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Historical Coincidences – Pub Quiz Questions

I wrote these questions for a family quiz, and they’ve been requested since so I thought I’d share them here. The key thing to note is this; all these questions are intended to answerable simply by knowing the theme (historical coincidences) and by making an educated guess. Enjoy!

Questions

  1. Violet Jessop was a stewardess and nurse who earned the nickname ‘Miss Unsinkable’ for surviving three oceanic catastrophes. The first was the collision of the RMS Olympic with the HMS Hawke in 1911 and the third was the sinking of the HMHS Britannic in 1916. What was the second catastrophe? (Bonus point given for the year).

  2. J.G.Tierney, a surveyor, died on Dec 20th 1922. His son Patrick died on the same date in 1935. The father and son pair were the first and last people to die whilst working on which famous American construction project? (Bonus point given for the total number of deaths).

  3. In the year 2000, which children’s TV show accurately predicted that Donald Trump would become President of the United States in 2016?

  4. What rare natural phenomenon occurred during the year of Mark Twain’s birth and then again, as he predicted it would, the day after his death? (Bonus point given for Mark Twain’s age when he died).

  5. The first and last British soldiers killed in the First World War are buried just six metres apart with their headstones facing one another. The proximity and location of the burial sites was not planned, happening by complete coincidence. In which country are they buried?

  6. The German ocean liner SMS Trafalgar and the British ocean liner RMS Carmania were both requisitioned for military use during the First World War. In 1914, they battled off the coast of Brazil resulting in the sinking of the SMS Trafalgar. When the battle occurred, both ships were in disguise. What were the disguises of both ships?

  7. Following the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, Japanese engineer Tsutomo Yamaguchi fled to which city to seek refuge? (Bonus point given for the year).

Answers

  1. Sinking of the Titanic.
    Bonus point: 1912

  2. The Hoover Dam.
    Bonus point: 112 deaths

  3. The Simpsons.

  4. Passage of Halley’s Comet.
    Bonus point: 74 years old

  5. Belgium.

  6. Each was disguised as the other.

  7. Nagasaki.
    Bonus point: 1945

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