The Lowly Shoe Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ruby slippers

The ruby slippers were an important plot point in "The Wizard of Oz", demonstrating how sometimes you have everything you need right under your nose. The book upon which the film was based had Dorothy in silver shoes, but the directors wanted to highlight their new technicolor technology, so they changed the shoes to a deep, sparkly ruby.

This image is of a ruby-crowded kinglet.

Answer: Shoe phone

When Agent Smart had to communicate some super-secret information with his agency, he would take off his shoe and hold it up to his ear like a phone. The show, created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, was meant to spoof the serious James Bond 007 movies.

Children used to play "telephone" by stringing two tin cans together.

Answer: Superman

Superman -- when he's Superman and not Clark Kent -- wears red boots to match his red cape. Superman was created by teenagers Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster from Cleveland; he went on to become one of the most influential comic book heroes of all time. "Superman #1" appeared on the shelves in the summer of 1939.

One of Superman's nicknames is Man of Steel, like the steel depicted here.

Answer: Kramer's meat slicer

In the episode "The Slicer", Elaine borrows Kramer's beloved new meat slicer and tries to fix her uneven shoe heel with it. She ends up damaging the slicer. Elaine was played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Louis-Dreyfus was born in New York City and honed her comedic talents in the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago.

This image is of oranges slices.

Answer: Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan's were featured in "Like Mike", which starred Lil' Bow Wow, Jonathan Lipnicki, and Brenda Song. After Lil' Bow Wow's Calvin finds Jordan's old shoes, he becomes gifted in basketball himself and ends up playing for a professional team.

The image here is of a ruin in Jordan.

Answer: Shoe shine

Andy Dwyer, played with gusto by Chris Pratt, was considering suing the city of Pawnee for dumping dirt on him, but he settles instead and takes a job at City Hall as a shoe shiner. Andy was also lead singer and guitarist for a local rock band, which went through multiple names, including MouseRat, God Hates Figs, and Department of Homeland Obscurity.

This image is of a shiny coin.

Answer: The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Scholars may not consider "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" Shakespeare's greatest play by any means, but the character of Laurence was definitely entertaining:

"This shoe is my father: no, this left shoe is my father:
no, no, this left shoe is my mother: nay, that
cannot be so neither: yes, it is so, it is so, it
hath the worser sole. This shoe, with the hole in
it, is my mother, and this my father..."

This stone bridge is found in Verona, Italy.

Answer: Red

Tom Hanks was "The Man with One Red Shoe" in a film about a concert violinist mistaken for a spy and who got unwittingly caught up in a power struggle. The French version from 1972 was actually titled "The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe".

What's black and white and red all over? A newspaper!

Answer: Footloose

"Footloose" followed the story of Ren McCormack, a Chicago native adjusting to life in a tiny country town where the preacher had banned dancing. "Footloose" received a 1985 Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song - Motion Picture.

Twelve inches make a foot.

Answer: Morty Seinfeld sold leather shoes for forty years

Jerry's father, Morty Seinfeld, sold raincoats, not shoes, for over thirty years, according to the episode "The Money" and "The Watch". He also once said he cut velvet for forty years with Harry Altman.

The cows in this picture could be used for leather someday.