Of Greetings and Goodbyes Quiz | Thematic Fun

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Movies: Which actor has traveled more than six degrees since we first greeted him in the 1978 frat classic "Animal House"?

Answer: Kevin Bacon

Kevin Bacon portrayed Chip Diller, the cadet who gets trampled and flattened during the parade scene at the end of "Animal House". From there, he was in a near-endless stream of films, including "Diner", "Footloose", "Tremors", "A Few Good Men" and "Mystic River", leading to the pop culture game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" in which supposedly any actor or actress can be linked to Bacon within six steps.

2. People: She started a self-named foundation, championed labor and women's rights and even attempted a run at the Vice Presidency. Did Argentina cry when this First Lady said goodbye to the world in 1952?

Answer: Eva Peron

Born Maria Eva Duarte in 1919, Eva married Army Colonel Juan Peron two years before his ascension to the Presidency of Argentina. Despite her youth - she was only in her twenties - she became a powerful partner to Peron and was very involved in government affairs.

Her death from cancer at the age of thirty-three didn't end her popularity. She attained saint-like status in her native country and is known worldwide due to the musical and film "Evita".

3. Television: "Doctor Who" celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 2013, with a string of tributes broadcast to coincide with the event. What was the name of the very first "Doctor Who" episode, which greeted us on November 23, 1963?

Answer: An Unearthly Child

Arguably the world's most popular and successful science fiction programme, "Doctor Who" has entertained millions of viewers since its first broadcast in 1963, with William Hartnell in the iconic central role of the Doctor. The show's ability to continue when leading actors depart has attributed greatly to its success, with each "new Doctor" reinvigorating the show and bringing in waves of new viewers. Before its reincarnation in 2005, eight actors had canonically portrayed the Doctor on screen: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann (whose only appearance as the Eighth Doctor was in the 1996 television movie). Christopher Eccleston led the 2005 revival of the series.

4. Sports: In 1998, we said goodbye to the fastest woman of the 20th century, who set world records for both the 100m and 200m sprints in 1988. Who was this sprinter, as famous for her fingernail art as she was for her track speed?

Answer: Florence Griffith-Joyner

Known as Flo-Jo, Florence Griffith Joyner set new world records in both her events as she won the gold medal for the United States at the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988. Sadly, she passed away in 1998, aged just 38, after suffering an epileptic seizure.

5. Geography: The world said "Greetings!" (or "Kudual", in the native Dinka language) to which nation in 2011 when it became an independent state?

Answer: South Sudan

Declaring its independence from Sudan following a referendum that passed overwhelmingly, South Sudan became a nation on July 9, 2011 and established its capital at Juba, its largest city. The new nation quickly received recognition from neighboring countries and others abroad, including the United Nations, of which it became a member that same year.

While the politics of the region are complicated, making it difficult to pinpoint a single reason for the split, there was a religious division between the north and the south, with the north being mainly Islamic and the south being mainly Christian and native African religions.

6. Animals: In 2012, we said goodbye to Lonesome George, who was believed to be more than 100 years old and the last known member of his subspecies. What type of animal was George?

Answer: Pinta Island tortoise

Lonesome George was discovered in 1971 on Pinta Island (also known as Abingdon Island) in the Galapagos Islands. Due to destruction of habitat and food supply caused by introduced goats, he was the last surviving tortoise in the population and was moved to the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island where attempts to mate him with other closely-related tortoise subspecies were unsuccessful.

The Pinta Island tortoise subspecies was declared to be extinct with his death.

7. Literature: Possibly one of the best known female novelists of all time, one of Agatha Christie's best known characters is the detective Hercule Poirot. Can you remember in which of her books we first greeted him?

Answer: The Mysterious Affair at Styles

The Belgian detective Hercule Poirot appears in almost ninety full-length novels and short stories by Agatha Christie, published over a span of fifty-five years, between the 1920s and the 1950s. He has also been portrayed on film and television many times. Poirot, his sidekick Colonel Hastings, and Superintendent Japp were introduced in the story.

8. Science: The former planet Pluto said goodbye to its planetary status in 2006, when it was reclassified as the "second largest dwarf planet in solar orbit". What is the largest dwarf planet orbiting our sun?

Answer: Eris

Pluto was originally discovered in 1930 by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh. It has five known moons, with the largest of these, Charon, being around half the size of Pluto itself. Eris was discovered in 2005, and is almost a third larger than Pluto.

9. Video Games: Sure, everyone knows that Mario began as Jumpman in the "Donkey Kong" arcade game. But what about his dinosaur pal, Yoshi? In which of these games did we first greet the green dinosaur Yoshi?

Answer: Super Mario World

After a successful "Super Mario Bros." trilogy on the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System), Mario hit the 16-bit era of gaming with "Super Mario World" for the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1990. In that game, Mario was joined by Yoshi, whom he could ride through certain levels. Yoshi was able to swallow up and occasionally spit out enemies and some projectiles.

While the most familiar (and popular) Yoshi is green, other coloured Yoshis can be found in later games, sometimes with different abilities.

10. Music: We said goodbye to this rock legend in October 2013. Who took us for a "Walk on the Wild Side" in the early 1970s?

Answer: Lou Reed

Lou Reed first gained attention as a member of the Velvet Underground (with whom he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996) in the late 1960s, but it was his 1972 album "Transformer" with the single "Walk on the Wild Side" that earned him fame.

A new generation was introduced to Reed through the all-star performance of his song "Perfect Day" for a BBC promotion and charity single in 1997.

Source: Author PDAZ

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Pagiedamon before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Of Greetings and Goodbyes Trivia Quiz

Join the Intercontinental Ballistic Sheep (Doublemm, Eburge, Rowena8482 and PDAZ) as they revisit various greetings and goodbyes in ten Fun Trivia categories.

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