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William the Conquerer was crowned King of England on Christmas Day in 1066. Who had been the previous king?
ANSWER: When Edward the Confessor cashed in his chips in January 1066, after twenty-three years as king of England, he left no obvious heir. But that didn’t mean there were no candidates for the post. In fact, there were at least three: Harold Godwinson, Edward’s brother-in-law; William, Duke of Normandy; and Harald Hardrada, the king of Norway. The trio of claimants quickly embraced the generally accepted eleventh- century way of settling such disputes: they went to war. Hardrada and Harold slugged it out first, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, near York. Harold won, slaughtered most of Hardrada’s troops, and paused to catch his breath.
As it turned out, he didn’t have long to rest. A couple of days after the fight at Stamford Bridge, William, Duke of Normandy, landed his army on the southern end of En gland, near the town of Hastings. Harold rushed south, and on October 14, the two armies collided. It was a tough, all-day battle, but in the end William’s archers and cavalry prevailed. Harold was killed, and William continued his trek toward London. He was crowned king of England on Christmas Day in 1066. When Edward the Confessor cashed in his chips in January 1066, after twenty-three years as king of England, he left no obvious heir. But that didn’t mean there were no candidates for the post. In fact, there were at least three: Harold Godwinson, Edward’s brother-in-law; William, Duke of Normandy; and Harald Hardrada, the king of Norway. The trio of claimants quickly embraced the generally accepted eleventh- century way of settling such disputes: they went to war. Hardrada and Harold slugged it out first, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, near York. Harold won, slaughtered most of Hardrada’s troops, and paused to catch his breath.
As it turned out, he didn’t have long to rest. A couple of days after the fight at Stamford Bridge, William, Duke of Normandy, landed his army on the southern end of En gland, near the town of Hastings. Harold rushed south, and on October 14, the two armies collided. It was a tough, all-day battle, but in the end William’s archers and cavalry prevailed. Harold was killed, and William continued his trek toward London. He was crowned king of England on Christmas Day in 1066.
2 of 5
What is the last date on the Mayan "Long Count" calendar?
ANSWER: Although the Maya have become famous for having developed an incredibly accurate calendar, they should be thrice as famous: They actually developed three calendars. One was the “Long Count,” which started when they believed this version of the world began, on August 13, 3114 BCE. The Long Count calendar is slated to end on December 21, 2012. More on that in a bit. The Tzolkin calendar was based on thirteen twenty- day periods called kals, which represented the time it took to prepare a cornfi eld or plant and harvest it. (The Maya might have used twenty as a base rather than ten because they counted fingers and toes, rather than just fingers, in setting up their counting system. Really.)
Since neither of these calendars squared with the time the Maya knew it took for the earth to complete its yearly cycle around the sun, they came up with the Haab calendar, which was eighteen months of twenty days each, plus a five-day period called the uayeb tacked on at the end. The calendars were used for different things: the Long Count for historical purposes, the Tzolkin for religious and farming purposes, and the Haab for civil functions. All of them were coordinated with each other and were amazingly accurate.
Incidentally, various alarmists and people with not enough to worry about often cite the date December 21, 2012, the end of the Long Count calendar, as the date of the end of the world. Most Mayan scholars disagree as to whether that was what the Mayans were predicting, but it’s still a great fact for terrorizing any of your more gullible friends. Although the Maya have become famous for having developed an incredibly accurate calendar, they should be thrice as famous: They actually developed three calendars. One was the “Long Count,” which started when they believed this version of the world began, on August 13, 3114 BCE. The Long Count calendar is slated to end on December 21, 2012. More on that in a bit. The Tzolkin calendar was based on thirteen twenty- day periods called kals, which represented the time it took to prepare a cornfi eld or plant and harvest it. (The Maya might have used twenty as a base rather than ten because they counted fingers and toes, rather than just fingers, in setting up their counting system. Really.)
Since neither of these calendars squared with the time the Maya knew it took for the earth to complete its yearly cycle around the sun, they came up with the Haab calendar, which was eighteen months of twenty days each, plus a five-day period called the uayeb tacked on at the end. The calendars were used for different things: the Long Count for historical purposes, the Tzolkin for religious and farming purposes, and the Haab for civil functions. All of them were coordinated with each other and were amazingly accurate.
