50 Fun Facts About I Survived (Book Series)

In I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912, what is George searching for below decks when the iceberg strikes?

A mummy is only a rumor George hears on board, but he cannot resist sneaking down to the baggage compartment to look, and he is there when he hears a terrible crash.

Which safer gas could the airship in I Survived the Hindenburg Disaster, 1937 not get from the United States?

Helium cannot burn, but nearly all of it came from America, which banned its export, so the giant airship flew on flammable hydrogen instead.

What are the soldiers King George hired from Europe called in I Survived the American Revolution, 1776?

Hessians came mostly from the German states of Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Hanau, and Nate slips past them by putting on a fallen soldier's green coat and helmet.

Which sport, taught to him by his Uncle Benny, does Lucas love in I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001?

Football is everything to Lucas until his parents rule it too dangerous, so he skips school and heads into New York City alone to ask Uncle Benny for help.

Which city, much of it below sea level, is home to Barry Tucker in I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005?

New Orleans is ringed by water, and when Barry's little sister Cleo falls sick the Tuckers have to ride out the storm at home in the Lower Ninth Ward.

Which volcano, looming above the city, erupts in I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, AD 79?

Vesuvius sent warnings for days, including many earthquakes and terrible smells, but people in the city did not know it was an active volcano.

Which Montana national park is the setting of I Survived the Attack of the Grizzlies, 1967?

Glacier had never recorded a deadly grizzly attack until one night in August 1967, when bears killed two young women in separate parts of the park.

What is John Hale's prairie home built from in I Survived the Children's Blizzard, 1888?

Sod, strips of dirt and grass peeled up from the ground and chopped into blocks, forms the walls of the family's "soddy"; only the door and roof are wood.

The mile-wide twister in I Survived the Joplin Tornado, 2011 struck a real city in which US state?

Missouri's city of Joplin was hit on May 22, 2011, by a tornado up to a mile wide that stayed on the ground for 38 minutes.

Which author, also a longtime classroom magazine editor, writes the I Survived series?

Lauren Tarshis spends about a year writing each chapter book, while each graphic novel adaptation takes two years, most of it the artists' work.

After passing over New York City, in which state does the airship try to land in I Survived the Hindenburg Disaster?

New Jersey is home to the Lakehurst airfield, where a line of thunderstorms forces the zeppelin to head back out to sea before its final, fatal approach.

Radio reporter Herbert Morrison made which cry famous at the real crash behind I Survived the Hindenburg Disaster?

"Oh, the humanity!" was Morrison's sob of grief as the airship burned, and NBC, which had never aired a recording before, made an exception for his report.

Why does Hugo sneak into the cargo hold in I Survived the Hindenburg Disaster, 1937?

To fetch the family dog is the plan: Panya will cheer up his sick little sister Gertie, but down there Hugo catches a passenger taking an envelope from a crate.

What puts out the flames on Hugo after he jumps from the burning airship in I Survived the Hindenburg Disaster, 1937?

Burst water tanks drench him as the airship hits the ground, and the same thing saved a real survivor, 14-year-old cabin boy Werner Franz.

From which German city does Hugo's family take off for America in I Survived the Hindenburg Disaster, 1937?

Frankfurt was the starting point of the real flight too, which was meant to be the first of ten round trips to the United States planned for that year.

Which battle, the largest of the whole war, does Nate survive in I Survived the American Revolution, 1776?

Brooklyn gave its name to the fight also known as the Battle of Long Island, after which the beaten American army escaped to Manhattan by night, hidden by fog.

Which general commands the American army in I Survived the American Revolution, 1776, though Nate's uncle despises him?

George Washington is hated by Uncle Storch because Storch sides with England and is not rooting for the Americans to win the war.

Which ship rescued the survivors of the real sinking retold in I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912?

Carpathia steamed through ice fields in the dark and its crew pulled more than 700 people from the lifeboats; six years later a German submarine sank it.

George meets the ship's designer in I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912; who was that real shipbuilder?

Thomas Andrews went on maiden voyages with a team of workers to spot improvements, and he died with more than 1,500 others when the great liner went down.

Which instrument does Barry's dad play along with the howling wind in I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005?

Trumpet notes turn the wind into a song instead of wolves or ghosts for Barry, and after the storm a famous music college in New York City offers his dad a job.

Which deadly wartime disease does Nate help James recover from in I Survived the American Revolution, 1776?

Smallpox spread so quickly through the camps that in 1777 the army's commander required his troops to be inoculated against it.

What kind of outlaw is Slash O'Shea, star of the stories Nate's father told in I Survived the American Revolution, 1776?

A pirate who ran away from an orphanage at ten and found work on a ship, Slash O'Shea gives Nate the idea of escaping to sea himself.

What does Nate give Eliza and Theo after inheriting his uncle's property in I Survived the American Revolution, 1776?

Their freedom papers lift the fear that hangs over the story: earlier Nate took the blame for a stray stick so that Storch would not sell young Theo.

Which scale rates the strength of twisters like the one in I Survived the Joplin Tornado, 2011?

Enhanced Fujita ratings run from zero to five according to the damage a tornado leaves behind, and the real Joplin storm earned the top mark, EF5.

In I Survived the Joplin Tornado, 2011, Dex's older brother Jeremy serves in which elite military unit?

