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History of pseudoscience - Quiz
Contributed by: Khatun
  • 1. Which of the following was a notable development in pseudoscience during the 20th century?
A) The invention of the microscope
B) The discovery of penicillin
C) The rise of Creationism
D) The formulation of quantum mechanics
  • 2. What demised in the 20th century according to the text?
A) Ancient astronaut theories
B) Spiritualism
C) Reflexology
D) Creationism
  • 3. What theory saw its first formulation in the 20th century?
A) Ancient astronaut theories
B) Germ theory
C) The modern evolutionary synthesis
D) The theory of relativity
  • 4. When was reflexology introduced in the US?
A) 1968
B) 1913
C) 1987
D) 1991
  • 5. Under what initial name was reflexology introduced in the US in 1913?
A) Energy balancing
B) Foot mapping
C) Zone therapy
D) Life force healing
  • 6. What concept does reflexology rely on regarding an undetectable life force?
A) It purifies blood through the palms
B) It channels energy solely through the spine
C) It connects the brain directly to the heart
D) It connects various parts of the body to the feet, hands, and ears
  • 7. Who began opposing the teaching of the theory of evolution in American public schools?
A) American fundamentalist Christians
B) Erich von Däniken and Zecharia Sitchin
C) Soviet scientists
D) Skeptical foundations
  • 8. Which famous trial notoriously upheld a law against teaching the theory of evolution?
A) The Genesis Trial
B) The Skeptics Trial
C) The Space Race Trial
D) The Scopes Trial
  • 9. What historical event caused a renewed interest in science in the second half of the 20th century in the USA?
A) The invention of the internet
B) The Scopes Trial
C) The Space Race
D) The publication of Chariots of the Gods?
  • 10. Why did stricter science standards lead to the re-introduction of evolution in the curriculum?
A) The findings of the James Randi Educational Foundation
B) Pressure from young Earth creationists
C) The collapse of spiritualism
D) Worry that the USA was falling behind on the Soviet Union
  • 11. Why were laws against teaching evolution eventually ruled unconstitutional?
A) They conflicted with reflexology principles
B) They were opposed by Erich von Däniken
C) They violated international space treaties
D) They violated the separation of church and state
  • 12. What did Christian fundamentalists produce in an attempt to evade the ruling against anti-evolution laws?
A) Skeptical foundations
B) A scientific guide on zone therapy
C) A supposedly secular alternative to evolution called Creationism
D) Ancient astronaut literature
  • 13. Who wrote the influential young Earth creationist publication The Genesis Flood?
A) Erich von Däniken and Zecharia Sitchin
B) James Randi and Henry M. Morris
C) John C. Whitcomb and Henry M. Morris
D) John C. Whitcomb and Erich von Däniken
  • 14. What core idea is shared by all versions of ancient astronaut theories?
A) Extraterrestrials created reflexology in ancient times
B) The Earth is young and was flooded globally
C) Intelligent extraterrestrials visited Earth in the distant past and made contact with humans
D) Humans originated on Mars and migrated to Earth via space travel
  • 15. When did popular authors like Erich von Däniken and Zecharia Sitchin begin publishing ancient astronaut theories?
A) The 1990s
B) The 1910s
C) The 1980s
D) The 1960s
  • 16. Which notable publication in the ancient astronaut genre appeared in 1968?
A) Zone Therapy
B) Chariots of the Gods?
C) Stichting Skepsis
D) The Genesis Flood
  • 17. Why were prominent skeptical foundations formed late in the 20th century?
A) To promote ancient astronaut theories
B) To advance zone therapy
C) To counter the growth of pseudosciences
D) To support young Earth creationism
  • 18. In what year was the Center for Inquiry founded?
A) 1992
B) 1991
C) 1996
D) 1976
  • 19. In what year was The Skeptics Society founded?
A) 1992
B) 1987
C) 1996
D) 1991
  • 20. Which of the following US skeptical foundations was founded in 1996?
