I'm Just Making It Up Trivia Quiz

Answer: Army

MacBeth became an icon for the anti-war movement after claiming he witnessed atrocities in Iraq. However, his stories had a number of inconsistencies including: Claiming to be part of a unit that was never in Fallujah, claiming to be picked for Ranger School when Rangers are volunteers, a uniform and mustache that wouldn't have complied with regulations, fake injury claims, and a DD-214 that showed him never receiving a medal. Time for basic training? All of 44 days.

MacBeth was charged with falsifying his military record in order to receive over $10,000 in benefits. He served five months in jail after being sentenced in September 2007. MacBeth is no stranger to the legal system, as he was charged with fourth degree assault in 2006.

Since the revelations of MacBeth and a number of other highly-publicized 'phony soldiers,' laws have been made to create harsher punishments for military imposters.

Answer: Guatemala

Menchu won the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize for her work on exposing the plight of indigenous Guatemalans. She wrote and autobiographical testimony 1982 with the help of anthropologist Elizabeth Burgos, titled in the US as "I, Rigoberta Menchu." In 1999, anthropologist David Stoll claimed Menchu had made up details in the book. Among them were claims she was not educated (she attended schools run by nuns on a scholarship), her claims of poverty (her family was well-off by Guatemalan standards), and an alleged land dispute by whites (but was in fact a dispute between her father and his in-laws).

Answer: New Mexico

Prather was a college student at Eastern New Mexico University when she claimed that she was assaulted in 1997 because of her sexual preference. It was alleged that Prather was trying to gain sympathy in the wake of the Matthew Shepard murder. In 1999, Prather was given three years probation after pleading guilty.

Other well-known assault hoaxes include Tawana Brawley and Crystal Mangum, the stripper behind the 2006 Duke University lacrosse case that torpedoed the career of Durham County District Attorney (and University of North Carolina graduate) Mike Nifong.

Answer: James Frey

Frey's supposed memoir about his troubled life was a New York Times bestseller. In 2006, "The Smoking Gun" website showed Frey exaggerated his criminal record (i.e. he was jailed for a few hours for an accident, not 87 days as claimed). He appeared on Oprah Winfrey's talk show to defend himself and admit the truth. Frey lost his book deal, was dropped from a literary magazine, and an out-of-court settlement took place.

Answer: Senegal

Dia claimed to be connected to Charles Weah, a Liberian national and 1995's FIFA World Player of the Year. Dia had some failed tryouts with lower-level English clubs. In 1996, Dia played one game for Southampton and suited up against Leeds United. Leeds won 2-0 and Dia's time in the Premiership lasted 53 minutes.
Weah's career included stops with five African clubs, AS Monaco, Paris St. Germain, AC Milan, Chelsea, Olympique Marseille, and Al-Jazira of the United Arab Emirates. Weah later ran for President, but lost to Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson.
Dia, who also claimed he scored 13 goals for the Senegalese national team, later played semi-professionally for Gateshead before disappearing from sight.
In 1996, both Leeds and Southampton barely stayed in the Premiership. Southampton was relegated in 2005 and spent 2008 in The Championship. Leeds was relegated to the Championship in 2004. Financial problems forced Leeds into League One in 2007.

Answer: False

Tania Head claimed to have been in the South Tower and her alleged fiancé was supposedly killed in the North Tower. In late 2007, it was proven that Head never worked for Merrill Lynch as claimed, never had a fiancé' who is now referred to only as "Dave," and never received degrees from Harvard and Stanford. She was later removed from the board.

Answer: Italian

Espera de Corti was born of Sicilian parents, but would later claim to have Cherokee and Cree descent.

Answer: Psychic

Youree Harris is better known as "Miss Cleo". Harris started life out as a failed playwright. Her "Miss Cleo" persona was based on a Jamaican character the Los Angeles native portrayed in one of her plays. Harris and other advertising partners were later sued. She later went into private practice as a shaman and spiritual adviser.

Answer: MIT

Jones was the Dean of Admissions for MIT from 1997 until April 2007. It was found that she fabricated degrees from Albany Medical College, Union College, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Her only true level of higher education was a bachelor's from the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York.

Answer: Unchained Melody

Stirrat claimed to be Hy Zaret, who wrote "Unchained Melody" in 1955. The real Zaret (birth name Hyman Harry Zaritsky) wrote the lyrics to Alex North's music. North was a popular composer, but was winless in fifteen competitive Oscar attempts (he earned a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award in 1986). Stirrat was an electrical engineer who worked for General Electric, the Army Electronics Command, Eagle Technologies, and Logicon (later acquired by Northrop Grumman).

"Unchained Melody" was first used in an obscure prison film called "Unchained," with vocals by Todd Duncan, the original baritone from "Porgy and Bess." 1955 also saw an instrumental version by Les Baxter and a vocal version by Al Hibbert. The song has produced no less than 500 versions. Among the more famous (source is Wikipedia):
1955 - Jimmy Young topped the UK charts
1956 - Roy Hamilton (#1 R&B, #6 pop)
1956 - Gene Vincent
1963 - Vito and the Salutation (doo-wop version was later used in the 1990 movie "Goodfellas")
1965 - Bobby Hatfield of the Righteous Brothers got it to #4 in the US and the song was used in the soundtrack to "Ghost." Recharted in 1990 to #19 in the US, topped the charts in England and Australia.
1977 - Sung during Elvis Presley's last television interview, just six weeks before his death
1995 - Robson Green and Jerome Flynn version used in the UK drama "Soldier Soldier." Topped the charts in UK.
2002 - Gareth Gates is fourth different artist to make "Unchained Melody" a UK #1.
Others who would cover "Unchained Melody" include LeeAnn Rimes, Willie Nelson, Cliff Richard, Liberace, Al Green, Ronnie McDowell, Phil Spector, Heart, Joe Stampley, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Joe Dolan, the Fleetwoods, and Roy Orbison.