Hold a Trivia Night
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A nuclear-themed trivia night could help you to raise money to fund your own campaign for a world free of nuclear weapons. Trivia nights are fun and easy to organise. We've come up with some sample questions to use, but you should try coming up with some of your own based on what you've learnt about nuclear weapons so far. From time to time, you might like to invite people to yell out the answer to a question for a prize. The first to give the correct answer wins.
Steps
- Set a time, date and location for your trivia night, as well as an entry fee if you want one.
- Decide on how many people you want for each team.
- Advertise this information on noticeboards and in your school newsletter.
- Write some questions suitable for your audience (See sample questions opposite).
- Obtain prizes to give the winning team members-businesses might donate them.
- On the night, collect money from people and make sure they all have paper and pens.
- Read the questions out round by round and keep a tally of the scores.
- Announce the winning team and present them with the prizes!
Sample questions
Round 1
1. On how many occasions have nuclear weapons been used in warfare?
2. What is the US President's "Emergency Satchel" more commonly known as? a. The nuclear football; b. The black box; c. The code case
3. Which is the only country in the world to have developed nuclear weapons and voluntarily dismantled all of them? a. Australia; b. South Africa; c. Argentina
4. The mayor of which Japanese city heads the Mayors for Peace network? a. Tokyo; b. Nagasaki; c. Hiroshima
5. What does the Nobel Peace Prize-winning "IAEA" stand for? a. Institute for Atomic Energy Advancement; b. International Atomic Energy Agency; c. Institute for Acquiring Energy from Atoms
6. The nuclear-weapon-free zone treaty covering which continent is the only such treaty not to have entered into force? a. Africa; b. South America; c. Antarctica
7 . Name one of the three former Soviet countries which voluntarily gave up their nuclear arsenals following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
8 The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty entered into force at the beginning of which decade? a. 1960s; b. 1970s; c. 1980s
9. In the insane world of nuclear weapons, what does "MAD" stand for? a. Massive atomic disaster; b. Mutually assured destruction; c. Multiple accidental detonations
10. What name was given to India's first nuclear test explosion? a. Little Boy; b. Smiling Buddha; c. The Big Bang
Round 2
1. Jo Vallentine, the first and only person in the world to be elected to a national parliament on the single issue of nuclear disarmament, is from which nation? a. Australia; b. New Zealand; c. Chile
2. Which former bodybuilder said in 2007 that the attention focused on nuclear weapons should be as prominent as that of global climate change?
3. The board of directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created what infamous clock in 1947?
4. The world's first nuclear-weapon-free zone covered which chilly geographical region? a. The Arctic; b. Antarctica; c. Iceland
5. Which country is widely thought to be the sixth in the world to have developed nuclear weapons, though it refuses to confirm this? a. Israel; b. Iraq; c. Iran
6. What were "Little Boy" and "Fat Man"? a. Nicknames for the men who invented nuclear weapons; b. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; c. Anti-nuclear symbols
7. Which is the only country to have announced its withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty? a. India; b. North Korea; c. United States
8. What does the "H" in "H-bomb" stand for? a. Helium; b. Huge; c. Hydrogen
9. Which country has conducted more nuclear test explosions than any other country? a. Russia/Soviet Union; b. United States; c. United Kingdom
10. What name is given to the United Kingdom's fleet of nuclear-armed submarines? a. The Terrible; b. Trident; c. Viking
Round 3
1. On the Doomsday Clock, how many minutes is it to midnight? a. Ten; b. Five; c. Eight
2. Which former American First Lady said in 2007 that Ronnie's greatest hope was for a world free of nuclear weapons?
3. The explosive power of an atomic bomb is created from which of the following: nuclear fusion or nuclear fission?
4. Which of the following has not been declared a nuclear-weapon-free zone: the seabed, the southern hemisphere or outer space?
5. Which respected former diplomat from Ghana stressed the importance of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in his final speech as head of the United Nations?
6 . Which Japanese word is used to refer to the victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? a. Shinkansen; b. Hibakusha; c. Honshu
7. Sadako Sasaki, a well-known victim of the Hiroshima bombing, died aged 12 from what type of cancer? a. Bone cancer; b. Lung cancer; c. Skin cancer
8. Most nuclear-armed countries have publicly declared that they would not use their nuclear weapons except in retaliation to a nuclear attack against them. True or false?
9. Which international body held in 1996 that the use of nuclear weapons would generally be illegal under international law? a. International Criminal Court; b. International Court of Justice; c. United Nations Security Council
10. Which organ of the United Nations called in its very first resolution for "the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction"? a. General Assembly; b. Security Council; c. International Court of Justice
Round 4
1. Which is generally more powerful: an H-bomb or an A-bomb?
2. North Korea announced on 9 October of which year that it had successfully conducted its first nuclear test explosion? a. 2005; b. 2006; c. 2007
3. Which US president ordered in 1945 that two atomic bombs be dropped on Japan? a. Harry S. Truman; b. Franklin Roosevelt; c. Ronald Reagan
4. Name all nine countries which currently possess nuclear weapons.
5. Name all five nuclear-armed countries which are parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and which have veto power in the UN Security Council.
Answers
Round 1 (10 points)
1. Two
2. The Nuclear Football
3. South Africa
4. Hiroshima
5. International Atomic Energy Agency
6. Africa
7. Any one of the following: Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine
8. The 1970s
9. Mutually assured destruction
10. The Smiling Buddha
Round 2 (10 points)
1. Australia
2. Arnold Schwarzenegger
3. The Doomsday Clock
4. Antarctica
5. Israel
6. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
7. North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)
8. Hydrogen
9. The United States
10. Trident
Round 3 (10 points)
1. Five. (This answer was accurate at the time of publication.)
2. Nancy Reagan
3. Nuclear fission
4. The southern hemisphere
5. Kofi Annan
6. Hibakusha
7. Leukaemia
8. False. (Most nuclear-armed countries have said they would use their nuclear weapons in response to an attack involving chemical or biological weapons.)
9. The International Court of Justice
10. The General Assembly
Round 4 (10 points)
1. An H-bomb
2. 2006
3. Harry S. Truman
4. The United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea (half a point for each)
5. The United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China (half a point for each)
