Thanks paul, interesting stuff.

Here's a new question:

A statue of this man is to be found both at the CIA headquarters and the FBI's headquarters.

Hint--he was one of a family of 12 kids.

gonna stab a guess at this. Nathan Hale.

Nathan Hale is right, paul--interesting story--before he was hung for spying, he asked for a bible and for the commanding officer to please send along a letter to his father.

The Redcoat denied him the bible and ripped up the letter before Hale's eyes.

"Hang this colonial swine...."

Weren't the Redcoats nice??

It's stories like that that make me damn glad we kicked their sorry butts.

Yea they learnt they're tactics in Ireland, now you guys are the best of buddies.

Yea they learnt they're tactics in Ireland, now you guys are the best of buddies.

That's true, but i'll never trust them.
And I hope our guys in office don't trust them overmuch either--looking out for number one is what perfidious Albion does best.

it just seems to easy to have a trivia thread on an internet forum. all you have to do is google the answer.

That's true.
I'm sorry to say that there have been a FEW posters who've done that---and we know who they are......

who are they?

Frogger for one. That badminton question was a dead giveaway.

Confess, Frogger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 eleven

OK T. Post a question.

you need to ask more obscure history questions, such as "what did I eat for breakfast this morning?"

Califrnia hmm. Cereal.
This is cheating, I dont do American grub, let Ren answer this one.

actually, that is right! granola with some cottage cheese. Your turn.

Ya see, this is what Im getting at,
I dont know what Granola is.

For Breakfast.
Bowl of Crunchy Nut
2 slices of toast
mug of coffee
2 cigarettes

damnit man! you are supposed to ask me the question! I was going to say 2 pints of Guiness and s dozen cigarettes.

Naw, thats for lunch

THIS thread has gone downhill in a hurry...sob....

OK. Who were the main critics of Washingtons handling of the war in 1777, and what did they're rants become known as.

Actually, I knew the answer to the badmitton question and Googled to check that I was right only when challenged.

OK. Who were the main critics of Washingtons handling of the war in 1777, and what did they're rants become known as.

I'm thinking of General Thomas Conway who was critical of Washington--he wanted Horatio Gates, who'd won at Saratoga, as Commander in Chief. Conway's supporters (not many) were known as "Conway's Cabal."

Really there weren't many who were critical of Washington, unless they were Loyalists or Tories. He had the almost universal love and admiration of all.

Also Conway somewhat blamed Washington for the terrible conditions at Valley Forge ( where my 5 x Grandpa spent the winter, 1777). There was severe hardship and almost famine conditions there---However, the Board of War blamed Congress and the Quartermaster General.

The Continental Army was too poor to pay its soldiers much, if anything. This is why many of the soldiers were later granted bounty land after the War. My grandpa got a big chunk of land in Ohio, in what is now Warren County. If you toughed it out with George you were rewarded.

My grandpa got a big chunk of land in Ohio, in what is now Warren County.

Hey, maybe I used to live on your Grandpa's land.

Good one Lionel, some back rent required.

Well done Ren, your go.

What was the first English colony in North America?

Roanoke Island?

Very good!
New question?

Hmmmm...

In the ancient Greek Delian League, which city-state was in charge of the navy?

athens?

Good job Trav :)

I learned that on History channel the other night.

Kewl. Ask us another Greek question.

I guess it is my turn to ask a question since I got the last one right. Since I am a WW 2 buff I will ask a WW2 question.

What was the name of the Belgian fort taken by supirse german parachute and glider attack in May 1940?

Fort Eben Emael

What was the name of the airplane that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki?

Bockscar.
gotta find a question

where and when was the biggest 'bang' in human history.

Krakatoa?

Thats not the answer I have,. Lionel

where and when was the biggest 'bang' in human history.

man made or natural?

Are you talking about the mysterious explosion in Siberia? (Even before my time:))

not Siberia no, and Trav cant say, but the clue is Lionel was on the right track.

I'll say Crete.

This volcanic explosion, around 1500 BC, was supposedly the worst in recorded history, and the giant tsunami that was generated wiped out Atlantis, according to legend. (if there was such a place, and there may have been).

In case that's right, who was the head of the Gestapo?

Hermann Goering.

Who said, "Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise."?

Hermann Goering.

Who said, "Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise."?

Martin Luther.

