What's A Million Between Friends? Quiz

If you want to live like a millionaire, you need more than a million in the bank, or so economists tell us. It was not always so. Time was, a million in cold cash meant something special.

A multiple-choice quiz by darksplash. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who wrote the novel 'The �1,000,000 Bank-Note'?

Answer: Mark Twain

Twain published 'The �1,000,000 Bank-Note' in 1893. It was the story of a poor American given the note by two men in a bet to see if he could survive for a month on nothing but a note that no one would be willing to give him change of.

2. When did 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' debut on British television?

Answer: 1998

'Millionaire' was made by the independent company Celador and was first broadcast on the ITV network. It became not only a huge ratings winner, but a worldwide money-spinner for the producers. In an earlier format it was pitched to the BBC, which rejected it. The first person in Britain to win the top prize was Judith Keppel in 2001.

3. Which of these movies was the first to have had a $1 million budget?

Answer: A Daughter of the Gods

Made in 1916, this movie was shot in Jamaica with 20,000 extras employed in eight months of shooting. It also attracted controversy when Annette Kellerman, an Australian swimming star, appeared in a nude scene. [See "The Original Million Dollar Mermaid: The Annette Kellerman Story" by Emily Gibson & Barbara Firth, 2006]. No print of the movie is known to exist.

4. Who was the first British footballer (soccer player) to be the subject of a �1 million transfer?

Answer: Trevor Francis

In 1979, Francis was transferred from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest for �999,999 - though the gross figure rose to more than �1 million when the agents got their cut.

5. In 2008, a �1 million note was auctioned in London. For how much did it sell?

Answer: �78,300

The note was issued as part of the Marshall Plan in 1948. It's one of only two known to be in private ownership.

6. Which of these US presidents first appeared on the $1 million bill?

Answer: There has never been a US $1m bill

Pity the poor man from Pittsburgh who went into a grocer's store and asked for change of a $1m dollar bill. Bills of that denomination have never been officially produced, but several companies make 'fun' $1m bills.

7. What nickname was given by the Bank of England to its �1 million notes?

Answer: Giants

The notes were used internally by the Bank. �100 million notes were known as 'Titans'.

8. A painting by which of these world leaders sold for more than $1 million in January 2009?

Answer: Vladimir Putin

The painting, said to be the Russian President's first, sold for 37 million Rubles ($1.14 million) at a charity auction in St. Petersburg on January 17. Bloomberg News reported that the purchaser, a gallery owner called Natalia Kournikova said: "The painting shows another aspect of a great personality." The Guardian newspaper (London) reported: "The sale price is thought to be a record for the sale of a painting in Russia."

9. In 1994, the British pop group KLF was wound up. What did the members do with the �1 million profit they made?

Answer: They burnt it

Jim Cauty and Bill Drummond set fire to the money in a boathouse in Scotland. An independent witness claimed it took two hours for the money to be burnt. In 1992, the magazine 'New Musical Express' described KLF as "Britain's greatest pop group". The band had two UK Number One singles, "Doctorin' The Tardis" (1988) and "3am Eternal" (1991).

10. Between 1955 and 1960, CBS in the USA broadcast a show called "The Millionaire" in which unknown people were given $1 million by an unseen benefactor. Who was that benefactor?

Answer: John Beresford Tipton

Each episode of the fictional show began in the same way with actor Marvin Miller, the supposed agent of the millionaire, declaring to camera: "My name is Michael Anthony. And until his death just a few years ago, I was the executive secretary to the late John Beresford Tipton... a fabulously wealthy and fascinating man whose many hobbies included his habit of giving away one million dollars, tax free, each week...to a total stranger."

Some of these questions were based on 'When A Million Really Meant Something' written by Shaun Phillips in 'The Times', January 2009.

Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

What's A Million Between Friends? Quiz

If you want to live like a millionaire, you need more than a million in the bank, or so economists tell us. It was not always so. Time was, a million in cold cash meant something special.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>