That Awkward Moment When... Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda was strongly opposed to the war in Vietnam. To that end she was a major fundraiser for Vietnam Veterans Against the War. In July 1972 she visited Hanoi, and it was during the visit that the infamous photograph of her sitting on the anti-aircraft battery was taken.

It caused outrage amongst a lot of American citizens. That photograph, and radio broadcasts she made during her visit denouncing American political and military leaders, led to her being christened "Hanoi Jane".

Answer: Queen Elizabeth II

Protocol dictates that, other than for a hand shake, it is not appropriate to touch the Queen. Paul Keating was photographed with his arm round her, an action which led the British Press to dub him "The Lizard of Oz". His wife was also criticised for failing to curtsy.

In fact many of the protocols that used to exist have been quietly dropped during the Queen's reign. Bowing and curtsying are no longer required, although many people do perform them as a mark of respect.

Answer: Super Bowl

During the half time show of the 2004 Super Bowl, which was live on television, Janet Jackson's breast, with nipple shield, was exposed for a very short period of time. The Federal Communications Commission received over 500,000 complaints from viewers and the incident was hotly debated both in the press and on television.

Answer: Gordon Brown

During the 2010 General Election campaign, Gordon Brown, the then Prime Minister, was accosted by Gillian Duffy, a member of the public, who wanted to discuss immigration with him. After leaving her he climbed back into his car, and, accidentally leaving his mike open, said "what a bigoted woman".

The comment was heard by journalists and was immediately widely reported. Immigration was one of the major issues for the public, and his gaffe, which he made worse by not issuing an immediate apology, alienated thousands of voters who felt he showed contempt for anyone trying to raise the issue.

Answer: Judy Finnegan

Judy Finnegan, with husband Richard Maddeley, was accepting an award when the top of her dress slid down to her waist. They both continued with their acceptance speech, oblivious to the disaster, until a member of the production team rushed onto the stage to pull her jacket over and cover her up.

They both made light of the incident, carried on with their speech, and left the stage laughing.

Answer: Judi Dench

This happened at the Old Vic Theatre in London in 1960. Judi Dench was playing Juliet, who utters this line when crouched over the body of Tybalt. The audience reaction is not recorded, but I think it is reasonable to assume that this caused some hilarity.

Answer: Titanic

Captain Edward J. Smith said these words before Titanic set sail on her maiden, and only, voyage. After hitting an iceberg she sank, with great loss of life, on 15 April 1912. Although designed to be the most luxurious and safest ship afloat the collision opened up some of her watertight compartments. She also lacked sufficient lifeboats for all passengers and crew.
The story of Titanic remains one of the great maritime disasters.

Answer: Angela Eagle

In an exchange in the House of Commons in April 2011 David Cameron told Angela Eagle, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, to "calm down dear". This was meant to be a parody of a television advertisement of the time. Unfortunately his attempt at humour backfired rather badly, with various female Members of Parliament accusing him of a "patronising and outdated attitude to women".

Answer: KFC

The 2005 advert for Zinger Crunch Salad prompted 1,671 complaints to the Advertising Standards Agency. Complainants said the advert was "disgusting", "set a bad example to children" and "showed call centre staff in a bad light". Despite that the ASA did not uphold the complaints. KFC was however forced into a voluntary apology for any offence caused by the advertisement.

Answer: Bill Grundy

Bill Grundy was supposed to interview Queen on the "Today" show of 1 December 1976. They had to cancel, and the Sex Pistols were brought in at short notice. The show was a live, early evening broadcast. In the course of the interview the F word was used several times, as well as other obscenities. Grundy was suspended for two weeks and the show was cancelled two months later. That one broadcast wrecked his television career as he never again appeared in a prime time television programme.