A) The James Randi Educational Foundation
B) The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
C) The Skeptics Society
D) The Center for Inquiry
  • 21. Which other skeptical foundation was also founded in 1996 in the US alongside the James Randi Educational Foundation?
A) The New England Skeptical Society
B) The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
C) The Center for Inquiry
D) Stichting Skepsis
  • 22. In what year was the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry founded?
A) 1991
B) 1976
C) 1987
D) 1992
  • 23. What happened to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry in 1991?
A) It became part of the Center for Inquiry
B) It merged with The Skeptics Society
C) It relocated to the Netherlands
D) It was disbanded permanently
  • 24. What is the name of the skeptical foundation founded in the Netherlands in 1987?
A) The New England Skeptical Society
B) The James Randi Educational Foundation
C) Stichting Skepsis
D) The Skeptics Society
  • 25. Which of these organizations was founded first?
A) The Center for Inquiry
B) The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
C) The Skeptics Society
D) The James Randi Educational Foundation
  • 26. How does a pseudoscience present itself?
A) As science
B) As a religion
C) As politics
D) As art
  • 27. What is one popular proposal for demarcation between proper science and pseudoscience?
A) The geographical origin
B) The popularity index
C) The ideological standard
D) The falsification criterion
  • 28. Who notably contributed to the falsification criterion?
A) Samuel Hahnemann
B) Karl Popper
C) Harry Houdini
D) Ignaz von Peczely
  • 29. Which science traces its origins from the protoscience of alchemy?
A) Psychiatry
B) Astronomy
C) Chemistry
D) Neuroscience
  • 30. Lysenkoism developed as part of what?
A) A religious movement
B) An ideology
C) A literary device
D) Mainstream medicine
  • 31. Which pseudoscience remains popular despite being rejected by a large majority of scientists?
A) Phrenology
B) Lysenkoism
C) Astrology
D) Spirit photography
  • 32. When did Spiritualism trace its origins in America?
A) 1848
B) 1882
C) 1800
D) 1796
  • 33. When was homeopathy first formulated?
A) 1796
B) 1881
C) 1848
D) 1877
  • 34. Around what year was phrenology developed?
A) 1850
B) 1882
C) 1800
D) 1796
  • 35. What 19th-century pseudoscientific belief involved visible features on Mars?
A) Pyramids
B) Craters
C) Canals
D) Oceans
  • 36. When was phrenology prevailingly abandoned by the scientific community?
A) When Harry Houdini started performing
B) At the beginning of the 18th century
C) Halfway through the 19th century
D) In the late 20th century
  • 37. Who invented iridology halfway through the 19th century?
A) Karl Popper
B) Samuel Hahnemann
C) Ignaz von Peczely
D) Ignatius L. Donnelly
  • 38. What was the nationality of Ignaz von Peczely?
A) Dutch
B) Hungarian
C) German
D) Italian
  • 39. Who began claiming the ability to communicate with the dead in 1848, launching American Spiritualism?
A) The Fox sisters
B) Giovanni Schiaparelli and Ignatius L. Donnelly
C) Ignaz von Peczely and Samuel Hahnemann
D) Plato and Harry Houdini
  • 40. Until what decade did the religious movement of Spiritualism remain popular?
A) The 1890s
B) The 1850s
C) The 1970s
D) The 1920s
  • 41. Who began exposing famous mediums and other performers as frauds?
A) Ignaz von Peczely
B) Samuel Hahnemann
C) Harry Houdini
D) Karl Popper
  • 42. Who formulated the principles of homeopathy in 1796?
A) Giovanni Schiaparelli
B) Ignaz von Peczely
C) Samuel Hahnemann
D) Ignatius L. Donnelly
  • 43. What was the nationality of Samuel Hahnemann?
A) Italian
B) German
C) Dutch
D) Hungarian
  • 44. What primitive technique did mainstream medicine use when homeopathy was formulated?
A) Phrenology
B) Spirit photography
C) Bloodletting
D) Skull measurement
  • 45. What did homeopathic medicine essentially consist of due to extreme dilution?
