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Quiz about A Sorry State of Affairs
Quiz about A Sorry State of Affairs

A Sorry State of Affairs Trivia Quiz


Liaisons and love triangles. Some are salacious, some are romantic, and some change history. This is a quiz about love affairs that have had an impact on the course of human events.

A multiple-choice quiz by Sparroc. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
Sparroc
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
342,860
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
3759
Awards
Editor's Choice
Last 3 plays: kathypovey (5/10), Guest 96 (8/10), Guest 73 (7/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. In late 1997, Vernon Jordan, the powerful Washington lobbyist and loyal supporter of President Bill Clinton, was trying to help a young woman find a job and an attorney. It was later revealed this woman was romantically linked to the President, and at the center of a scandal that would contribute to Clinton's impeachment. Who was the woman Jordan was helping? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Sometime in late 1535 or early 1536, Jane Seymour became romantically involved with the husband of her employer. When her employer was accused of treason and beheaded, Jane and her lover married. Who was the man Jane married? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Mary Godwin and her lover Percy Shelley traveled extensively through Europe and had several children together. Their relationship was marked by indebtedness, free love, depression, and the death of all but one of their children. In 1816, while the couple was spending the summer with friends near Lake Geneva, she thought of the idea for a novel that would help define an entire literary genre. What was this novel? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Thomas Jefferson was rumored to have fathered illegitimate children with a woman named Sally Hemings. This was finally demonstrated to be true with the advent of DNA testing. Politicians having affairs and fathering illegitimate children is nothing new - why was this case especially scandalous? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Sheilah Graham was an aspiring gossip columnist in Hollywood when she met a famous American author and fell in love. Although the author was married, he and Sheilah shared a house and life together until the author's death. Their affair became the subject of Graham's book 'Beloved Infidel', which would later become a movie starring Deborah Kerr and Gregory Peck. Who was Graham's lover? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Russian ruler Catherine the Great had a number of lovers. The man who is reputed to have won her heart, though, is Grigory Potemkin. Potemkin was not only her lover, he was also her most trusted advisor. In order to retain his political standing with Catherine when their affair ended, what did Potemkin do? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Juan Duarte was a wealthy rancher in Argentina with a wife and children. He also fathered another family with the woman Juana Ibarguren. In spite of raising her children in poverty, under the stigma of illegitimacy, one of Juana's daughters would later rise to immense fame. Who was the famous daughter this affair produced? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. When federal judge Julius Waties Waring met Elizabeth Avery Hoffman in 1943, no one could have imagined they would fall in love, divorce their spouses, and eventually help pave the way for America's civil rights movement. One winter evening Julius came home and told his first wife Annie that he had fallen in love with Elizabeth. But, before his new love and he could start down the path that would profoundly shape civil rights in the U.S., Waring needed Annie to do something for him. What did he ask his wife to do? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Rodrigo Borgia was a patriarch in the famous Italian Borgia dynasty, and had at least four children by his mistress Vannozza dei Cattani, including the famous Lucrezia Borgia. By today's standards, what was so unusual about this affair? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Talk about serial affairs! Which ruler was so sexually prolific that by the early 21st century, over 16 million men could claim him as an ancestor? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 23 2024 : kathypovey: 5/10
Mar 22 2024 : Guest 96: 8/10
Mar 14 2024 : Guest 73: 7/10
Mar 09 2024 : H53: 7/10
Mar 08 2024 : j2cp2: 9/10
Mar 06 2024 : Guest 128: 9/10
Mar 06 2024 : Peachie13: 10/10
Mar 04 2024 : conpat: 6/10
Feb 28 2024 : AyaXobriis: 7/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In late 1997, Vernon Jordan, the powerful Washington lobbyist and loyal supporter of President Bill Clinton, was trying to help a young woman find a job and an attorney. It was later revealed this woman was romantically linked to the President, and at the center of a scandal that would contribute to Clinton's impeachment. Who was the woman Jordan was helping?

