Fun History
In the 17th century practice of 'witch swimming,' how would the accused prove their innocence?
By drowning
Who became the first black women to travel to space?
Mae Jemison
Complete the extract from Martin Luther King’s famous 1963 speech: I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the _____?
Content of their character
What was the original name of World War I?
The Great War
Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and which other Japanese city?
Nagasaki
Needing somewhere highly secure, where did Henry III house his pet polar bear in the 13th century?
The Tower of London
Who was known as the "mother of the freedom movement"?
Rosa Parks
The sinking of which passenger ship in 1915 is often said to have brought about the USA’s declaration of war on Germany, though in fact this did not happen for a further two years?
The Lusitania
What was the Zimmermann Telegram?
A secret alliance offer from Germany to Mexico
Troops from which nation liberated Auschwitz?
USSR
Which symbol of triumph did Julius Caesar establish in Rome as a means to obscure his baldness?
The laurel wreath
A native of Montgomery, Alabama, this famous Alabama musician was kidnapped during a performance in Alabama and vowed never to set foot in the South again. Who is this?
Nat King Cole
The Little Rock Nine were prevented from doing what on September 4th 1957?
Going to high school
Which weapon saw extensive use for the first time in World War I, changing the nature of naval warfare?
Submarines
Which nation fought against the Allies until 1943 but declared war on Japan in July 1945?
Italy
Which vegetable did Antoine-Agustin Parmentier seek to popularize in France by surrounding his patch with Armed Guards during the day, so that people would think they were valuable and steal them at night?
The potato
Who is the only player in history to be awarded an All-Star in both football and basketball?
Bo Jackson
Which Commander of the Continental Army defected to the British after his plot to surrender West Point to them was uncovered?
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
What powerhouse country was not a signatory of the Treaty of Versailles?
Soviet Union
Complete the extract from Churchill’s 1942 speech following the second Battle of El Alamein: This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it may just be…
The end of the beginning
Which Nobel prize were both Bento Mussolini and Josef Stalin nominated for?
Peace (Stalin was nominated twice)
Who was the first deaf winner of the Miss America pageant?
Heather Whitestone
What links Chester A. Arthur, Andrew Johnson, Millard Fillmore, John Tyler and Gerald Ford?
Presidents who never won an election
What innovation was widely used in WWI for the first time, proving crucial in the battlefields?
Radio communication
Who was the Emperor of Japan during World War Two?
Hirohito