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History True or False #1

Try to guess whether these historical statements are true or false.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: February 10, 2021
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First submittedFebruary 26, 2020
Times taken61,639
Average score66.7%
Rating4.39
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1. Columbus was the first European to sail to the Americas
True ✓
False ✓
The Vikings did it first
2. Gunpowder was invented in China
True ✓
False ✓
3. Egypt, Jordan, and Syria have all invaded Israel
True ✓
False ✓
4. The Nazis invaded Greece during WWII
True ✓
False ✓
5. An aristocrat living in St. Petersburg, Russia in the 1800s would be expected to speak fluent French
True ✓
False ✓
6. The Incan Empire lasted for over 2,000 years
True ✓
False ✓
It lasted for less than 200
7. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax
True ✓
False ✓
8. Ireland was colonized by the ancient Romans
True ✓
False ✓
9. Tomatoes originally came from the New World
True ✓
False ✓
10. Most scholars now believe that Shakespeare did not write most of the plays that bear his name
True ✓
False ✓
11. Bach was influenced by Beethoven
True ✓
False ✓
Bach died before Beethoven was born
12. California and Texas were once part of Mexico
True ✓
False ✓
13. Humans were partly responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs
True ✓
False ✓
14. China fought in WWII
True ✓
False ✓
Millions of Chinese soldiers and civilians died in the war
15. Documents written in Classical Greek didn't use spaces between words
True ✓
False ✓
16. Photographs exist of a (very old) George Washington
True ✓
False ✓
Photography was invented after he died
17. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only one of the ancient Wonders of the World that still stands
True ✓
False ✓
18. Socrates died in battle
True ✓
False ✓
He died from drinking hemlock after being sentenced to death
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77 Comments
Rassy8
+3
Level 62
Feb 26, 2020
Five stars!
Jandebrug33
+14
Level 63
Feb 26, 2020
Good quiz, didn't know Israel was invaded by Lebanon
Badeghut
+2
Level 70
Mar 9, 2020
Same here. I looked and couldn't find anything online. If someone would be label to point me in the right direction that would be very helpful.
Quizmaster
+7
Level ∞
Mar 9, 2020
That question is probably too hard, I apologize. Most people would only think of the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War. But Israel was also invaded by several Arab nations on the day after they declared independence in 1948. Lebanon sent a small force of 436 soldiers to join the fray.
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Mar 9, 2020
I changed the question to remove Lebanon and make it easier.
Xenobiologista
+1
Level 59
Dec 7, 2020
Huh. I happened to know that, partly from an interest in Israel that stems from jewish friends who spend some part of their year in Israel, generally.
IsleAuHaulte
+8
Level 89
Feb 26, 2020
I say tomato.
JackintheBox
+6
Level 79
Mar 9, 2020
You say tomahto
CliveDexter
+7
Level 75
Feb 26, 2020
Well worded to receive false positives. I particularly like the parenthetical (very old).
TheLastFish
+6
Level 70
Feb 26, 2020
The Shakespeare question is odd, as it is in fact not clear whether he was the author. And even though it is just a meta question which asks for the "believe" of the majority of scholars: This may heavily depend on who counts as a scholar, right?
JWC1202
+26
Level 74
Feb 27, 2020
"On 22 April 2007, The New York Times published a survey of 265 American Shakespeare professors on the Shakespeare authorship question. To the question of whether there is good reason to question Shakespeare's authorship, 6 per cent answered "yes", and 11 percent "possibly". When asked their opinion of the topic, 61 per cent chose "A theory without convincing evidence" and 32 per cent chose "A waste of time and classroom distraction"."

I am willing to bet that the percentages would be even lower among UK scholars. Now it is certainly true and accepted that he did not write or contributed little to several plays (Henry VI, Titus Andronicus, Pericles), but that is a different question.