Frogger, wasn't Henrich Mueller the head of the Gestapo?
With Himmler being the head of the SS.

A new question, please, somebody!

I'll say Crete.

This volcanic explosion, around 1500 BC, was supposedly the worst in recorded history, and the giant tsunami that was generated wiped out Atlantis, according to legend. (if there was such a place, and there may have been).

In case that's right, who was the head of the Gestapo?
Tambora

Well, since I keep hearing about 300 I'll throw out a question about the Spartans. btw I haven't seen 300 yet, anyone know if it was good?

What were the Spartans seen doing (two things) on the last day of the battle of Thermopylae before the battle commenced that day?

man made or natural?

Biggest nuclear explosion ever. By the Russians, the Tsar Bomba. 50+ Megatons.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=16cewjeqNdw

Insanity. That takes care of the largest man-made.

50 megatons? holy crap! I wonder how much damage that did to the environment?

50 megatons? holy crap! I wonder how much damage that did to the environment?

It was originally 100 megatons, but they had to scale it down due to fallout concerns lol.

Watch the vid if you didnt already.

Nuclear weapons, what a waste of time and lots of money.

if it wasnt for the japanese we wouldnt have had to build one

That's b.s., Trav, but b.s. for another thread.

The Spartans were doing Jumping Jacks and situps. I don't know what else they were doing.

It would not be very strange for soldiers to exercise before battle in order to keep loose, much the same as boxers shadow box in their dressing rooms before a fight.

The Spartans were doing Jumping Jacks and situps. I don't know what else they were doing.

It would not be very strange for soldiers to exercise before battle in order to keep loose, much the same as boxers shadow box in their dressing rooms before a fight.

That's true, but I was actually looking for something else, one of them is similar to what you wrote though.

if it wasnt for the japanese we wouldnt have had to build one

They were actually being researched by us and the Germans at the same time. If we didn't make one, they most definitely would have.

Originally posted this in wrong thread,
but here goes,new question.
The White House in Washington was fashioned on which Irish building.

Don't know, paul--pretty building tho.

I'll give you a hint,they're used for the same sort of business.

The Leinster House, took a little reasearch but I found it heh.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leinster_House

Good man P.
Thats one for the computer club.
When your ready.

oh yeah, i guess i have to post a question huh.

Heres a fairly easy one: Where does the term "Ides of March" originate?

Ides means middle of month,I think

It is the warning to Julius Caesar from the soothsayer in Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar". I don't know if it goes back further than that.

I wa close

Okay, here's a question. Everyone knows the story of Paul Revere's ride to warn of the movements of the British Army. Who were the other riders that went forth that night?

William Dawes and Samuel Prescott were two riders that I can think of--there may have been more, and I believe one was a woman.

Here's the poem, which we had to memorize when I was in fifth grade, and it's still my favorite. They even admired this work in England.


************************************************** *

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."

Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.

Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.

Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.

Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.

Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.

A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.

It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.

It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.

You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
>From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,---
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

I'm still curious about what the Spartans were doing before the battle.

You are indeed correct Rendova. Those other two are the only ones known to have participated. There have been claims that others were also riding, but documentation is in dispute for all the others.

Longfellow's poem did make it appear that Revere acted alone. Most likely that was because his name fit the rhyme and meter of the poem. Here is a link to the Wikipedia article on the subject.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Revere

Thanks for the link, Imagineer--I hadn't read up on that in a while.

Here's a new question---one of the worst battles of the Revolution was fought not between Patriots and Redcoats, but rather, Patriots and the Loyalists.

Name the battle.



(And can anyone tell I LOVE the Revolution? :) )
Huzzah!

The answer is Kin's mountain.

Does anyone have a new question?
If not, I have one---in terms of casualties, what is considered the worst battle in history?

(I don't know the answer to this.)

The answer is Kin's mountain.

Does anyone have a new question?
If not, I have one---in terms of casualties, what is considered the worst battle in history?

(I don't know the answer to this.)

Stalingrad I would think.

Upon further review, yes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_stalingrad

Thanks--I would have guessed Verdun, WWI.

PS. Made a typo in my earlier post--it's King's Mountain, not "Kin's" Mountain.

A variation on your question.
What one day battle caused the highest US casualties in history?

A variation on your question.
What one day battle caused the highest US casualties in history?

Antietam Creek, Oldtimer. (Sharpsburg in the South).

