Real-World Heroes Trivia | Dorky Geeky Nerdy Podcast

Dorky Geeky Nerdy Trivia

118 | Real-World Hero Trivia

00:00 / 14:19

Not all heroes wear capes. This week, we’re looking at Real-World Heroes trivia for our topic. We spend a lot of time talking about fictional heroes, but not enough time with the real ones. And we know we’ve seen some truly heroic people during the pandemic.

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I hope you enjoy Real-World Heroes trivia.

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Episode Transcript/Quiz

Episode Intro

Hello there and welcome to episode 118 of the Dorky Geeky Nerdy Trivia Podcast. I’m your host, Brian Rollins. We spend a lot of time on this podcast talking about fictional heroes. Superheroes, space heroes, fantasy heroes, you name it. But I thought for this week, we’d cover those people who have made a difference in real life. Real World heroes.

Like always, it’s three rounds of ten questions each. I give you the question and you’ve got five seconds to come up with the answer. You can write down the answers or just blurt them out. Just don’t freak out the people on the train or bus, when you do.

I think that covers everything, so let’s get started.

The Dorky Round

1. What German industrialist is credited with saving 1200 Jews during the Nazi Holocaust?

Oskar Schindler

2. Cpl. Kyle Carpenter is the youngest living person to receive what prestigious honor?

The Medal of Honor. He was 25 when he was awarded the medal for throwing himself on a grenade to save his fellow Marines.

3. Candy Lightner created what anti-drunk-driving organization in 1980?

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (or MADD). She created it after her 13 year old daughter was hit and killed by a drunk driver.

4. What doctor famously refused to patent his life-altering vaccine in 1955?

Jonas Salk. He did not patent the Polio vaccine that he created. It is estimated the patent would have been worth $7 billion.

5. What man was imprisoned from 1962 to 1990 and yet became president of South Africa in 1994?

Nelson Mandela

6. Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California, served on the board of supervisors for what city?

San Francisco

7. What tech giant, along with his wife, created the world's wealthiest foundation in 2000?

Bill Gates

8. Of all the people to be awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, who is the only one to have walked on the Moon?

Neil Armstrong

9. What teacher's life and work is the subject of the play, The Miracle Worker?

Anne Sullivan

10. In 2009, after losing both engines on his 757, what pilot landed his plane safely in the Hudson River with no loss of life?

Captain Chesley Burnett “Sully” Sullenberger III

The Geeky Round

1. William Wiberforce crusaded to end what practice in the British Empire?

Slavery. He fought for the cause for nearly 50 years. Slavery was abolished in the Empire in 1833, three days before Wilberforce died.

2. What Star Trek actor lost a finger during the invasion of Normandy on D-Day?

James Doohan. He was a lieutenant in the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division.

3. What British broadcaster and activist has amassed more honorary degrees than anyone else in history?

David Attenborough. He has 32 honorary degrees to date.

4. A bust of what Hispanic labor leader resides in the Oval Office as of early 2021?

Cesar Chavez

5. Mohandas Gandhi began his civil rights work in what country?

South Africa, where he lived for 21 years.

6. Who wrote My Bondage and My Freedom in 1855?

Frederick Douglass

7. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the best selling novel of the 19th Century. What was it?

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

[toggle title="8. In addition to being a US President, who served as ambassador to France, the Dutch Republic, and Great Britain?"]John Adams

9. International Nurses Day is celebrated on what woman's birthday?

Florence Nightingale. She is considered the founder of modern nursing.

10. In addition to helping hide Anne Frank and her family, who hid Anne's now-famous diary in the hopes of returning it to her?

Miep Gies

The Nerdy Round

1. Martin Luther King Jr was awarded a PhD in what?

Systemic Theology.

2. Partners Jane Addams and Ellen Starr founded what immigrant settlement house in 1889?

Hull House

3. What English suffragette was arrested nine times, went on a hunger strike seven times, and was killed when she was hit by King George V's horse?

Emily Davison

4. What man earned the nickname, The Father of the Green Revolution?

Norman Borlaug. He won a Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal for developments including a disease resistant, high-yield wheat that’s credited with ending food insecurity in India and Pakistan.

5. What dissident and Nobel Prize laureate became Poland's first democratically elected president in 1990?

Lech Walesa. He was a shipyard electrician that became the leader of the Solidarity movement which ended Communist rule in Poland.

6. What abolitionist and former slave suffered from hypersomnia?

Harriet Tubman. Due to a head injury, she would have long periods of sleep as well as visions and vivid dreams that she thought were visions from God.

7. What Scottish-born environmentalist inspired Theodore Roosevelt to start the National Park Service?

John Muir

8. Who is the only Japanese national to be honored by Israel as one of the Righteous Among the Nations?

Chiune Sugihara. As a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania, he wrote thousands of visa to help jews escape Europe during World War 2.

9. After surviving being shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012, what woman went on to become an activist for Women's rights?

Malala Yousafzai

10. What nurse founded the American Red Cross after the horrors of the Civil War?

Clara Barton

Episode Conclusion

And that’s it for this week. I hope you learned something. By the way, today would have been Oskar Schindler’s 113th birthday. You can learn more about him, or any of the other people in today’s show by checking out our website, DorkyGeekyNerdy.com. I’m putting up annotated transcripts with every new episode. I’m also going back through old episodes, just give me some time.

We’ll be back again next week with more trivia fun. Here’s your clue.

“Even though most Americans think it’s May 5th, what country actually celebrates its independence on September 16?”

Another travel episode. Someplace warm and sunny.

This has been episode 118 of the Dorky Geeky Nerdy Trivia Podcast. The music has been by Jason Shaw at Audionautix.com. I’m your host, Brian Rol l ins. Thanks for listening and remember, not all heroes wear capes. Do something heroic today.