Humankind's Finish Line Trivia Quiz

Answer: Revelation

The final book of the Christian Bible, The Book of Revelation chronicles a series of prophetic visions of John (possibly John the Apostle, though the exact identity of the author is unknown) regarding the end of times. The Book was a letter written from John to the "Seven Churches of Asia" regarding the visions he'd received. Due to the vivid, confounding imagery recounted, there is a whole range of differing opinions and analyses from theologians regarding the book. Revelation concludes with the prophesied Second Coming of Jesus, following from a series of apparent signs of his imminent arrival.

Much of western culture's tropes and beliefs about the "apocalypse" are drawn from the book.

Answer: R.E.M.

"It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" featured on R.E.M.'s fifth studio album "Document", released in 1987. Guitarist Peter Buck admitted in an interview with "Guitar World" that Bob Dylan's song "Subterranean Homesick Blues" was a notable influence on the track. The track peaked at 69 on the US Billboard Singles chart and 39 on the UK Singles Chart. "Document", however, fared better commercially, reaching ten on the US Billboard Albums chart and lasting in charting territory for 33 weeks. The album was also critically acclaimed, with "Rolling Stone" claiming it to be the band's "finest to date".

The other groups are also notable American rock bands.

Answer: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" begins with our hero Arthur Dent fighting his daily struggle to protect his house from destruction for the construction of a bypass. He's then rescued by his friend Ford Prefect from the destruction of Earth by an alien race known as the Vogons... to make way for a bypass. From there, the book keeps getting crazier.

First published in 1979, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" was the first of Douglas Adams' "trilogy in five parts", a comedy book series of the same name. The book quickly became a cult classic, spawning a 2005 movie adaptation and a radio and television series. A sixth book in the series was completed by Eoin Colfer following Adams' passing in 2001, titled "And Another Thing...".

The other options are also science fiction novels: "The War of the Worlds" is by H.G. Wells, "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut and "Good Omens" by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

Answer: X-Men

"X-Men: Apocalypse" was the ninth addition to the "X-Men" franchise, produced by 20th Century Fox and based on the Marvel comics of the same name. The film follows the mutant heroes banding together to prevent the villain En Sabah Nur from destroying the planet. While racking in a cool $543 million (USD) worldwide, its critical reception was not so impressive, holding a 48% approval rating on review aggregate site "Rotten Tomatoes". After its debut in 2000 with "X-Men", the franchise has also spawned a series of films centring on Wolverine, portrayed by Hugh Jackman, and the 2016 film "Deadpool", amongst others.

The other options are other famous superhero film franchises.

Answer: Al Gore

Al Gore was infamously defeated by Republican candidate George W. Bush at the 2000 Presidential Election. Afterwards, he turned his attention to educating the world about the imminent dangers of climate change. His efforts to do so were chronicled in the 2006 documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" via a slideshow, directed by Davis Guggenheim. Amongst the claims in the film is the possibility of global sea levels raising by approximately 20 feet (6 m), leading to 100 million climate refugees. The documentary won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and has gone on to feature in education curriculums across the world (though not without controversy).

The other options are famous climate scientists that are notable for championing the dangers of climate change.

Answer: Diamond and Pearl

"Pokémon Diamond and Pearl" debuted in 2006 and were the first main "Pokémon" titles to be released for the Nintendo DS console. The titles announced the fourth "generation" of Pokémon games, this time exploring the Sinnoh region. Including the usual gameplay ideas of catching Pokémon and battling your way to champion status, the player must also defend the Sinnoh region (and the world) from Team Galactic, a villainous organisation led by Cyrus that seeks to destroy the planet to create a better one in its place. How? By battling with Pokemon, of course! Dialga and Palkia were the game mascot Pokémon this time around, and the starters were Turtwig (Grass type), Chimchar (Fire type) and Piplup (Water type). (I personally chose Turtwig.)

"Ruby and Sapphire" were releases in the third generation of "Pokémon", while "X and Y" and "Silver and Gold" were sixth and second generation games, respectively.

Answer: The Walking Dead

The first season of "The Walking Dead" premiered in 2010 and quickly caught traction with viewers, smashing viewing records for a cable television series in the United States. The show centres on a band of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world infested by zombies (or "walkers", as they're referred to). "The Walking Dead" has been well met by critics, being nominated for the Golden Globe for "Best Television Series - Drama", amongst a stack of awards and nominations. The show was inspired by a comic book series of the same name, created by Robert Kirkman, Harry Schofield and Tony Moore. In turn, the show has given way to a companion series "Fear the Walking Dead", which premiered in 2015.

The other options are also notable horror and/or post-apocalyptic television series.

Answer: Henry V

The St Crispin's Day Speech is one of many famous Shakespearian monologues. Delivered to his army of men before the Battle of Agincourt, Henry V promises that their imminent triumph will be remembered "from this day to the ending of the world". The famous speech has found its way into culture in numerous forms, being adapted in the 1789 song "Hail, Columbia" (written for the inauguration of George Washington).

"Henry V" was most likely written around 1599. It is the final part of William Shakespeare's "Tetralogy" of historical plays, with "Richard II", "Henry IV, Part 1", and "Henry IV, Part 2" being the other parts. As you'd expect, the play details the reign of Henry V as King of England, namely in the events proceeding and including the Battle of Agincourt (which they won decisively).

Answer: Doomsday argument

The doomsday argument essentially suggests that, given random distribution of human births across history, there would theoretically exist one human being that is the "middle" person to be born. The actual mathematical equations used to calculate this are beyond this author's comprehension, but the argument suggests a means of calculating the total number of humans to be born in the future by an estimation of the historical number of humans born so far. It's also sometimes referred to as the Carter catastrophe, because astrophysicist Brandon Carter was the first to formally propose the argument in 1983. The claim has gone on to be championed and expanded upon by other scientists and philosophers such as Holger Bech Nielsen, but there are also those that refute the argument.

What are the real-world implications of this argument? They're limited, really. However, some have used it to suggest humankind's odds of survival, and astrophysicist Richard Gott III suggested the DA has consequences on the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and space travel in general.

Answer: Barry Goldwater

The infamous "Daisy" commercial tells the story of a little girl playing in a field of flowers, just as the world ends in a nuclear explosion. Lyndon B. Johnson's voice is then heard warning that "these are the stakes", before text and another voiceover reading "Vote for President Johnson on November 3rd.

The stakes are too high for you to stay home," appear. The advertisement was only aired once on the 7th of September 1964, but many consider it to be a large factor in Johnson's successful Presidential campaign against Republican nomination Barry Goldwater.

The advertisement has infiltrated pop culture in numerous ways, including a parody in the "The Simpsons" episode "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming". In 2016, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton featured the (now grown-up) little girl in the advertisement, Monique Luiz, in one of her campaign advertisements.