Quiz | Easy as Sunday morning: What has December 22 given us?

1 / 10 | On this day in 1808, the composer debuted his Symphonies No. 5 and No. 6, Choral Fantasy and Piano Concerto No. 4 (featuring himself as soloist) in Vienna. Of these, #5, known as the ‘Fate Symphony’, became famous for its dramatic opening notes, known as “Fate is knocking on the door”. Who was this musician?

2 /10 | On this day in 1851, ‘Jenny Lind’, a steam engine specially flown from England, hauled building materials. It ran from Roorkee to Piran Kaliyar (10 km) to pick up material for canal construction. What record did it set in India?

3 / 10 | Pierre Jules Janssen has already joined these quizzes for the discovery of helium in Guntur. On December 22, 1870, he escaped the siege of Paris in a balloon, not to save his life but to observe a scientific phenomenon. What had he made this dangerous escape to see, only to be obscured by the clouds?

4 /10 | On this day in 1882, Edward Johnson hand-strung 80 red, white and blue light bulbs on a string that could be rotated. He then took a dynamo made by his friend Thomas Edison and set his main item on it, so that it could rotate with the lights on it. He wanted to create a safer alternative to the candles that were in use at that time. What did they invent that we see now during this season?

5 /10 | On this day in 1885, Ito Hirobumi became the first Prime Minister of Japan. Born into a poor farming family, Hayashi Risuke was ultimately responsible for shaping Japan’s constitution and leading it toward Westernization. However when he was younger, he was a member of a powerful warrior class which is where he got his name. What was Hirobumi before he was a politician?

6 /10 | December 22, 1887, is the birthday of a child prodigy who mastered trigonometry at the age of 12 and was discovering complex theorems on his own just a year later. Who was this distinguished man who died young but was, according to Thomas Hardy, a 100/100 mathematician?

7 /10 | On this day in 1891, 28-year-old German astronomer Max Wolf discovered an asteroid and named it (323) Brucia. What made it special was the equipment they used. What did they use to discover asteroids that we now use on a daily basis?

Answer: A camera (astrophotography)

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8/10 | Joseph Muhler, born on this day in 1923, was an American biochemist and dentist. He led the team that came up with the formula for Crest toothpaste, which contained certain compounds that protected teeth from cavities and decay. What kind of toothpaste was it?

9/10 | On this day in 1932, a film starring Boris Karloff was released in America. It was the first to depict an ancient historical artifact as a villain. Karloff plays the title character Imhotep. What was the title of the movie?

10 / 10 | 10. Dick Perry is celebrating his 82nd birthday today. He is an English saxophonist. Among other things, he is the only non-full-time member of a well-known band to have played four songs on more than three albums. The band reunited with him on stage in 2005. How do we know this band, famous for sparkling prisms, marching hammers and flying pigs?