia Quiz


"......and some have greatness thrust upon them." Or infamy. Meet some people whose lives changed overnight - I'll tell you about a yesterday and you have to identify a life changing event or the person it happened to.

A multiple-choice quiz by bucknallbabe. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
bucknallbabe
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
320,769
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
1500
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: BrightonDragon (8/10), DeepHistory (8/10), Guest 175 (7/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Dateline: South Africa, 1967
Yesterday I was just an anonymous 55 year old grocer, a World War II veteran living in Cape Town. I'd had a good life, enjoyed sport but lately I've had problems with diabetes and heart disease. Today, I made history as the first human to human heart transplant patient. Who am I?
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Dateline: Concord, New Hampshire, 19 July 1985
Yesterday I was an ordinary social studies teacher at Concord High School. I've always tried to bring history alive by taking pupils on field trips and bringing in outside speakers. Today, I've made history myself by being chosen for NASA's "Teacher in Space Project". Who am I?
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Dateline: Boston, 15 January 1919
Yesterday, I, Arthur Jell, was the manager of an important company in Boston. I stood no nonsense from my employees and was able to deal with all their silly little concerns with ease. Today, my confidence is shaken slightly as we've had a little trouble. Some are trying to blame me for it - I don't see why. It can't be my fault, can it? What happened to shake Jell's confidence?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Dateline: Puget Sound, 7 November 1940
Yesterday, I was a civil engineer with a national reputation for contributing to the design of elegant, long, steel bridges. The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco was designed according to my theories and I acted as a consultant engineer on that project. However, they say pride goes before a fall and my fall was pretty spectacular - very like the collapse of my latest bridge today. I'm Leon Moisseiff - what was the name of the bridge that shattered my reputation?
Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Dateline: France, 4 June 1783
Yesterday, we were just two brothers working in the family paper-making business. We've been trying to get some ideas off the ground and introduced them to the public today. It went much better than we hoped - our contraption made from sackcloth, paper and 1800 buttons managed to stay aloft for ten minutes. People are certainly talking about us now. Who were these brothers which such high-flown ideas?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Dateline: Calgary, 16th February 1988
Yesterday I was a plasterer with a dream. Today I have achieved it - representing my country in an Olympic Sport and on top of that breaking the British record. I wasn't expecting all the fuss that's been made, though. I'm not sure whether people are taking me seriously. Who was the shortsighted ski-jumper who stole the show?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Dateline: London, 16 December 1901
Yesterday my main role was looking after my parents' house but I also had made a name as a mycologist in scientific circles. I've always enjoyed drawing and sent illustrated letters to my friends' children some of which I think are good enough to be published as a book. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find anyone to publish them. Today I have had the courage of my convictions and privately published 250 copies of my story. Who was this determined author?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Dateline: Castleford, Yorkshire, UK, 21 September 1961
It still hasn't sunk in yet. Yesterday, I was a mother-of-three trying to help out the family finances by working in a cake factory, having to borrow a few shillings from my mother-in-law so we could have a little gamble on the football pools and today - today Bruce Forsyth presented me with a cheque for over £150,000 pounds. What on earth will I do with all that money? The speaker is Viv Nicholson. The win was the equivalent of more than £3 million today - what did she say she was going to do with her unexpected wealth?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Dateline: Havana, Cuba, 5 March 1960
Yesterday. I was just another newspaper photographer covering the news. Today I was attending the funeral of victims of the "La Coubre" explosion when this charismatic, 31 year old Minister of Industry walked into view. I clicked my Leica M2 twice and knew the pictures were something special. I'm Alberto Korda. Who was the subject of the picture I took?
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Dateline: Gibraltar, 25 May 1944
Yesterday, I was just a clerk in the Royal Army Pay Corps. I fancy myself as a bit of an actor so I was thrilled to be approached by Colonel David Niven (yes, the film actor) a few weeks ago with an interesting suggestion. I thought the idea over and now I'm on the brink of something which could turn out to lead to greater things. What was Meyrick Edward Clifton James about to become?
Hint



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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Dateline: South Africa, 1967 Yesterday I was just an anonymous 55 year old grocer, a World War II veteran living in Cape Town. I'd had a good life, enjoyed sport but lately I've had problems with diabetes and heart disease. Today, I made history as the first human to human heart transplant patient. Who am I?

