EN
Get the appGet the app
57questions
📜 History✅ Quiz with answers

History quiz: 57 questions with answers

One question from every article, with the right answer and a short explanation. Want to test yourself first? Hide the answers.

Answers are hidden: tap a card to reveal one.

Everyday History6 questions

Why did people heat their homes without chimneys?

  1. AThey did not know how to build chimneys
  2. BMore heat stayed inside, and the smoke dried the walls
  3. CThere were no bricks

Answer: B. A chimney was expensive, and while a house had just one room, its benefits were not obvious.

Why did full-body washing not happen every week?

  1. APeople thought water was harmful to the skin
  2. BHot water required a great deal of manual labor
  3. CSoap could only be used on holidays

Answer: B. Water had to be carried and heated, so a full wash required hours of labor and firewood.

How was the night structured in early modern European sources?

  1. AShort sleeps throughout the day
  2. BOne long sleep until dawn
  3. CTwo periods of sleep with wakefulness between them

Answer: C. The phrases "first sleep" and "second sleep" appear in texts matter-of-factly, as something everyone understood.

Why was sleep often split into two parts in the past?

  1. APeople deliberately trained themselves to wake up
  2. BNight work required frequent breaks
  3. CLong darkness stretched sleep across the night

Answer: C. In winter, darkness lasted a long time, and sleep naturally split into two stretches with a quiet pause.

Play the “Everyday History” quiz

Mysteries6 questions

What suggests the colonists did not leave in panic?

  1. AThey left letters about an enemy attack
  2. BThe houses burned down, but supplies were left untouched
  3. CThe houses were dismantled, and no cross was carved above the inscription

Answer: C. The houses were dismantled log by log, and the distress sign - a cross - never appeared beside the inscription.

Why couldn't druids have built Stonehenge?

  1. AThey lived only in Ireland
  2. BThey appeared long after it was built
  3. CThey could not work with stone

Answer: B. Druids appear in sources almost 2,000 years after Stonehenge's first structures.

What did the expedition note reveal?

  1. AThe cause of the catastrophe
  2. BThe exact coordinates of the disaster
  3. CTwo entries from different years: first all was well, then the ships were abandoned

Answer: C. Between those entries came the commander's death and the decision to travel on foot.

What makes the army's death in a storm hard to believe?

  1. AA storm cannot bury people
  2. BThere are no storms in that area
  3. CMetal equipment does not disappear, and shifting sand eventually exposes what lies beneath

Answer: C. No undisputed trace has ever been found.

What did the authorities in Strasbourg do in 1518?

  1. AProvided spaces and hired musicians
  2. BLocked the dancers in their homes
  3. CDeclared a quarantine

Answer: A. People believed that hot blood had to leave the body through movement.

Play the “Mysteries” quiz

Great Mistakes6 questions

Which translation error is discussed most often?

  1. AAn error in a Bible translation
  2. BJapan's response to the 1945 ultimatum
  3. CAn error in a peace treaty

Answer: B. The word meant both "leave without comment" and "ignore"; the second meaning was reported.

Why was the march on Moscow needed?

  1. ATo win a decisive battle and return Russia to the blockade of England
  2. BTo seize grain supplies
  3. CTo conquer the country

Answer: A. The plan was based on a familiar scenario: one major battle near the border, the defeat of the opposing army, and negotiations.

Why did the register error bring down the business so quickly?

  1. ASystems copied it and partners trusted the record
  2. BSuppliers decided to punish the firm for the typo
  3. CIt was manually checked for a long time before publication

Answer: A. The register entry was taken as fact, and its copies spread faster than the correction.

Where did they propose putting armor on the bombers?

  1. AEvenly across the entire plane
  2. BWhere there were more bullet holes
  3. CWhere there were no bullet holes

Answer: C. The bullet holes were visible where the plane could survive them; planes hit elsewhere did not return.

What is the essence of the cobra effect?

  1. AA solution makes the problem worse because people work toward the metric
  2. BA reward always works better than a ban
  3. CSnakes return to the city after being captured

Answer: A. A measure that becomes a target starts taking on a life of its own.

Play the “Great Mistakes” quiz

Food Stories5 questions

Why did spices become so expensive on their way to Europe?

  1. AThey were valued only for preserving meat
  2. BThey spoiled quickly on the journey
  3. CThey passed through rare sources and chains of middlemen

Answer: C. Spices were rare, and every transfer added duties, middlemen, and a markup.

Why were coffeehouses banned?

  1. ABecause people discussed news and those in power while sober
  2. BBecause they posed a fire hazard
  3. CBecause the drink was harmful

Answer: A. Unlike in a tavern, conversations took place with clear heads and could last all day.

