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Quiz about Prisons
Quiz about Prisons

The Ultimate Prisons Quiz | World Sites


Free lodging and free food, now what could be better than that? Well, there are a few restrictions on your freedom, but you take the bad with the good. This quiz is all about well-known prisons. See how well you can pick them out.

A multiple-choice quiz by OldManJack. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
OldManJack
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
400,285
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
518
Last 3 plays: mulder52 (6/10), Guest 68 (9/10), Guest 174 (9/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. This New York State prison near Buffalo was the site of what is probably the worst American prison riot of the 20th century. 2,200 prisoners rioted in September of 1971. When the riot was over, 43 people were dead. The name sounds kind of like a storage space in your home. Which prison is it? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Named after Abraham Rycken, this is an island prison in the East River between Queens and the Bronx in New York City that is recognized as one of the largest prison and mental health institutions in the world. Fans of the TV series "Law and Order" will have no problem naming this prison. Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The most notable point about this next prison was that Johnny Cash wrote a hit song about it.

"I hear that train a-comin', it's rollin' around the bend
And I ain't see the sunshine since I don't know when
I'm stuck in . . . .

Just where is it that Johnny Cash is stuck?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. When John Denver sang his song "Take me home, Country Roads" about a particular state, I don't think this prison was one of the places he had in mind to go home to. This is a retired gothic style prison located in Moundsville that was begun when the state seceded from the state it used to be part of, and they found they did not have a prison within their borders. Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. This prison is considered the toughest in America. Dubbed the "Alcatraz of the Rockies" it is home to roughly 500 of the worst of the worst prisoners in the Federal prison system. Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. This next one is not a prison and no real prisoner has ever been incarcerated there. It is a two-cell jail that was set up as a tourist attraction in Mount Airy, North Carolina that represents the courthouse, jail and office used by a county sheriff and his fearless deputy on what TV show? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Marin County, California is home to one of the most notorious, and most recognizable prisons in America. Individual cells are only 48 square feet and those on death row are only allowed five hours a day outside their cells. The 2013 film "Fruitvale Station" was filmed at the prison with actual prisoners used as extras. Which prison is it? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. In 1934 one of America's most notorious bank robbers escaped from the "escape-proof" Lake County jail by carving a wooden gun and using it to intimidate a total of thirty-three jailers and inmates. He and one companion escaped in the souped-up car belonging to the sheriff, pausing to pick up a couple of machine guns from the jail's arsenal. Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Known as "Alcatraz of the South" or "The Farm", which prison was converted from a former plantation located between two oxbow lakes on the east side of the Mississippi River, so it is surrounded on three sides by water? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Stateville Correctional Center has a unique concept for a prison. The interior is an open, three-story roundhouse with a guard tower in the center. The front of all the cells face the tower so the guards in the tower can look directly into all the cells 24 hours a day. In what Midwest state is this unusual prison located? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 25 2024 : mulder52: 6/10
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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. This New York State prison near Buffalo was the site of what is probably the worst American prison riot of the 20th century. 2,200 prisoners rioted in September of 1971. When the riot was over, 43 people were dead. The name sounds kind of like a storage space in your home. Which prison is it?

Answer: Attica Correctional Facility

Overcrowding and frustration with strict prison life finally boiled over on September 9, 1971 and 2,200 prisoners in all four cell blocks took over the prison. By the end of the day, state troopers and prison guards had regained control of three of the cell blocks. When a guard hostage was severely beaten and thrown out of a second story window, the gloves came off. Governor Rockerfeller brought in the National Guard and ordered the prison taken back by force. Tear gas dropped by helicopter was followed by state police and prison guards firing 3,000 rounds of ammunition into the tear gas haze, killing ten hostages and 29 prisoners, in addition to the one guard and three prisoners killed earlier by the rioters.

I've always been interested in Attica Prison because my grandfather was a guest there for one to five on a burglary charge. The room rates were great, but he didn't care much for the accommodations - or the neighbors.
2. Named after Abraham Rycken, this is an island prison in the East River between Queens and the Bronx in New York City that is recognized as one of the largest prison and mental health institutions in the world. Fans of the TV series "Law and Order" will have no problem naming this prison.

Answer: Rikers Island

Everything about Rikers Island Prison is big. It takes up an entire 400 acre island. In 2018 it had an annual budget of $860 million dollars. There are over ten thousands officers and civilians managing 100,000 admissions a year and an average daily prison population of 10,000 prisoners. I'll take their word for it. I don't think I want to go there in person to check their numbers.
3. The most notable point about this next prison was that Johnny Cash wrote a hit song about it. "I hear that train a-comin', it's rollin' around the bend And I ain't see the sunshine since I don't know when I'm stuck in . . . . Just where is it that Johnny Cash is stuck?

