The 10 quiz questions
Question 1 : Which European rocket made its first launch from Kourou in French Guiana on December 24, 1979?
Possible answers:
- Hermes rocket
- Ariane rocket
- Diamant rocket
- Vega rocket
Explanation: This first Ariane flight was a founding milestone for the European Space Agency. After two failed attempts, the success of this launch gave birth to Arianespace in 1980, the world's first commercial satellite launch company.
Question 2 : Which treaty, signed on December 24, 1814, ended the war between the United Kingdom and the United States?
Possible answers:
- Treaty of Paris
- Treaty of Versailles
- Treaty of Ghent
- Treaty of Utrecht
Explanation: The Treaty of Ghent, signed in present-day Belgium, ended the War of 1812. Paradoxically, the Battle of New Orleans, one of the most important of the conflict, took place on January 8, 1815, after the peace was signed, because the news of the treaty had not yet reached the combatants.
Question 3 : What major event involving Air France flight 8969 took place on December 24, 1994?
Possible answers:
- The plane was shot down over the Mediterranean
- A hostage-taking by the GIA started at Algiers airport
- The plane made an emergency landing in Lyon due to engine failure
- Negotiations were concluded and the hostages released in Algiers
Explanation: The hostage-taking began at Algiers airport, carried out by the GIA (Armed Islamist Group). The plane was eventually hijacked to Marseille, where the GIGN intervened on December 26, 1994, freeing 173 hostages and neutralizing the four hijackers. It is one of the most famous French counter-terrorism operations.
Question 4 : Quelle célèbre impératrice, surnommée « Sissi », est née le 24 décembre 1837 ?
Possible answers:
- Marie Theresa of Austria
- Elisabeth of Wittelsbach
- Sophie of Bavaria
- Marie-Louise of Austria
Explanation: Élisabeth de Wittelsbach devint impératrice d'Autriche en épousant François-Joseph Ier en 1854. Personnalité libre et anticonformiste, elle fut assassinée à Genève le 10 septembre 1898 par un anarchiste italien nommé Luigi Lucheni, qui la frappa avec une lime à ongles.
Question 5 : In what year was the Ku Klux Klan founded in the southern states of the United States, on December 24?
Possible answers:
- 1858
- 1865
- 1871
- 1880
Explanation: The Ku Klux Klan was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee, by former Confederate soldiers after the Civil War. The organization takes its name from the Greek "kuklos" (circle) and the English word "clan". It experienced several waves of resurgence, notably in the 1920s when it had up to 4 million members.
Question 6 : Which pope was elected on December 24, 1294, replacing Celestine V who had just abdicated?
Possible answers:
- Gregory IX
- Innocent IV
- Clement V
- Boniface VIII
Explanation: Boniface VIII (Benedetto Caetani) is one of the most controversial popes of the Middle Ages. He was involved in a violent conflict with the king of France Philip IV the Fair, who humiliated him during the attack at Anagni in 1303. Dante placed him in Hell in his Divine Comedy.
Question 7 : On December 24, 1800, an assassination attempt targeting First Consul Bonaparte took place on which street in Paris?
Possible answers:
- Rue de Rivoli
- Rue Saint-Nicaise
- Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine
- Rue Saint-Honoré
Explanation: The attack on rue Saint-Nicaise, also known as the "infernal machine" attack, was organized by royalist Chouans. A booby-trapped cart exploded as Bonaparte's carriage passed by, and he barely escaped with his life. In retaliation, Bonaparte had hundreds of Jacobins deported, even though the real culprits were royalists.
Question 8 : What famous American musician, a pioneer of ragtime and jazz, was born on December 24, 1868?
Possible answers:
- Louis Armstrong
- Duke Ellington
- Scott Joplin
- Jelly Roll Morton
Explanation: Scott Joplin is nicknamed the "King of Ragtime". His best-known composition, Maple Leaf Rag (1899), was one of the first sheet music pieces to sell over 1 million copies. He received a special posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1976, nearly sixty years after his death.
Question 9 : Which African country gained independence on 24 December 1951?
Possible answers:
- Tunisia
- Morocco
- Sudan
- Libya
Explanation: Libya became the first country to gain independence under the auspices of the United Nations, after being under British and French mandate since World War II. King Idris I took the lead of the new united Kingdom of Libya. The country was overthrown by a coup by Muammar Gaddafi in 1969.
Question 10 : What major trade agreement was concluded on December 24, 2020 between the European Union and the United Kingdom?
Possible answers:
- A free trade agreement including the free movement of people
- A post-Brexit trade agreement due to come into force on January 1st, 2021
- An association treaty keeping the United Kingdom in the single market
- A bilateral agreement limited to the financial sector alone
Explanation: This trade and cooperation agreement, negotiated at the last minute before the end of the Brexit transition period, was set to come into force on January 1, 2021. It governed the new post-Brexit trade relations, avoiding tariffs in particular, but introducing many border checks that had not existed before.
