Blood in the Water—Answers

Here are the answers to the questions I posted earlier.

One

The violent Blood in the Water Olympic water polo match between Hungary and the Soviet Union erupted in the aftermath of the Soviet Union suppressing a Hungarian uprising. During which Olympics—year and host city—did this match take place?

Answer: 1956 Melbourne Olympics

The match became a powerful symbol of Cold War tensions. Hungary went on to win the gold medal, and player Ervin Zádor’s bloodied face was widely photographed, capturing global attention.

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Two

On November 6, 2012, a US president was re-elected for a second term. Who were his defeated opponents in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections?

Answer: John McCain (2008) and Mitt Romney (2012)

Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, was the first African American to hold the office. He served two terms, from 2009 to 2017, during which he implemented significant domestic and foreign policies, including healthcare reform, economic stimulus and the end of the Iraq War. Obama left office with high approval ratings and remains politically active.

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Three

A composer died on November 6, 1893. One of his symphonies, Symphony No. 6 in B minor, which premiered just nine days earlier, became known as his Pathétique. Who was the composer?

Answer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

The Pathétique is often interpreted as an emotional farewell, blending passion and tragedy in what became Tchaikovsky’s final completed work.

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Four

Switzerland officially abolished the death penalty on 6 November. Which decade was this?

Answer: 1990s (1992)

Though executions had already ceased decades earlier, the 1992 constitutional amendment made abolition permanent, aligning Switzerland with wider European human rights standards.

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Five

On 6 November 1966, NASA’s Lunar Orbiter 2 was launched with a primary mission objective of photographing specifically what on the Moon’s surface?

Answer: Potential landing sites on the Moon

The Lunar Orbiter 2 spacecraft was designed primarily to photograph smooth areas of the lunar surface for selection and verification of safe landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo missions.

— NASA

Lunar Orbiter 2 transmitted over 800 high-resolution images, including the first detailed close-ups of the Moon’s surface. These images were crucial in selecting the Apollo 11 landing site.

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