In 1939, renowned German American physicist Albert Einstein signed a letter to U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt warning that Nazi Germany was developing atomic bombs. The letter spurred the U.S. atomic program that became known as the Manhattan Project and produced the two atomic bombs dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945.
2. Al Gore
Answer: Global Warming
Al Gore capped a life-long career in politics serving as Vice President from 1993 to 2001 with President Bill Clinton. He ran for President in 2000 but lost to George W. Bush in a controversial election. After leaving office, he founded the Alliance for Climate Protection.
The Academy Award winning 2006 documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" brought Gore's ideas about human production of carbon radically changing Earth's climate to international attention.
3. Adlai Stevenson
Answer: Kennedy Visit to Dallas
Adlai Stevenson was the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in the Kennedy Administration. Before Kennedy's visit to Dallas, Texas in November 1963, Stevenson warned that the atmosphere in Dallas was "ugly and frightening" against Kennedy and that he should not visit. Kennedy travelled to Dallas and was assassinated there on Friday 22 November 1963.
4. Harry Markopolos
Answer: Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme
Harry Markopolos was a financial analyst and forensic accountant. His review of Bernie Madoff's investment program showed that it was an illegal Ponzi scheme. Markopolos informed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) repeatedly from 2000 to 2005 (with supporting documents and calculations), but Madoff wasn't arrested until 2008, when his sons contacted the SEC; after he had defrauded an estimated $35 to $65 billion from investors.
5. Li Wenliang
Answer: COVID-19
Dr. Li Wenliang warned other Chinese doctors of a virulent and mysterious outbreak of a flu-like disease in the city of Wuhan in late December 2019. This message, meant to be private, was leaked to the public. Dr. Li was detained by Chinese authorities.
His was the first warning of the COVID-19 disease that spread globally into a worldwide pandemic. He caught the disease and died on 7 February 2020 at the age of 34.
6. Roger Boisjoly
Answer: Challenger Shuttle Disaster
Roger Boisjoly was an engineer with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He had warned NASA leadership that cold weather could cause the failure of O-rings on the rocket boosters of the space shuttle. The shuttle Challenger was launched on 28 January 1986 after the overnight temperature had reached a low of 22 degrees Fahrenheit (-6 Celsius), unusually cold for Florida. Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch, and O-ring failure was found to be the cause of the disaster.
7. Isaac Asimov
Answer: Anti-Intellectualism
Science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote an article titled "A Cult of Ignorance" for "Newsweek" magazine in 1980. He decried the growing trend in the USA of undervaluing knowledge and expertise that allowed unformed opinion to undermine rational decision making in public affairs.
8. Colleen Rowley
Answer: 9/11 Hijackers
Colleen Rowley was a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In June of 2001, she warned her superiors that some foreign nationals on a terrorist watchlist were taking flying lessons in the USA but were reportedly not interested in learning how to land the aircraft.
Her report was not read until October 2001, more than a month after those terrorists had highjacked multiple jet aircraft and attacked targets in New York and Washington DC.
9. Courtney Love
Answer: Harvey Weinstein
Courtney Love, widow of musician Kurt Cobain, found her own success as a musician and actress. In 2005 she was asked what advice she'd give young actresses and answered, "If Harvey Weinstein invites you to...his hotel room, don't go." Love's career as an actress was essentially over after that remark. Producer Weinstein was first sued for his inappropriate conduct in 2017.
He was convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault in 2020 and sentenced to 39 years in prison.
10. Dwight Eisenhower
Answer: Military-Industrial Complex
Eisenhower was a career soldier and served as Supreme Allied Commander for the invasion of Europe in 1944 to defeat Nazi Germany. He served as U.S. President from 1953-1961. In a farewell speech in January 1961, he warned of the dangers of what he termed a "military-industrial complex" (military, government and private businesses in partnership) that had grown during the Cold War.
He described the relationship of government and private arms manufacturers as a "necessary evil" that exercised "unwarranted influence" on governmental affairs.
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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