Month of the Year: July Trivia Quiz

Answer: the Vietnam War

Tom Cruise plays Sergeant Ron Kovic, the author of the autobiography on which this movie was based, who was paralyzed in action in Vietnam. The film follows Kovic's life from childhood to the military to his career as an anti-war activist. Oliver Stone (who is also a Vietnam vet) directed this film as the second in a three-part series about the War in Vietnam: "Platoon" (1986) and "Heaven & Earth" (1993).

Answer: ice cream

Ice cream was popular in the US from at least 1744. President George Washington was a big fan. In 1984, Senator Walter Dee Huddleston of Kentucky introduced a resolution in the Senate and Representative Kika de la Garza of Texas introduced a parallel resolution in the House of Representatives proclaiming National Ice Cream Month. President Reagan signed Proclamation 5219 establishing National Ice Cream Month as July.

The proclamation calls upon Americans to observe the month with "appropriate ceremonies and activities" which presumably includes eating substantial quantities of ice cream.

Answer: set on the 4th of July

The full title of the song on Springsteen's second album is "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" but the song is more often known more simply as just "Sandy." In the song, Sandy is the object of the singer's affections. The song is set in Asbury Park on the Jersey Shore.

Its opening lines make reference to the fireworks being shot into the air for the Fourth of July. Ulf Lundell recorded a Swedish-language version of the song in 1983 but changed the setting to New Year's Eve.

Answer: French

The Latin "Iulii" is where it started. Some form of the Roman name for July found its way into a remarkable number of other languages! It is "Juli" in Bosnian, Danish, Dutch, German, Icelandic, Indonesian, Javanese, Luxembourgish, Norwegian, Serbian, Sundanese and Swedish.

It is "jśl" in Slovak. It is "julai" in Malay and Swahili, and Julaya in Zulu. It is "juuli" in Estonian and "juillet" in French. It is "julio" in Spanish and Esperanto, "juliol" in Catalan, "julie" in Afrikaans, "julij" in Slovenian, "jūlijs" in Latvian, "jślius" in Hungarian, and "julho" in Portuguese. July is "hulayo" in both Cebuano and Filipino.

It is "ioślios" in Greek, "iuli" in Samoan, "iulai" in Hawaiian, "iulie" in Romanian, and "iyul" in Russian, Turkmen, and Uzbek.

The Arabic word for July is "yuliu" and the Hausa word is "yuli." It is "jolay" in Malagasy and "jiyč" in Haitian Creole. Italians say "luglio," Corsicans say "lugliu" and Lithuanians say "liepa."

Answer: ruby

Second only to diamond in hardness among the birthstones, ruby is a deep-red clear gemstone associated with the month of July. The name of the gem derives from the Latin word "ruber" meaning red. The colour of the most valuable rubies is described as "pigeon's blood" meaning deep red with a hint of purple. Rubies are found in Myanmar (Burma), Vietnam, Mozambique and Madagascar.

Answer: motion picture

Preston Sturges both wrote and directed the comedy motion picture "Christmas in July" (1940). In it, Dick Powell plays opposite Ellen Drew. The story is a zany mix-up about who wins a $25,000 prize in a slogan contest conducted by a coffee company ("Maxford House"). Spoiler: against apparently insurmountable odds, things work out well in the end.

Answer: Police Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer

In James Patterson's "4th of July," Police lieutenant Lindsay Boxer is recovering from wounds received in a gunfight which resulted in her being sued for wrongful death. While recuperating in Half Moon Bay, she becomes unofficially involved in a local murder investigation. Castellano, Washburn and Thomas are all members of the Women's Murder Club, of which Boxer is a member, as well. This club features regularly in the series written by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. The preceding title is "3rd Degree" and the subsequent title is "The 5th Horseman."

Answer: Norway

Åsne Seierstad wrote the book "One of Us: The Story of a Massacre in Norway - and Its Aftermath" describing the murders of 22 July 2011. The book was adapted for the screen, directed and produced by Paul Greengrass. Anders Behring Breivik first detonated a bomb outside the Oslo, Norway, office of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, killing eight people.

He then traveled by boat to the island of Utųya in Tyrifjorden, Buskerud, where a summer camp for teenagers was being conducted by the Workers' Youth League (AUF). Breivik, a member of a right-wing extremist group, opened fire, killing the camp director, chief of security and 67 children.

He was tried, convicted and sentenced to 21 years in prison, which was the maximum penalty in Norway. Breivik explained that he is a fascist, a Nazi, anti-Muslim, anti-feminist and an "Odinist."

Answer: 31

"Countdown" is a long story about the consequences of an event which instantly kills six billion people, leaving only teenagers to survive. Adults and small children are reduced to puddles of "black goo." Each of the twelve volumes tells of the aftermath in one month of 1999. Daniel Parker is the pen name of Daniel Ehrenhaft, who writes lots of children's and YA books.

Answer: Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar (100 BC - 44 BC) was born in what would become the month of July. At the time of his birth, the month was called "Quintilis" which meant that it was the fifth month of the year (beginning in March). The name was changed to honour the assassinated leader. Julius Caesar was partly responsible for creating the Julian Calendar, which preceded the Gregorian calendar in use today.