Empedocles Enjoys Fiery Entertainment Quiz

Answer: We Didn't Start the Fire

Billy Joel was born in 1949. He started recording in 1971, and his first big success was "Piano Man" (1973). In 1989 he recorded the album "Storm Front", featuring the song "We Didn't Start the Fire". The couplets of the song refer to over a hundred events from (mainly US) history between 1949 and 1989. Here is an excerpt from the first couplet: "Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray, // South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio // Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television // North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe".
The aforesaid song went to the number one spot in the US Billboard 100.
"Light My Fire" was sung by The Doors, while Johnny Cash sang "Ring of Fire". "Great Balls of Fire" was a song by Jerry Lee Lewis. None of these refer to historical events.

Answer: Raphael

Did the last sentence help you? Then you're probably a fan of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", where the character named Raphael wears a red mask. (incidentally: Leonardo wears a blue mask, Donatello a purple one and Michelangelo dons an orange mask).
Raphael was indeed the painter who decorated four rooms in the Papal Palaces. "The School of Athens" is probably the best known of the paintings in the Stanza della Segnatura (Room of Signing). The second room is the Stanza dell'Eliodoro, named after the protagonist in the fresco "The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple". The Stanza del Borgo contains the aforesaid "Fire in the Borgo". And finally the Sala di Constantino contains paintings about the Roman Emperor Constantine.
"The Fire in the Borgo" refers to an historical event from 847: Pope Leo IV accidentally set fire to the Borgo, a district of Rome outside the city walls.
Raphael is the common name for the painter born Raphaello Sanzio da Urbino (1483-1520), one of the most prominent painters in the Italian renaissance.

Answer: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Need I introduce the "Harry Potter" saga? I suppose every quiz taker on this site has heard about this young adult fantasy series.
In "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", the fourth of the seven books, Harry and his friends met Cedric Diggory on their way to the Quidditch World Championship during the summer holiday.
When school started again, Harry found out that Hogwarts would host the Tri-Wizard Tournament, an international competition for young wizards and witches. Three champions (one for each school: Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons) would have to complete three dangerous tasks in order to win the tournament. At the bewilderment of all involved, the Goblet of Fire selected not only Viktor Krum for Durmstrang, Fleur Delacour for Beauxbatons and Cedric Diggory for Hogwarts, but also Harry Potter...
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was the English title to the first book in the series. In the USA, the title was altered to "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". It was the start of Harry Potter's training as a wizard, hoping eventually to confront the evil Lord Voldemort who once tried to kill Potter.
In "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" Harry and his friends took on a most dangerous beast, hidden somewhere at the school of Hogwarts.
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" was the third instalment of the popular series. In this volume he met his godfather Sirius Black, his only living relative in the wizard world.

Answer: Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams (1911-1983, born as Thomas Lanier Williams) created some very famous theatre plays, such as "The Glass Menagerie", "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". His theatre play "I Rise in Flame, Cried the Phoenix" was a fictionalized version of the death of the English author D.H. Lawrence.
The other authors were British, not American.
Noel Coward's short play "Fumed Oak" (about a salesman leaving his wife and daughter) did earn him a spot in this quiz. The play title does indeed refer indirectly to fire.
Du Maurier is best known for the play "Rebecca" in which the main setting (the mansion named Manderley) went down in a fire.
Lord Byron's "Sardanapalus" also ends with a huge fire. The title character, a king of Assyria, was considered a coward and a poor military commander. But when he lost a battle for his capital, he and his sister jumped on a huge pyre.

Answer: Steve McQueen

"Towering Inferno" (1974) started with a party to celebrate the opening of the newest and highest skyscraper. The main guest at the party was the architect, Doug Roberts (role by Paul Newman), who secretly was concerned about faulty electricity circuits. Of course Doug Roberts was worried with a good reason: when the party was well under way, short circuits caused a huge fire.
Steve McQueen (1930-1980) was one of the major movie stars in the seventies, having played major roles in "The Magnificent Seven" (1960), "The Great Escape" (1963), "Bullitt" (1968) and "Papillon" (1973). He was nominated for an Oscar for "The Sand Pebbles" (1966).
Mockus played the minor character Chief John Fitzgerald in the movie "Backdraft" (1991), which focused upon two brothers in the firefighting department (roles of Kurt Russell and William Baldwin).
In "15 Minutes" (2001) Edward Burns played the fire marshal Jordy Warsaw, who teamed up with Detective Eddie Fleming (role by Robert de Niro) to find two arsonists.
Bradley played Captain Jack Thomas in "Ablaze" (2001). This captain of a fire brigade had his hands full when an oil refinery owner decided to burn his plant, hoping to collect the insurance money.

