Curiosities of the Bible

Who was put to death by a plague? What's the shortest verse? 446 pages of Bible prize questions, enigmas and curiosities that Victorian Sunday schools competed over.

About the Book

1879Published
E. B. Treat (pub.)Author
241Chapters
247Pages on this site

Curiosities of the Bible (E. B. Treat, New York, 1879) collected the 'prize questions and answers, enigmas, acrostics, facts and statistics' that American Sunday schools competed over — all 'founded upon and answered in the Bible.'

It is a monument to a great Victorian pastime: Scripture as puzzle-book, with blackboard diagrams, memory systems and ready-reference tables besides.

The original blackboard illustrations appear throughout the site.

This site reproduces the complete text of the original 1879 edition, digitized page by page from the original printing. The book is in the public domain.

Rights & ReuseThe complete text of Curiosities of the Bible (1880) is in the public domain in the United States — like all works published before 1928 — and is free to read, download, quote, teach from, and reuse. This digital edition (its transcription, restored images, and site design) is © 2026 PhotoOpAI, and any editorial commentary we add is clearly marked as ours; the underlying public-domain text carries no such restriction.