The 10 quiz questions
Question 1 : What major event took place on December 10, 1948, adopted by the UN?
Possible answers:
- The signing of the Geneva Convention
- The creation of the UN Security Council
- The adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- The ratification of the United Nations Charter
Explanation: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in Paris by the United Nations General Assembly. It contains 30 articles and remains today the founding text of international humanitarian law, translated into more than 500 languages.
Question 2 : Why is December 10 a symbolic date for the Nobel Prizes?
Possible answers:
- It's the day Alfred Nobel signed his will
- It's the anniversary of the creation of the Nobel Foundation
- It's the day Alfred Nobel died, in 1896
- It's the day the first Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded
Explanation: Alfred Nobel died on December 10, 1896, and it is in tribute to that date that the prizes bearing his name have been awarded every year on that day since 1901. Nobel had bequeathed the majority of his fortune to fund these distinctions, which surprised the entire world when his will was opened.
Question 3 : Which British mathematician, daughter of the poet Lord Byron, was born on December 10, 1815?
Possible answers:
- Florence Nightingale
- Mary Shelley
- Ada Lovelace
- George Eliot
Explanation: Ada Lovelace is considered the first programmer in history, for her work on Charles Babbage's analytical engine. She imagined algorithms long before the computer era. The Ada programming language, developed in the 1980s for the American Department of Defense, was named in her honor.
Question 4 : In what year was Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte elected to the presidency of the French 2nd Republic, on December 10?
Possible answers:
- 1845
- 1848
- 1851
- 1852
Explanation: Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte won the presidential election of December 10, 1848, with around 74% of the votes, crushing his rivals including General Cavaignac. This massive victory allowed him to build his popularity before carrying out the coup of December 2, 1851, which led him to proclaim the Second Empire in 1852.
Question 5 : Which South African churchman received the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1984 for his fight against apartheid?
Possible answers:
- Nelson Mandela
- Walter Sisulu
- Desmond Tutu
- Frederik de Klerk
Explanation: Desmond Tutu, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. He played a crucial role in South Africa's peaceful transition to democracy and later chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the end of apartheid in 1994. He passed away on December 26, 2021.
Question 6 : What is the calendrical peculiarity of December 10, 1582 in France?
Possible answers:
- It's a day declared a royal holiday by Henry III
- This day never existed in France, as the calendar jumped directly to December 20
- This day was repeated twice due to a computation error
- This day marks the beginning of year 1 of the republican calendar
Explanation: The adoption of the Gregorian calendar, ordered by Pope Gregory XIII, removed 10 days from the Julian calendar to correct an astronomical drift that had accumulated over centuries. France jumped directly from December 9 to December 20. Other countries initially refused this change: Great Britain only adopted it in 1752.
Question 7 : Which French writer refused the Nobel Prize in Literature on December 10, 1964?
Possible answers:
- Albert Camus
- Jean-Paul Sartre
- André Malraux
- Louis Aragon
Explanation: Jean-Paul Sartre refused the Nobel Prize in Literature, explaining that a writer must not let himself be turned into an institution. It's one of the rare refusals in the history of the Nobel. He had also refused the Legion of Honor in 1945. His companion Simone de Beauvoir never received this prize despite her considerable influence.
Question 8 : In what year was the Channel Tunnel completed, on December 10?
Possible answers:
- 1990
- 1991
- 1993
- 1995
Explanation: The Channel Tunnel was completed on December 10, 1993, but its official inauguration by Queen Elizabeth II and President François Mitterrand didn't take place until spring 1994. Stretching 50 km, with 38 under the sea, it is the 2nd longest railway tunnel in the world and realized a dream two centuries in the making.
Question 9 : What is the connection between Marie Curie and December 10, 1911?
Possible answers:
- She received her first Nobel Prize in physics
- She presented her work on radioactivity to the Academy of Sciences
- She received her second Nobel Prize, in chemistry, for the discovery of radium
- She was elected to the French Academy of Sciences
Explanation: On December 10, 1911, Marie Curie received her second Nobel Prize, this time in chemistry, for the discovery of radium and polonium. She remains the only person to have received Nobel Prizes in two different scientific disciplines. Her first Nobel in physics, shared with her husband Pierre and Becquerel, was awarded to her in 1903.
Question 10 : Which treaty, signed on December 10, 1898, ended the Spanish-American War and transferred several territories to the United States?
Possible answers:
- The Treaty of Madrid
- The Treaty of Paris
- The Treaty of Havana
- The Treaty of Washington
Explanation: The Treaty of Paris of 1898 marked the end of the Spanish colonial empire in the world. The United States bought the Philippines from Spain for 20 million dollars and also obtained Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Guam. This treaty confirmed the emergence of the United States as an imperial power in the Pacific and the Caribbean.