Answer: Burn Notice

"Burn Notice" ran for seven seasons (2007-2013). When the FBI employee Michael Westen was fired, he started a career as private investigator helping people from his hometown Miami, but especially searching for the truth regarding his dismissal. Who wanted to get rid of him at the FBI? And why?
Jeffrrey Donovan starred together with Gabrielle Anwar (who played Westen's ex-fiancée Fiona Glenanne), Bruce Campbell (playing Sam Axe, a former Navy Seal and FBI informant) and Sharon Gless (playing Westen's mother Madeline).
"Bruce the Olympic Flame" (2014) was a satirical web series about the voyage of the Olympic Flame to Sochi for the 2014 Winter Games.
"Dragon Ball Z" (1996-2003) was an animated manga series, about a young warrior from outer space defending the earth to alien invaders.
"Children of Fire Mountain" (1979) was a TV series about some young kids trying to stop a building contractor who desired to have a spa resort on sacred Maori land.

Answer: Johnny Storm

The main story was devised by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. Four people went for a mission into space, but were exposed to cosmic rays. At first they did not notice it, but this incident gave them super powers. When they realized what happened, they started using their powers to take on several villains. Of course all these powers had their drawbacks too.
Richard Reed, the leader of the mission, found out he could wriggle himself into seemingly impossible postures. He adopted the name "Mr Fantastic".
Sue Storm, Richard's fiancée, could make herself invisible at will. She took the nickname "Invisible Girl" or "Invisible Woman".
Sue's brother Johnny could heat his body to incredible temperatures, igniting flammable objects in his neighbourhood. He was named the "Human Torch".
And finally Ben Grimm could turn into a very heavy block of massive stone. He was called "The Thing".

Answer: Larson International

The Fireball Rides are basically loops equipped with a train that can be propelled into the loop, which after a build-up of speed makes the train turn upside down at the top of the loop. Passengers are safely attached with harness belts.
Larson International was founded in Plainville, Texas, in 1965, originally named "J & S Rides". It made several theme park attractions. The name "Fireball Ride" was adopted in 2000 and this type of loops can be found in various theme parks in the USA and Canada.
Zamperla is an Italian group specialized in classic roller coasters.
Rocky Mountain Construction has its base in Hayden, Idaho. It makes wooden roller coasters.
Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers is a Swiss company that builds roller coasters.

Answer: Bryan Danielson

Danielson (born 1981) started his career in WWE (then WWF) under the stage name Daniel Bryan. Soon he was nicknamed "The American Dragon", especially after wearing a dragon-shaped mask in the American colours (red, white and blue) during his first matches in Japan.
His most important successes were the WWE Championship (four times), the World Series Wrestling heavyweight championship (once), and the All Star Wrestling World Mid-Heavyweight championship.
Misawa was one of the "Four Pillars of Heaven", four stars from the Japanese wrestling association.
Laurer adopted the stage name Chyna. She was nicknamed "The Ninth Wonder of the World" (by the way: "the eighth" was André the Giant, born as André Roussimoff.)
Victor Ceron took the alias Kafu. His nickname is "The Brazilian Beast".

Answer: Earth, Wind & Fire

Earth, Wind & Fire was a band whose name could very well please Empedocles.
The band was founded by Maurcie White as lead singer and drummer, Wade Flemons on keyboard and Don Whitehead, with the help of Verdine White (percussion) and others. The band had several changes in the line-up, most notably following the death of Michael White in 2016.
Greatest hits of Earth, Wind & Fire include "Shining Star" (1975) and "After the Love Has Gone" (1979).
Empedocles would associate The Eagles with air, the Rolling Stones with earth and Aqua with water.
The Eagles had a first single in 1972 with "Take it Easy". The first singles for the Rolling Stones were "Come On" and "I Want to Be Loved" in 1963. And Aqua debuted in 1995 with the single "Itsy Bitsy Spider".