The 10 quiz questions
Question 1 : Which air force was created on 1 April 1918 by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service?
Possible answers:
- The British Luftwaffe
- The Royal Air Force
- The Fleet Air Arm
- The British Air Corps
Explanation: The Royal Air Force (RAF) is thus the oldest independent air force in the world. It now has about 33,000 active personnel and operates combat aircraft such as the Typhoon and the F-35 Lightning II.
Question 2 : Who, on 1 April 1921, succeeded in the first crossing of the Andes by plane?
Possible answers:
- Hélène Boucher
- Maryse Hilsz
- Adrienne Bolland
- Amelia Earhart
Explanation: Adrienne Bolland accomplished this feat aboard a Caudron G3, a light aircraft poorly suited to such altitudes. This French aviator was the first woman to make this crossing, after several male pilots had given up or failed.
Question 3 : Which country became, on 1 April 2001, the first in the world to authorise marriage between people of the same sex?
Possible answers:
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Sweden
- The Netherlands
Explanation: The Netherlands paved the way for the legalisation of same-sex marriage, a social revolution. The same country became, a year later, the first to legally recognise euthanasia. Other European countries followed, such as Belgium in 2003 and Spain in 2005.
Question 4 : Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple on 1 April 1976. Who was the often-forgotten third co-founder?
Possible answers:
- Ronald Wayne
- Bill Gates
- Mike Markkula
- John Sculley
Explanation: Ronald Wayne is the third co-founder of Apple, who sold his 10% stake for only 800 dollars a few weeks after the founding. These shares would today be worth tens of billions of dollars. He remains one of the most tragic figures in the history of Silicon Valley.
Question 5 : On 1 April 1924, Adolf Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison after the Beer Hall Putsch. How long did he actually spend in prison?
Possible answers:
- Two and a half years
- Nine months
- Eighteen months
- Four months
Explanation: Hitler served only nine months at Landsberg prison, benefiting from an early release. It was during this detention that he dictated to Rudolf Hess his ideological work "Mein Kampf", which became a major tool of Nazi propaganda.
Question 6 : Which Canadian territory was created on 1 April 1999, with Inuktitut as its official language?
Possible answers:
- Yukon
- The Northwest Territories
- Nunavut
- Labrador
Explanation: Nunavut, which means "Our Land" in Inuktitut, is the largest territory in Canada with about 2 million km². Its creation results from negotiations begun in the 1970s to recognise the rights of the Inuit peoples to their ancestral lands.
Question 7 : Which major brand of instant coffee was invented on 1 April 1938?
Possible answers:
- Maxwell House
- Nescafé
- Lavazza
- Douwe Egberts
Explanation: Nescafé was developed by Nestlé to help Brazil dispose of its coffee surpluses. Its initial formula used freeze-dried coffee powder. Today, about 5,500 cups of Nescafé are drunk every second around the world.
Question 8 : Which famous writer, born on 1 April 1809, is known for works such as "Dead Souls" and "The Overcoat"?
Possible answers:
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Ivan Turgenev
- Nikolai Gogol
- Leo Tolstoy
Explanation: Nikolai Gogol, born in Ukraine then under Russian rule, is considered one of the fathers of Russian realist literature. His work "The Government Inspector", a satire of Tsarist bureaucracy, is still regularly performed in theatres around the world.
Question 9 : In which field did Bob Dylan receive the Nobel Prize, officially presented on 1 April 2017?
Possible answers:
- Peace
- Music
- Literature
- Performing arts
Explanation: Bob Dylan received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016, but did not collect it until 1 April 2017. It was the first time this prize had been awarded to a musician, which had aroused intense controversy in the literary world. Dylan had initially been slow to react to the announcement of his award.
Question 10 : The April Fools' Day prank tradition, known in French as "poisson d'avril" (April fish), is widespread in many countries. What is one of the most commonly advanced hypotheses to explain its origin?
Possible answers:
- A decision by Pope Gregory XIII during the calendar reform
- The shift of the start of the year to 1 January, leaving the former spring New Year revellers receiving fake gifts
- A Viking tradition celebrated to deceive the spirits of spring
- A prank organised by Parisian students in the Middle Ages to make fun of their teachers
Explanation: One of the most popular hypotheses links the April fish to the Edict of Roussillon of 1564, which fixed the start of the year on 1 January. Before this reform, the new year was celebrated at the end of March or beginning of April, and latecomers received fake symbolic gifts. The fish, the zodiac sign associated with this period, is said to have given its name to the tradition.