Answer: Monica Lewinsky

Shortly after Lewinsky was named a witness in the Paula Jones sex scandal investigation, Jordan was asked by Betty Currie, Clinton's personal secretary, to help Lewinsky find a job. Then, in early 1998, Lewinsky filed an affidavit denying any sexual relationship with Clinton.

This claim was later proven false, in part by tapes of Lewinsky's conversations with co-worker Linda Tripp. This began the unraveling of a coverup of the President's sexual impropriety that ultimately led to Clinton's impeachment and acquittal by the Senate.
2. Sometime in late 1535 or early 1536, Jane Seymour became romantically involved with the husband of her employer. When her employer was accused of treason and beheaded, Jane and her lover married. Who was the man Jane married?

Answer: King Henry VIII

Jane was the third wife of King Henry VIII, and had become the object of Henry's attentions during the course of her duties serving Queen Anne Boleyn. Their son, Edward VI, would be Henry's only male heir to the throne.
3. Mary Godwin and her lover Percy Shelley traveled extensively through Europe and had several children together. Their relationship was marked by indebtedness, free love, depression, and the death of all but one of their children. In 1816, while the couple was spending the summer with friends near Lake Geneva, she thought of the idea for a novel that would help define an entire literary genre. What was this novel?

Answer: Frankenstein

Mary and Percy were both authors, and while in Geneva one of the ways they and their friends amused themselves was by reading German ghost stories. One of their friends challenged them all to write their own supernatural tale. Inspired by a waking dream, Mary, who would later wed Percy and become Mary Shelley, conceived of the plot of Frankenstein.
4. Thomas Jefferson was rumored to have fathered illegitimate children with a woman named Sally Hemings. This was finally demonstrated to be true with the advent of DNA testing. Politicians having affairs and fathering illegitimate children is nothing new - why was this case especially scandalous?

Answer: Sally was one of Jefferson's slaves

Sarah 'Sally' Hemings was a mixed-race slave owned by Thomas Jefferson, and she was the half sister of his wife Martha. When Jefferson's wife died, many historians had believed that Jefferson began a relationship with Sally that spanned 38 years until his death. It was also believed that Sally's six children were fathered by Jefferson.

Accusations that Jefferson had a long-term affair with Hemings and fathered several children with her were controversial, and proponents and detractors of such suggestions were often linked to political considerations. In the absence of proof, such accusations further clouded Jefferson's already ambiguous views on slavery. While he opposed the slave trade, he owned several hundred slaves.

In 1998, a study in the journal "Nature" put the question to rest. DNA analysis of Jefferson's grandfather's descendants, and the descendants of one of Heming's sons, confirmed the connection.
5. Sheilah Graham was an aspiring gossip columnist in Hollywood when she met a famous American author and fell in love. Although the author was married, he and Sheilah shared a house and life together until the author's death. Their affair became the subject of Graham's book 'Beloved Infidel', which would later become a movie starring Deborah Kerr and Gregory Peck. Who was Graham's lover?

Answer: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald's wife suffered from schizophrenia and was institutionalized at the time when he met Graham. The two fell in love quickly, and become devoted to each other. Graham went on to become the top in her career, commanding salaries on par with the movie stars she covered.

Some claimed her portrayal of her relationship with Fitzgerald was embellished, but even though her relationship with Fitzgerald lasted less than four years, by many accounts Graham never really got over him.
6. Russian ruler Catherine the Great had a number of lovers. The man who is reputed to have won her heart, though, is Grigory Potemkin. Potemkin was not only her lover, he was also her most trusted advisor. In order to retain his political standing with Catherine when their affair ended, what did Potemkin do?

Answer: Personally selected her next lover

Potemkin swept Catherine off her feet, and their relationship had a passion that inspired jealousy and admiration among Catherine's court. Over time, as their differences pulled them apart, Potemkin decided to personally select his successor to Catherine's bed, someone who would not replace him as her chief advisor. Candidates were vetted - brought to the bed of one of Catherine's closest friends - before being delivered to Catherine.