Navy SEALs earn a trident pin, and Jeremy once let Dex take his to school; only 23 of the 118 men in his training class passed.

What do Dex and his dad rescue from the wrecked storm-chasing SUV in I Survived the Joplin Tornado, 2011?

A hailstone kept in the SUV's mini freezer might hold a clue to how tornadoes work, so Dex puts it back instead of smashing it in anger.

I Survived True Stories: Tornado Terror pairs the Joplin storm with which 1925 twister, the deadliest in US history?

Tri-State is the name given to the 1925 tornado because it tore across parts of three states in under four hours, killing 695 people.

What job do Lucas's dad and his best friend Uncle Benny share in I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001?

Firefighters at Ladder 177 each have a job to do, which is what Lucas's dad likes most: if you don't work together, he says, you don't put out the fire.

Which injury, his third, makes Lucas's parents ban his favorite game in I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001?

A concussion is what sends Lucas to see Uncle Benny that morning, and the two are still talking it over when a low-flying plane screams overhead.

What is the name of the fierce-looking dog Barry rescues from the flood in I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005?

Cruz has a killer's reputation, but when Barry unhooks his leash the dog leaps up and licks him as if to say thank you.

Where do John and his friends take cover after their sled breaks apart in I Survived the Children's Blizzard, 1888?

In a haystack is where the boys end up huddling for warmth, after the dark shape they hoped was the Rickers' house turns out to be only a mound of hay.

What do John and his friends recite to stay awake in the freezing storm in I Survived the Children's Blizzard, 1888?

Poems that their strict teacher Miss Ruell forced them to learn, and which they found boring, end up keeping the boys from falling asleep and freezing.

John Hale's family farms free government land in which territory in I Survived the Children's Blizzard, 1888?

Dakota land was handed out in big plots to draw farmers west, and a family that stayed on its plot for five years could keep it forever.

To whom has the father of Marcus, a Roman slave boy, been sold in I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii?

Gladiators hold his father until Marcus pulls off a daring rescue, and the pair race up the mountain to escape, then come back to warn the city.

What do staff at Granite Park Chalet use to lure bears each night in I Survived the Attack of the Grizzlies?

A garbage dump behind the hotel draws the bears as a nightly show, and eating people's leftovers makes them sick from swallowed plastic, metal and glass.

What is the job of Aunt Cassie, who gets the park's rules changed in I Survived the Attack of the Grizzlies?

Journalist Aunt Cassie writes about the way people are harming the park's grizzlies for a national magazine, and the attention pushes the park into strict new rules.

Which strange 1919 Boston disaster is one of the five in I Survived True Stories: Five Epic Disasters?

A molasses flood poured from a ruptured tank in Boston's North End, sending a wave through the streets at about 35 miles an hour and killing 21 people.

Which classroom magazine, long edited by the author of I Survived, first printed the articles in Five Epic Disasters?

Storyworks articles were the inspiration for the whole series, and the collection expands five of the most popular ones with extra nonfiction facts.

Which walls of dirt and concrete are meant to protect Barry's city from floods in I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005?

Levees gave way in the real storm, and most of the deaths came from the flooding that followed flaws in the federally built protection system.

Where does a shark face Chet Roscow, miles from the ocean, in I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916?

In a creek is where the real 1916 attacks ended too: after strikes along the shore, three more people were attacked in Matawan Creek.

Whose wish for a real story with lots of action led the author of I Survived to write the first book?

Her son Dylan was eight and hard to interest in reading, so she asked him to describe his perfect book and then wrote it for him.

Where in the Pacific does Danny Crane's mom move him from New York City in I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor?

Hawaii is meant to get Danny away from the gangsters he has been hanging around, but soon he is caught in the surprise bombing of its military bases.

In which state is the island city wrecked by America's deadliest hurricane in I Survived the Galveston Hurricane, 1900?

Texas counted the booming island port as its richest city in 1900, and nine years earlier a local forecaster had called a hurricane strike there absurd.

On the beaches of which French region do Allied soldiers land in I Survived the Battle of D-Day, 1944?

Normandy saw the largest seaborne invasion in history on 6 June 1944, and in the book Paul is caught near the Nazi defenses when Allied battleships open fire.

Thomas and his sister Birdie escape slavery on a farm in which state in I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863?

Virginia is where the two have spent their whole lives, and they run north with slave hunters on their trail after men come to take Thomas away.

What lucky charm do two young street thugs steal from Leo in I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906?

A gold nugget is Leo's treasure while he lives on his own selling newspapers, and he is set on getting it back when the ground starts to shake.

Which fighters do Max and Zena meet after escaping the ghetto in I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944?

Jewish partisans fought back from secret hideouts deep in the forests of Eastern Europe, and many of these men and women were teenagers.

What name was given to the worst dust storm of all, the climax of I Survived the Dust Bowl, 1935?

Black Sunday fell on April 14, 1935, when a severe dust storm swept the southern plains; storms like it were known as black blizzards.

Which real town's destruction led its children to request I Survived the California Wildfires, 2018?

Paradise was destroyed by a wildfire, and a local boy and his friends asked for a book about it; its characters are named after people the author met there.

The quake in I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964 is also named after which holy day?

Good Friday 1964 brought the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in North America, a magnitude 9.2 shock that shook the ground for more than four minutes.