The Post Quiz: Synchronised Swimming

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Test your knowledge of everyone's favourite water sport.

The Post Quiz: Synchronised Swimming

What? You don't find synchronised swimming riveting? What's wrong with you? This sport has an amazing history.

Multiple choice.

  1. Synchronised swimming goes back to ancient times. Which ancient civilisation first recorded aquatic displays of this kind?
    • Ancient Greece.
    • Ancient Egypt.
    • Ancient Rome.
    • Han Dynasty China.
  2. In 19th-century England, the Sadler's Wells Theatre featured a re-enactment of the Siege of Gibraltar. Neptune showed up in the giant water tank. What was distinctive about his chariot?
    • It was made of edible tuna.
    • It was drawn by sea horses.
    • It had real fish, which Neptune threw at the audience.
    • It was solid gold.
  3. In the 1870s and 1880s, Agnes Beckwith was Britain's champion swimmer. She had her own troupe of 'lady swimmers' who performed at classy venues such as the Royal Aquarium in Westminster. Beckwith also set a record by swimming 20 miles of the Thames. What was she wearing at the time?
    • A bathing suit and straw hat.
    • Nothing but a smile.
    • A stunning crepe-de-chine evening gown.
    • A latex swimsuit and snorkel.
  4. Throughout the 19th Century, British audiences went to circuses to see lady swimmers perform interesting feats in water tanks. What was this kind of swimming called?
    • Synchronous swimming.
    • Salutary ablutions.
    • Ornamental swimming.
    • Dance of the water nymphs.
  5. Americans were slow to accept this 'women swimming' phenomenon, and had to be shown how by Australians. What happened to Aussie swimmer Annette Kellerman when she swam at Revere Beach, Massachusetts, in 1907?
    • She was attacked by a Great White shark, the inspiration for Jaws.
    • She was harassed by the US Coast Guard, who wolf whistled.
    • She became a popular sermon illustration on the evils of swimming.
    • She was arrested for indecency.
  6. Annette Kellerman was the first great aquatic film star. Most of her films featured mermaid stories. She performed her own stunts. Which of these was a real stunt Kellerman performed?
    • Diving sixty feet into a pool of crocodiles.
    • Riding a porpoise, carrying the Australian flag.
    • Diving off the Empire State Building into a wading pool.
    • Swimming a jungle river with Tarzan.
  7. In the early 20th Century, the American Red Cross started promoting water pageants and 'rhythmic' swimming. What inspired them to do this?
    • They did a deal with the National Park Service to increase visitor numbers.
    • They were getting a lot of money from swimsuit companies.
    • They were worried about increasing obesity.
    • They were worried about the high number of drownings.
  8. What term was used for the first time to describe a swimming exhibition at the 1934 Chicago World's Fair?
    • Water ballet.
    • Synchronised swimming.
    • Aquatic aerobics.
    • Water rhythmics.
  9. Esther Williams became famous in the 1930s for her performance in Hollywood aquamusicals. Who choreographed these wonders?
    • Busby Berkeley.
    • Johnny Weissmuller.
    • Bob Fosse.
    • Martha Graham.
  10. When did synchronised swimming first become an Olympic sport?
    • 1936.
    • 1952.
    • 1968.
    • 1984.

Click the shocking bathing beauty photo for answers.

Annette Kellerman's scandalous one-piece bathing suit. Cover your eyes.
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Dmitri Gheorgheni

31.07.17 Front Page

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