Q 01/05

Alcatraz Island sits in the bay of which US city?

A) San Diego

B) Los Angeles

C) Seattle

D) San Francisco

Answer · why

D) San Francisco

San Francisco: officials thought the bay's cold water and strong currents made the prison escape-proof.

Q 02/05

What is Alcatraz prison's famous nickname?

A) The Cage

B) The Rock

C) The Fortress

D) The Tomb

Answer · why

B) The Rock

The Rock: it was set up to hold the most troublesome inmates of other federal prisons under one roof.

Q 03/05

Which bird is the name Alcatraz usually said to mean?

A) Pelican

B) Seagull

C) Heron

D) Puffin

Answer · why

A) Pelican

Pelican: that is the usual reading, though in modern Spanish the word alcatraz actually names the gannet.

Q 04/05

Which government department took Alcatraz over from the Army in 1933?

A) Justice

B) Interior

C) Navy

D) Treasury

Answer · why

A) Justice

Justice: it wanted to show the public that the government was serious about stopping the crime wave of the 1920s and 1930s.

Q 05/05

In which year did the federal prison close?

A) 1958

B) 1963

C) 1969

D) 1972

Answer · why

B) 1963

The federal penitentiary closed on 21 March 1963 under Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, after structural decay and running costs far above other fe...