# Trivia Quiz: Identify These People **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 22, 2005, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606 "2005-07-22T07:29:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/1 "2005-07-22T07:29:31Z")
Tell who these people are/were: 1. Abe Fortas 2. Cubby O’Brien 3. Eddie Gaedel 4. Fritz Haber 5. Rene F. A. Sully Prudhomme 6. George Wunder 7. Helaine Lembeck 8. Grace Hopper 9. Harriet Tubman 10. Beverly Cleary ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/2 "2005-07-22T09:33:54Z")
1. Grace Hopper - One of the early computer pioneers. She developed the first compiler, and is also famous for the first computer “bug” which was literally a moth that got stuck between relay contacts. I have a copy of the famous “bug” page from her notes hanging in my cubicle. 2. Harriet Tubman - a former slave who became a prominant figure in the “underground railroad” I’m drawing a blank on the rest. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/3 "2005-07-22T09:42:40Z")
!. Abe Fortas - SUpreme Court Justice 10. Beverly Cleary - Author of the _Henry Huggins_ series of childrens books ---
**Author:** ![Sarah\_Woodruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sarah\_Woodruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah_Woodruff)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/4 "2005-07-22T09:54:33Z")
The only ones I know of are Beverly Cleary (“Ribsy!”) and Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad lady. I’m not a Yank, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Severiane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@Severiane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Severiane)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/5 "2005-07-22T09:57:16Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Tell who these people are/were: > > 1. Rene F. A. Sully Prudhomme This one is easy for me : French poet (19th century) ---
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/6 "2005-07-22T10:04:17Z")
[QUOTE=dougie\_monty] Tell who these people are/were: 1. Abe Fortas - Former SCOTUS justice. 2. Cubby O’Brien - Original Mouseketeer. 3. Grace Hopper - First female programmer (?) 4. Harriet Tubman - Underground Railroad heroine. 5. Beverly Cleary - author of the Ramona series and the Henry Higgins books. ---
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/7 "2005-07-22T10:05:20Z")
And I’ll take bad coding for $1000, Alex. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/8 "2005-07-22T10:11:51Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Tell who these people are/were: > > 1. Abe Fortas Supreme Court justice > [@](#): > > 1. Cubby O’Brien Star of the Mickey Mouse show > [@](#): > > 1. Eddie Gaedel Only midget to play in major league baseball history > [@](#): > > 1. Fritz Haber Synthesized ammonia > [@](#): > > 1. Rene F. A. Sully Prudhomme Won the first Nobel Prize in Literature > [@](#): > > 1. George Wunder Did comic strips > [@](#): > > 1. Helaine Lembeck Actress, appeared in “Welcome Back, Kotter” > [@](#): > > 1. Grace Hopper Worked with computers > [@](#): > > 1. Harriet Tubman Assisted with running the Underground Railroad > [@](#): > > 1. Beverly Cleary Kids’ book author And no, I didn’t cheat. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/9 "2005-07-22T10:36:38Z")
Rear Admiral Grace Hopper is best known as the creator of COBOL. ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/10 "2005-07-22T12:32:53Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > Rear Admiral Grace Hopper is best known as the creator of COBOL. There is a story, which may or may not be true, that Admiral Hopper originated the use of the word ‘bug’ to describe errors in a computer program. The story goes that something wasn’t working right, and she ascribed the error to the presence of a moth flitting around inside the computer cabinet. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/11 "2005-07-22T18:34:50Z")
Yes, I guess we aren’t allowed to cheat (search engines, books) so I am making this entry from memory. I remember reading about **Fritz Haber** in one of Isaac Asimov’s book of science facts. Mr Haber was an early (if not the first) experimenter in chemical warfare. He worked on the German side in World War I. He devised a method (the Haber process ?) whereby, a HUGE amount of chlorine gas could be produced on a level that made it practical to be used as a lethal battlefield weapon. Despite Haber’s best efforts :rolleyes: , Germany still lost. There’s more. Eventually, when the Nazis gained power, Fritz Haber fell out of Germany’s good graces (he was Jewish) and I believe he fled to England. He was then involved with working with allied scientists, who needless to say _hated his guts_. I believe he died shortly thereafter. More information than anyone probably ever wanted to know about Fritz Haber. (Voted LEAST likely to win the Nobel Peace Prize in his high school yearbook 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/12 "2005-07-22T20:00:23Z")
