Dan Snow's History Hit - Dan Snow's History Hit Quiz!

Episode Date: December 30, 2022

Fingers on buzzers for a very special History Hit end-of-year treat.Tricky expert questions, history in the headlines, historical fact or fiction? It can only be the History Hit Big Quiz of 2022 - a seasonal test where you can pit your wits against our in-house history brains, or just sit back, grab a glass of whatever you fancy, and enjoy a fact-filled competition, chaired by Quizmaster supreme, Dan Snow.Everyone is welcome - from history know-it-alls to the whole family. Who can tell the difference between Mary Tudor and Marie Antoinette; the battles of Bosworth and Bunker Hill; Cleopatra’s needle and the Washington Monument?We’re all living through history, now let’s find out who’s been paying attention!If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store.

2022. It's certainly been a historic year. Most of them are. But today we are going to try and extract every ounce of factual fun we can for a turbulent 12 months. So we've seen the continuing effects of pandemic, a brutal war in Eastern Europe, the death of Britain's longest-lived monarch. We've also seen a conspiracy in Germany to bring back the Second Reich, which I did not have on my bingo card for this year. Just some of the developments we've seen all over the world. There have also been a host of historic anniversaries, new ideas and new discoveries that have got historians and history fans talking online, at home,

and most importantly in the pub. Now we're going to find out if our two teams of top history experts have been paying attention to historical nuggets the last 12 months. And I hope you'll be playing along at home. Don't be shy, shout out the answers, we might just hear you deep in our history hit bunker. On my right we have professors Susanna Lipscomb and Tristan Hughes. Susanna is the champion of all things Tudor and not so Tudor, which is lucky as she hosts our Not Just the Tudors podcast. And Tristan is our in-house ancient historian, though he looks young enough to me.

Together, they make up Team Pedants Revolt. Susie, what's your top historic revelation of 2022? So there was the historic discovery of another ship like the Vasa, the Applet. So a 17th century warship. Be still my beating heart. Which was found off Vaxholm, which is near Stockholm. After it was decommissioned, it had been put there sort of deliberately to stop enemy attacks. So that's very exciting for 17th century people,

people interested in archaeology or people interested in warships. Which is all of us. Tristan, is there anything that you can dredge up from the ancient world this year that's of interest? Well, of course, and naturally. I mean, it's quite niche, but I love the niche stuff. And this is a 5,000-year-old chalk drum found in Yorkshire, which was on display at the British Museum earlier this year. Only just announced this year,

and they've labelled it the most important piece of prehistoric art ever found in the UK over the past century because it shows how connected this Stone Age world was 5,000 years ago between Orkney, Yorkshire, Brittany and Spain. I think that connection's... I loved it and I thought that was incredible. Brilliant. Thank you very much for making us aware of that essential find. On my left, we've got Alice Loxton and Matt Lewis. Alice seems to have visited every stately home

and cathedral for history yet over the last 12 months. She's abseiled down wells. We rode across the lake at Stourhead together. That was lovely. But does she remember anything about them? And Matt is our resident medievalist, co-host of the Gone Medieval podcast. He knows his Bosworth from his Bannockburn.

Alice, what was your favourite development this year? I'd have to say endurance. Discovery of a lifetime, as I'm sure you would agree. People are saying that. Many people are saying it. Matt, what about you? I'm tempted to talk all about Richard III and the 10th anniversary of the discovery of his remains. But there's also the discovery of this early medieval

necklace in Northamptonshire which is covered in Roman beads and Roman coins and has a small plate at the bottom with a cross found on a female skeleton, talks to female involvement in the early Christian church in Britain. Well you guys are the conquistadors. Let's get on with round one which is History in the Headlines. Let's get on with round one, which is History in the Headlines. History in the Headlines. These are questions about all the historical topics that have hit the headlines in the last 12 months. You get two points for right answer

and one bonus point for something clever that you can add. Fingers on the special history-themed buzzers, folks. Who broke their wand this September? Yes, Susanna, the pedant's revolt. Okay, so this is at the Queen's funeral, and it is... Terrifying. Lord Chamberlain? It was the Lord Chamberlain.

The Lord Chamberlain breaks their wand at the end of the monarch's reign, symbolising the end of their service. I thought that was the most dramatic moment of the entire day. It used to be the whole medieval household would break their wands and throw them into the grave with the monarch, symbolise the end of their office. I think we just got our first bonus point, folks.

Matt Lewis. It is medieval, honestly. OK, next question. As all right-thinking citizens of the world know, not just history fans, Endurance Shackleton's ship was found 3,000 metres down the seabed of the Weddell Sea. What is the name of the cat? I knew you were going to ask that.

