Q 01/05

The political terms 'left' and 'right' come from where members sat in which body?

A) The French National Assembly of 1789

B) The Roman Senate under Augustus

C) The English Long Parliament of 1642

D) The US Continental Congress of 1776

Answer · why

A) The French National Assembly of 1789

Supporters of the king sat to the president's right and supporters of the revolution to his left, and one deputy explained he wanted to avoid the shou...

Q 02/05

'Gerrymandering' blends the name of an 1812 Massachusetts governor with which animal?

A) A lizard

B) A snake

C) A dragon

D) A salamander

Answer · why

D) A salamander

The Boston Gazette coined it for a twisted district drawn to help Elbridge Gerry's party; his own party lost the governorship anyway.

Q 03/05

Which senator filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for 24 hours 18 minutes?

A) Huey Long

B) Robert Byrd

C) Strom Thurmond

D) Rand Paul

Answer · why

C) Strom Thurmond

His 24-hour-18-minute speech against the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the longest single-senator filibuster for decades, until Cory Booker's 25-hour f...

Q 04/05

The Watergate scandal began with a 1972 break-in at the headquarters of which organisation?

A) The Democratic National Committee

B) The Washington Post newsroom

C) The CIA's Langley headquarters

D) The Republican National Committee

Answer · why

A) The Democratic National Committee

The burglars were linked to Nixon's re-election campaign, and the cover-up ended with Nixon's resignation in 1974.

Q 05/05

Which US president is the only one to have resigned from office?

A) Andrew Johnson

B) Richard Nixon

C) Warren Harding

D) Bill Clinton

Answer · why

B) Richard Nixon

He left in August 1974 rather than face near-certain impeachment over the Watergate cover-up.