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History's Great Myths

Familiar stories. Less familiar evidence. Time to call history's bluff. Twelve questions, with a few convincing wrong turns along the way.

Free to use with your own team, courtesy of WorkplaceHero - workplacehero.co.uk

Question sheet

1. What fits George Washington's documented dentures?
- A. Entirely oak
- B. Only porcelain
- C. Materials including metals and human teeth, not wood
- D. Rubber plates and glass teeth
2. Which statement about Columbus's voyages is accurate?
- A. He never landed on the present-day US mainland
- B. He landed in Florida in 1492
- C. He founded Jamestown
- D. He crossed the Pacific to California
3. What does the Met say about knights needing cranes to mount horses?
- A. Applied to all cavalry
- B. Required by tournament law
- C. Applied only in France
- D. It is a misconception
4. How did the Liberty Bell's wide visible gap develop in 1846?
- A. Cannonball impact
- B. Workers widened a narrow crack during repair
- C. Ringing for independence in 1776
- D. Cut for wartime scrap
5. What was the scope of the final 1863 Emancipation Proclamation?
- A. Designated areas in rebellion, with exceptions
- B. Every US state immediately
- C. Only Washington, DC
- D. The whole Americas
6. What best corrects the story of nationwide panic from the 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast?
- A. Nobody was frightened
- B. It never happened
- C. The scale of panic was exaggerated
- D. Government ordered national evacuation
7. What is King Arthur's Round Table near Eamont Bridge?
- A. Roman amphitheatre
- B. Neolithic henge
- C. Anglo-Saxon hall
- D. Medieval jousting arena
8. Which pirate is documented burying treasure on Gardiner's Island in 1699?
- A. Edward Teach
- B. Bartholomew Roberts
- C. Henry Morgan
- D. William Kidd
9. What is the safest conclusion about the spiked-cabinet iron maiden as a medieval device?
- A. Reliable evidence of medieval use is lacking
- B. Every castle had one
- C. Magna Carta prescribed it
- D. Medieval armies routinely carried one
10. Which claim about armour wearers is correct?
- A. Only kings wore it
- B. Every wearer was a knight
- C. Non-knightly soldiers also wore it
- D. A helmet automatically conferred knighthood
11. What best describes pirate maps with X-marked buried treasure?
- A. Standard rule in pirate articles
- B. Literary convention, not documented routine
- C. Royal Navy requirement
- D. Medieval monastic practice
12. Was Paul Revere the only rider warning of British troop movements in April 1775?
- A. Yes, all the way to Concord alone
- B. Yes, but only by daylight
- C. No, George Washington rode beside him
- D. No, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott also rode

Answer sheet (for the quizmaster)

1. C - Materials including metals and human teeth, not wood
Documented dentures used several materials. The wooden-teeth story is unsupported.
2. A - He never landed on the present-day US mainland
His voyages reached Caribbean islands and parts of Central and South America, not the present-day US mainland.
3. D - It is a misconception
Functional armour allowed movement; the crane story misrepresents how armoured horsemen mounted.
4. B - Workers widened a narrow crack during repair
The wide gap was part of a repair attempt, not a break while announcing independence.
5. A - Designated areas in rebellion, with exceptions
It targeted designated rebellious territory and did not itself abolish slavery everywhere in the United States.
6. C - The scale of panic was exaggerated
Some listeners were alarmed, but scholarship challenges the story of nationwide hysteria.
7. B - Neolithic henge
The earthwork is prehistoric. Its later Arthurian name does not prove a connection to a historical Arthur.
8. D - William Kidd
Kidd is a documented exception. Pirates generally spent captured wealth rather than routinely burying it.
9. A - Reliable evidence of medieval use is lacking
Its medieval reputation rests on later stories and exhibits, not reliable evidence of routine medieval use.
10. C - Non-knightly soldiers also wore it
Armour was equipment, not proof of rank. Infantry and other non-knightly soldiers wore it.
11. B - Literary convention, not documented routine
Adventure fiction such as Treasure Island helped establish the convention, not evidence of normal pirate procedure.
12. D - No, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott also rode
Dawes took another route and Prescott joined them. Revere was not the sole warning rider.