Q 01/05

Which baseball slugger, christened George Herman in Baltimore in 1895, learned to play at a Catholic reform school?

A) Ty Cobb

B) Lou Gehrig

C) Babe Ruth

D) Honus Wagner

Answer · why

C) Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth was coached at St. Mary's Industrial School by Brother Matthias, the prefect of discipline, whose hitting and running style his own came to ...

Q 02/05

Swiss engineer George de Mestral invented which fastener after burrs clung to his dog's fur on a 1941 hunting trip?

A) Velcro

B) Zipper

C) Press stud

D) Safety pin

Answer · why

A) Velcro

Velcro takes its name from two French words, velours for velvet and crochet for hook, which describe the two strips that grip each other.

Q 03/05

George Harrison co-founded HandMade Films in 1978 to rescue which Monty Python comedy after EMI pulled its funding?

A) The Holy Grail

B) Jabberwocky

C) The Meaning of Life

D) Life of Brian

Answer · why

D) Life of Brian

Life of Brian was saved by a fan: Harrison and his business partner raised about £3 million after the original backer quit just days before filming.

Q 04/05

Comedian George Carlin hosted the very first episode of which long-running American sketch show in October 1975?

A) Second City Television

B) Saturday Night Live

C) The Carol Burnett Show

D) Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Answer · why

B) Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live opened with Carlin doing only stand-up: at his own request, he did not appear in any of the sketches.

Q 05/05

A popular myth wrongly claims that George Washington wore dentures carved from which material?

A) Wood

B) Pewter

C) Copper

D) Stone

Answer · why

A) Wood

Wood was never used: his dentures combined hippopotamus ivory, brass, gold and human teeth, and his accounts record a 1784 payment to enslaved people ...