Why did early potato plantings in Europe produce almost no tubers?

  1. ALong summer days delayed tuber formation
  2. BThe soil was too poor for potatoes
  3. CEuropeans dug up the tubers too early

Answer: A. Potatoes form tubers when days shorten, while long northern European daylight produced foliage instead.

Where did people learn to make sugar crystals?

  1. AIn Spain
  2. BIn India
  3. CIn Egypt

Answer: B. The cane itself was domesticated in New Guinea, while the method of evaporating its juice developed in India.

What appeared first?

  1. AYeasted dough
  2. BAgriculture
  3. CFlatbreads

Answer: C. Charred remains of flatbreads made from wild grasses are thousands of years older than the beginning of agriculture.

Play the “Food Stories” quiz

Women in History5 questions

Why might a woman's name vanish from the scientific record?

  1. AWomen were banned from all research
  2. BHer articles were always unsigned
  3. CMen presented and signed her work

Answer: C. Rules around access, job titles, and surname changes could leave a woman's contribution in the shadows.

Why did the mother often become regent for an underage king?

  1. AShe was the oldest in the family
  2. BThe law required it
  3. COnly she benefited from handing over power on time

Answer: C. Any other relative who gained power had a reason not to give it back.

Why could women enter the army under false names?

  1. ACommanders covered for them
  2. BExams were superficial, and photo IDs did not exist
  3. CThe rules allowed it

Answer: B. They checked teeth, eyesight, and the ability to hold a weapon; age and name were recorded based on what people said.

Why does a cross appear on film when DNA is shaped like a helix?

  1. AThe film copies the molecule's outline
  2. BX-rays scatter off the atoms in the helix
  3. CThe DNA thread reflects visible light

Answer: B. X-ray scattering from any helix produces a characteristic diagonal cross on film.

What did Ada Lovelace do?

  1. ABuilt the first machine
  2. BInvented binary code
  3. CPublished notes with detailed calculations and an idea about processing symbols

Answer: C. The project's author saw a calculating device; she saw a device that could work with symbols in general.

Play the “Women in History” quiz

Inventions6 questions

What kept the zipper from catching on for eighty years?

  1. AEarly versions jammed and split open
  2. BHigh cost
  3. CA ban by tailors

Answer: A. One incident of a fastener splitting open on a customer was enough to make people never use it again.

When did alarm clocks become widespread?

  1. AWhen scheduled shift work appeared
  2. BIn antiquity
  3. CRight after they were invented

Answer: A. While people lived by the sun, no one needed to wake up at an exact time.

Why could the mold stop the bacteria in the dish?

  1. AThe dish was kept warm the whole time
  2. BThe bacteria grew before the mold
  3. CIt was cool first, then it warmed up

Answer: C. The cool weather gave the mold a head start, and it warmed up once the mold could already interfere with the bacteria.

What task did the network grow out of?

  1. ASharing expensive computers
  2. BThe need to survive a nuclear attack
  3. CMilitary intelligence

Answer: A. Resilience to breaks was a feature of packet switching, not the project's purpose.

Why can a large portion stay cold in the middle?

  1. AThe magnetron heats only the chamber's edges
  2. BThe tray cools the food in the center
  3. CThe wave penetrates shallowly, then conduction heats it

Answer: C. The microwave enters food only a couple of centimeters, while heat travels more slowly deeper in - by conduction.

Play the “Inventions” quiz

Money in History5 questions

Why did people start paying with receipts instead of heavy coins?

  1. AThey were accepted only for large transactions
  2. BThey were easier to pass along than metal
  3. CThey were easier to store at home

Answer: B. A receipt could be folded and passed along, while the metal stayed in storage.

What brought down the largest Florentine banks of the 14th century?

  1. ACompetition
  2. BThe crown's refusal to repay wartime loans
  3. CRobberies

Answer: B. A major borrower, too important to refuse, accumulated debt and stopped paying.

What was interest called in ancient languages?

  1. AWords meaning payment
  2. BWords meaning offspring and descendants
  3. CWords meaning debt

Answer: B. A cow lent for a year produced a calf - the metaphor described what happened naturally.

Why did coins remove the need to weigh every transaction?

  1. AThey were accepted only within one community
  2. BCoins were always made of pure gold
  3. CThe stamp confirmed the metal's weight and quality

Answer: C. The stamp meant the minter had already confirmed the weight and quality, so there was no need to get out the scales.

What did Newton do at the mint?

  1. AOnly held the position on paper
  2. BLed the reminting and handled counterfeiting cases himself
  3. CDeveloped metal alloys

Answer: B. He recruited informants, conducted hundreds of interrogations, and saw cases through to conviction.