Potemkin went on to govern various provinces, ultimately ruling the Crimea. He is famous for building the first Black Sea fleet, and he was an enlightened ruler who tolerated many faiths. When he later sometimes visited Catherine in St Petersburg, they would still sleep together.
7. Juan Duarte was a wealthy rancher in Argentina with a wife and children. He also fathered another family with the woman Juana Ibarguren. In spite of raising her children in poverty, under the stigma of illegitimacy, one of Juana's daughters would later rise to immense fame. Who was the famous daughter this affair produced?

Answer: Eva Peron

Eva Peron was born Eva Duarte, and would rise to become an historic icon in Argentina. When her husband became President in 1946, Eva held a number of political and charitable leadership positions, and she was known for her championing of the rights of women, the poor, and labor. She founded the first major female political party, and briefly ran for Vice President in 1951. Declining health and political opposition forced her to withdraw her bid, but shortly before she died at age 33, Eva Peron was given the official title "Spiritual Leader of the Nation" by the Argentine Congress.

Eva Peron's heritage has been a source of dispute. Illegitimacy carried a heavy social stigma in Argentina, and there are questions about whether she was born in Argentina, or rival country Paraguay. There are conflicting records, and it is believed that Eva created a forged birth certificate for her marriage in 1945. She does not reference childhood events in her autobiography.

As an adult, though, Eva influenced the course of events in Argentina, and she remains an iconic symbol around the world.
8. When federal judge Julius Waties Waring met Elizabeth Avery Hoffman in 1943, no one could have imagined they would fall in love, divorce their spouses, and eventually help pave the way for America's civil rights movement. One winter evening Julius came home and told his first wife Annie that he had fallen in love with Elizabeth. But, before his new love and he could start down the path that would profoundly shape civil rights in the U.S., Waring needed Annie to do something for him. What did he ask his wife to do?

Answer: Move to Florida

At the time, the Warings' home state of South Carolina did not allow the legal dissolution of marriage, so Julius asked Annie to move to Jacksonville and establish residence there. Annie agreed, allowing Julius and Elizabeth to then marry.

Elizabeth Avery Waring was one of the first white, female, radical civil rights activists. She heavily influenced her husband, whose dissent in the desegregation case Briggs vs Elliot provided the legal foundation for the later Supreme Court decision in Brown vs Board of Education.

As civil rights proponents in Charleston, South Carolina during the 1940's and 50's, the couple sacrificed their social standing for their views. Elizabeth's outspoken views gained national exposure, and forced stronger racial debate, especially in the South, and this in turn contributed to the broader course of civil rights.
9. Rodrigo Borgia was a patriarch in the famous Italian Borgia dynasty, and had at least four children by his mistress Vannozza dei Cattani, including the famous Lucrezia Borgia. By today's standards, what was so unusual about this affair?

Answer: Borgia was the Pope

Rodrigo Borgia was Pope Alexander VI. While religious leaders, including Popes, having illegitimate children was not unusual at the time, Renaissance secular and religious politics during Alexander's reign became so brazen and corrupt that the name Borgia became synonymous with the debasement of the Papacy.

The children Alexander VI acknowledged as his include Giovanni, Cesare, Goffrado, and Lucrezia, and each went on to play a role in history. Giovanni was the 2nd Duke of Gandia, Cesare was the Duke of Valentinois, and Goffredo was the Prince of Squillace. Lucrezia's role in the political intrigues of her family is unclear, but several marriages were arranged on her behalf to advance the Borgias' political interests.
10. Talk about serial affairs! Which ruler was so sexually prolific that by the early 21st century, over 16 million men could claim him as an ancestor?

Answer: Genghis Khan

In 2003 a study analyzed the Y chromosomes of men from across the former Mongol empire. It showed that over 16 million modern men can trace their lineage back to Genghis Khan. That's one in every 200 men on the planet.
Source: Author Sparroc

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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