The Post Quiz: Xtreme Sportspeople

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What gave these people their sense of freedom?

The Post Quiz: Xtreme Sportspeople

People have all sorts of reasons for doing, and inventing, extreme challenges. Answer these questions to learn more about some real superheroes. (Or lunatics, take your pick.)

  1. In 1963, 17-year-old Peggy Townsend sat atop a flagpole in Gadsden, Alabama, for 217 days, setting a world record that lasted for 20 years. Peggy was a survivor, having come through the difficult aftermath of being run over by a car. What prize did the radio station offer Peggy for doing this amazing stunt?
    • A car
    • A lifetime supply of rock'n'roll records
    • A diamond ring
    • A movie role
  2. In 1913, Vladimir Ossovski from St Petersburg performed an early BASE jump from a bridge in Rouen, France. What was he testing?
    • His parents' patience
    • A local law
    • A parachute design
    • The bridge's structural integrity
  3. In 1905, the car US President Theodore Roosevelt was riding in was stopped for speeding. How did the traffic cops stop the car?
    • By shooting out the tires
    • By waving flags
    • By using a water cannon
    • By pulling it over on bicycles
  4. In 1896, what illegal sport were 'scorchers' engaged in?
    • Riding flaming balloons
    • Exceeding bicycle speed limits
    • Drag racing early automobiles
    • Climbing skyscrapers
  5. Antoine de Ville (no kin to Cruella) ascended Mount Aiguille in France, marking the beginning of mountain climbing as a sport. What year was this?
    • 1492
    • 1666
    • 1789
    • 1840
  6. In 1875, Captain Matthew Webb did something unusual, and it was the first time anyone did it. What was it?
    • Climbed the Matterhorn
    • Bungee jumped off the Forth Bridge
    • Swam the English Channel
    • Travelled by submarine
  7. In 875, Andalusian poet and inventor Abbas ibn Firnas did something interesting in the sporting line. What was it?
    • He invented a new bullfighting manoeuvre.
    • He wrote a poem hanging upside down in a tree.
    • He experimented with hang gliding.
    • He swam from Spain to Morocco.
  8. In 1944, Betty Magnusson, an American WAC, saw kids doing something intriguing in France. What was it?
    • Carjacking abandoned German tanks
    • Parachuting hamsters out of windows
    • Tossing Frisbees
    • Skateboarding
  9. Which of these sports is real?
    • Xtreme hula hooping
    • Professional mini golf
    • Xpogo
    • All of the above
  10. In the book Twilight Memories: Marking Time in a Culture of Amnesia, Andreas Huyssen writes, '…in our metropolitan centres the flaneur…has been replaced by the marathon runner…' What is extreme about flaneurs?
    • Their knowledge
    • Their speed
    • Their endurance
    • Their slowness

Did you know all that? You must be into extreme trivia. If you want the answers, click on the picture.

Photo of paraglider flying above mountains.
Post Quiz and Oddities Archive

Dmitri Gheorgheni

06.06.16 Front Page

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