FunTrivia People Mix: Vol 30 Trivia Quiz

Answer: France

On 10th September, 1977, nearly 200 years after the execution of Marie Antoinette, France used the guillotine for the final time, to execute murderer Hamida Djandoubi. Djandoubi had been found guilty of murdering 21 year old Elizabeth Bousquet, who had previously accused him of attempting to force her into prostitution.

Question by player poshprice

Answer: Furniture design and cabinet making

Born in 1718 into a wood-working family, young Thomas learned his trade initially from his father, then took further lessons from a master carpenter in York. His business flourished, and in 1754, Thomas published "The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director." He worked in the English Rococo and Neoclassic styles, designing for many of the British aristocracy.

Question by player JaneofGaunt

Answer: Italian

Vivaldi was born in Venice in 1678, whilst Verdi came from a small village near Parma in 1813. Verdi is known for his operas, including 'Rigoletto' and 'Aida'. Vivaldi wrote 'The Four Seasons' - a set of four concertos - in 1725.

Question by player ozzz2002

Answer: Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin served as Postmaster of Philadelphia from 1737-1753, so it's no surprise that the Second Continental Congress named him the first Postmaster General of the United States in 1775. A signer of the Declaration of Independence, Franklin was chosen as Ambassador to France (1776-1785), the country that gave the colonies invaluable aid during the Revolutionary War.

He played the violin, harp, and guitar, and published a scientific study of the Gulf Stream in 1770. Among his many inventions that include bifocals and a stove, are the swim fins he invented when he was 11 years old in 1717, because even though he was a good swimmer, he wanted to swim faster.

He used wood to fashion the oval-shaped fins that were only worn on his hands. Franklin commented that while the fins did help him swim faster, they tired his wrists.

He also experienced with fins on his feet, but was not as successful in that endeavor.

Question by player ponycargirl

Answer: Executioner

Found guilty of rape in Elizabethan England, Thomas Derrick was given the opportunity to become an executioner instead of facing the death sentence. He introduced a beam and pulley system to replace the traditional noose over a beam for hangings, and the principle used in these gallows is used in modern Derrick cranes.

In 1601 he beheaded the Earl of Essex, the very man who had offered him the pardon. Essex may have wished he'd selected a more able executioner as the first two cuts with Derrick's axe failed to kill him!

Question by player baldricksmum

Answer: He was buried standing up

Jonson is buried in the northern aisle of the Nave of Westminster Abbey. No one knows why he was buried standing up, but there are numerous theories. In 1849, when a new grave was being dug nearby, the wall of Jonson's grave collapsed, and the fact that he had been buried standing up was confirmed.

Question by player daver852

Answer: Leicester

There is some debate of what constitutes a royal house, as it can be argued that some are subsidiaries of others. For example, the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was renamed as Windsor in 1917 because it sounded too German during World War I, but it is not a separate house.

However, the ones mentioned in this question are not under dispute. Leicester has no relation to the royal houses. It's recent royal connection is that the body of Richard III was discovered under a city car park there in 2012.

Question by player BrightonDragon

Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte

Towards the end of 1795, demonstrations by royalist supporters opposed to the French Revolution had escalated to a point at which the revolutionary leadership was concerned that a counter-revolution might be imminent. Napoleon Bonaparte, then a General of Artillery was ordered by the 'Convention', the revolutionary parliament at that time, to use any means at his disposal to end the rioting. Bonaparte ordered his artillery onto the streets of Paris with orders to fire grapeshot into the crowds of demonstrators.

Many hundreds were killed and wounded in the resulting carnage and by the evening of the 5th of October the uprising had been crushed. Bonaparte was subsequently rewarded for his Parisian action with the command of the French army in Italy.

Question by player SisterSeagull

Answer: Eric Liddell

He played for the Scottish Rugby team on seven occasions but is better known as a track athlete. The film was "Chariots of Fire" which won four Oscars in 1981 and told the true story of the 1924 Olympics. Liddell refused to run in his chosen 100 metres event because the heat for the race fell on a Sunday.

A fellow athlete competed in the 100 metres instead and won the Gold Medal. Liddell ran the 400 metres because the heats fell in midweek. He was of course not expected to do well, being a 100 metre runner, but he somehow also won a Gold Medal. Liddell was a missionary in China when it was invaded by the Japanese and in 1943 he was sent to a prisoner of war camp, where he died in February 1945. Abrahams and Lowe were British Athletic Gold Medallists and Harry Mallin was a British Gold Medal winner in Boxing.

Question by player Spontini

Answer: J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien (January 1892 - September 1973), best known for "The Lord of the Rings" (1954-55)and "The Hobbit" (1937), preferred to write with a quill pen, using a traditional method to create his legendary works. His use of a quill added a personal touch to his manuscripts and connected him to the ancient traditions and languages he so admired. Tolkien's meticulous handwriting and drafts, many of which have survived, reflect his dedication to the art of storytelling and his love of language.

Question by player wellenbrecher