Wait, what was the name of the cat on the Shackleton expedition? Mr Chippy. Oh yeah! Oh, interesting, interesting! Wrong, but also a bit right. Oh, is it Mrs Chippy? It was Mrs Chippy. You're both going to get one point, but Tristan is going to get a bonus point

because he accidentally identified the fact that Mrs Chippy was, in fact, male. A male cat. Does anyone know what happened to Mrs Chippy? Mrs Chippy didn't survive the expedition. Why not? Because... Most of the animals on that expedition tasted too good.

He was eaten. They ate him. Surely eaten. It was an extra mouth to feed. And it led to a famous mutiny. The owner of Bessie's chicken was mutiny to get shucked on this great moment. Right, moving on. What did the University of Michigan discover about its prized Galileo document this year?

It was forged. It's a good guess. There's only a certain number of things that can be wrong with a manuscript, I suppose. It was, in fact, a 20th century fake. It was uncovered by Nick Wilding, Professor of History at Georgia State University. Clearly wasn't someone at Michigan University. I know. George is coming up here correcting our… That's infuriating. Right, the last woman convicted in which miscarriage of justice

was finally exonerated this year? Come on, Susannah. Witchcraft. It's got to be witchcraft. Yes. And is that the last one convicted? I don'tcraft. It's got to be witchcraft. Yeah. And is that the last one convicted? I don't know. It was Anna Goldie in Switzerland, but that was not this year, was it? Well, it's the last woman convicted

in which miscarriage of justice? Is it Pendle Witches? Not the Pendle Witches. It's an extremely famous bunch of witches. Salem Witch Trials? It is the Salem Witch Trials. I feel like I was led into that. The question was maybe slightly unclear there.

No, no, it's okay. I think let's give you... I set them up, you knock them down. That's just how it goes. So Elizabeth Johnson, Jr. Her name has been cleared. Her exoneration is included in a state budget signed into law by Massachusetts governor, 329 years after Johnson was found guilty of witchcraft.

I like that she's exonerated, because quite often they're pardoned, which suggests that they did do something wrong, but were just letting them off. I think we'll give them both a point for that. Right, let's keep going. What pregnant animal was discovered in the excavations of Pompeii in June? Tristan. It is, and this is so awesome, it's a tortoise. You're absolutely right.

It is a tortoise, a pregnant tortoise that they found in Pompeii. Literally mad. See, this is why industry is the coolest of them all. No, I won't go that far. But like every year at Pompeii, they seem to make some new incredible discovery. And every year, something much better than the last year. And this for me just takes the biscuit. A pregnant tortoise that they found in Pompeii.

Tristan and I were in Pompeii this year, and I saw another tortoise that was caught. There were obviously lots of them wandering about. And I also saw this beautiful baked bread that was in an oven and is perfectly preserved from the volcanic eruption. Extraordinary. Possibly slightly burnt. OK, folks, what was unusual about the discoverer

of a huge hoard of Roman coins in Spain this year? Was it an animal? Yes, I think I need a little bit more. Was it a dog? No. I'm out. Okay, okay. It was a badger, but I think we'll give you guys one point for that. I think we'll get, you'll definitely get a point for that.

The site La Cuesta Cave in Grado yielded a total of 209 late Roman era coins, dated from between 200 and 400 CE. The badger may have dug up the coins while searching for food or shelter during a huge snowstorm there in Spain in January 2020. How did he let anyone know about them? I mean, the's the con... I mean, you know, the badger discovers them, but how do we know about them? It feels like there's a missing link here. And also there's a potential legal case in this, like that monkey that took a selfie of itself who owns the photograph of it. Does the badger have a claim on this treasure?

Finders keepers. Okay, next question. Whose flying cap was sold at auction this year for $825,000? Not a cap that flies, but a cap worn whilst flying. One of the Dam Busters. It's a good guess. Think about a civilian flyer who is extraordinarily famous, an American and a sort of celebrity of flying. Go.

Amelia Earhart. Correct. Amelia Earhart. Two points. The cap was worn by Earhart when she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in 1928. It was expected to sell for around $80,000 but went for over ten times that. It is cool though, isn't it? I mean, you'd look good wearing that. I mean, I want one. You'd look great, Susie.

Thanks. Would you wear it too? Just everyday occasions? Flying across the Atlantic? I don't know, yeah. Any time I happen to go on a plane. And with that, we come safely to land at the end of round one. Laura the Scorer has let me know that there is an early advantage enjoyed by the Conquistadors, who are one point ahead of the Pedant's Revolt. Giving you a head start because you guys need it.

