Historical Analysis

By Michael Blanding

How well do you know your Bay State history? Test your knowledge with these 10 questions and then visit masslodging.com for the answers.

1. What was the name of the Indian who helped the Pilgrims first learn how to hunt, fish and grow crops?

(a) Pocahontas
(b) Sacajawea
(c) Squanto

2. Which of the following was not one of the names of the ships boarded in the Boston Tea Party?

(a) Dartmouth
(b) Victory
(c) Eleanor

3. Which American President was not born in Massachusetts?

(a) John Quincy Adams
(b) Abraham Lincoln
(c) George H. W. Bush

4. What 5-foot-long wooden object has hung in the chamber of the Massachusetts State Legislature since 1784?

(a) The Holy Lobster
(b) The Hallowed Tea Chest
(c) The Sacred Cod

5. Which Massachusetts city was the richest city per capita in the United States at the start of the 19th-century?

(a) Boston, because of its fishing production
(b) Lowell, because of its textile manufacturing
(c) Salem, because of its maritime trade

6. What did Paul Revere reportedly yell while riding across the Massachusetts countryside on April 18, 1775?

(a) “It's a British Invasion!”
(b) “The Redcoats are coming!”
(c) “One if by land, two if by sea!”

7. What strange meal did Massachusetts senator Daniel Webster supposedly consume every day for lunch?

(a) Three dozen oysters and six tumblers of brandy
(b) Four boiled lobsters and two quarts of milk
(c) Six pounds of steamed clams and three snifters of whiskey

8. Which one of the following was not invented in Massachusetts ?

(a) Toll House cookies
(b) Kleenex
(c) Polaroid photography

9. When Malcolm X lived in Boston, what was his job?

(a) A waiter at the Parker House
(b) A bus driver on the MBTA
(c) A store clerk at Filene's

10. Which of the following was not a year in which a Massachusetts sports team won a national championship?

(a) 1986
(b) 1972
(c) 1958

Click here for answers to quiz.