Garry Gillard > quizzes >
1. Who lit the torch at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996?
Muhammad Ali, formally known by his "slave name" as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.
2. Who ran the first sub-four-minute mile?
Roger Bannister, aged 25, 6 May 1954, Oxford University. The current world record (3:43.14) was set in 1999 by a Moroccan.
3. It wasn't the "hand of God" that scored a goal in the 1986 World Cup. Whose was it?
It was the hand of Diego Maradona, and it enabled Argentina to defeat England. It was so called because Maradona said at the time that it was "a little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God", but admitted in 2005 that he had touched the ball.
4. What did Jesse Owens do that annoyed his Olympic hosts?
African-American James Cleveland Owens (1913-1980) was black – the grandson of a slave. He won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Hitler wasn't pleased. He would have preferred an "Aryan" to have won.
5. Who had to bowl one delivery underarm in a cricket match in 1981 because he was ordered so to do by his captain?
Australian captain Greg Chappell instructed his younger brother Trevor so to bowl because New Zealand needed six runs to tie the match off the last remaining ball, making it impossible to hit a six. The Kiwis will never forget nor forgive us. Nor should they.
6. In what sport is the "whole nine yards" played?
None. The origin of the phrase is unknown.
7. What was the Curse of the Bambino?
I only heard about this from James Taylor's song "Angels of Fenway". Babe Ruth, known as the Bambino (baby), played (baseball) for the Boston Red Sox until he was sold to the NY Yankees in 1920, after which the Red Sox did not win another "World Series" until 2004, an 86-year-long drought.
8. Who said that "the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton"?
Probably no-one (originally). Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (who was on the winning side in 1815, if you don't know) is thought to have said, when at Eton in 1856, that "the battle of Waterloon was won here". Malcolm Arnold mentioned the idea (critically) in writing in 1881, as did George Orwell in 1941 (in The Lion and the Unicorn). You may also have thought of the Comte de Montalembert, who thought that the Duke was referring to the games he played in the garden of the house where he stayed at Eton (which did not have playing fields at the time). Wellington hated his schooldays at Eton. ... I'm sorry I brought it up.
9. Where did "Tom Brown" spend his "School Days"?
At Rugby School, in the novel of that name by Thomas Hughes, based on his brother and his own experiences at the school (which is in Warwickshire and was founded in 1567). The headmaster was based on Thomas Arnold, who was very influential in public school education. The point of the question, in the present context, is that it gave its name to rugby football, which is seen as having originated at the school. It didn't, but the school may have laid down some of the rules.
10. Why were Lindrum's first names Walter Albert, and what game is he known for having played?
He was born in Kalgoorlie, in ... W. A. He was World Professional ["English"] Billiards Champion from 1933 until he retired in 1950. He made a world record break of 3,262 in 1929. (You don't have to get the first question right to get a point.)
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