They're revolting already. Round two. Tricky Expert Question. they're revolting already round two tricky expert question so well done conquistadors a long way to go though we're only part way through this the longest day throughout this quiz we're going to be hearing from some of our expert friends at history hit first up is the natural history museum's Dr. Selina Brace. Hi, History Hit quiz team. I'm here at the Natural History Museum with the London mammoths,

and I'm going to ask you a question about ancient DNA. So, 2022 saw the record for the oldest DNA ever sequenced totally smashed. So how old is the oldest DNA to have been sequenced? Good luck. I'm gonna go, it can't be anywhere near old enough, but I'm gonna go the skeletons that were found in Norwich which were 12th century. Let's do it, Selina's given us a clue, let's find out what it is. So you'd like a clue? I'm going to give you three options. A, 700,000 years old. B, 1 million years old. Or C, 2 million years old.

So I didn't hear option D, 12th century Norwich. I'm sorry, but that is a really medievalist answer to an ancient question there. Okay, we're going to go with 700,000. I'm sorry, but that is a really medievalist answer to an ancient question there. Okay, we're going to go with 700,000. Okay, let's hear the answer from Selina. And the answer for the oldest DNA ever sequenced is... 2 million years old. Oh my goodness.

So the next round is the quickfire round. I will give the team an event. All they've got to do is tell me which 22 it was from. From 10.22 to 19.22. So let's get into it. First up, let's go with the pedants. Speed dating. Okay, Susie and Tristan, you've got 90 seconds.

They start now. Gandhi is sentenced to six years for sedition. 1922. Correct. Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats English troops at the Battle of Old Byland in North Yorkshire. 12? 1222?

Incorrect, 1922. Charles Babbage publishes a proposal for a difference engine. 1822. Correct. Henry VI for a difference engine. 1822. Correct. Henry VI becomes King of England. 1422. Correct. Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of France and England, is born.

1222. 1120. Joseph Stan is appointed General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Soviet Union. Correct. The Chinese Song Dynasty army reaches one million registered soldiers. Also... Song... 1022? 1022, correct.

The first group of freed slaves from the United States arrive on the west coast of Africa, founding Monrovia on April the 25th. 1822? Correct. Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I begins his siege to expel the Knights of St John in Rhodes. 1522?

Correct. Sergei Dagalev, Igor Stravinsky, Pablo Picasso, Marcel Proust, James Joyce and Eric Satie dine together at their only joint meeting in... 1922. King James I of England dissolves the English Parliament. 1622. Jamestown massacre.

Algonquin natives kill 347 English settlers outside Jamestown, Virginia. 1622. The Royal Standard of Scotland is adopted. 1222. Time is up there. Your Royal Standard of Scotland is adopted. 1222. Time is up there. The old 17th century knowledge is predictably brilliant. Yeah, we had a couple of massive failures on the medieval period,

but there we go. Sorry, medievalists. I'm gassed about Robert the Bruce because he wins Bannockburn in 1314, doesn't he? So obviously it's 1322 and not 1222. So sorry. Sorry, medievalists. But that Song Dynasty fact is extraordinary. A million troops. I was thinking because King

Cnut invades England just before then with 10,000 men. No, my brain was saying it must be 1922 and I was like Song, Song! Yeah, all the dynasties, which one is... That was good work by the pedants, but let's see what the King Crystals have got in their locker. Are you ready? 90 seconds starts now. November 14th, the British Broadcasting Corporation begins radio service. 1922. 1922, correct. Molière, the French playwright, is born. 1822. 1622. Elthalof, Archbishop of Canterbury, travels to Rome to obtain the pallium. 1022. Correct. The Brown Bess muzzle-loading musket becomes the British Army's standard infantry firearm for land combat.

1622. Oh, 1622. It was in service until after the Great War, but not that long. Anyway, I'm using up my time. Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to see in Tide in 1922, in the Tide, the tomb of Tutankhamun. Honda Yasutoshi, a celebrated Japanese Edo period samurai, dies. 1622. Well celebrated Japanese Edo period samurai, dies. 1622. Well done, Edo.

The University of Padua is founded in Italy by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. 1322. Ooh, 1222. The Barbary lion becomes extinct in the wild with the last one killed in Morocco. 1822. 1922. All the bad things happen. 20th century. The concordance of worms between Pope Calixtus II and the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V settles the investiture controversy. 1122.

Good. Magellan's ship the Victoria returns to Spain, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the world. 1522. Very good. The first recorded bottled spring water. I've started, so I will finish. The first record of bottled spring water in England at Holywell Malvern, what year? I think it's 18th century. 1722.