Not counting the CW, I'd say Iwo Jima.

D Day was more costly then Iwo Jima

Besides, Iwo wasn't a one day battle.

You got it Ren.
btw, since you're such a fan of the American revoloution; what was the last battle of the war and who won it?

Tho Yorktown was the last major land battle, (where the gracious Lord Cornwallis, not wanting to mingle with the lowly scurvy colonists, sent his AIDE over to surrender), the War continued for 2 more years. The last accepted battle is considered to be in the Bahamas, 1782, between Spanish-American forces and the British. The invaders won, but a year later, England retook the area as a colony.

I need to think of a new question...not enough java yet this AM.

Here's a new question..

The Mel Gibson movie The Patriot is based on actual events...the last battle depicted in the movie is based on this battle...name it.

Also, in the movie, the evil Colonel Tappington wreaks havoc amongst the populace. This character is based on an actual Redcoat, just as evil...name him.


These are hard questions. Anyone who gets them right wins a life sized chocolate Easter treat in the shape of a Redcoat. You can celebrate Easter by biting its head off.

Tarleton was Tavingtons inspiration, Battle of Yorktown was the final battle?
Or do you mean the battle where Tavington dies? I dont know that one.

Right, Banastre Tarleton is the Redcoat upon whom the character of the evil Colonel is based.

The final battle in the movie is based on Hannah's Cowpens.

I love that movie, but I have no clue which battle that was

Well done Phyrex, theres a redcoat in the post.

Sorry, guys, I shoulda been more clear.

In the movie, the battle where Tavington dies is Hannah's Cowpens.

One of the last scenes in the movie shows the French shelling the British fortifications at Yorktown, and Cornwallis having a fit that the "rabble" has defeated them.

Ah ic. Well, I'll throw out a question -

How did the Sundance Kid get his nickname?

Because he was born in Sundance?

not quite, I'm thinking I should maybe put up an easier one.

Ah ic. Well, I'll throw out a question -

How did the Sundance Kid get his nickname?

I think he was involved in cattle rustling in someplace called "Sundance."

Back then that was a hanging offense.

Here's a question--who was the "Hanging Judge"?

Roy Bean, The Law West of the Pecos.

What was the name of Lucrezia Borgia's first son?

Cosimo Borgia?

Didn't she have an illegitimate chld, and her brother the father?

Nope.

This child died at a young age, about three or four I think.

Giovanni
I think.

Giovanni
I think.

Yup, that's right. It was also the name of her first husband - so I'm taking a stab at it, but I'm guessing that he was named after his father.

What novel started the 'horror' era in writing?

I'd like to say Mary Shelley's Frankenstein but I think I'll go with Bram Stoker's Dracula.


In case that's right, how did Mary's husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, meet his untimely end?

It actually was Frankenstein, but Dracula was a good guess.

Didn't he die at sea? I think he was the one. His boat was thought to have been tampered with if I remember correctly.

When and where was the first machine gun used?

Was it the Gatling,first used in the American Civil War

It actually was Frankenstein, but Dracula was a good guess.

Didn't he die at sea? I think he was the one. His boat was thought to have been tampered with if I remember correctly.



He did die at sea in a boating accident but I'd never heard of the tampering story--that's interesting.

Who dunnit?
LOL, too bad Poe wasn't there--he would've recorded a masterpiece.

Interesting tale of how Frankenstein was written--Mary and Percy Bysshe (what a name, eh?), Lord Byron, and another guest whose name I can't recall, were vacationing somewhere along the Mediterranean (I think) and their vacation was sadly rained out. To amuse themselves, they decided to each of them write a ghost story to help pass the time. Mary, the untried young author, came up with the best idea of them all, and I've read that the idea came to her in a dream (kinda like Coleridge's poem Xanadu.)

She was only 18 years old when she wrote this masterpiece for the ages.

Another boring, yet kinda interesting, story , from the librarian. :)

Wow, this thread went dead in April. Well I'll bring it back.

Not with a question though, someone else start, lol.

Alright, an easy one:

Who was the "Kerensky" of the Iranian Revolution?

Not so easy it seems :)

Alright, an easy one:

Who was the "Kerensky" of the Iranian Revolution?

Shapour Bakhtiar?

Shapour Bakhtiar?That works -- although I was thinking of Banisadr.

Your question, Vile.