Quizmaster
+20
Level ∞
Feb 27, 2020
Thank you. The correct answer is very clear to those who know it.
TheLastFish
+1
Level 70
Mar 2, 2020
Thanks for adding a source to who scholars refers to! This answers the very specific question on the believe of the majority. And I am not arguing that the very topic is false. But it is a bit lame to persist in absolute truth for any side when you can not prove it. This is not like climate change where you have literally tons of scientific observations. Anyway. Case closed. ;-)
samiamco
+6
Level 69
Mar 11, 2020
The academic study of historical literary authorship isn’t just wild, random guesswork, TheLastFish. They practice scientific rigor as well!
Xenobiologista
+1
Level 59
Dec 7, 2020
His point is that it is wasteful to spend time on a theory with no evidence pointing to either side.
InterAlia
+3
Level 76
Apr 21, 2023
Do you really think there is *no* evidence for either position?
TravelingMama
+1
Level 73
Feb 26, 2020
Great quiz!
Qikiq
+1
Level 87
Feb 27, 2020
Trying to figure out the significance of the picture on this quiz. Any suggestions?
cornflakesfu
+6
Level 87
Feb 27, 2020
Looks like part of a Viking ship, referring to the first question.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Feb 27, 2020
Yes!
kalbahamut
+20
Level 82
Feb 28, 2020
It's a Neanderthal weapon used to hunt dinosaurs.
NoahGBurns
+1
Level 37
Aug 10, 2021
A true scholar!
samiamco
+1
Level 69
Mar 11, 2020
Personally, after I saw the picture, I was all excited to be getting a question about “The Nightmare Before Christmas”! Imagine my disappointment :-(
NoahGBurns
+1
Level 37
Aug 10, 2021
Viking longship - refers to the first question (Lief Eriksson 'discovered' America before Columbus)
Arii78
+4
Level 45
Feb 27, 2020
I was confused by the Chinese WWII question. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to include the cino-japanese war in WWII, because technically it's not the same, but also technically it is part of it... ? Sooo now I'm also wodering if I'm remembering right, did they also take part in fighting in the bigger conflict ?
Quizmaster
+4
Level ∞
Feb 27, 2020
It doesn't matter. They fought in China which was part of the Pacific Theater. Consider this: would you say that Russia didn't "really" fight in WWII because they didn't fight in China?
texdave
+5
Level 56
Feb 28, 2020
Actually, the USSR did fight in China. The Red Army invaded Manchuria in August, 1945.
selectL0L
+1
Level 48
May 11, 2022
That was one of the many China at the time. If anything, that was the least ligament of all since it was basically a Japanese puppet. I think most mentions of "China" focusing on WWII mean the Republic of China
texdave
+4
Level 56
Feb 28, 2020
The Chinese fought (without much success) against Japan from 1941-1945. The Flying Tigers fought as part of the Nationalist China Air Force. China was a participant in the Cairo Conference in 1943. The first B-29 raids against Japan were launched from air bases in China.
Carlos
+2
Level 43
Mar 13, 2020
Since China was occupied by the Japanese, did “China” fight in the war or did the “Chinese” fight. Big difference.
texdave
+3
Level 56
Mar 14, 2020
The Japanese never occupied all of China. The Nationalist Chinese government retreated to Chunking and stayed there until the end of the war.
JackintheBox
+1
Level 79
Dec 9, 2023
Sino*
SonofDixie
+6
Level 82
Feb 27, 2020
I thought the Nazis was a trick question. I knew the Italians invaded Greece and that you were looking for "Axis" rather than Nazis.
texdave
+9
Level 56
Feb 28, 2020
The German invasion of Greece in 1941 led Winston Churchill to curtail a successful campaign in North Africa in order to send troops to Greece. The German overran Greece anyway and captured Crete as well, with heavy losses to British troops and ships.
WelshWizard
+4
Level 84
Mar 9, 2020
Basically, the Italians made such a hash of it, the Germans just decided to do it themselves.
samiamco
+1
Level 69
Mar 11, 2020
I too would not have know about the Nazis invading Greece had I not read a really interesting (and kinda sad) novel about the occupation and its long aftermath. For anyone interested, it’s called My Last Lament by James William Brown (Berkeley Books, 2017).
djeedubbeljoe
+4
Level 66
Mar 9, 2020
About the dinosaur question: humans actually are partly responsible. Birds are dinosaurs (not just descended from them, they technically ARE dinosaurs, check Wikipedia), and humans did bring some of them to extinction.