1622. That was hard. That was really hard. I thought you guys had it harder. I had to say I thought it was harder. I did like the Magellan fact, it's good because it's the ship that travels around the world, because remember Magellan dies half way around the world, he doesn't make it. And he wasn't alone, of 270 men that left on that Spanish expedition only 18 made it

back to Spain, having circumnavigated the world. Wow. Brutal. Right, well done folks, well done indeed. Let's get the scores from Laura the Scorer. And it turns out that the Pedants Revolt have slipped into the lead. This year, speaking of exciting, history here have been lucky enough to spend a lot of time in Egypt. We went to the Valley of the Kings.

I was in Tutankhamun's tomb, nearly on the anniversary of its discovery by Howard Carter. And so to mark that historic year, we've got one of our favourite Egyptologists, Chris Naunton, asking another expert question. Tricky expert question. Let's hear from Chris. Hello, you lovely history people.

A hundred years ago, Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun that we see here in the tomb of Hui. I'd like to know who succeeded Tutankhamun on the throne of Egypt. Tristan. It is a very lesser known fellow called Ai. Who was sort of his prime minister. Kind of.

And I don't think he lasted very long at all, but he still managed to entomb himself in an incredibly elaborate tomb in the Valley of the Kings. More elaborate than Tutankhamen's. And he features on the wall of Tutankhamen's tomb, doing the mouth. Yeah, it's very exciting. Right, in this next round,

I'm going to describe a historical person. I'm going to break it up. I'm going to give you one sentence at a time. If you get it right after the first sentence, you get six points. For all the subsequent sentences, you get one less point each time until right at the end, I virtually tell you it is, and you have a humiliating goal of withdrawal.

Mystery History Person. Okay, let's get underway. First piece of information about our first mystery historical figure. I was hailed as a communist hero by Karl Marx. OK, next. I married my second wife within a month of the death of the first. It's a big change, surely. Stalin?

No. I considered giving up the law to become a monk. Thomas More. That's right, Thomas More. Susanna Lipscomb gets it. I thought that one was right up your alley. Next one. I was convicted of fraud. That narrows it down.

That's rather huge, isn't it? My own slave walks out on me. Not sure if slaves can do that but anyway. Thomas Jefferson? Controversial but no that's not Thomas Jefferson. I like to carry a lamp around in broad daylight. I either died from holding my breath, eating a bad octopus or being bitten by an infected dog. Susanna. Louis Pasteur. Absolutely not. I liked to sleep in public in a large pot.

Who is this person? It's definitely someone from the 18th century. Diogenes. Here we go. Tristan got there in the end. That was a special Tristan question. It's a Diogenes. He got two points to the pen. I was thinking Diogenes.

Who was this guy? Thank you. Well done. He was the founder of the cynic movement of philosophy. There he is in his pot. He famously, Alexander the Great, apparently approached Diogenes and, you know, it's the famous Diogenes kind of thing,

and Diogenes is just like, you're in my sunlight, you know, get out of the way kind of thing. He just showed absolutely no respect to Alexander the Great. That's another story I can add. Brilliant, very good. This next one, here we go. Last one, in fact. I was three years old when I took the throne after my father died from a septic boil.

As a child, I liked pushing old people over. Who doesn't? I founded the first standing army, printing press and parliament in my country. Ooh. At least one of which it no longer has. Gustavus Adolphus? No, but it's a reasonable one.

Louis XV? No. Tough hit on Louis XIV's army there, holy Moses. I murdered my own son in a fit of rage as I didn't like the way his pregnant wife was dressed. I asked Elizabeth I to marry me, she refused. Philip II of Spain? No.

No, that doesn't make sense, sorry. My orthodox liturgical hymn, Stikeron No. 1, in honour of St. Pyotr, was the first CD ever released in the Soviet Union. Ivan the Terrible. Ivan the Terrible, correct. One point for the pedants. An appalling incident. He murdered his oldest son.

His son's pregnant wife, we just heard about, apparently, well, miscarried, probably thanks to the trauma of that event. Ivan the Terrible's useless youngest son took over, who died without product, which then was the end of his dynasty. Hence the Romanovs after that. Died without product? What a way to talk about children.

Yeah, try them not talking about my products. We'll not enjoy that when they watch this programme. So with that, the penance extend their lead. Hooray! Well, thank you for dying. I haven't no idea. This next question comes from Daisy Dunn, a top classicist,

a historian that's written on everything from Catullus, Rome's greatest erotic poet, to Oxford, Between the Walls. So it could be anything, but it does feature a year ending in 22. Tricky expert question. Let's hear from Daisy. In the great Roman city of Londinium, this is Daisy Dunn.