Play the “Money in History” quiz

Fashion of the Past7 questions

Where were women's pockets before the end of the 18th century?

  1. ASewn into the dress lining
  2. BThey did not exist at all
  3. CSeparate pouches tied around the waist under the skirt

Answer: C. You reached them through a slit in the skirt, and they held quite a lot.

Why was the toe made so long?

  1. AIt was cheaper to make
  2. BIt showed that the wearer did not need to work or run
  3. CIt protected the foot while riding

Answer: B. A status symbol works when it is hard to fake: discomfort is the price a working person could not afford.

Why did a dress need a corset?

  1. AIt was only needed for a tiny waist
  2. BIt served as a framework for bodices and skirts
  3. CIt replaced the outer dress in hot weather

Answer: B. The corset supported the breasts, distributed the weight of skirts, and created a shape the bodice could fit smoothly over.

Why did a rider need a heel?

  1. ATo keep his foot from slipping in the stirrup
  2. BTo make his footwear more visible in battle
  3. CTo make it easier to walk on uneven ground

Answer: A. The heel served as a support, helping the foot stay in the stirrup while riding.

Why did lead face paint damage the skin more and more?

  1. AIt made the skin sensitive to sunlight
  2. BPeople covered the damage with thicker layers
  3. CPeople washed it off too rarely

Answer: B. The face paint damaged the skin, and people covered it with another thick layer, so more lead entered the body.

What drove silk bans besides morality?

  1. AMoney leaving the country and class boundaries
  2. BA shortage of fabric
  3. CA danger to health

Answer: A. Imported silk was paid for with precious metal, while wealthy merchants erased the outward distinction from the nobility.

Play the “Fashion of the Past” quiz

Letters and Diaries6 questions

Why could opening a sealed letter not be hidden?

  1. AWax stained the paper from inside
  2. BThe intact impression could not be restored
  3. CThe address was erased when it was opened

Answer: B. A seal did not stop anyone from opening the letter, but a damaged impression revealed that it had been opened.

Who paid for a letter before the reform?

  1. AThe sender in advance
  2. BThe recipient upon delivery
  3. CThe postal service

Answer: B. You could refuse, and people did, while the post office carried such letters at a loss.

Why are boring diary entries especially useful to historians?

  1. AOnly eyewitnesses write them
  2. BThey show everyday life
  3. CCensors always check them

Answer: B. Prices, weather, and routines help reconstruct the era's ordinary life, which is missing from official documents.

Why did the British field service postcard use ready-made phrases?

  1. ASo soldiers could describe battle in more detail
  2. BSo it could pass censorship faster
  3. CSo families could reply on the same card

Answer: B. There was nothing on the form to inspect, so censors passed it quickly and families learned that the soldier was alive.

What's most valuable for reconstructing history in a family archive?

  1. ABeautiful portraits
  2. BTouching letters without dates
  3. CDocuments and signed photographs

Answer: C. A paper's value depends on whether it tells you who, where, and when.

What did crossed writing look like?

  1. ALines alternated with empty spaces
  2. BThe sheet was turned 90 degrees and written over its existing lines
  3. CText ran diagonally across the entire sheet

Answer: B. The result was a grid of two layers of text laid over each other at right angles.

Play the “Letters and Diaries” quiz

Wars and Peace5 questions

Why does a pretext alone not explain why war starts?

  1. AIt makes negotiations impossible immediately
  2. BIt always hides a secret deal between the sides
  3. CIt only sets the date, not the underlying situation

Answer: C. A pretext starts the countdown of events, but the causes of war lie in the long-term balance of power, fears, and promises.

What sets apart peace treaties that lasted longer?

  1. AHarsher terms for the losing side
  2. BA complete absence of terms
  3. CThe losing side kept a place in the common order

Answer: C. Where a side was excluded, peace lasted for about a generation.

Why can one accident break a ceasefire?

  1. AThe sides never wanted peace
  2. BAgreements are usually not signed
  3. CThe response is cautious, and both sides reason the same way

Answer: C. Without an independent observer, the question of "who went first" becomes a matter of faith.

What does war do to inventions?

  1. AIt invents them from scratch
  2. BIt removes objections - habit, propriety, and price
  3. CIt slows their arrival

Answer: B. Wristwatches existed before, but were considered a women's accessory until the trenches made them practical.

What did they count first during a siege?

  1. AArrows
  2. BWater
  3. CPeople

Answer: B. Without water, a city could hold out for days, not months - having a source inside the walls was decisive.

Play the “Wars and Peace” quiz

A quiz after every article

In the app, a quiz like this follows every article, and every read grows your streak and level.