Answer: Louis Washkansky

Sadly, Louis Washkansky's tomorrows were few and he died from pneumonia just 18 days after the operation. The heart he received from car crash victim Denise Darvell was transplanted by Dr Christiaan Barnard and was still going strong at his death. Philip Blaiberg was Barnard's second heart transplant patient and the heart he received on 2 January 1968 served him well for 19 months.
2. Dateline: Concord, New Hampshire, 19 July 1985 Yesterday I was an ordinary social studies teacher at Concord High School. I've always tried to bring history alive by taking pupils on field trips and bringing in outside speakers. Today, I've made history myself by being chosen for NASA's "Teacher in Space Project". Who am I?

Answer: Christa McAuliffe

Chosen from over 11,000 applicants, Christa McAuliffe took a year's leave of absence from her teaching position and joined the NASA training program. She was scheduled to carry out some experiments and to teach two lessons from space but on 28 January 1986, the Space Shuttle "Challenger" exploded 73 seconds after launch with the loss of all seven personnel on board. Sally Ride was the first American woman in space, also on "Challenger" in 1983. Valentina Tereshkova, a Russian, was the first woman in space in 1963 when she piloted "Vostok 6" on a three day mission which involved orbiting Earth 48 times. Eileen Collins became the first female pilot of a Space Shuttle in 1995 when she took "Discovery" to the "Mir" Space Station.
3. Dateline: Boston, 15 January 1919 Yesterday, I, Arthur Jell, was the manager of an important company in Boston. I stood no nonsense from my employees and was able to deal with all their silly little concerns with ease. Today, my confidence is shaken slightly as we've had a little trouble. Some are trying to blame me for it - I don't see why. It can't be my fault, can it? What happened to shake Jell's confidence?

Answer: Boston Molasses Disaster

The little trouble was the collapse of a huge molasses tank. Jell came in for criticism as he had overseen the construction of the tank, which had a capacity of more than two million US gallons (almost nine million litres), but had failed to test it for leaks and ignored the numerous leaks which did appear, even having the tank painted brown to hide them.

His employers, the "Purity Distilling Company" were found liable even though a definite cause for the failure of the tank was never established.

It was speculated that the molasses fermented and caused a build up of carbon dioxide gas which the faulty tank could not withstand. The molasses released by the tank's collapse travelled in a wave up to 15 feet high at speeds estimated at 35 miles per hour, and killed 21 people, injuring at least 150 more.
4. Dateline: Puget Sound, 7 November 1940 Yesterday, I was a civil engineer with a national reputation for contributing to the design of elegant, long, steel bridges. The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco was designed according to my theories and I acted as a consultant engineer on that project. However, they say pride goes before a fall and my fall was pretty spectacular - very like the collapse of my latest bridge today. I'm Leon Moisseiff - what was the name of the bridge that shattered my reputation?

Answer: Tacoma Narrows Bridge

Moisseiff's design for the bridge was chosen because it was cheaper, mainly because it had shallower supports than the other designs. This meant that the deck lacked rigidity and even during construction, moderate winds produced movement which resulted in the nickname "Galloping Gertie". The footage of the actual collapse was recorded by a local camera shop owner.
Moisseiff never recovered his reputation and died of a heart attack in 1943.
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay, Florida was damaged by a freighter in 1980. Bridge 9340 carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi in Minneapolis, Minnesota and collapsed in 2007, The Silver Bridge across the Ohio collapsed in 1967.
5. Dateline: France, 4 June 1783 Yesterday, we were just two brothers working in the family paper-making business. We've been trying to get some ideas off the ground and introduced them to the public today. It went much better than we hoped - our contraption made from sackcloth, paper and 1800 buttons managed to stay aloft for ten minutes. People are certainly talking about us now. Who were these brothers which such high-flown ideas?

Answer: Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier

News of the Montgolfiers' demonstration of hot air air balloon flight rapidly spread. In September they sent animals up and the first humans took to the skies in a tethered balloon in October. The first free flight was made a month later over a distance of more than 5 miles (9 km).

The Montgolfiers were unable to maintain their initial advantage against the competition from others, especially the use of gas balloons, and went back to paper-manufacture. Etienne died in 1799. Joseph continued to develop other ideas such as the hydraulic ram, distilling and fruit-drying devices.

He received several honours and died in 1810. The Wrights pioneered powered flight, Albert Santos-Dumont developed the dirigible (a steerable airship) and Louis Bleriot worked on ornithopters, gliders and other aircraft as well as being the first man to fly the English Channel.
6. Dateline: Calgary, 16th February 1988 Yesterday I was a plasterer with a dream. Today I have achieved it - representing my country in an Olympic Sport and on top of that breaking the British record. I wasn't expecting all the fuss that's been made, though. I'm not sure whether people are taking me seriously. Who was the shortsighted ski-jumper who stole the show?

