Fictional Characters from Minnesota Quiz

Answer: Rose Nylund

Played by Betty White, Rose Nylund was a farmer's daughter from St. Olaf. St. Olaf appears to be a stereotypical Scandinavian farming village. Rose had a habit of telling ridiculous (though apparently true) stories about St. Olaf, much to the dismay of her roommates.

She would begin with "Back in St. Olaf" and then continue on rambling about such people as St. Olaf's meanest ventriloquist or how her late husband left his whole estate to his cow as a joke. Rose was also famous for being dim-witted and for using made up Scandinavian words.

Answer: The Great Gatsby

Nick Carraway is originally from Minnesota where his family owns a successful chain of hardware stores. Thus, Nick is very wealthy and leaves Minnesota to attend Yale where he met Tom Buchanan. Nick reconnects with Tom when he moves again to West Egg, Long Island. It is also there where he meets the mysterious Jay Gatsby who introduces him to a very lavish and chaotic lifestyle.

Answer: Rocky and Bullwinkle

Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose are friends and crime fighters from Frostbite Falls, Minnesota. Rocky was the intelligent brain of the duo while Bullwinkle was more dimwitted. Their main enemies were gangster couple Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale. Oftentimes, Rocky and Bullwinkle would fail to foil Boris and Natasha's schemes until the very end of the episode where they would do so in a hilarious way.

Answer: Snap, Crackle and Pop

Snap, Crackle and Pop, the mascots for Rice Krispies, don't appear to live in any particular place, unlike the other three.

The Pillsbury Doughboy is from Minneapolis, which is where the Pillsbury Company was headquartered. The Jolly Green Giant is from La Sueur and was originally the mascot for the Minnesota Valley Canning Company. Betty Crocker, who some people incorrectly claim is a real person, is also from Minneapolis. Betty Crocker is so popular in Minneapolis that there is a street named for her and she used to host a popular radio show in the 1920s and 30s.

Answer: Angus

MacGyver's first name is Angus but almost no one calls him that. MacGyver was first portrayed by Richard Dean Anderson and then later by Lucas Till in the remake series. MacGyver is best known for his amazing escapes from dangers using ordinary items.

However, he is actually a super genius with expert knowledge in many fields including bombs, nuclear physics, engineering and speaks many languages fluently.

Answer: Twins

Brandon and Brenda are originally from Minneapolis but are forced to relocate to Beverly Hills when their father receives a promotion. At first, the twins struggle to adapt to life in their new city where everything is luxurious and their fellow classmates are "cool". This causes quite a number of problems for Brandon and Brenda, but they eventually make friends and fit in.

Answer: Baby Jane Hudson

In the film "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?", Bette Davis plays Baby Jane Hudson. Originally from Duluth, Jane was locally famous child star while her sister Blanche (Joan Crawford) was forced to live in Jane's shadow because their father favored Jane. Jane was spoiled and she and Blanche moved to Hollywood to further Jane's career.

However, it is Blanche who becomes popular and Jane receives minor roles in Blanche's works. As the sister grow older, they become bitter enemies. Blanche despises Jane because Jane got all the attention when they were children and Jane despises Blanche because she is the more popular one.

When Blanche become paralyzed, Jane is forced to take care of her as she becomes angrier and angrier and less mentally stable.

Answer: Main Street

In "Main Street", Carol is originally from Mankato who leaves Minnesota for Chicago for her education. Carol had lived a sheltered life until she went to Chicago where she was exposed to new, progressive ideas (for the 1910s). Upon her return, she marries Will who convinces her to move to his small town of Gopher Prairie. Carol is bored there as everyone is set in their ways and she does not fit in with her modern ideas.

She tries to redesign and modernize the town but no one is willing to help her and Carol feels stuck and bored with her life.

Answer: Paul Bunyan

Cordwood Pete is the younger brother of the giant Paul Bunyan. Unlike Paul, Pete is actually very short, allegedly caused by stunted growth as Paul ate all his food. Pete followed Paul to Minnesota where he tried to become a lumberjack but was too small so he was relegated to tying the wood planks in bundles. Pete had a habit of getting drunk in local saloons and swinging around Paul's giant ax.

Answer: A news program

Mary Tyler Moore played Mary Richards, an associate producer of the "Six O'clock News" based in Minneapolis on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". Mary Richards was an unusual character for television at the time. She was a woman who was not married and had no children. Richards quickly became an icon for independent women of the day.

She worked alongside her boss Lou Grant (Ed Asner) and anchorman Ted Baxter (Ted Knight). Much of the show revolved around Mary's struggles to compete in a male-dominated industry and live her life as an independent woman.