So this question made me wonder how technical/specific to be. Could it be worded differently? For example, by specifying it’s about non-avian dinosaurs.

Jacktheguy
+22
Level 90
Mar 9, 2020
You're thinking about this too much.
InterAlia
+2
Level 76
Apr 21, 2023
Yeah, what Jack said. If that's your premise, then the whole question is moot and unanswerable.
Unobtainium
+1
Level 34
May 7, 2024
We only brought some birds to extinction, not all of them, even if we are classifying all birds in the exact same category as dinosaurs.
bostjan
+2
Level 72
Mar 9, 2020
Lebanon never invaded Israel.
Quizmaster
+6
Level ∞
Mar 9, 2020
Except for 1948.
bostjan
+1
Level 72
Mar 17, 2020
Lebanon invaded British Palestine before Israel declared independence. It wasn't recognized as a nation by the UN until 1949.
kalbahamut
+3
Level 82
Apr 2, 2020
Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948. On May 15, Britain gave up their mandate of Palestine and withdrew. At that point Israel was a de facto sovereign state. They were immediately invaded by the Arab League which sought to destroy the new state and drive the Jews into the sea, but the Arab League failed. JetPunk places reality higher than UN recognition, which is why they recognize the sovereignty of Kosovo and Taiwan but not of Palestine. International recognition is only one component of sovereignty, and it's possible to be recognized with or without the UN.
bostjan
+1
Level 72
Apr 3, 2020
Let me ask two questions: 1. Where exactly did Lebanon allegedly invade? (do you know a specific village?) 2. When did Lebanon allegedly invade there?
kalbahamut
+3
Level 82
Mar 9, 2020
it's amazing how opaque the blind spots are for people who want to believe a certain narrative. Like those who want to believe that Israel is always the antagonist act like the country didn't exist until after the '48 armistice or maybe only after the Arab League invaders started losing territory. Or when people talk about there being no terrorist attacks on US soil during the Bush presidency... who only start counting *after* 9/11. Or those that like to say that there have been more casualties from "white terrorism" than Islamic in the US, they also conveniently start counting from the same date.
bostjan
+1
Level 72
Mar 17, 2020
We have to have definitions of things in order to talk about those things. I'm open to hear your definitions.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 82
Apr 2, 2020
My definitions are most often the ones found in the dictionary. The first one for country found on google is "a nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory." Nothing in there about UN recognition. If you don't recognize that Israel existed as a country until 1949 that makes you even more extreme than the people I was alluding to in my previous comment.
bostjan
+1
Level 72
Apr 3, 2020
The Israeli government was formed March 8 1949, according to the Israeli government itself: https://www.knesset.gov.il/govt/eng/GovtByNumber_eng.asp?govt=1
Badeghut
+2
Level 70
Mar 9, 2020
The question about the Inca written language infused me because I wasn't sure what counted as being written. Maybe trying to find a way to reword the question to clarify it would be useful.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 82
Mar 9, 2020
What were you infused with?
jmellor13
+5
Level 67
Mar 9, 2020
It was the old confusion infusion.
QuantumMechanist
+1
Level 73
Mar 9, 2020
I thought that china invented black powder, but gunpowder was an improved version of that which was invented in europe.
QuizGuy
+1
Level 15
Mar 10, 2020
Greece was invaded and occupied by Italians, Germans helped.. they did most of the work, but still they weren't the ones that invaded Greece.
bostjan
+1
Level 72
Apr 3, 2020
They invaded Greek Macedonia, which was and still is part of Greece, from the north. Greece was invaded also in the south by Italy and in the east by Bulgaria.
EcceHomo
+1
Level 81
Jul 31, 2020
It doesn't say invaded- it says occupied.
bostjan
+1
Level 72
Oct 8, 2020
"they weren't the ones that invaded Greece." - the post to which I referred.
Flash7
+1
Level 28
Mar 10, 2020
When in the war did the Nazis occupy Greece
bostjan
+2
Level 72
Apr 3, 2020
April 1941 - October 1944.
JonOfKent
+1
Level 57
Aug 7, 2020
That was the Italians. The Germans occupied a few small areas - several islands and part of the north - until they took everything over in 1943. Says Wikipedia!
Pontifex
+7
Level 47
Mar 10, 2020
Seven percent of respondents thought that humans were partially responsible for the extinction of dinosaurs... let's all just take that in for a second.
samiamco
+2
Level 69
Mar 11, 2020
I was hoping someone else would notice and be alarmed by that! Surely all 7% of those people weren’t talking about our wiping out, for instance, the dodos, but I do applaud those who took the question that literally. I am always reminding people that dinosaurs are not all extinct!
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Jul 9, 2020
To be fair, I'm kind of a jerk so I worded the question in a way that would trick people who aren't confident in their knowledge.
Ferbin
+1
Level 76
Aug 18, 2020
Flat-earthers, I expect. And/or creationists.
Unobtainium
+1
Level 34
May 7, 2024
I don't know what Flat-Earthers believe about humanity's role in the extinction of the dinosaurs, as Flat-Earth theory doesn't apply, but I do know what Biblical creationists believe about it. Biblical creationism would say that some dinosaurs survived the biblical flood, but died out afterwards, maybe due to hunting. Modern evolutionist answers are considered to be correct for general quizzes, however.
KabouterPlop
+1
Level 72
Apr 19, 2023
14 per cent now...
AthenaLeo
+1
Level 43
Apr 20, 2020
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only Ancient Wonder that stands in its entirety, but there are still standing pillars of the Temple of Artemis.
redsplat
+1
Level 73
Feb 10, 2021
The Inca did have a writing system, but they did not have an alphabet. A writing system does not have to be phonetic to qualify, or be restricted to paper/clay. Their system is called Quipu (sometimes also transliterated as Khipu), and uses a scheme of knotted strings; it is still in use today. While it was commonly used for accounting, new research has revealed that it was also used to write letters and community constitutions. It would be excellent and appreciated if you could amend the clue or replace the question entirely. (Even if you replace "writing system" with "alphabet," it still may help perpetuate misunderstandings of Indigenous knowledge-keeping and transmission.)
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Feb 10, 2021
I know about Quipu (useful Scrabble word by the way!) but I don't like it as a writing system. It's a system of coding information, but as far as I know it wasn't used to produce sentences or other grammatical structures.

