# General Hannibal. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 7, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994 "2005-08-07T15:20:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/1 "2005-08-07T15:20:53Z")
Think about what you know about the man named Hannibal, then read the spoiler boxes. General Hannibal crossed the Alps with elephants. General Hannibal fought Romans. General Hannibal was Cathaginian. How many of these things did you know before you read the spoilers? I attest that at least the first (if not the second) is common knowledge, and part of Western society’s collection of things “everyone knows.” Am I wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/2 "2005-08-07T15:25:58Z")
I knew 1 and 2 pretty solidly, but I’m not sure I knew 3 as well. I might have guessed it, but been unsure. I do not consider myself very knowledgable of history. ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/3 "2005-08-07T15:52:57Z")
The hover preview dealy screws up the spoilers, but I knew all three anyway. ---
**Author:** ![MadderMitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e7dd6/32.png) [@MadderMitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadderMitch)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/4 "2005-08-07T16:02:09Z")
> [@Strinka](#): > > The hover preview dealy screws up the spoilers, but I knew all three anyway. Ditto ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/5 "2005-08-07T16:10:14Z")
Ditto ditto. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/6 "2005-08-07T16:12:44Z")
ditto ditto ditto ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/7 "2005-08-07T16:20:55Z")
So it appears that my family is, thus far, just the exception. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/8 "2005-08-07T16:23:49Z")
> [@Speaker for the Dead](#): > > So it appears that my family is, thus far, just the exception. Well, you are on the SDMB after all. Maybe you could get Jay Leno to ask those questions on one of his “jay-walking” segments. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/9 "2005-08-07T16:29:38Z")
I could do that; but my family is well-educated, too. That’s what got me worried. Hell, my Mom was once fluent in Latin and Greek, so you think she’d know one of the most famous episodes in Roman history. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/10 "2005-08-07T16:51:12Z")
**Delenda est Carthago!** You’d think your mom would have run across that one at some point, wouldn’t you? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/11 "2005-08-07T17:01:20Z")
I knew them all but I’m into ancient history. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/12 "2005-08-07T17:29:32Z")
Not only do I know them all, but I noticed the spelling error in the third one. These are quite trivial history questions. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/13 "2005-08-07T17:30:02Z")
> [@Speaker for the Dead](#): > > Think about what you know about the man named Hannibal, then read the spoiler boxes. > > General Hannibal crossed the Alps with elephants. > > General Hannibal fought Romans. > > General Hannibal was Cathaginian. > > How many of these things did you know before you read the spoilers? I attest that at least the first (if not the second) is common knowledge, and part of Western society’s collection of things “everyone knows.” Am I wrong? I knew all three, but then again, I watched “Decisive Battles” on the history channel. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/14 "2005-08-07T17:32:11Z")
Hah, I noticed the error, too, but was too late to edit it. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/15 "2005-08-07T18:42:54Z")
> [@Speaker for the Dead](#): > > I attest that at least the first (if not the second) is common knowledge, and part of Western society’s collection of things “everyone knows.” Considering that Hannibal was a character on _The A-Team_ while Scipio was not, we can probably be pretty comfortable that not much is known about the fellow at all among the wider public. Although, when you asked to think of what I know about Hannibal Barca, the first thing that came to mind was how he learned of his brother’s death. His head was flung into Hannibal’s camp. ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/16 "2005-08-07T18:45:01Z")
All three, but I have a minor in classical history. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/17 "2005-08-07T18:49:59Z")
I knew all three. I’m pretty sure this was touched on in a highschool history class, but I knew from earlier (my father probably mentioned it at some point.) I did _not_ notice the spelling error. I had to paste it into google to see what everyone was talking about 😕. I don’t look at individual words when I read :o. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/18 "2005-08-07T20:55:01Z")
All three - I took a lot of Latin in college but I’m sure I knew all that before then; it’s a “common knowledge” thing. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/19 "2005-08-08T00:05:39Z")
I was in the company of a few very intellegent people while I was on vacation a few years ago. I was reading _Hannibal_, by Thomas Harris and I made the joke “A book about Hannibal and not one mention of elephants”. At least I thought it was a decent joke but I was met with blank stares of incomprehension. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994/20 "2005-08-08T00:24:20Z")
Knew all three. A few years ago on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” the first or second question was “Hannibal famously crossed the Alps with these animals” and the choices were camels, elephants, ostriches or llamas. The guy hemmed and hawed, then used his 50/50, which eliminated llamas and ostriches. The dude guessed camels. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-hannibal/315994.md?page=2)