Deja Vu All Over Again Trivia Quiz

Answer: Yes! - The "Tek Sing" in 1822.

The "Tek Sing" was sailing to Jakarta from China with 1600 immigrants onboard seeking a better quality of life, when it struck a reef on its journey and sank. The speed in which it sank, trapping many of the victims inside, was hastened by the ignoring of the rules. They were hauling so much excessive cargo onboard, it was said they had to tie some onto the hull!

Answer: Blockbuster rejected offer to buy Netflix for $50M

Blockbuster, thought Netflix, was just a "too 'out-there' concept" to be sustainable and profitable, and almost laughingly rejected paying that kind of money and turned down the offer. Blockbuster has recently permanently closed the doors on it's final running franchise, citing the rapid and vast rise in online streaming putting the DVD and Game Hiring company out-of-business. Meanwhile, Netflix's worldwide subscriber numbers sits around half-billion. OUCH! That's gotta sting!

Answer: No - in 1873, a financial crisis was labelled 'The Great Depression'

The 1873 Great Depression was the biggest such crisis of its kind up to that time and was triggered by the failure of Jay Cooke & Company, a major investment firm heavily involved in railroad construction. It was only renamed as 'The Long Depression' when it was eclipsed by the 1929 hardship.

It was said that some 18,000 banks went bankrupt during the 1873 depression, numerous big businesses closed, and unemployment rose rapidly, all crippling the economy at the time.

Answer: In 1812 and 1813, Napoleon Bonaparte, was thwarted by the severe winters of Russia after invading.

Despite invading with well over 600,000 men and instilling significant losses on a hungry, tiring, yet determined Russian army, Napoleon and his vast number of French soldiers were overcome with the dogged resistance of the Russians and then ultimately the brutality of the Russian winters, leading to devastating losses and humiliating retreats.

Answer: Jamais Vu

One of the reasons 'jamais vu' (never seen) is classified as an antonym of Deja Vu is that 'deja vu' (already seen) is having an acute awareness or sense of having experienced something/someone before when its your first and only time doing so. The psychological phenomenon known as 'jamais vu', however, includes feeling like you're seeing a place you know well for the first time, or experiencing a common word as if you've never heard, or written, it before.

It can be temporary or sometimes ongoing, and can also be associated with certain neurological or psychological conditions.

Answer: The St. Francis Dam outside of L.A. - 1928

The South Fork Dam, started up in 1853, had already failed twice before it completely collapsed in May 1889. It was later found that the dam failed because of poor construction and some "equally misguided" maintenance decisions. It sent over 16 billion gallons of water into the communities below, resulting in the devastating loss of 2,209 lives.

The St. Francis Dam was located in San Francisquito Canyon, just outside of Los Angeles, and built in 1926. Only two years after completion, on March 12, 1928, with poor judgement throughout the entire construction being blamed for the incident, water began pouring from one side of the concrete structure. By midnight it had collapsed, sending water and debris into town after town below it. Estimates of resulting fatalities were as high as 600.

Answer: Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated whilst out on his hotel balcony in 1968.

Martin Luther King Jr. died 4 April 1968 at St Joseph's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, from a single gunshot wound sustained the day before when James Earl Ray shot him. Like Gandhi, King Jr. was known for his strong yet peaceful approach to opposing oppression and racial inequality, and worked tirelessly against the need for segregation and openly campaigned for violence towards African Americans to end.

Answer: False

Captain James Cook, on Valentine's Day 1779, landed in Hawaii, and, just as foolhardily, took very few men ashore to confront the natives about a stolen small wooden boat. It's four, now dead, minders from his crew. He and his men were swiftly slaughtered.

Magellan, sent to explore new worlds and convert the natives encountered to the major religion spreading rife through Europe, headed into the Pacific and Asian regions. When in the Philippines, his group was confronted by a 1500+ strong congregation of natives from several tribes who had no intention of embracing Christianity, and Magellan, with only 50 of his crew in tow, got annoyed at this prospect. The chief, speaking on behalf of the natives, quickly had Magellan and his small amount of backers, murdered then and there.

Answer: Thomas Beckett

While the other three names above were all successful Catholic primates, Thomas Becket was, in 1170 AD, England's Catholic primate. He was assassinated by guards, seemingly on the bequest of his former friend King Henry II because he refused to compromise on the issue of church vs state power.

Stanislaus of Szczeanow was murdered by King Bolestaw for reasons stemming from his public criticism of the king's immoral behavior, including his cruelty and alleged sexual misconduct.

Answer: Emile Boirac

Although all famous French philosophers in their own right, Emile Boirac coined the term 'Deja Vu' in his book, "The Future of Psychic Sciences" written in 1876. He explained its meaning as, "The feeling of having already experienced something that is currently happening for the first time".