Q 01/05

Research suggests the earliest ice skating took place more than 4,000 years ago in which country?

A) Norway

B) Finland

C) Sweden

D) Russia

Answer · why

B) Finland

Finland's south is crowded with small lakes, and the study worked out that skating across them on bone blades, not walking round, saved a winter trave...

Q 02/05

Which people are credited with adding sharpened edges to ice skates in the 13th or 14th century?

A) The Danes

B) The English

C) The Swedes

D) The Dutch

Answer · why

D) The Dutch

The Dutch gave skates sharpened steel edges that bit into the ice, so skaters could push off with their feet and no longer needed poles to shove thems...

Q 03/05

The world's first mechanically frozen ice rink, the Glaciarium, opened in 1876 in which city?

A) Paris

B) New York

C) London

D) Vienna

Answer · why

C) London

London's Glaciarium was a spin-off: John Gamgee, a vet, had been working out how to freeze meat for long voyages, and his pipes made ice so cold that ...

Q 04/05

Figure skating made its Olympic debut after Rome gave up the 1908 Summer Games, citing which volcano's eruption?

A) Etna

B) Vesuvius

C) Stromboli

D) Vulcano

Answer · why

B) Vesuvius

Vesuvius erupted in April 1906, and Italy cited the cost of the disaster when it gave up the Games; the hosts who stepped in added figure skating, hel...

Q 05/05

Which American is called the 'father of modern figure skating' for his mid-1800s innovations?

A) Dick Button

B) Jackson Haines

C) Irving Brokaw

D) Nathaniel Niles

Answer · why

B) Jackson Haines

Jackson Haines, a ballet dancer, brought dance to the ice; his own country rejected his style, so he took it to Vienna, where it was welcomed and grew...