The 10 quiz questions
Question 1 : In 1513, the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León reached a new land on 27 March and gave it a name. What is this name and why did he choose it?
Possible answers:
- He named it "Florida" because he reached it on Palm Sunday (Pascuas floridas)
- He named it "New Castile" in tribute to Queen Isabella of Castile
- He named it "Land of Flowers" in reference to the tropical vegetation he discovered
- He named it "New Andalusia" in memory of his region of origin in Spain
Explanation: Juan Ponce de León named this territory "Florida" (Pascuas floridas) because he reached it on Palm Sunday, a holiday associated with flowers and spring vegetation. He was the first European to set foot on what would become one of the most populous states in the United States.
Question 2 : On 27 March 1977, the deadliest air accident in the history of civil aviation involving two airliners occurred. How many victims did this disaster claim?
Possible answers:
- 432 dead
- 521 dead
- 583 dead
- 647 dead
Explanation: The collision between two Boeing 747s at Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife killed 583 people. This accident was caused by a series of misunderstandings in radio communications between the pilots and the control tower in conditions of dense fog. It remains to this day the deadliest in the history of civil aviation for a ground collision.
Question 3 : On 27 March 1968, the famous Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin met his death. What was the cause of his death?
Possible answers:
- He crashed with his space capsule during a routine mission
- He died at the controls of a MIG-15 training aircraft
- He was killed in a car accident in Moscow
- He perished in a fire at his residence on the outskirts of Moscow
Explanation: Yuri Gagarin, the first man to travel into space in April 1961, died at age 34 at the controls of a MIG-15 training aircraft. The exact circumstances of the accident have never been fully clarified. He is buried in the Kremlin Wall in Moscow as a Hero of the Soviet Union.
Question 4 : On 27 March 1973, Marlon Brando refused an Oscar for his role in The Godfather. What was the reason for this refusal?
Possible answers:
- He wanted to denounce the ongoing Vietnam War
- He refused any prize awarded by a corrupt Hollywood institution
- He wanted to denounce the role reserved for Native Americans in American films
- He wanted to protest against racial segregation in the United States
Explanation: Marlon Brando delegated the Native American Sacheen Littlefeather to refuse his Oscar in his place, in order to denounce the treatment reserved for Native Americans in Hollywood films. This gesture remains one of the most political moments in the history of the Oscars ceremonies. Sacheen Littlefeather received an official apology from the Academy in 2022, 49 years later.
Question 5 : Which famous American director was born on 27 March 1963 and is notably known for films such as Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill?
Possible answers:
- Tim Burton
- Joel Coen
- David Fincher
- Quentin Tarantino
Explanation: Quentin Tarantino, born on 27 March 1963 in Knoxville (Tennessee), is one of the most influential directors of his generation. Self-taught, he worked in a video shop before breaking through with Reservoir Dogs (1992). He won two Oscars for best original screenplay for Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained.
Question 6 : What is the rank of 27 March in the year according to the Gregorian calendar?
Possible answers:
- The 78th day
- The 82nd day
- The 86th day
- The 91st day
Explanation: 27 March is the 86th day of the year (or the 87th in leap years). 279 days then remain before the end of the year. In the French Republican calendar, this day generally corresponded to the 7th day of the month of Germinal, officially called "day of the birch".
Question 7 : On 27 March 1977, an air disaster occurred in Tenerife. Which types of aircraft were involved in this accident?
Possible answers:
- A Concorde and a Boeing 707
- Two Boeing 747s
- Two Airbus A300s
- A Boeing 747 and a Douglas DC-8
Explanation: Two Boeing 747s, the largest commercial aircraft of the time, collided on the runway of Los Rodeos Airport. One belonged to KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) and the other to Pan Am. This accident revealed major flaws in air communication protocols, leading to major reforms in global civil aviation.
Question 8 : Which physicist, born on 27 March 1845, is famous for having discovered X-rays and received the first Nobel Prize in Physics?
Possible answers:
- Marie Curie
- Max Planck
- Wilhelm Röntgen
- Heinrich Hertz
Explanation: Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays in 1895, revolutionising medicine and physics. He received the very first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. He had refused to patent his discovery so that it could benefit all of humanity. X-rays were first called "Röntgen rays" in many countries.
Question 9 : Which major French social reform was granted on 27 March 1956 in terms of paid leave?
Possible answers:
- Paid leave increased from three to four weeks
- Paid leave increased from one to two weeks
- Paid leave was introduced for the first time at two weeks
- Paid leave increased from two to three weeks
Explanation: In 1956, paid leave in France increased from two to three weeks. The first paid leave had been introduced in 1936 by the Popular Front, granting two weeks. It was in 1969 that France would move to four weeks, then in 1982 to five weeks under François Mitterrand, a duration still in force today.
Question 10 : The Rosetta Stone, mentioned in the events of 27 March 196 BC, is famous for what major reason in the history of archaeology?
Possible answers:
- It enabled Egyptian hieroglyphs to be deciphered thanks to its text in three scripts
- It contains the oldest known legal text of humanity
- It is the oldest geographical map discovered in Egypt
- It contains the list of pharaohs since the Egyptian Old Kingdom
Explanation: The Rosetta Stone is a decree engraved in three scripts: Egyptian hieroglyphs, demotic script and ancient Greek. It enabled Jean-François Champollion to decipher hieroglyphs in 1822, thus opening the doors of modern Egyptology. It was discovered by Napoleon's soldiers in 1799 and is now in the British Museum in London.
