Well Known Perjurers Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong was born in 1971 in Texas and quickly took up athletics. By the age of 16, he was performing in professional triathlons where he biked, ran, and swam. He focused on the cycling was rising through the ranks when, at age 25, he was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer and brain tumors.After battling the disease with chemotherapy and healthy living, he was cancer free in 1997.

He went on to an amazing cycling career winning seven Tour de France competitions before a final retirement in 2011.

However, back in 2001 allegations began surfacing of doping in the cycling sport and his name began being linked to the activity. In 2012 the United States Anti Doping Agency was charging Armstrong with taking these drugs to illegally win the races. Armstrong very publicly denied all charges and claimed he was wrongfully accused.

However, the evidence was too strong and he was stripped of his titles and banned from the sport, all while he continued to loudly denounce the fact. Shockingly, in 2013 during an interview with Oprah Winfrey, he suddenly confessed that he had been lying and that he had indeed taken the drugs because of a "ruthless desire to win". Since that interview, he has spent time trying to repair his reputation, focusing on his family and charity work.

Answer: James Frey

James Frey was born in 1969 in Ohio. He began a writing career by developing screenplays that he also directed. In 2003 his book titled "A Million Little Pieces" was published and was called a memoir based on his real-life experiences of dealing with alcohol and drug addictions.

In 2005 it was selected by Oprah Winfrey to be featured in her book club and quickly was named an Amazon best seller. However, in 2006 allegations surfaced that many of the events in the memoir were, in fact, lies or gross exaggerations.

When questioned, Frey and his publishers said he may have "embellished minor details" but nothing as significant as the accusations. When confronted by Oprah on her television show, Frey then admitted that several of the scenes were fabricated and that he touted it as a memoir in order to sell more copies than if it was fiction.

The fallout included apologies, refunds of the book purchase, and loss of backers. Since 2006, Frey has written several other novels with topics as diverse as atheism, science fiction, and young adult literature.

Answer: Herodotus

Herodotus was born in 485 BC in Greece. His family was forced into exile for political reasons and he spent the rest of his life traveling throughout the area. He visited Egypt and other parts of Africa, sailed on the Black Sea, and toured the various city-states of the Greek empire. Everywhere he went, he recorded what he saw and the various conversations he had with the local population.

He would come back to Athens periodically to share his exploits orally. During his life, he created a huge project called "The Histories" which was a writing of the history of the Greco-Persian Wars which took place between 499 and 479 BC.

After his death, it was converted into nine separate books. Since it was written, and during the centuries following, critics have found numerous false "facts" in the book. One example was the description of the city of Babylon which was proven to be an exaggeration and based on rumor and not an actual visit as suggested.

Herodotus is believed to have died of the plague sometime between 425 and 413 BC and pundits still argue the validity of his writings.

Answer: Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton was born in Arkansas in 1946. He loved music but chose a career in public service. He was a Rhodes scholar who also got a law degree from Yale, where he met his future wife, Hillary Rodham. Clinton was governor of Arkansas in 1978 and by 1992 he had won the United States presidential election.

He served two terms in the role. It was during his second term, in 1998, that he was impeached by the House of Representatives over perjury in the Paula Jones case, which was a sexual harassment suit brought against him.

In that court case, under oath, he was asked if he had ever had sexual relations with another person, who worked in the White House named Monica Lewinsky. He forcefully denied these allegations concerning the 22 year old intern.

It was later proven true and the House impeached him while the Senate found him not guilty. Clinton apologized to the nation for his behavior and lies. He left office with a high approval rating and spent his presidential retirement performing public speaking, campaigning for his wife's political offices, and helping with various charities.

Answer: Robert Ripley

Robert Ripley was born in 1890 in California and made a name for himself as a cartoonist whose niche was trivia about unusual places and things. By the 1920s, Ripley began his travels around the globe. Over his life, he would claim to have visited "more than 200 countries".

It was during the 1920s that he began calling the cartoon "Believe It Or Not" and it was syndicated across the country. In the 1930s he introduced these "interesting facts" to the radio audience and finally even to early television in the 1940s. Even though he claimed he could back up most of his work and paid a co-worker to do great amounts of research, much of his information was secondhand or he twisted the words to generate interest.