A) Ectoplasm
B) Strong chemicals
C) Undiluted toxins
D) Water
  • 46. During which decade did homeopathic institutions and schools spread across the US and Europe?
A) The 1830s
B) The 1920s
C) The 1880s
D) The 1790s
  • 47. Who first reported the supposed Martian canals in 1877?
A) Karl Popper
B) Ignatius L. Donnelly
C) Harry Houdini
D) Giovanni Schiaparelli
  • 48. What was the nationality of Giovanni Schiaparelli?
A) Italian
B) Hungarian
C) German
D) Dutch
  • 49. Who wrote the 1882 book 'Atlantis: The Antediluvian World'?
A) Samuel Hahnemann
B) Giovanni Schiaparelli
C) Ignaz von Peczely
D) Ignatius L. Donnelly
  • 50. What was Ignatius L. Donnelly's profession besides author?
A) Politician
B) Magician
C) Physician
D) Astronomer
  • 51. Who first mentioned Atlantis as a literary device in two of his dialogues?
A) Harry Houdini
B) Ignaz von Peczely
C) Plato
D) Karl Popper
  • 52. In what year was the Dutch Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij formed?
A) 1881
B) 1796
C) 1848
D) 1882
  • 53. When did studies show the Flat Earth theory actually began?
A) Thousands of years ago
B) The 1990s
C) The 2000s
D) The 21st century
  • 54. What allowed the Flat Earth theory to spread much quicker in the 1990s?
A) Television broadcasting
B) Social media platforms
C) The internet starting up
D) Global newspapers
  • 55. What was the name of the trial where Intelligent Design suffered a major legal defeat?
A) Brown v. Board of Education
B) Scopes v. State
C) Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
D) Roe v. Wade
  • 56. Teaching Intelligent Design in public schools violates which amendment's Establishment Clause?
A) Fifth Amendment
B) Second Amendment
C) Fourth Amendment
D) First Amendment
  • 57. In what year was the NOVA production Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial released?
A) 2009
B) 2007
C) 2003
D) 2010
  • 58. What is the scientific consensus regarding vaccination and autism?
A) Vaccines definitely cause autism.
B) There is a broad scientific consensus against the link.
C) Scientists are undecided.
D) There is strong scientific proof supporting the link.
  • 59. Which celebrity joined the debate claiming vaccines cause autism because her son has autism?
A) Jenny McCarthy
B) Gwyneth Paltrow
C) Oprah Winfrey
D) Angelina Jolie
  • 60. Who published the original research supposedly indicating a link between vaccines and autism?
A) Andrew Wakefield
B) John E. Jones III
C) Erich von Däniken
D) Charles Darwin
  • 61. What was Andrew Wakefield's profession?
A) Physicist
B) Surgeon
C) Astrologer
D) Chemist
  • 62. In what month and year was Andrew Wakefield reported to have fixed the data by The Sunday Times?
A) February 2009
B) December 2003
C) May 2010
D) March 2007
  • 63. Which newspaper reported that Andrew Wakefield fixed the data?
A) The Washington Post
B) The Guardian
C) The New York Times
D) The Sunday Times
  • 64. When did the General Medical Council hearing begin to examine charges of professional misconduct against Andrew Wakefield?
A) 2003
B) February 2009
C) May 2010
D) March 2007
  • 65. On what date was Andrew Wakefield struck off the United Kingdom medical register?
A) 1 January 2000
B) 24 May 2010
C) 15 March 2007
D) 10 February 2009
  • 66. In what year did Erich von Däniken's Mystery Park open?
A) 1990
B) 2003
C) 2010
D) 2007
  • 67. How many visitors a year was Erich von Däniken's Mystery Park expected to receive?
A) 500,000
B) 1,000,000
C) 100,000
D) 50,000
  • 68. In what year did Erich von Däniken's Mystery Park close due to financial difficulties?
A) 2010
B) 2009
C) 2003
D) 2006
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