And I would like to know, in AD 22, the Roman Senate voted controversially to dedicate a statue of which famous member of the Praetorian Guard for his role in fighting a fire in the theatre of Pompey? Tristan will be answering that extremely niche question. Incredibly niche, but there's only one Praetorian prefect I can think of from that time who's quite famous, and that's Sejanus. Made famous in I, Claudius? Yes, indeed. Let's go straight to the answer see if you're right. And the answer is Sejanus. Well done you. Well done. Lucky for everyone else she's got a bonus question so let's hear that. Now here's a bonus question. The Theatre of Pompeii was the earliest permanent theatre in all of Rome,

but it's better known for being the site of which cataclysmic event in Rome's history? I'm just going to, before Tristan answers, I'm going to give you guys a little pause. It's a very, very famous thing that happens there. Okay, thanks. It's the most famous thing that happens there that you can think of in the history of the Roman Republic. Is it where Julius Caesar was stabbed? Boom! Exactly right. Well done.

Thank you for that hint. I feel that the conquistadors needed a little bit of it. Let's see what Daisy says about it. The answer, of course, is that it was here that Julius Caesar was assassinated. Very good Alice, well done indeed. Right, thank you very much to Daisy Dunne for lobbing a few easy questions at her mate Tristan there. And the scores remain the pedants slightly ahead.

Well done. slightly ahead. You're listening to Dan Snow's History Hit. There's more to come. I'm Matt Lewis. And I'm Dr. Alan Orjanaga. And in Gone Medieval, we get into the greatest mysteries. The gobsmacking details and latest groundbreaking research.

From the greatest millennium in human history. We're talking Vikings. Normans. Kings and popes. Who were rarely the best of friends. Murder. Rebellions. And crusades.

Find out who we really were. By subscribing to Gone Medieval from History Hit. Wherever you get your podcasts. Right, let's go on with the next round. This one is a kind of historical price is right. Historical more or less. I'm going to give you the amount of money that someone was famously ransomed for. Then I'm going to name a second famous historical hostage and you've tell me if they're ransomed for more or less money.

Now, to anyone in North America, I'm afraid we are going to be doing this in British pounds. But luckily, the British government has made it very easy for you to do a very simple currency exchange in your heads, because the UK pound is now worth about the same as the American dollar. So happy days. It's more or less history. All right, conquistadors, here we go. 50 years ago, West Germany was given the option of paying to release a political prisoner in East Germany. That figure for doing so was 40,000 Deutschmarks, so around £12,000 in today's money.

OK. Geoffrey Chaucer, when he was captured at the siege of Reims, was ransomed for more or less. I'd be tempted to go more because he was quite close to John of Gaunt and lots of rich people who would have been willing to pay lots of money. Yeah, let's say more. We'll go more. Brutal, brutal. Actually, slightly less. It was £11,320.

I'm not sure how you make that. It's £700 between friends. Yeah, exactly. So, sadly, you don't get a point. But we got £11,320 that Edward III paid to get Chaucer back. But I think I'd have gone with you, agree Joan of Arc Joan of Arc how much the British paid to the Burgundians for Joan was it more or less than Chaucer surely lots surely more surely such a figurehead wasn't she yes I think

I think we want to say more you're exactly. The English paid 10,000 livres, which is about £187,000. Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was captured by pirates. Did he get more or less as a ransom? I bet it's something like they didn't pay anything. It was just an exchange of honour or something. I'm going to say less. What do you think, Matt? I'll say less. You're wrong, but there's a fun element. It was actually more. It was around 50 talents, £236,000. However, initially, the Pirates,

they did ask for just 20 talents, but Julius Caesar insisted on upping the price because he was so valuable and important. He wanted to be around some 50 talents. Back to Sam. We weren't going for the first bids. We thought we were on the first bid. Oh, the first bid, exactly. Before Tristan jumps in to tell you,

the Pirates didn't get to enjoy that loot because as soon as he was released, Julius Caesar predictably rounded up a fleet, went down there, got the Pirates, and crucified them. So we're talking about final, final, final bids. You were right that it was less money. Yeah, they got it all back. Right, so we're on £236,000 for Julius Caesar, Big JC.

What about Big JG, John Paul Getty? The child kidnapped. How much did he get? It's got to be more, it was like a million or something at the time, so it'll probably be, I've got to be more, it's got to be more. You're absolutely right. It was three million dollars at the time. £13.2 million in today's money. He was kidnapped at age 16. His grandpa didn't trust him and thought it was a bit of a ploy to get some cash out of him and only paid up when he received his grandson's ear in the post. No. Okay, so we're on £13 million for the Getty child.