That said, I can see how it might be debatable, so I changed the question to one that is not.

selectL0L
+1
Level 48
May 11, 2022
The occupying Greece question is a little hard to answer. As the question words it, it states that the Nazis "occupied" Greece. The control of occupation shifted much, with Italy maintaining control of most of the islands that were captured and the coast of the mainland, while Germany only really administered small chunks further inland

So yes, the Nazis occupied Greece in WWII. Maybe not all of it, but enough for it to be considered an occupation.

And as a note for the quiz creator, I'd probably reword it to "invaded Greece" since that more accurately represents what happened

Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Apr 5, 2023
Changed to invaded not because the question was in any way incorrect, but simply to make it easier.
Elan
+2
Level 65
Apr 19, 2023
Hold up... Just so we're clear, 15% of quiz takers believed that humans were partly responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs
elcampeador
+1
Level 78
Jul 18, 2023
They were probably protesting that a dinosaur question doesn't belong on a history quiz. Or they just like the Flintstones.
raneman11
+1
Level 67
Apr 19, 2023
Nitpicking, but Vikings should be the first recorded Europeans to have sailed to the Americas. It's entirely possible, and even likely that at least one fishing ship had gone far astray beforehand. The Vikings are just the first to have survived AND returned AND told people about it.
Unobtainium
+1
Level 34
May 7, 2024
We've only found Viking remains, and the Americas are not especially dangerous. The fishing boat idea is nice and all, but the present answer is correct for now.
CaptainUnderpant
+2
Level 79
Oct 16, 2023
For the French in Russia question, why? For diplomatic/ambassadorial reasons or because of emerging intellectual overlap and French scholars teaching in Russia?
akexchoklad
+1
Level 35
Jan 14, 2024
I just want to speak to the 13% who somehow believe humans were partly responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs
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