Old Moon, New Moon Trivia Quiz

Answer: George Carlin

George Carlin (1937-2008) was known for his dark humor, social criticism and his willingness to tackle just about any subject, including the infamous "seven dirty words you can never say on television". The above quotation appeared in Carlin's 1997 book "Brain Droppings" which was a compendium of Carlin's stand-up material and other observations.

Another "moon" quote frequently attributed to Carlin is "We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor", however that quote was actually made by Dr. Bob Moorehead. That quote floated around the Internet as part of an essay called "Paradox of Our Time". Carlin himself debunked his ownership of the essay on his website calling it "weak philosophy".

Answer: Mark Twain

Mark Twain (1835-1910) was known for combining humor with social commentary, particularly focusing on the pre-Civil War era. The above quotation appeared in an 1894 promotional pocket calendar for "Pudd'nhead Wilson", which was being published at the time as a serial in "The Century Magazine". Also known as "The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson", the story wove together three plot lines that end with a murder trial.

The quote was used again as a chapter epigraph for Twain's "Following the Equator", a nonfictional account of his travels around the world during an 1895 lecture tour.

Answer: Susan B. Anthony

An anti-slavery and temperance campaigner from a young age, Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) is best known for her work in the women's rights movement, particularly with regards to having the right to vote. She did not live to see the passage of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920, giving women the right to vote, but she was alive when New Zealand did so in 1893.

The above quote was made during a speech at the Women's Christian Temperance Union national convention in Cleveland, Ohio on November 16, 1895.

Answer: Henry David Thoreau

Known for his book "Walden" and his essay on "Civil Disobedience", Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) often commented on man's inability to achieve his dreams. Other quotes along these lines include "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation" and perhaps his most famous quote from "Walden": "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived". Thoreau kept extensive journals, and the above quote was an entry in Thoreau's journal dated July 14, 1852.

Answer: John F. Kennedy

Although he did not live to see man land on the moon, John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) made the space program one of the main goals of his administration. The full quote was "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our skills and talents, because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone and one we intend to win, and the others, too." Kennedy made the quote during a speech at Rice University in Houston, Texas on September 12, 1962.

Answer: Albert Einstein

Among other research, Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was known for developing the theory of relativity and for his work on the photoelectric effect, for which he won the Nobel Prize in 1921. Although his work led to modifications to quantum theory, he wasn't convinced that it was correct, as he declared in a series of letters to fellow physicist Max Born.

The above quote was made in a conversation with his biographer, physicist Abraham Pais, and Einstein was referring to the aspect of quantum theory that denied the reality of things when they were not being observed. According to Pais, "I recall that during one walk Einstein suddenly stopped, turned to me and asked whether I believed that the moon exists only when I look at it".

The quote also appears in the format: "I like to think that the moon is there even if I am not looking at it."

Answer: Bertrand Russell

Besides philosophy, Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) wrote about numerous topics, including mathematics, politics, science and history. The quote appeared in Russell's 1927 essay "Why I am not a Christian" in a paragraph in which he posited that life on earth was temporary: "Moreover, if you accept the ordinary laws of science, you have to suppose that human life and life in general on this planet will die out in due course: it is a stage in the decay of the solar system; at a certain stage of decay you get the sort of conditions of temperature and so forth which are suitable to protoplasm, and there is life for a short time in the life of the whole solar system. You see in the moon the sort of thing to which the earth is tending -- something dead, cold, and lifeless."

Answer: David Brinkley

Along with Chet Huntley, David Brinkley (1920-2003) was a co-anchor of the "Huntley-Brinkley Report", which ran from 1956 to 1970 on the NBC network. He later hosted his own show, "This Week with David Brinkley". He won numerous awards for reporting during his career and in 1992 received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The above quote appeared in "Newsweek" magazine on March 13, 1961 and referred to the 1960 Democratic National Convention.

Answer: Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon (1913-1994), the 37th U.S. president, had an administration that was marked by scandal. Although he did eventually withdraw troops from Vietnam, he initially authorized intensive bombing campaigns, including excursions into Laos and Cambodia.

His attempts to improve international relations with China, the Soviet Union and the Middle East were overshadowed by the Watergate scandal that resulted in his resignation. According to "The Nixon Theology" by Charles P. Henderson, the above quote was made by Nixon to a group of foreign students shortly after the astronauts' splashdown in 1969.

Answer: Carl Sandburg

Of the four poets listed, only Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) was alive when the Pulitzer Prize was established in 1917. He received two Pulitzer Prizes for his poetry in 1919 and 1951 and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln in 1940. The moon was the subject of several of Sandburg's works including "Child Moon" and "Under the Harvest Moon", and it appeared in many other works.

The quote above appeared in his poem "Moonlight and Maggots", a comparison of the ways the moon can be viewed: "The moon is a dead cinder, a ball of death, a globe of doom" or "the moon is a sphinx and a repository under oath" that will keep the secrets shared with it.

The quote also appears as "the moon is a friend for the lonesome to talk to".