A Mix of Colors Trivia Quiz

Answer: Spider-Man

The Green Goblin is a Marvel Comics fictional character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. He is Spider-Man's arch-rival and, just as "Spidey" has a secret identity (Peter Parker), so too does the Green Goblin (i.e., Norman Osborn, a greedy industrialist who happens to be the father of Peter's best friend, Harry Osborn).

The character first appeared in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #14 in July of 1964; he continued to menace New York City with his "Pumpkin Bombs", and has been responsible for such tragedies as the death of Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker's close friend. Willem Dafoe portrayed the Green Goblin opposite Tobey Maguire in the 2002 movie "Spider-Man".

Answer: 1965

Due to a growing worldwide shortage of silver in the 1960s, the Coinage Act of 1965 was passed which authorized the removal of silver from the dime and the quarter, and the reduction in its content of the half-dollar. Through the year 1964, dimes, quarters and half-dollars were made with 90% silver.

In 1965, dimes and quarters were "struck" with clad copper and half-dollars went from 90% to 40% silver until 1971 when the silver was completely eliminated. In other words, you thought your money was worth less, and it is! Of course, if you are a collector and willing to pay more, the US Mint continues to make yearly sets of "Silver Proof" coins.

Answer: The Red Shoes

"The Red Shoes" is the story of a ballet dancer, and was written, produced and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Moira Shearer plays the young ballerina, Vicky Page, who joins a ballet company and becomes the lead in a new ballet called "The Red Shoes" based on the Andersen fairy tale. What sets this film apart is not only its story-within-a-story but its wonderful use of Technicolor, which was a relatively new process at the time.

The film won Oscars for Best Music Score and Art Direction, and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Writing and Best Editing. Both Martin Scorsese and Brian De Palma listed it as one of their favorite films.

Answer: John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd

"The Blues Brothers" is a 1980 comedy starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Jake and Elwood, respectively, and was directed by John Landis. "Blues Brothers" tells the story of a Chicago parolee who, with his brother, takes on a "mission from God" to save the Catholic orphanage where they were raised.

The characters of Jake and Elwood were originally created by Belushi and Aykroyd for a skit on "Saturday Night Live". The film also had musical numbers by iconic singers like James Brown, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker and Cab Calloway. "The Blues Brothers" has become a cult classic, and in 2005 there was a 25th anniversary celebration held in Los Angeles.

Answer: Cee Lo Green

Cee Lo Green was born in 1974 with the name Thomas DeCarlo Callaway. He and Brian Joseph Burton, known as Danger Mouse, formed the soul duo called Gnarls Barkley. They released their first album, "St. Elsewhere" with the single "Crazy" in 2006, and their second album "The Odd Couple" in 2008. Gnarls Barkley won two Grammy Awards in 2007 for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for "Crazy" and Best Alternative Music Album ("St. Elsewhere").

In 2010, Cee Lo went solo with the hit song "Forget You" (and the more explicitly named version on YouTube).

In 2011 Cee Lo acted and performed on Saturday Night Live and in 2012 performed with Madonna at the Super Bowl.

Answer: a person who sucks up

According to the "Urban Dictionary", a brown nose is "someone who sucks up to you to gain your favor. This is done by doing stuff for you for no apparent reason, laughing at stuff you do that wasn't supposed to be funny, agreeing with everything you say", etc.

When I was a kid they called it "teacher's pet" or "butt kisser". There are plenty of synonyms for this behavior (apparently it happens quite often), among them are: sycophant, toady, yes-man, bootlicker...well, I think you've got the idea by now - someone who flatters you for his own benefit, not because it is genuine.

Answer: Harry Belafonte

Although previously recorded by singers Juanita Hall and Dinah Shore, the song "Scarlet Ribbons" from 1949 made very little impression until Harry Belafonte covered the song in 1952 and put it on his second album "Calypso" in 1956. BTW, "Calypso became the first million selling album, was #1 on Billboard's album chart for six weeks and remained on the chart for over a year." The most successful version of the song in the United States, however, was by The Browns in 1959.

It has been a standard since then, often recorded on Christmas albums, about a little girl who prays for scarlet ribbons which her father is unable to get. I still cry when I hear "Scarlet Ribbons"!

Answer: Red Red Wine

Did you know "Red Red Wine" was written by Neil Diamond? Diamond's version, about using wine to forget a lost love, went to number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1968. UB40's version reached number one in the United Kingdom in 1983 and number 34 in the US the following year; in 1988, it recharted in the United States and went all the way to number 1, although Neil Diamond did not like the light, happy tone of the UB40 version. I also learned two other things: the band UB40 got its name from an Unemployment Benefit Form 40, and the "B" side of Neil Diamond's record was also appropriate to the category (i.e., "Red Rubber Ball"). Live and learn!

Answer: Maroon 5

Originally called Kara's Flowers, Levine, Carmichael, Madden and Ryan Dusick (the original drummer) released one album "The Fourth World" in 1997. They then added James Valentine and, in 2002, Maroon 5 put out its debut album "Songs About Jane" containing four hit singles: "Harder to Breathe", "This Love", "She Will Be Loved" and "Sunday Morning".

The band won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2005; in 2006, Dusick was replaced by Matt Flynn. In March of 2012 they announced their fourth studio album "Overexposed" and in June 2012, the hit single "Moves Like Jagger" (with Christina Aguilera) sold eight million copies worldwide.

Answer: A Clockwork Orange

Set in Britain in the not-too-distant future, Alex De Large, a violent delinquent brilliantly portrayed by Malcolm McDowell, is put in jail where he volunteers for "experimental aversion therapy developed by the government in an effort to solve society's crime problem"...but, of course, all does not go well.

In Anthony Burgess' original dystopian novel, he has gone so far as to actually create a new language, "Nadstat", spoken by the teenagers of this future world, e.g., "droog" (friend), "cancer" (cigarette), "biblio" (library), thereby making the science fiction seem even more realistic.

The title refers to "a human who is mechanically responsive"...