Answer: Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards

Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards exploited a loophole in Olympic rules which allowed him to represent Britain at the Calgary Winter Olympics in 1988 despite having only two years experience and no previous success or participation in international ski jump competitions.

He came last in both the events he entered and his presence led to changes in the rules. Some thought he embodied the Olympic spirit, others that he was an insult to the other athletes but either way he became a celebrity. After Calgary, he did continue with ski jumping for a while but later returned to the building industry.

He was not forgotten in his home country and featured in various television programmes and advertisements in the years after his Olympic appearance. Freddie Flintoff is a cricketer, Kevin Keegan and Ben Burgess, soccer players.
7. Dateline: London, 16 December 1901 Yesterday my main role was looking after my parents' house but I also had made a name as a mycologist in scientific circles. I've always enjoyed drawing and sent illustrated letters to my friends' children some of which I think are good enough to be published as a book. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find anyone to publish them. Today I have had the courage of my convictions and privately published 250 copies of my story. Who was this determined author?

Answer: Beatrix Potter

Her private publication attracted attention and the following year "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" was published by Frederick Warne & Co. Beatrix Potter wrote and illustrated more than 20 books in the years before her death in 1943. In later life, she married and became a sheep breeder and fell farmer in the English Lake District, leaving a legacy of 4000 acres of land and farms to the National Trust. Mabel Lucie Attwell and Cicely Mary Barker were contemporary illustrators and Enid Blyton was a prolific author of children's books, including the "Noddy", "Famous Five" and "Secret Seven" stories.
8. Dateline: Castleford, Yorkshire, UK, 21 September 1961 It still hasn't sunk in yet. Yesterday, I was a mother-of-three trying to help out the family finances by working in a cake factory, having to borrow a few shillings from my mother-in-law so we could have a little gamble on the football pools and today - today Bruce Forsyth presented me with a cheque for over £150,000 pounds. What on earth will I do with all that money? The speaker is Viv Nicholson. The win was the equivalent of more than £3 million today - what did she say she was going to do with her unexpected wealth?

Answer: Go on a spending spree

The words she used were "Spend, spend, spend." And she did. Within four years the money was all gone and nothing lasting to show for it. Her second husband died in a road accident in 1965 and she turned to night club singing and working in a shop. She married again several times, struggled with alcoholism and did not lose the taste for luxury the pools win gave her.

In 1998, her life story was turned into the musical "Spend Spend Spend" which opened at the West Yorkshire Playhouse with Barbara Dickson playing Viv.
9. Dateline: Havana, Cuba, 5 March 1960 Yesterday. I was just another newspaper photographer covering the news. Today I was attending the funeral of victims of the "La Coubre" explosion when this charismatic, 31 year old Minister of Industry walked into view. I clicked my Leica M2 twice and knew the pictures were something special. I'm Alberto Korda. Who was the subject of the picture I took?

Answer: Che Guevara

Alberto Korda's photograph of the Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara became one of the most famous and recognisable images of the latter part of the 20th Century. Korda received no royalties for the image (Castro would not sign the Berne Convention which protected intellectual property) which he gave to an Italian publisher, Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, in 1967, asking no payment from a supporter of the revolution.

At the time, Guevara was in Bolivia where he was being hunted down and Feltrinelli gambled on there being a business opportunity if he did not survive. Guevara was duly captured and was executed on 9th October and, within months, Feltrinelli had sold over two million posters of Korda's picture. Alberto Korda was Castro's personal photographer for ten years and then specialised in underwater photography.

His work became popular in his later years. He died in 2001.
10. Dateline: Gibraltar, 25 May 1944 Yesterday, I was just a clerk in the Royal Army Pay Corps. I fancy myself as a bit of an actor so I was thrilled to be approached by Colonel David Niven (yes, the film actor) a few weeks ago with an interesting suggestion. I thought the idea over and now I'm on the brink of something which could turn out to lead to greater things. What was Meyrick Edward Clifton James about to become?

Answer: Field Marshal Montgomery's double

From Gibraltar, M.E. Clifton James, who had been born in Australia, went to Algiers where he successfully impersonated Montgomery. His role was short-lived and he returned to the Pay Corps, his contribution to the war largely unacknowledged and forgotten until he told the story in a book in 1954.

This was made into the film "I was Monty's Double" in which Clifton James acted alongside John Mills and Cecil Parker as himself and Monty. He died in 1963.
Source: Author bucknallbabe

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