The 10 quiz questions
Question 1 : At what exact time was Louis XVI guillotined on January 21, 1793?
Possible answers:
- 8:45 AM
- 10:22 AM
- 12:00 PM
- 2:30 PM
Explanation: Louis XVI was executed at the Place de la Révolution (today the Place de la Concorde) in Paris. He was the only king of France to be guillotined. His last words, according to some witnesses, were: "I die innocent of all the crimes I am accused of."
Question 2 : Which French explorer set foot on Adélie Land on January 21, 1840?
Possible answers:
- Jean-François de Galaup de Lapérouse
- Louis-Antoine de Bougainville
- Nicolas Baudin
- Jules Dumont d'Urville
Explanation: Jules Dumont d'Urville named this Antarctic territory "Adélie Land" in honor of his wife Adèle. This discovery is commemorated today by the French scientific station Dumont d'Urville, located in Antarctica.
Question 3 : What major event commercially began on January 21, 1976 in aviation history?
Possible answers:
- The first Boeing 747 flight on the transatlantic route
- The first Airbus A300 flight in regular service
- The commercial operation of the supersonic Concorde
- The inauguration of the Paris-New York route by Air France
Explanation: Concorde made its first 2 commercial flights simultaneously: one from Paris to Rio de Janeiro, the other from London to Bahrain. This supersonic aircraft could connect Paris to New York in under 3h30, at around twice the speed of sound.
Question 4 : On January 21, 1954, the United States launched the first nuclear submarine in history. What was its name?
Possible answers:
- The Triton
- The Nautilus
- The Scorpion
- The Thresher
Explanation: The USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the first nuclear-powered submarine. In 1958, it completed the first underwater transit beneath the Arctic polar ice cap. Its name is a tribute to the famous novel by Jules Verne, "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea".
Question 5 : Le 21 janvier 2011, la chanteuse Adele sortait son album « 21 ». Combien d'exemplaires cet album s'est-il vendu dans le monde ?
Possible answers:
- 15 million copies
- 22 million copies
- 35 million copies
- 50 million copies
Explanation: L'album « 21 » d'Adele est l'un des albums les plus vendus du XXIe siècle. Il contient des titres emblématiques comme « Rolling in the Deep » et « Someone Like You ». Adele a remporté six Grammy Awards grâce à cet album en 2012, un record pour une artiste britannique.
Question 6 : In what year was the city of Panama refounded, after its destruction by Henry Morgan's pirates?
Possible answers:
- 1665
- 1673
- 1680
- 1690
Explanation: Henry Morgan, a Welsh privateer in the service of England, captured and destroyed the old city of Panama in 1671. The new city was founded a few kilometres away, on January 21, 1673. Paradoxically, Morgan was later knighted and appointed governor of Jamaica.
Question 7 : Which famous fashion designer, born on January 21, 1905, founded one of the most iconic haute couture houses of the 20th century?
Possible answers:
- Coco Chanel
- Christian Dior
- Yves Saint Laurent
- Cristóbal Balenciaga
Explanation: Christian Dior revolutionized fashion in 1947 with his "New Look", characterized by voluminous skirts and cinched waists, breaking away from the austere clothing of the post-war era. His couture house, founded in Paris, remains one of the most prestigious in the world today.
Question 8 : Which Argentine footballer disappeared in the English Channel on 21 January 2019 during a light aircraft flight?
Possible answers:
- Sergio Aguero
- Emiliano Sala
- Carlos Tevez
- Gonzalo Higuain
Explanation: Emiliano Sala had just been transferred from FC Nantes to Cardiff City FC for around 17 million euros. The plane carrying him to Wales crashed into the sea. His body was found in February 2019 in the wreckage of the aircraft, at the bottom of the English Channel.
Question 9 : What is the nickname given to the French republican troops who spread terror in the Vendée from January 21, 1794?
Possible answers:
- The columns of fire
- The republican columns
- The infernal columns
- The columns of terror
Explanation: The "infernal columns" were commanded by General Turreau. Their mission was to crush all Vendéan resistance after the War in the Vendée. These columns were responsible for massacres of civilians, a particularly dark episode of the French Revolution.
Question 10 : What is the term for the religious movement founded on January 21, 1525, during the first adult baptisms performed by Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz?
Possible answers:
- Calvinism
- Lutheranism
- Pietism
- Anabaptism
Explanation: Anabaptism is a radical Christian movement of the Protestant Reformation that rejects infant baptism, holding that only a conscious adult can choose their faith. Anabaptists were persecuted by both Catholics and other Protestants. Their spiritual descendants include notably the Mennonites and the Amish.
