Historical Balderdash

[Cicero]

Ever play the party game Balderdash? Here are some pretty outrageous "facts" only one of which is true. Can you guess the correct one with out googling?


John Steinbeck's dog Toby, a setter, destroyed the first manuscript of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.
Thomas Paine's body was dug up and sent to his native England for burial where it is today.
The assassination of J. F. Kennedy was the first to be captured on film.
The Boston Tea Party involved the destroying tea on the ships Brisk, Lipton, and Swift.
The mustard seed is the smallest of seeds.

[Helfaeng]

Im guessing number 1 is true? Ever play the party game Balderdash? Here are some pretty outrageous "facts" only one of which is true. Can you guess the correct one with out googling?


John Steinbeck's dog Toby, a setter, destroyed the first manuscript of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.
Thomas Paine's body was dug up and sent to his native England for burial where it is today.
The assassination of J. F. Kennedy was the first to be captured on film.
The Boston Tea Party involved the destroying tea on the ships Brisk, Lipton, and Swift.
The mustard seed is the smallest of seeds.

[Cicero]

Yes, you are correct!

1. John Steinbeck's dog Toby, a setter, destroyed the first manuscript of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.

http://animalsbehavingbadly.blogspot.com/2009/03/bad-animals-in-history-cliche-comes.html (http://animalsbehavingbadly.blogspot.com/2009/03/bad-animals-in-history-cliche-comes.html)


2. Thomas Paine's body was dug up and sent to his native England for burial where it is today.

Is really half true, due to my poor wording on my part.

Since his memory (and his grave) was being disrespected in the United States, in September 1819, William Cobbett went to Thomas Paine's grave in New Rochelle, New York, dug up Paine's body, and raced the authorities to the docks where he sailed back to England with the corpse. Upon revealing the body to Customs agents in Liverpool, Cobbett announced "There, gentlemen, are the mortal remains of the immortal Thomas Paine." Cobbett's intention was to build a memorial to Paine in England . There was just one problem - Paine had been strongly against the monarchy and was still considered something of an outlaw in England. Cobbett's plans were refused. And so, what was left of Thomas Paine was stored in William Cobbett's attic and remained there until his death.

http://driventotears.com/HTML/ThomasPaine.html (http://driventotears.com/HTML/ThomasPaine.html)

When Cobbett died in 1835, his son was apparently unsuccessful in auctioning off the bones, and may have buried them in the family plot, said Mr. McCartin. Or maybe he didn't: in the 1850's, a Unitarian minister in England said that he had Paine's skull and right hand, and in the 1930's, a woman in Brighton insisted that she had Paine's jawbone.
In 1987, a Sydney businessmen claimed that he had purchased Paine's skull while on vacation in London. He sold it to an Australian named John Burgess, who claimed that he was a descendant of an illegitimate child of Paine's. And now, Mr. Burgess's wife is trying to raise the $60,000 needed to pay for DNA testing, said Gary Berton, president of the Thomas Paine National Historical Association here.
Both Mr. Berton and Mr. McCartin doubt the paternity claims. They are, however, impressed by the skull itself, which is said to have a number of markings similar to the ones that the Cobbetts etched.
"The number of markings and exact locations on the skull seem to match what we know of the markings," Mr. Berton said.
If DNA tests are done, the historical association will match the results to the hair samples stored at the museum here. If necessary, the association could authorize the exhumation of Paine's brain stem, which is buried in a secret location on the grounds of the Thomas Paine Museum here, said Mr. Berton, who is so passionate about Paine, he lives on the same property that Paine owned in Bordentown, N.J., before to moving to New Rochelle.
For now, most Paine artifacts are on display at either the museum or the adjacent Thomas Paine cottage, which was Paine's residence from 1803 to 1806, and is run by the Huguenot and New Rochelle Historical Association. At the museum, visitors can inspect Paine's wallets, glasses, watch and gloves. But most eerily, they can also see his death mask and what Mr. Berton said was his "grave mask": the molding made from Paine's decomposed body, while in exile in England, in 1822.


http://www.mindspring.com/~phila1/nyt330.htm (http://www.mindspring.com/~phila1/nyt330.htm)
3. The assassination of J. F. Kennedy was the first to be captured on film.

The film record of Alexander I's assassination remains one of the most notable pieces of newsreel in existence. He was assassinated in Marseilles on Tuesday 9 October 1934 and it was captured on film.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_I_of_Yugoslavia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_I_of_Yugoslavia)

4. The Boston Tea Party involved the destroying tea on the ships Brisk, Lipton, and Swift.

The ships were the Dartmouth, the Eleanor and the Beaver. This is the anniversary of the Boston tea party.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party)

5. The mustard seed is the smallest of seeds.

Matthew 13:31; Mark 4:30; and Luke 13:19
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches,” (Matt. 13:31; see also Mark 4:30; Luke 13:19).

No, the mustard seed is not the smallest of all seeds. Jesus was speaking proverbially. That is, he wasn't making a statement of absolute fact but using a proverbial style of communication.

No, there are other seeds smaller than the mustard seed. For instance, the orchid seed is so fine it is almost like silt.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_mustard_seed_the_smallest_Mark_4v31 (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_mustard_seed_the_smallest_Mark_4v31)

[sturm]

Ferdinand assassination was also captured on film at least partly, and its older then Alexander I.

[Cicero]

Ferdinand assassination was also captured on film at least partly, and its older then Alexander I.



Yes, I agree. This was my "first shot" at putting one of these quizes togehter and i made several minor errors :o

[Sharks and love]

Got any more?

[Cicero]

:o Working on another. Hope to avoid mistakes this time:o

[Helfaeng]

lol. Yes, I agree. This was my "first shot" at putting one of these quizes togehter and i made several minor errors :o