Saturday the 14th Trivia Quiz

Answer: Paris

The Exposition Universelle of 1900, known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition was opened on the 14th April and ran until the 12th November. The main purpose of the exhibition was to highlight the achievements of the previous century and to showcase the technological innovations of the early 1900s.

The events of the fair took place at various locations around the city including, the Champ de Mars, Les Invalides, the Trocadero, and along the banks of the River Seine. The 1900 Summer Olympics were also incorporated into the event. Some of the innovations and products displayed at the fair included, a ferris wheel, a moving escalator, diesel engines and matryoshka dolls. In addition to these developments the event also brought global attention to the Art Nouveau style of art and architecture.

Answer: Antwerp

The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, took place between the 14th August and the 12th September. These were the first games to be held for 8 years after the cancellation of the 1916 games in Berlin because of World War I. A total of 29 nations participated with the most medals being won by the United States, they won a total of 95 medals which comprised of 41 gold, 27 silver, and 27 bronze.

Some of the noteworthy individual performances at the games included: Willis Lee and Lloyd Spooner, both representing the United States, each won 7 medals in the shooting events. Lee took home 5 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze, all of which came in team events, whilst Spooner's medal haul consisted of 4 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze, six of these were in team competitions with the other coming from an individual event. Italian fencer Nedo Nadi won 5 gold medals, two individual (Foil and Sabre) and three team (Epee, Foil, and Sabre).

Answer: Earthquake

This was the first of a pair of earthquakes to strike central Bulgaria that year and they became known as the 1928 Chirpan-Plovdiv earthquakes. This first earthquake occurred in Chirpan, Stara Zagora Province on the 14th April, whilst the second struck four days later on the 18th in Plovdiv Province in the town of Parvomay, both strikes had a moment magnitude of 7.1 (Mw).

The impact on the area was catastrophic with over 74,000 buildings damaged or completely destroyed and over 264,000 residents were left homeless as a result.

It was estimated that 127 people died in the two earthquakes and the total cost of the damage amounted to 5 billion Bulgarian lev.

Answer: Czechoslovakia

Tomas Masaryk was born in Hodonín, Moravia (then part of the Austrian Empire) in March 1850. He is considered to be the founding father of Czechoslovakia, which came into existence as a country following the restructuring of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the First World War. Masaryk was elected as the first president of Czechoslovakia in November 1918.

He held the role for just over seventeen years until his resignation in 1935 because of old age and poor health, he was succeeded by Edvard Benes. Masaryk died in September 1937, aged 87.

Answer: 0

Don Bradman was born in August 1908, in Cootamundra, New South Wales. He made his test match debut in 1928 against England in Brisbane. He would go on to play 52 tests for his country (24 of these as captain), and score 29 centuries before his retirement in 1948. In his final test at The Oval Ground in London, Bradman came out to bat needing just four runs to end his career with a batting average of 100, but was bowled second ball by English leg-spin bowler Eric Hollies for a duck (zero runs). He ended his career having scored 6,996 runs at an average of 99.94, and a highest innings score of 334 against England at Headingley, Leeds in 1930.

In the 1949 New Year Honours, he was knighted by King George VI and became known as Sir Donald Bradman, further recognition came in June 1979, when the Australian government awarded him the Companion of the Order of Australia (AC). Sir Donald Bradman died in Adelaide, South Australia in February 2001, aged 92.

Answer: Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Pact was a collective security treaty named after the Polish city in which it was signed. The eight original members of the pact were, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland. Romania, and the Soviet Union. The forming of the alliance was a direct response to West Germany joining NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) five days previous on the 9th May 1955.

The pact remained in existence until 1991, although by then only six members remained following the withdrawals of Albania in 1968, and East Germany in 1990.

The pact was formally disbanded on the 25th February 1991.

Answer: Georges Pompidou

Georges Pompidou was born in 1911 in Montboudif, a commune in the Cantal department, in south-central France. He served as Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968 under President Charles de Gaulle. In 1969 he was elected as President of France, a role that he would hold until his death in 1974 from blood cancer.

The Pompidou Centre was opened in 1977 and is one of the largest museums of modern art in Europe. The building, designed by architects Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, and Gianfranco Franchini is an example of an "inside-out" building due to its structural, mechanical, and circulation systems being located on the exterior of the building. The incorrect answers also served as Prime Minister of France: Michel Debre (1959-1962), Raymond Barre (1976-1981), and Pierre Mauroy (1981-1984).

Answer: Wimbledon

The match took place at Wembley Stadium in London with of a crowd of 98,203 in attendance. The game finished 1-0 to Wimbledon with the only goal, a looping header scored by midfielder Lawrie Sanchez coming in the 37th minute. The match was also memorable for featuring the first ever penalty save in an FA Cup Final, with Wimbledon goalkeeper and captain Dave Beasant saving Liverpool striker John Aldridge's spot kick in the second half.

The result was considered an upset because Liverpool having already secured the First Division title by finishing nine points clear of second-placed Manchester United were playing for a League-FA Cup double.

Answer: Serena Williams

Angelique Kerber defeated American Serena Williams (6-3, 6-3) to win her first and only Wimbledon singles title. It was a repeat of the 2016 final in which Williams had triumphed (7-5, 6-3). This victory was Kerber's third major title having previously won the Australian and US Opens in 2016.

She also won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, losing out in the final to Puerto Rico's Monica Puig (6-4, 4-6, 6-1). The last German player to win the ladies' singles at Wimbledon was Steffi Graf in 1996, the seventh time she had won the tournament. The incorrect answers were also former Wimbledon champions, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic is a two-time champion having won in 2011 and 2014, whilst Marion Bartoli of France and Spain's Garbine Muguruza have one title each, winning in 2013 and 2017 respectively.

Answer: Ukraine

These two victories were Ukraine's second and third successes in the contest having won for the first time in 2004 when the contest took place in Istanbul, Turkey and singer turned politician Ruslana won with a total of 280 points for her song "Wild Dances".

The 2016 competition took place in Stockholm, Sweden, the winning song by Jamala was called "1944" and scored a total of 534 points. In 2022 the contest was held in Turin, Italy, with Ukraine being represented by the hip hop group Kalush Orchestra, who performed the song "Stefania".

It was a landslide victory for the Ukrainian entry as they scored 631 points, beating the second-placed United Kingdom by 165 points.