Richard I, the big one, right in your wheelhouse. Richard I's ransom greater or less than the Getty teenager? It was about the equivalent of two years of the Treasury's income, the Exchequer's income. So I'm going to say it should be more in today's money. We'll go more. Well done. It was more. £18.9 million today's money. £150,000 marks at the time. His brother John also offered

an amount of money, didn't he? For them to keep him. For them to keep him, exactly. No way. Ah, John, such a hopeless man. Right, we're on 18.9 million pounds here now, folks. Now, what did Citric have to pay the Lord of Brega to get his son Olaf back? The King of Dublin wants his son back. How much did he pay? More or less? Surely it's got to be less than 19 million. I think it has to be in that fucking time. Yeah, I think we're going to have to go with less.

You are right, it was less. 1,200 cows, 120 Welsh ponies, 60 ounces of gold and 60 ounces of silver. Approximately, some genius has worked out, 1.9 million pounds. So the son of Citric, less valuable than Richard Lionheart. Well done. Congratulations, everybody. I'm afraid to say, though, the pedants have edged ahead. In fact, it might be pedantic to say that.

They've actually stormed ahead. I'm afraid to say so. Yeah, exactly. Who's side are you on? Because I want everyone to get along. I have a nice time. I don't want anyone to feel bad. It's the taking part that counts.

The Mongol horde had this tactic of the fainted retreat, where they would lure the opposition into a false sense of security and then attack. So I think the pedants came off better in that exchange, like the Normans at Hastings. But let's go for a second one. We're going to talk about famous palaces now. Do they have more or fewer rooms, because I don't want to get caught out by the pedants here,

than their predecessor? Let's find out. Here we go, folks. A point for everyone you get right. It's more or fewer history. This time I'm going to start with the pedants, Buckingham Palace. How many rooms do you think it has? Extra point for how many rooms it's got. 98. No, incorrect. 1,020. No, 775 rooms. Not all there straight away from the beginning. Obviously, these things expand organically. In the case of Buckingham House, it was. It was purchased by George III, but no one really made their home there. Well, George IV, his fairly useless son, turned it into a glorious property and Queen Victoria based herself there. First member of the royal family that really did so. Let's find out what its slightly more glamorous cousin across the channel has to offer.

Versailles. More or fewer rooms? More, more, more, more. Definitely more. Weirdly, fewer rooms. No, really? Only 700 rooms. Louis XIV would be distraught. The reason you got confused there, it famously has no toilets so that's why it's got fewer rooms, no ensuite. Yeah that feels like a bit of a design flaw.

I was told that at Versailles by some curator. The word for loo comes from le anglais meaning the English place where you go like as a sort of rude. So instead actually probably what they did was go in the corners of the rooms, the rushes, you have rushes, probably what they did was go in the corners of the rooms. The rushes, they have rushes on the floor and people just go in the corners. And lots of servants just regularly changing the rushes. Changing the rushes, yeah. Fantastic, brilliant.

Okay, let's do it, conquistadors. The next iconic palace is the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. Fewer rooms, more rooms. I'm tempted to say more. It's hard because they're so big. It's a big space, but the rooms are pretty huge too. But I would say more.

You're absolutely right, more rooms. 1,500 rooms in this palace. Each one of them, no doubt, ransacked when the Winter Palace was stormed in 1917, the end of the Tsarist dynasty. We're moving west to east. London, Paris, St Petersburg, Beijing, the Forbidden City, more or fewer rooms.

I just wonder, would they be smaller? Oh, maybe they've got toilets. Yeah. Better than Versailles. Are you having an instinct to go more, aren't you? I do, kind of. I feel like I should listen to your gut on this. Go on, let's go more.

Well, I'm glad you listened to Tristan's gut. I wouldn't urge you to do that on any other occasion. But you're absolutely right. The clue, folks, is in the title, The Forbidden City. There are 8,886 rooms in The Forbidden City. Think of all those concubines you're going to squeeze in there. Yeah, that's just you, Dan. Anyway, built at the beginning of the 15th century

by the Yongle Emperor. It's where Ming China was based. Yongle, of course, the man who sent out, most importantly, more importantly than building that, he sent out those gigantic maritime expeditions that reached as far as the Persian Gulf and the east coast of Africa. Yeah, the next one.

Right, here we go. We're going back now. So we're breaking west to east. We're going back now. So we're breaking my west to east. We're going back to Romania. The Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, Romania. Has it got more or fewer than 8,886 rooms? I mean, we could try for Tristan's gut. I'm tempted to say fewer.

I feel like it should be fewer, but is there some weird thing, like they've got loads of meeting rooms or lots of small spaces that count as rooms, but should I say fewer? I think fewer. I can't believe it'd be more than 8,000, 7,000. So we'll say fewer. You're absolutely right, fewer.

Only just over 1,000 rooms. Tiny. Ordered by Ceausescu, built. Only just over a thousand rooms. Tiny. Ordered by Ceaușescu, built in quite a short amount of time, it's the heaviest building in the world. What? You're a predator. Weirdly, four million tons.

