Thursday, January 01, 2009

Question of the Day 21:


What is Marie Curie MORE known for, getting a Nobel Prize, or discovering radioactivity?

Because in the quiz in this morning's paper, about "notable firsts," we were supposed to name what first the person was known for, like "John Jay," who I said was "the first to sign the Declaration of Independence" but who was actually the first Supreme Court Chief Justice, so I concede that I was wrong on that -- maybe-- but they had "Marie Curie," and I said first to discover radioactivity, and the answer, they said, was "First woman to win a Nobel Prize," which may be true -- I don't know -- but is that what she's more known for? I think more people know Marie Curie because she discovered radioactivity than because she won a Nobel Prize for discovering radioactivity.

Although now that I've gone and researched it to prove that I, and not the quiz, was right, I see that some guy named "Henri Becquerel" discovered radioactivity in 1896.

But I bet if you were to ask people what Marie Curie is known for, they'd all say either "Discovering radioactivity," or, they'd say "Who now?" Which makes me right. Somehow.

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