Debriefing

Keys to the Castle

By Scott Berinato

March 03, 2008 — CSO —

1. How old is the oldest known set of locks and keys?

a. 900 years b. 1,500 years c. 4,000 years d. 7,000 years

2. True or False: King Henry VIII employed a personal locksmith.

3. Which name does not belong to a real locksmith?

a. Yale b. Chubb c. Louis XVI d. Lockyer

4. Which of the following does not include some reference to keys and locks?

a. The ceiling frescoes of St. Eligius Church in Rome

b. "The Bayeux Tapestry"

c. Homer"s Odyssey

d. The United States Constitution

e. The Old Testament"s Song of Songs

5. Draw a line from locksmithing innovation to the culture that invented it and then to the era in which it was invented

6. Identify which of the following refers to the first known published guide to lock picking:

a. 1898, when Linus Yale Jr. published the secrets to his massively successful pin-and-tumbler lock in order to force customers to buy a new, more secure version

b. 1790, when Joseph Bramah explained how virtually any lock could be compromised with just a blank key and some wax

c. Third century B.C., when Callimachus, in his Hymn to Ceres, included several verses that explained how to "craft a special key to unlock your enemy"s house"

d. A.D. 1100, when the Church of St. Eligius in Rome was built, and artisans painted lock-picking scenes in the ceiling frescoes

7. True or False: Keys were worn as jewelry in Ancient Rome.

8. About how many patents on locking devices were issued in the United States before 1920?

a. 7 b. 155 c. 900 d. 3,000

BONUS QUESTION: According to a Jewish proverb, whom do locks keep out?

ANSWERS:
1. c. They belong to the palace of Emperor Sargon II in Khorsabad, now in Northern Iraq.
2. True. His name was Henry Romains and he would precede the King"s arrival at a destination and outfit his residence with his own personal locks.
3. d
4. d
5. a-4-iv, b-2-iii, c-3-i, d-1-ii
6. b
7. True. Usually as rings or necklaces, since Roman clothes didn"t have pockets.
8. d
Bonus Question: "Only the honest."

How'd You Do?

0-3 Correct: Picked

4-7 Correct: Pinned and Tumbled

8-9 Correct: Deadbolted

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