And it's the second largest administrative building on earth. Right, next one. Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. Here we go. Gorgeous, isn't it? Yeah. Gorgeous. Everyone's favourite fake castle.

Does this have more or fewer rooms than Ceausescu's White Elephant in Bucharest? Would there be that many rooms in that? It feels quite vertical rather than broad, doesn't it? So I feel fewer. I think fewer as well. Let's go. Shall we go fewer? You're absolutely right. There are fewer rooms.

There's only 14 rooms. 14? Yeah. I mean, the whole thing is very expensive. Well, the next answer is easy, isn't it? Well, let's see. Don't jump the gun here. But the palace was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and a sort of homage to Wagner.

I mean, the whole thing, everything about it is completely bizarre. But go and take a picture of it. It looks great on the old Insta. Next one, folks. This is your chance. Less than 14 minutes. The conquistadors come charging back in like Cortes over the bridge to Tenochtitlan.

Are you ready? Ready. How many rooms? The Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany. If there's less than 14 rooms in there, this is a massive trick question. Yes, I'm going to, I would say less. Is it just a big music hall or something?

I'm going to go fewer rooms than 14. I don't know, I feel like it might be. Playing fast and loose with our points here. Look how big it is, look how big it looks. I think Susie's telling us it's fewer. I have no idea. Actually, I have no idea. Something's telling you fewer.

I need an answer, folks. Let's say fewer. You're absolutely right, Sanssouci. You have ten rooms. Who needs rooms when you could be out with your army slaughtering tens of thousands of men and battling nearly every single neighbour that you have in the 18th century?

Sanssouci means without worries, which is inappropriate for Frederick because he was a man burdened with worries. So well done, folks. I think you clawed your way back into that. Let's hear what the scores are. Laura, the scorer? And the answer is...

You've closed the gap, but you have not yet caught up with them. It's a tough game. It's a tough game. The pedants still in the lead. Great! Nice. Right, the next expert intervention now. We've gone to the National Archives, where the Archives' very own quiz master, James Cronan, has pulled out a very special document for us. Tricky expert question. There is a connection with the year ending, 22.

Let's take a look. This is the captain's log for HMS Swallow for the year 1722. On the 10th of February, 1722, the ship's captain, Chaloner Ogle, espied and fired upon the ship Royal Fortune, killing its captain and capturing its crew off the west coast of Africa. My question is this. What is the name of the notorious pirate who was killed during the battle to capture the Royal Fortune?

It's 18th century naval history, folks. Welcome to Dan Snow's year of Quiz of the Year. What do you reckon? Any answers yet? Or do you have a reckon? Any answers yet? Or do you need a clue? Can we guess? Why not? Let's... I'm going to start out with Blackbeard.

OK, we'll go Blackbeard. I think Bluebeard, isn't it? Bluebeard. Let's take a little... It's like a little coloured beard, is what we're going with. Let's see if our quiz master has a little hint for us. OK, so here's your clue. He was a notorious Welsh pirate.

So, it's actually a Welsh pirate, so you have to go through your database of Welsh pirates. Rhys, Thomas, Owen, Robert. I might have got the name wrong, but it's something like Brad Bart, I'm going to say. Let's hear from the quiz master. What was the name of the notorious captain who was killed by the Royal Navy on the 10th of February 1722? It was Bartholomew Roberts, also known as Black Bart. Ooh, difficult one to call. What's in that Brad Bart?

Black Bart. Bart? Black beard and... Well, to Black Bart, to my shame, I didn't know anything about this. I'm not going to have a word myself. He captured over 400 prizes, 400 ships, and he came up with the early variant of the Skull and Crossbones. Right team, there's now only a few points in it and there's one round left. Oh my goodness, come on.

Let's go into a quickfire round. Is it Shining Truth or Fake History? Historical Fiction? Truth or fake history? Historical fiction? Fingers on the buzzers. Let's go. Magna Carta has never been repealed. That's true.

That is in fact false. It was in fact repealed by Pope Urban III very shortly afterwards. The only reason we remember Magna Carta is because it was re-released by Henry III and William the Marshal. Boom. What a man. What a ledge. Next one. Polish cavalry mounted a futile cavalry attack

against German tanks in World War II. Oh my goodness, that was exactly the same time. Because you're losing, I'll go to you first. True. No, it's false! It's false, It was all propaganda. They did charge infantry, but never tanks. Next one.

Hitler's favourite Christmas present was a Mickey Mouse cartoon. True. Apparently that is true. Well done, you. George I was known as the Pudding King. I'm Matt Lewis. And I'm Dr Eleanor Yonaga. And in Gone Medieval, we get into the greatest mysteries. The gobsmacking details and latest groundbreaking research.