Just curious, but what’s the connection among all these people? Or is it up to us to guess? ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/13 "2005-07-22T20:13:37Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > Just curious, but what’s the connection among all these people? Or is it up to us to guess? Heh, Ammoniac. Haber won the Nobel Prize for the Haber Ammonia Process that synthesized ammonia. It’s better known today as the Haber-Bosch Process after Bosch further developed it for industrial scale. Germany got most of it’s fertilizer from bat guano in South America (I think this is correct, it’s been a long time) and the Haber-Bosch Process allowed them to synthesize ammonia to use as fertilizer instead of shipping bat guano. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/14 "2005-07-22T21:28:13Z")
> [@chatelaine](#): > > 1. Grace Hopper - First female programmer (?) The honor of first female programmer (and first programmer as well) generally goes to Lady Ada Lovelace. The programming language “ADA” is named after her. > [@CBCD](#): > > There is a story, which may or may not be true, that Admiral Hopper originated the use of the word ‘bug’ to describe errors in a computer program. The story goes that something wasn’t working right, and she ascribed the error to the presence of a moth flitting around inside the computer cabinet. Here is the “bug” page from Grace Hopper’s notes. You can see the actual moth taped to the page, with the inscription “relay #70 panel F (moth) in relay”. [![](https://www.eecis.udel.edu/~mills/pic/h96566k.jpg) ](https://www.eecis.udel.edu/~mills/pic/h96566k.jpg) While generally accepted as the first computer “bug” it appears that the term was in use before then. Grace herself wrote “first actual case of bug being found” in her notes, which implies that they were using the term before then and this happened to be the first one where the bug actually turned out to be a bug. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/15 "2005-07-22T21:44:27Z")
You’re correct, wolf\_mersier. 🙂 Before World War I, Germany, like most other countries, bought nitrates from Chile–the Atacama Desert, then as now, was a major source of nitrates for fertilizers and explosives. But then World War I started and the British controlled the seas. Germany was blockaded from shipping nitrates fronm Chile. They started running low on material for explosives, and Haber worked out a process to heat hydrogen under pressure, with certain metals as catalysts, in air, causing it to combine with the nitrogen in air and produce ammonia. Haber wouldn’t have been able to win the Nobel Prize anyway, after a few years: When German pacfist Carl von Ossietzky won the Peace Prize for exposing Hitler’s secret re-armament, Hitler forbade Germans to accept the Nobel Prizes. Here’s another ten: 1. Tenzing Norkhay 2. Marc Connelly 3. Arch Ward 4. John Rutledge 5. Robert Webber 6. Simon Rodia 7. Sam Ervin 8. Adah Isaacs Menken 9. Gladys Emerson Cook 10. Mac Brazel (sp?) ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/16 "2005-07-22T21:53:27Z")
1. Tenzing Norgay was the sherpa who reached the Everest summit with Hillary. 2. Mack Brazel was the ranch hand who reported the Roswell, NM UFO. That’s the only ones I know, non Google ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/17 "2005-07-22T21:55:48Z")
Oh, 7. Sam Ervin was the head of the Nixon Watergate investigation IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/18 "2005-07-22T22:04:01Z")
Arch Ward was a sportswriter (don’t remember which paper - St. Louis Post-Dispatch?)who first came up with the idea for the MLB All Star game. Gladys Emerson Cook - my mother’s favorite artist. Famous for painting cats, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/19 "2005-07-22T22:16:02Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > Arch Ward was a sportswriter (don’t remember which paper - St. Louis Post-Dispatch?)who first came up with the idea for the MLB All Star game. > > Gladys Emerson Cook - my mother’s favorite artist. Famous for painting cats, IIRC. Ward was from Chicago. As for Ms. Cook 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606/20 "2005-07-22T23:47:37Z")
Tenzing was the Sherpa who guided Hillary to the top of Mt Everest. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia-quiz-identify-these-people/313606.md?page=2)