FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about We Didnt Start the Fire
Quiz about We Didnt Start the Fire

We Didn't Start the Fire Trivia Quiz


How well do you know the events mentioned in the Billy Joel hit song "We Didn't Start the Fire"?

A multiple-choice quiz by Ctvega. Estimated time: 3 mins.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. History Trivia
  6. »
  7. Mixed Bag
  8. »
  9. Specific Topic Mixes

Author
Ctvega
Time
3 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
383,302
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
9 / 10
Plays
2880
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 1 (8/10), Guest 75 (10/10), clevercatz (10/10).
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio... Who is Walter Winchell? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Studebaker, television, North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe... What would you do with a Studebaker? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Pammunjan, Brando, "The King and I"... Which king was he referring to? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new Queen... Which vaccine is he referring to? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team... What did Brooklyn win? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Starkweather homicide, children of thalidomide... What is thalidomide? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politicians, sex, JFK blown away... Which hospital was JFK transported to after he was shot? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Richard Nixon back again, moonshot, Woodstock... Which state was the Woodstock Festival held in? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide... Why is Sally Ride notable? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz... What type of incident was Mr Goetz involved in? Hint



(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

arrow Select a User ID:
arrow Choose a Password:
arrow Your Email:




Most Recent Scores
Oct 28 2024 : Guest 1: 8/10
Oct 26 2024 : Guest 75: 10/10
Oct 07 2024 : clevercatz: 10/10
Oct 01 2024 : Guest 80: 6/10
Sep 23 2024 : irishchic5: 9/10
Sep 23 2024 : Guest 172: 9/10
Sep 21 2024 : Guest 86: 8/10
Sep 05 2024 : Guest 222: 6/10
Sep 05 2024 : Guest 38: 10/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio... Who is Walter Winchell?

Answer: Journalist

He was a radio and newspaper journalist who "invented" the gossip column. He used his extensive contacts in the government and entertainment industry to gather embarrassing information on celebrities. He then used this information to attack his enemies or blackmail influential people.

He began his career in the newspaper industry in 1920 and by 1930 he also had a radio show. His career began to decline in the 1950s when he sided with Senator Joseph McCarthy in his quest to root out communists in the entertainment industry.

He retired in 1969 and died in 1972 of prostate cancer.
2. Studebaker, television, North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe... What would you do with a Studebaker?

Answer: Drive it

Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. As with most American companies, it struggled through the Great Depression then flourished during Word War II with government contracts. They produced some innovative cars during the post war period but in the early 1950s Ford and General Motors began a price war which resulted in deep discounts that Studebaker could not match.

At the end of the 1964 model year they were out of the automobile business.
3. Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Pammunjan, Brando, "The King and I"... Which king was he referring to?

Answer: King Mongkut of Siam

This is a reference to the musical "The King and I" by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein, which was adapted from the novel "Anna and the King of Siam" written by Margaret Landon. The novel is based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens who was a British schoolteacher who was hired as a governess to the children of the King.

The musical was released in 1951 and was a success, winning three Tony awards in 1952. It has been revived many times and has won the Tony award for best revival in 1996 and 2015.
4. Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new Queen... Which vaccine is he referring to?

Answer: Polio

Dr Jonas Salk released the polio vaccine in 1955. Polio was one of the most frightening public health concerns of the first half of the 1900s. Polio is a highly contagious viral illness that can cause paralysis. Most cases are asymptomatic or cause mild disease but around 1% of cases caused paralysis.

There is no cure for polio but thanks to vaccinations many parts of the world have now been declared polio free. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries that harbor a wild polio virus.
5. Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team... What did Brooklyn win?

Answer: 1955 World Series

The team now known as the Dodgers was originally formed in 1883. The team had been successful throughout the years but the 1955 team was the one and only team to win the World Series while in Brooklyn by beating their crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees. Walter O'Malley acquired ownership of the team in 1950 and began looking for locations to build a new stadium to replace Ebbets Field.

As he was unable to get approval for the land he wanted in New York, Los Angeles officials offered him what he wanted to after the last game in Brooklyn on September 24. 1957, the team moved to LA and became the Los Angeles Dodgers.
6. Starkweather homicide, children of thalidomide... What is thalidomide?

Answer: A prescription drug

Today it is used to treat certain cancers and complications of leprosy, but in the late 1950s and early 1960s it was used in Canada and in Europe to treat nausea, especially nausea due to morning sickness in pregnancy. It was soon found to cause birth defects.

The type of defect depended on how far along in the pregnancy it was taken. As a result of this, many nations instituted stricter rules for testing and licensing drugs.
7. Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politicians, sex, JFK blown away... Which hospital was JFK transported to after he was shot?

Answer: Parkland Memorial Hospital

JFK was shot on November 22, 1963 at 12:30 pm and was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas where he was pronounced dead at 1:00 pm. Two days later Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin, was shot by Jack Ruby and taken to the same hospital where he died during surgery to repair the damage from the gunshot wound to his abdomen. Jack Ruby was tried and convicted of Oswald's murder but his verdict was overturned and a new trial was ordered. Before the second trial could begin, Ruby suffered a pulmonary embolus due to lung cancer and was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital where he, too, was pronounced dead on January 3, 1967.
8. Richard Nixon back again, moonshot, Woodstock... Which state was the Woodstock Festival held in?

Answer: New York

The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, better known simply as Woodstock, was held over 4 days in August of 1969 on a dairy farm in New York. It is estimated that 400,000 people attended. "Rolling Stone" magazine listed it in their list of "50 Moments that Changed the History of Rock and Roll".

The long list of performers included: Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and many more.
9. Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide... Why is Sally Ride notable?

Answer: She was the first American woman in space

In 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space when she was aboard the space shuttle Challenger. She took a second trip to space on the Challenger again in 1984. She was not the first woman in space however: the Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova beat her by twenty years when she piloted the Russian ship Vostok 6 in June 1963.
10. AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz... What type of incident was Mr Goetz involved in?

Answer: Subway shooting

Mr Goetz was the shooter in the infamous 1984 New York subway shooting. He alleged it was in self defense, his victims claimed the shooting was racially motivated. Crime was high in New York in 1984 so Mr Goetz was carrying a gun on his subway commute when 4 younger men approached him.

He claims they tried to rob him, they claim they were just panhandling. He ended up shooting and seriously injuring all four. He was tried and foundnot guilty of attempted murder but found guilty of carrying a gun illegally.

He did eventually lose a $43 million civil suit. As a result of this case, the laws on self defense in the state of New York were revised.
Source: Author Ctvega

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
Related Quizzes
1. Last Night on Earth Average
2. À la "Flashback" 03 Average
3. Purple Reign Average
4. Best Left Unsaid Very Easy
5. Tip of the Iceberg Average
6. Islamic History Average
7. Acronyms in History Average
8. History Survey Very Easy
9. How Invertebrates Changed the World Tough
10. Rumour Has It... Easier
11. Ooh! A Sale at the Black Market! Average
12. I Saw Three Ships Average

10/31/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us