From the greatest millennium in human history. We're talking Vikings. Normans. Kings and popes. Who were rarely the best of friends. Murder. Rebellions. And crusades.

Find out who we really were. By subscribing to Gone Medieval from History Hit, wherever you get your podcasts. That's false. No. No, it's true. It's true. I think he was also known in other things like the Elector of Hannibal, but anyway, Pudding King. He was known as the Pudding King because his wife had an affair with somebody who was named after a pudding king. I was going to say I'd quite like to be known as the Pudding King, but not for that reason. George I famously locked his wife in a castle for years.

Is that why? Because she had an affair. Really? With the pudding. And then had a long and happy affair with the Duchess of Kendal. Yeah, well, she wasn't happy. OK, next one. Nero played his fiddle while Rome burned.

That is false. It is false. He in fact was 30 miles away at his villa, wasn't he? Well done, Tristan. I saved myself there. I think Tristan's been writing some of these questions in here. Right. Bernard Manning guarded Albert Speer and Karl Dönitz at Spandau Prison.

True. Yes, it's true. Bernard Manning, the risque comedian, guarded senior members of the Third Reich, including Karl Dönitz, who was the only man ever to be Fuhrer of the Third Reich, apart from Hitler, in Spandau Prison. Next one.

Christopher Columbus was the first person to realise the world wasn't flat. False. That's absolutely false. People have known since olden times that the world wasn't flat. That is fake news. Next one. Roman gladiators said, Hail Caesar, we who are about to die salute you

before fighting in the arena. False. Just again before Tristan. That is also false. Tristan was so unhappy and upset by the question, he forgot to actually answer it. Well done, you guys. Next one.

Attila the Hun died of a nosebleed. True. That is apparently true. From memory, was it on his wedding night? It was at a big feast, wasn't it? Big feast. He'd eaten and drunk a lot. Yes.

So I think, yes, well done. That is true. Next question. The first person to refer to the Germans as Huns was Churchill. I'm going to go false. It is false, and do you know who did first refer to them? I don't. It is an extraordinary story, it was actually Kaiser Wilhelm.

Oh really? He said it as a compliment, he said, I want you to go out like the Huns to Germany, there was this force of Germans that were going out to quell the Boxer Rebellion in China, and I want you to act to be like the Huns. There you go. The next question. The Pope has been infallible since the Reformation.

Ooh, I think that was just the crickle crackle over there. That is true. Nope. Is it false? Yes, it's false. I'm looking at you, Susanna. I don't know why I'm looking at Susanna, but because of the word Reformation. It is false. The Pope has only been infallible since 1870. Nice for him. The diarist John Evelyn was arrested for celebrating Christmas.

False. No, that is true. He fell foul of the 1647 Puritan government. Ordinance of abolishing festivities. Ho Chi Minh worked for Escoffier as a pastry chef. True. That is true. Ho Chi Minh also worked in a kitchen in Paris during the Paris peace talks and asked, tried to get invited to the Versailles peace treaty talks. Martin Luther married a monk. I'm going to say true.

No, it's false. No, okay. He married a nun. I thought it was a trick question. It was just a really basic question. He married a nun who he helped. I was busy there trying to think about, did he ever conduct a wedding? That's clever. That's what I thought. He married a nun who he helped escape the nunnery in a barrel of herrings. Katrina Borum. There we go. He literally bore her on his back down from the nunnery. In 1971, 10 copies of the Bible were taken to the moon. False. That is false.

100 copies of the Bible were taken to the moon in microfilm. Because everyone on the moon has that particular technology. There has never been a Pope John XX due to a clerical error. True. It's too good to be... Yeah, it has to be true, exactly. Too good to be false. Next one.

Table tennis was first played with champagne corks. True. True. And finally, the poet Andrew Marvell referred to Charles II's wife as a pixie. That was you. I'm going to say false. False, you're correct. He called her a little goblin. That's wonderful.

That, folks, is the end of the quiz. It's the end of the year. It's the end of the road. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE News just in from Laura the Scorer. In second place, it is the Conquistadors. Well done. Congratulations. But this year's winners, crowned in glory,

are the Pedants Revolt. Yay! Yay! An inversion of history where, in fact, the peasants were crushed beneath the jackboot of medieval England's kings and the conquistadors were very much victorious. So there you go. Thank you very much for watching this year, everybody. 2022 has been full of surprises.

One thing is for sure, though. In 2023, History Hit will be here bringing you the best history, both from our deep past and from stories that make history as the year goes along. And we might even do a quiz at the end of the year. I hope you enjoyed watching along at home. I hope some of you even defeated our experts here in the History Hit dungeon. See you next year. Thank you. you