The 10 quiz questions
Question 1 : Where did the first paid public film screening take place, on December 28, 1895?
Possible answers:
- At the Moulin Rouge, in Paris
- At the Salon indien du Grand Café, in Paris
- At the Opéra Garnier, in Paris
- At the Palais de Chaillot, in Paris
Explanation: This date is considered the official birth of cinema. The screening took place at the Salon indien of the Grand Café, boulevard des Capucines in Paris. The Lumière brothers had filed the patent for the cinematograph as early as February 1895 and organized private screenings before that historic evening.
Question 2 : Which scientist published on December 28, 1895 an article describing the discovery of X-rays?
Possible answers:
- Marie Curie
- Louis Pasteur
- Wilhelm Röntgen
- Albert Einstein
Explanation: Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered these rays in November 1895 by observing that they could pass through materials opaque to visible light. He received for this discovery the very first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. The name 'X-rays' was chosen by Röntgen himself to highlight their unknown nature.
Question 3 : What natural disaster devastated Messina in Sicily on December 28, 1908?
Possible answers:
- An eruption of Mount Etna
- A tsunami coming from North Africa
- An earthquake causing more than 80,000 deaths
- A catastrophic flood of the Strait of Messina
Explanation: The Messina earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 7.1, remains one of the deadliest natural disasters in European history. The city was more than 90% destroyed, and the tsunami that followed made the toll even worse. Russian and British sailors were among the first rescuers on the scene.
Question 4 : On December 28, 1967, what important law was passed by the French Parliament?
Possible answers:
- The law legalizing abortion in France
- The Neuwirth law legalizing contraception
- The law creating the first French Labor Code
- The law establishing women's right to vote
Explanation: The Neuwirth law, championed by Gaullist MP Lucien Neuwirth, legalized contraception in France but with significant restrictions. It took until 1972 for minors to be able to access it without parental consent, and until 1974 for reimbursement by Social Security under Simone Veil.
Question 5 : What did Galileo do for the first time on December 28, 1612, without identifying its true nature?
Possible answers:
- The first observation of the Moon through a telescope
- The first observation of Neptune, mistaken for a star
- The first observation of Saturn's rings
- The first observation of Jupiter's moons
Explanation: Galileo observed Neptune without recognizing it as a planet, mistaking it for a fixed star. Neptune was not officially discovered until 1846, simultaneously by the Englishman John Couch Adams and the Frenchman Urbain Le Verrier, who located it through mathematical calculation before even seeing it through a telescope.
Question 6 : Which famous revolutionary commander captured Santa Clara with only 300 men on December 28, 1958?
Possible answers:
- Fidel Castro
- Raúl Castro
- Che Guevara
- Camilo Cienfuegos
Explanation: Che Guevara's capture of Santa Clara was a decisive turning point in the Cuban Revolution. By blocking Batista's armored train with a bulldozer, Guevara neutralized several hundred soldiers. This victory opened the road to Havana, where Castro entered triumphantly on January 1, 1959.
Question 7 : What female first marked 28 December 1918 in the history of the British Parliament?
Possible answers:
- First woman appointed as a minister in the United Kingdom
- First woman elected to the British House of Commons
- First woman to give a speech in the British Parliament
- First woman to vote in a British election
Explanation: Constance Markievicz, an Irish Sinn Féin activist, was elected to the House of Commons while imprisoned at Holloway. True to Sinn Féin's policy of not sitting at Westminster, she never took her seat. She later became the first female minister in Europe, holding the Labour portfolio in the Irish government.
Question 8 : Which former professional footballer was elected president of Liberia on December 28, 2017?
Possible answers:
- Didier Drogba
- Samuel Eto'o
- George Weah
- Roger Milla
Explanation: George Weah, 1995 Ballon d'Or winner and the only African to have won that title, was elected president of Liberia in the second round against former vice-president Joseph Boakai. He was the first professional football player to become head of state. His term was renewed in the 2023 election.
Question 9 : What is the name of Edmond Rostand's first play, which premiered on 28 December 1897 in Paris?
Possible answers:
- L'Aiglon
- Cyrano de Bergerac
- Chantecler
- La Princesse lointaine
Explanation: Cyrano de Bergerac premiered at the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin with Constant Coquelin in the title role. The success was immediate and phenomenal. The real Cyrano de Bergerac was a writer and libertine of the XVIIe century whose large nose is well documented, but whose life was largely romanticized by Rostand.
Question 10 : In what year was the Indian National Congress, the first major political party of modern India, founded?
Possible answers:
- In 1885
- In 1905
- In 1857
- In 1920
Explanation: Founded in Bombay on 28 December 1885 by Allan Octavian Hume, a British civil servant, the Indian National Congress became the main vehicle of the Indian independence movement. Figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and later Indira Gandhi were central figures in it.