Answer: Folsom Prison

There is an Urban Legend that Johnny Cash spent some time as a guest in Folsom Prison for a drug violation, but it's not true. He did perform two concerts for the inmates there, but he was not asked to stay. Nor was he issued an orange jumpsuit.
4. When John Denver sang his song "Take me home, Country Roads" about a particular state, I don't think this prison was one of the places he had in mind to go home to. This is a retired gothic style prison located in Moundsville that was begun when the state seceded from the state it used to be part of, and they found they did not have a prison within their borders.

Answer: West Virginia State Prison

West Virginia State Prison began operation in 1876 and was retired from service in 1995. It now operates as a training facility and tourist attraction. Ninety four men have been executed there, eighty five by hanging, and nine by "Old Sparky", their electric chair. The public was free to attend the hangings until 1931 when the honored guest dropped through the trap door and was instantly decapitated.

I did some time at West Virginia State Prison myself. I was on a tour of the facility and as part of the tour you can be locked in a cell for five minutes or so. I was fortunate in that my wife never lost faith in me and waited faithfully for me until I had done my full five minute sentence. Bless her heart.
5. This prison is considered the toughest in America. Dubbed the "Alcatraz of the Rockies" it is home to roughly 500 of the worst of the worst prisoners in the Federal prison system.

Answer: ADX Florence, Colorado

ADX Florence is a supermax facility. The aim of the facility is not to rehabilitate, but to merely contain. ADX stands for "Administrative Maximum Facility".
6. This next one is not a prison and no real prisoner has ever been incarcerated there. It is a two-cell jail that was set up as a tourist attraction in Mount Airy, North Carolina that represents the courthouse, jail and office used by a county sheriff and his fearless deputy on what TV show?

Answer: The Andy Griffith Show

The Andy Griffith Show depicted Sheriff Andy Taylor and his Deputy Barney Fife enforcing the law in Mayberry, North Carolina. The show ran from 1960 until 1968. Many of the place names used in the show were drawn from Andy Girffith's memory of growing up in Mt. Airy. If you go there, you can visit the replica courthouse with its two jail cells, get a haircut at Floyd's Barber Shop, take a ride in the sheriff's official car or have a pork chop sandwich at the Snappy Lunch restaurant.

They also have an Andy Griffith Museum and a statue of Andy Griffith and Opie heading off to the fishing hole, just like in the intro to the show.
7. Marin County, California is home to one of the most notorious, and most recognizable prisons in America. Individual cells are only 48 square feet and those on death row are only allowed five hours a day outside their cells. The 2013 film "Fruitvale Station" was filmed at the prison with actual prisoners used as extras. Which prison is it?

Answer: San Quentin

San Quentin opened in 1852 and is still being used. Currently (2020) it has the biggest death row in the country because California houses all of their death row inmates there. At this time there are over 700 death row inmates who are more likely to die of old age than they are to die from execution since California has only executed six prisoners in the past twenty years. .
8. In 1934 one of America's most notorious bank robbers escaped from the "escape-proof" Lake County jail by carving a wooden gun and using it to intimidate a total of thirty-three jailers and inmates. He and one companion escaped in the souped-up car belonging to the sheriff, pausing to pick up a couple of machine guns from the jail's arsenal.

Answer: John Dillinger

Despite a manhunt that involved 20,000 law enforcement officers, Dillinger made good his escape. But he wasn't free for long. Four months later Dillinger was gunned down in front of the Biograph Theater on Lincoln Street in Chicago, caught in a police ambush. The Lady in Red had betrayed him.
9. Known as "Alcatraz of the South" or "The Farm", which prison was converted from a former plantation located between two oxbow lakes on the east side of the Mississippi River, so it is surrounded on three sides by water?

Answer: Louisiana State Penitentiary

At this time (2020), Louisiana State Penitentiary is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States with 6,300 prisoners watched over by 1,800 staff. This is the location of death row for all men in Louisiana who are so sentenced and is the location of the state's only execution chamber.
10. Stateville Correctional Center has a unique concept for a prison. The interior is an open, three-story roundhouse with a guard tower in the center. The front of all the cells face the tower so the guards in the tower can look directly into all the cells 24 hours a day. In what Midwest state is this unusual prison located?

Answer: Illinois

Although the prison was closed in 2016, the plans are to allow the prison to remain standing due to its unique architecture. It opened in 1925 and was built to accommodate 1500 prisoners. The design was copied at a prison in Cuba in 1936 but it has since been abandoned.
Source: Author OldManJack

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