Incidentally, various alarmists and people with not enough to worry about often cite the date December 21, 2012, the end of the Long Count calendar, as the date of the end of the world. Most Mayan scholars disagree as to whether that was what the Mayans were predicting, but it’s still a great fact for terrorizing any of your more gullible friends.
3 of 5
Roughly how many Soviet civilians and military personnel were killed during World War II?
ANSWER: Though victorious, no country suffered more in World War II than the Soviet Union. An estimated 26 million-plus military personnel and civilians were killed. The country’s meat and grain production was cut to half of prewar levels. Any progress the Soviet economy had made before the war was wiped out by the conflict, and Stalin reinstituted the forced modernization of industry and agriculture. Most of the industrial work focused on military equipment and heavy machinery rather than consumer goods. Though victorious, no country suffered more in World War II than the Soviet Union. An estimated 26 million-plus military personnel and civilians were killed. The country’s meat and grain production was cut to half of prewar levels. Any progress the Soviet economy had made before the war was wiped out by the conflict, and Stalin reinstituted the forced modernization of industry and agriculture. Most of the industrial work focused on military equipment and heavy machinery rather than consumer goods.
4 of 5
Who was the first emperor of Japan?
ANSWER: The legendary first emperor of Japan, Jimmu (660 BCE–585 BCE), ruled around this time—but as with other parts of the world, in Japan it’s almost impossible to know anything for sure about this period, because nobody wrote anything down. Almost all the information about Jimmu is based on Japanese mythology. Jimmu is believed to be a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu—the supreme divinity of the Shinto pantheon—as well as the sea god Ryujin. His name meant “divine might.” He was born in Takachiho, a rural town on the island of Kyushu, in southern Japan. This was too far from central Japan, so Jimmu’s brother Itsuse, who wanted to rule Japan, sailed across Japan’s Inland Sea to modern- day Osaka. Here, Itsuse was killed in combat with a hostile local chieftain, and Jimmu became the head of his household.
To defeat the hostile chieftain, Jimmu decided to attack from the west, rather than the east, so the afternoon sun would blind his opponents. With help from Amaterasu, Jimmu defeated the local chieftain and gained the submission of his people. According to tradition, lunar New Year’s Day also marked the first day of Jimmu’s reign, and is now celebrated as Japan’s founding day. The founder of the Yamato Dynasty was remembered and revered for his peaceful reign, a time of mythical idyll when Japan was untroubled by outsiders or internal strife. The legendary first emperor of Japan, Jimmu (660 BCE–585 BCE), ruled around this time—but as with other parts of the world, in Japan it’s almost impossible to know anything for sure about this period, because nobody wrote anything down. Almost all the information about Jimmu is based on Japanese mythology. Jimmu is believed to be a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu—the supreme divinity of the Shinto pantheon—as well as the sea god Ryujin. His name meant “divine might.” He was born in Takachiho, a rural town on the island of Kyushu, in southern Japan. This was too far from central Japan, so Jimmu’s brother Itsuse, who wanted to rule Japan, sailed across Japan’s Inland Sea to modern- day Osaka. Here, Itsuse was killed in combat with a hostile local chieftain, and Jimmu became the head of his household.
To defeat the hostile chieftain, Jimmu decided to attack from the west, rather than the east, so the afternoon sun would blind his opponents. With help from Amaterasu, Jimmu defeated the local chieftain and gained the submission of his people. According to tradition, lunar New Year’s Day also marked the first day of Jimmu’s reign, and is now celebrated as Japan’s founding day. The founder of the Yamato Dynasty was remembered and revered for his peaceful reign, a time of mythical idyll when Japan was untroubled by outsiders or internal strife.
5 of 5
Which of the following comedians was not born in Canada?
ANSWER: Murray is from Illinois. Other Canadian funnymen include Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Michael J. Fox, Tom Green, Eugene Levy, Norm MacDonald, Rick Moranis, Howie Mandel, Mike Myers, Martin Short and Phil Hartman.
Murray is from Illinois. Other Canadian funnymen include Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Michael J. Fox, Tom Green, Eugene Levy, Norm MacDonald, Rick Moranis, Howie Mandel, Mike Myers, Martin Short and Phil Hartman.
