The 10 quiz questions
Question 1 : In 842, the Oaths of Strasbourg were sworn between Charles II the Bald and Louis II the German. What is their importance for the French language?
Possible answers:
- They established the Latin alphabet as the official script in Gaul
- They constitute the first text attesting to a Romance language distinct from Latin, ancestor of French
- They imposed Latin as the sole administrative language of the Empire
- They created the first official grammar of the Frankish language
Explanation: The Oaths of Strasbourg are considered the first text written in a Romance language, the ancestor of French. They attest to the existence of a lingua rustica romana distinct from Latin, bearing witness to the evolution of vernacular languages in the West after the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire.
Question 2 : On February 14, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell filed his patent for the invention of the telephone. Which other inventor had filed a similar application on the same day?
Possible answers:
- Thomas Edison
- Nikola Tesla
- Elisha Gray
- Samuel Morse
Explanation: The rivalry between Bell and Elisha Gray over the invention of the telephone is one of the most famous in the history of science. Bell filed his patent a few hours before Gray, which earned him official recognition. Gray contested this priority his entire life, without success in the courts.
Question 3 : On February 14, 1929, seven gangsters who were rivals of Al Capone were shot dead in a Chicago garage. What is this event known as?
Possible answers:
- The Chicago Settlement
- The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
- The Chicago Night of the Long Knives
- The February 14 Bloodbath
Explanation: The St. Valentine's Day Massacre pitted Capone's gang against Bugs Moran's Irish North Siders. Capone's men, disguised as police officers, executed the victims with a tommy gun. The event shocked public opinion and paradoxically contributed to Al Capone's downfall, as he became the FBI's top target.
Question 4 : On February 14, 1946, what major event in the history of computing took place in Pennsylvania?
Possible answers:
- The first Intel microprocessor is manufactured
- The first digital communications network is created
- The ENIAC, the first electronic computer, is put into operation
- The first programming language is officially codified
Explanation: The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) weighed 27 tonnes and took up 167 m². It was developed to calculate artillery firing tables for the US Army. Its public unveiling revolutionized the vision of what machines could achieve, laying the foundations of the modern digital age.
Question 5 : Le 14 février 1793, Jean-Nicolas Pache est proclamé maire de Paris. Quelle célèbre devise fait graver sur les monuments publics Antoine-François Momoro à cette occasion ?
Possible answers:
- Unity, Indivisibility, Republic
- Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
- The Republic or Death
- Homeland, Justice, Virtue
Explanation: La devise « Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité » proposée par Momoro en 1793 ne s'imposa pas immédiatement. Elle fut longtemps concurrencée par d'autres formules révolutionnaires et ne devint la devise officielle de la République française qu'en 1880, avec l'installation durable de la IIIe République.
Question 6 : On February 14, 2003, Dolly the sheep died. Why did she go down in the history of science?
Possible answers:
- She is the first animal to have survived an artificial heart transplant
- She is the first mammal ever cloned
- She is the first genetically modified animal to produce human insulin
- She is the first sheep to have been sent into space
Explanation: Dolly was cloned in 1996 at the Roslin Institute in Scotland by Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell from an adult mammary cell. She lived only 6 years, half the normal life expectancy of a sheep, raising questions about premature aging in cloned animals. Her existence sparked an intense worldwide ethical debate on human cloning.
Question 7 : On February 14, 1990, the Voyager 1 probe took a series of historic photos of the Solar System. How far from Earth was it at that point?
Possible answers:
- About 1 billion kilometers
- About 6 billion kilometers
- About 15 billion kilometers
- About 3 billion kilometers
Explanation: These photos, taken at the request of scientist Carl Sagan, make up the famous "Family Portrait" of the Solar System. The photo of Earth taken from that distance, showing our planet as a tiny "pale blue dot", inspired Sagan to write a now-famous philosophical reflection on the fragility and uniqueness of our world.
Question 8 : On February 14, 1989, the Iranian regime issued a call for murder against a writer for his novel deemed blasphemous. Who is this author?
Possible answers:
- Taslima Nasreen
- Salman Rushdie
- Naguib Mahfouz
- Milan Kundera
Explanation: The fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini against Salman Rushdie for his novel "The Satanic Verses" forced the writer to live under police protection for years. This event triggered a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United Kingdom. In 2022, Rushdie was seriously injured in a knife attack at a conference in New York.
Question 9 : Valentine's Day, celebrated on February 14, is associated with lovers. What is the most commonly accepted origin of this tradition?
Possible answers:
- A decree by Roman emperor Augustus establishing a feast for married couples
- A XXth-century advertising invention by the American florist industry
- A IIIrd-century Christian martyr saint associated with lovers since the Middle Ages
- A Celtic spring festival taken up by the Catholic Church in the VIIth century
Explanation: The figure of Saint Valentine, bishop of Terni martyred around 269, has been associated with lovers since the Middle Ages, notably through a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer from the XIVth century. Some historians think the date coincides with the Roman Lupercalia, a spring fertility festival. The modern commercialization of Valentine's Day is mainly a XIXth-century Anglo-Saxon phenomenon.
Question 10 : On February 14, 1972, a legendary musical opened on Broadway and ran throughout the entire decade. Which musical was it?
Possible answers:
- Hair
- Chicago
- Grease
- A Chorus Line
Explanation: Grease tells the love story between Danny and Sandy in 1950s America. The original Broadway musical was darker than the 1978 film adaptation starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, which softened its tone for a more family-friendly audience. The film was a phenomenal worldwide success and its songs remain iconic in pop culture.