It’s been a week since I published “So You Think You Know Boston” Quiz #2. I have both the results and a confession.
The Confession
As an alert reader and docent from Boston By Foot pointed out, I had coded incorrectly the answer to Question #1, “Where was the first location of the Museum of Fine Arts?” The correct answer should have been “Copley Square where the Fairmont Hotel now stands.”
If that’s the answer you gave, add five points to your total score.
Also – and I am embarrassed to admit this – I completely messed up on Question #5, about the person who was responsible for building Long Wharf. That person was Captain Oliver Noyes in 1710. John Hancock wasn’t born until 1757, so he could not possibly have been the man behind building the wharf.
Add another five points to your total score.
Yes, I know this quiz was more difficult than previous tests. Having not one but two incorrect answers didn’t help. I will do better next time.
The Right Answers to Quiz #2
Frankly, I thought the level of difficulty meant most readers would get a few of the answers right but most would get the answers wrong. The right vs wrong results surprised me. 59 readers took the quiz.
Most people knew the name of the warship Paul Revere rowed past on his way to join the other riders. I particularly liked this question, having grown up in Somerset, MA. You also nailed the original location of the MFA, that the curve of the TD Garden evokes a skate blade, and that the Boston Athenaeum is Boston’s only neo-Palladian building.
Congratulations on knowing your Boston history.
And the Wrong Answers to Quiz #2
Fenway Park
My big gotcha came on the quote. I knew that the reference to Fenway Park looked like something Doris Kearns Goodwin would say, and I was right. Most people chose that answer. Kudos to you, Ms. Goodwin. But the person who said it was John Williams.
Too bad he didn’t write a hymn to the country’s oldest ballpark when he lived in Boston. Then, we could sing that instead of songs written by a Noo Yawkah (Neil Diamond) and a rock group from Los Angeles (The Standells) who never set foot in the city. Even so, we love our Fenway vibes.
Also, most people thought the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon did it in 1972. But the right answer was 1966, when Bobbi Gibb ran and finished. The rules were simpler then and she just slipped into the pack and took off. So, if you thought it was Kathrine Switzer in 1967, that was not the answer, either.
Ya Done Good, Readers
Although the questions were more difficult, most people either knew or guessed the right ones. I found this very encouraging. It also means I will have to stretch a little more when I do Quiz #3. After all, I have to stay ahead of my well-informed readers.