Some of his articles, such as the one stating that Albert Einstein failed math classes, were outright lies; in fact, that was disproved by Einstein himself upon reading the statement. Ripley died in 1949 before he could see his "odditoriums" turned into museums, tourist attractions, books, and television specials.

Answer: Belle Gibson

Belle Gibson was born in Brisbane, Australia around 1991. Her birth year has changed with successive stories, as has her schooling, but it appears she dropped out of school and became interested in online communities. She claimed that she was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2009, which subsequently spread to other parts of her body.

She said she treated it with healthy foods and exercise. She shared her "findings" with the world via a smartphone app and cookbook that came out in 2014. She also touted the fact she enjoyed philanthropy and had supposedly given money to multiple charities aiding victims of childhood cancer and helping build schools in Africa. Facts were not adding up, however, and as the media began its hunt. Belle Gibson gave an interview to "Australian Women's Weekly" where she admitted lying about her cancer, her donations, and her personal history. Since then, her app was dropped from Apple devices and legal action was begun.

Answer: Harry Gerguson

Gerguson immigrated to the United States from Lithuania with his family when he was ten years old. He soon ran away from home and made his living on the streets of New York City. After putting himself through high school, he headed to Europe where he began impersonating people and was jailed for fraud. Before returning to America, he invented the person of Michael Romanoff and deemed himself the nephew of Tsar Nicholas II. Using his ability to emulate others, he moved to California and began partying with the Hollywood crowd. By 1941, he had gotten financial backing to start a restaurant he called Romanoff's.

It was very popular; in fact, Humphrey Bogart ate there daily. For over twenty years the crowds frequented the establishment, even though many suspected his fraudulent background.

The restaurant closed its doors in 1962 and "Prince Michael" died in 1971.

Answer: Ryan Lochte

Ryan Lochte was born in 1984 in Rochester, New York. He swam at an early age and attended the University of Florida for college where he was on the swim team. While there, he set many records and was a seven time NCAA champion. He competed in the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics where he won many individual and team events, set world records, and garnered large amounts of Olympic medals.

It was during the Summer Olympics of 2016, held in Brazil, that he told reporters he and some fellow swimmers had been held at gunpoint and robbed by locals who had police badges.

This put the media spotlight on the safety of other athletes at the Olympics. However, after surveillance tapes did not support the story, Lochte later admitted to NBC television that the tale was a lie.

In fact, the teammates were inebriated and had vandalized a local gas station bathroom. They then made up the story to cover the crime. Lochte was suspended from swimming for ten months and used the down time to participate on shows like "Dancing With The Stars".

Answer: Count of St. Germain

Not much is known of his birth and early life, but it is believed he was the son of a Transylvanian prince. He took on many titles in his life, but the one he used the most often was Count of St. Germain. In the early 1740s he was in England where he was celebrated as an excellent musician and composer. By 1745, he was found in the French court of King Louis XV.

It is here that he claimed to know alchemy to the extent that he could fix the impurities in gemstones and create gold and unique dyes. In actuality, he was swapping gems to make it look like they were fixed and he never produced the gold or colors.

He told people he was several centuries old due to his knowledge of the recipe for the Elixir of Life. He spent decades traveling the continent of Europe in diplomatic roles while also dabbling in occult practices.

He died in 1784 at roughly 93 years of age; indeed, a long life but not quite 500 years old!

Answer: Brian Williams

Brian Williams was born in 1959 in New Jersey. He did not finish college at George Washington University but did intern for President Carter where he quickly caught the bug for journalism in the nation's capital. He went on to work for a variety of local television news programs around the country before he was hired by NBC News and by 1993 he was their chief White House correspondent. By 2004, he was the anchor for "NBC Nightly News" where he received many awards and accolades over the years. In February of 2015 he apologized for lying in an earlier news story about the Iraqi War where he stated he was in a military helicopter that was hit by an RPG.

This confession led to other investigations where it turned out he fabricated several aspects of news clips and stories.

He was suspended for six months. He later apologized for his actions and requested he be given a second chance. He came back to work for the MSNBC news branch after his suspension was over.