Quiz on Hiroshima and the Atomic Bomb

Keep questioning to keep from forgetting

Lately, quizzes on general knowledge about various places have become very popular. For this issue, we prepared a "Hiroshima Quiz" to see how much people know about issues related to the dropping of the atomic bomb. The quiz consists of questions about the scale of the damage and related problems that continue up to the present day.

We hope visitors who come to Hiroshima on school trips or for sightseeing will take this quiz, not just residents of our city.

Once we decided to create a quiz for this issue, the junior writers went to work. There were times, though, that we had difficulty confirming the answers that we believed to be true. And we tried to weave useful information into the questions that we devised.

Please try our quiz and send your answers back to us. We would also be happy to receive your impression of the quiz along with your answers.

Raising awareness is more important than getting the answer right

The junior writers wrote the questions for the Hiroshima quiz after much discussion and debate. You can see a picture and a video showing the process of making the Hiroshima quiz. First off, the reason we decided to make a quiz for this issue was that we felt many things were in danger of being forgotten since 63 years have passed since the atomic bomb was dropped. We are afraid that people living in Hiroshima no longer have a clear view of the atomic bomb because it has became a part of their daily life. On the other hand, people living in other places feel the bombing happened somewhere very far away, don't they? Our ideas for a useful quiz There are some schools that have no peace education classes, even though they are located in Hiroshima. We made a multiple-choice quiz with questions that could be easy enough for students who go to those schools to try. Even if you make some mistakes, it will be sufficient if you simply check the correct answers and commit them to memory. At first, we simply thought of questions that could be answered by anyone with a knowledge of dates and figures. However, we didn't want just that type of question, so we rewrote some of the questions to stimulate the imagination and prompt people to ask "Why did it happen?" and "What is it like now?" For example, in Question 11, we are encouraging you to think about the historical background of present-day things. Also, Question 18 was made in order to let you know that a large number of people are still suffering even today. Although the exact number is open to debate, we hope the question will provide an opportunity to think about how to assist the survivors and see them as individuals, not just numbers. Making good use of the quiz We would like as many people as possible to try the quiz. We think it will help make your experience more fruitful if you take the quiz before coming to Hiroshima on a school trip or sightseeing tour. We will also be pleased if the quiz enables you to learn the real facts about something you thought you had already known. We hope this quiz will stimulate your interest in Hiroshima and move you to visit Peace Memorial Museum in person as well as think about what you can do to promote peace. Moreover, we would like you to become more deeply aware of the facts regarding what happened in Hiroshima and hand them down to the next generation. (Rikako Okada, 17, and Masahiro Mikoshi, 15)

Please choose only one answer from the four choices below each question. (Each question is worth 5 points and the time limit is 20 minutes.)

Question 1: In what year was the world's first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima?

(1) 1920 (2) 1930 (3) 1945 (4) 1965

Question 2: The atomic bomb was dropped on a Monday at a time when many people were on their way to work or school in the city center. What was the date and time?

(1) 7:30 a.m. on August 2 (2) 8:15 a.m. on August 6 (3) 11:02 a.m. on August 9
(4) 10:15 a.m. on August 15

Question 3: Which country dropped the atomic bomb?

(1) North Korea (2) USSR (3) the United States (4) Germany

Question 4: Which landmark was the target of the atomic bomb?

(1) Aioi Bridge (2) Hiroshima Castle (3) Peace Bridge (4) Shima Hospital

Question 5: Unlike other weapons, the atomic bomb contained radioactive material which has caused survivors to suffer from cancer and leukemia. What is the radioactive material that was used in the Hiroshima-type atomic bomb?

(1) Uranium (2) Plutonium (3) Hassium (4) Aluminum

Question 6: There is an inscription on the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, located in Peace Memorial Park, which is a prayer for the repose of the victims and an end to war. Which of the following four lines is the actual inscription?

(1) This is our cry. This is our prayer. For building peace in this world.
(2) Give back my father, Give back my mother, Give back peace, That will never end.
(3) Let all the souls here rest in peace; For we shall not repeat the evil.
(4) May the tragedy of Hiroshima become the foundation of world peace.

Question 7: Who created the text for this inscription?

(1) Tadayoshi Saika, Professor of Hiroshima University
(2) Sankichi Toge, Poet
(3) Shinzo Hamai, Mayor of Hiroshima
(4) Kenzo Tange, Assistant Professor of Tokyo University

Question 8: Every year, the Hiroshima city government adds the names of the dead to the register of the names of those who died as a result of the A-bomb, which is placed in the Cenotaph. As of August 6, 2007, about how many names are included in this registry?

(1) 10,000 (2) 50,000 (3) 150,000 (4) 250,000

Question 9: The A-bomb Dome was a building that was visited by many people before the war. What was it?

(1) a bank (2) a cinema (3) a department store (4) a special product exhibition hall

Question 10: Why has the A-bomb Dome been preserved?

(1) Because the citizens of Hiroshima wanted to convey the devastation of the atomic bomb.
(2) Because people wanted to register it as a World Heritage site.
(3) Because the United States bought the building as a token of regret.
(4) Because it cost too much to demolish it.

Question 11: Before it was bombed, the site of the present Peace Memorial Park was a place where people gathered. What kind of location was it?

(1) a business street with many office buildings, including City Hall
(2) a shopping mall
(3) a park
(4) a downtown area with restaurants and shops

Question 12: The Flame of Peace in Peace Memorial Park was lit in 1964 and it will burn until the day something disappears from the earth. What is that "something"?

(1) War (2) Guns (3) Violence (4) Nuclear weapons

Question 13: Some monuments in and around Peace Memorial Park are dedicated to schools and schoolchildren. Why?

(1) Because there were many schools nearby.
(2) Because many schools in the city were destroyed by the atomic bomb.
(3) Because each school eagerly engaged in peace studies.
(4) Because many students were killed by the atomic bomb while dismantling buildings to create firebreaks.

Question 14: Sadako Sasaki, the girl who inspired the Children's Peace Monument, made paper cranes while in the hospital with leukemia. Why did she make paper cranes?

(1) Because it was her hobby.
(2)Because she believed that if she folded a thousand cranes, she would recover from her illness.
(3) Because cranes are symbols of peace.
(4) In order to exercise her fingers.

Question 15: Most buildings near the hypocenter were destroyed and burned by the blast and heat, but a few buildings remain even today. Which of these is NOT a bombed building?

(1) The Rest House in Peace Memorial Park
(2) The Hiroshima branch of the former Bank of Japan
(3) The main Fukuya Department Store (in Hatchobori)
(4) Hiroshima Municipal Baseball Stadium

Question 16: People who entered the city after the bombing developed similar symptoms to people who were exposed to the bomb blast, such as loss of hair and hemorrhaging without apparent wounds. Why?

(1) Because of stress.
(2) Because of an outbreak of infectious disease.
(3) Because of the effects of residual radiation.
(4) Because they didn't have enough food.

Question 17: The exact number of people who were killed by the atomic bomb is not clear. How many people are estimated to have died by the end of 1945, the year of the bombing?

(1) 6,000 (2) 40,000 (3) 140,000 (4) 1.2 million

Question 18: How many people possess an Atomic Bomb Survivors Certificate as of the end of March of 2007?

(1) 132 (2) 2,092 (3) 251,834 (4) 2,108,727

Question 19: The flower in the picture below is a Hiroshima city flower which was said to have been the first to bloom after the bombing. What is it?

(1) Paulownia (2) Rose (3) Oleander (4) Water Lily

Question 20: Which country DOES NOT currently possess nuclear weapons?

(1) Canada (2) the United States (3) the United Kingdom (4) China