Why Be Blue? Quiz | Colors

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance Association originated separately before merging in 1982. What types of workers were they first insuring?

Answer: teachers, lumber workers and miners

In 1929, the predecessor of Blue Cross originated in Texas. It insured teachers for 21 days of hospital stay for $6.00 per year.

The predecessor of the Blue Shield plans insured miners and lumber workers in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S., and the first Blue Shield plan was instituted in California in 1939.

In 1982, the two plans merged and grew, collectively insuring over 100 million Americans by 2014.

2. Bobby Vinton had a number one hit record with this song in 1963, although the original version was sung by Tony Bennett in 1951. Bennett's version only made it to number 16 on the U.S. music charts. Other artists also covered it, like Lana Del Rey and the Clovers, but what was the name of the tune?

Answer: Blue Velvet

"Blue Velvet" was written by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris in 1950. Several movies have featured the song over the years, most notably "Raging Bull", "The Last Picture Show" and a film by the same name as the song, "Blue Velvet".

3. In the Broadway production of "The Glass Menagerie", (and later in the Hollywood films), Tennessee Williams introduced us to a character known by the sobriquet "Blue Roses". What was the character's name in the play?

Answer: Laura

The character Laura in "The Glass Menagerie" was known as "Blue Roses", a girl with mental frailties who collected and was obsessed with glass figurines.

Tennessee Williams based some of the characters in his play on his mother, his sister and even himself.

4. Artist Pablo Picasso is famously known for his "blue period" as well as his "rose period". What did he say was the cause of his desire to paint in muted blues, greys, and greens?

Answer: the death of a friend

Picasso's friend, Carlos Casagemas, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head in 1901.

While Picasso felt that his ensuing depression was directly due to his feelings of loss concerning his friend, it may also be noted that he was able to stay in Paris, France for a time in the apartment of Carlos after his death.

His depression deepened and lingered for quite some time, and it was only later that his Rose Period began, after making the acquaintance of a female French artist, Fernande Olivier.

5. This Frenchman is probably best-known in the United States for his very successful cover of a song originally created by Andr� Popp and popularized by French singers Claudine Longet and Vicky Leandros. Who was this orchestra leader that became well-known for his production of "Love Is Blue"?

Answer: Paul Mauriat

Paul Mauriat and his orchestra sold over a million copies of "Love is Blue" in 1967. The song was the first instrumental to become a number one hit since The Tornadoes managed that feat with "Telstar" in 1962.
Paul Mauriat passed away in 2006 at the age of 81.

6. The painting "Blue Boy" by Thomas Gainsborough was a period piece depicting a young man that may have been the son of a wealthy English merchant named Jonathan Buttall. In what country did the painting eventually find a home?

Answer: United States

After Buttall filed for bankruptcy in 1796, the painting changed hands a number of times before being purchased by an American railroad magnate named Henry Huntington. When the painting left England, a public outrage ensued.

Placed in the Huntington Museum in San Marino, California, "Blue Boy" was put on display opposite a painting of a young woman, the title of which is "Pinkie", that was painted by Thomas Lawrence.

7. Poet Eugene Field wrote a poem entitled "Little Boy Blue" (not to be confused with the Mother Goose rhyme). What was the topic of Field's poem, which first appeared in print in 1888 in Chicago, Illinois?

Answer: a child's death

I remember reading this poem when I was only about eight years old in my older brother's high school literature book, and was struck by the somberness and poignant sadness that permeated the poem.

Eugene Field wrote several lighter poems for children, among which were "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" and "The Duel" (better known as "The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat").

The text to "Little Boy Blue" is copied below:

"The little toy dog is covered with dust,
But sturdy and stanch he stands;
The little toy soldier is red with rust,
And his musket molds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new,
And the soldier was passing fair;
And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
Kissed them and put them there.

"Now, don't you go till I come," he said,
"And don't you make any noise!"
So, toddling off to his trundle-bed,
He dreamt of the pretty toys;
And, as he was dreaming, an angel song
Awakened our Little Boy Blue -
Oh! the years are many, the years are long,
But the little toy friends are true!

Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand,
Each in the same old place -
Awaiting the touch of a little hand,
The smile of a little face;
And they wonder, as waiting the long years through
In the dust of that little chair,
What has become of our Little Boy Blue,
Since he kissed them and put them there."

8. On which American television program did the Blues Brothers first appear, well before the film of the same name was released?

Answer: Saturday Night Live

John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, who later appeared in the movie "The Blues Brothers", first developed their skit on "Saturday Night Live", a program on which they were regulars.

They made their first appearance as The Blues Brother band in 1976, again in 1978, and for the last time later in that same year.

9. The comic strip and television cartoon series featuring the blue characters known as The Smurfs had its origins in what European country?

Answer: Belgium

Belgian Pierre Culliford (Peyo) developed the idea for the Smurfs in 1958, when the first Smurf appeared with an already existing character, Johan. The title of this work was "Johan and Peewit", and the Smurfs appeared as allies to the duo.

10. You've possibly heard of "Bluetooth" technology that enhances communication devices, but do you know for WHOM it was named?

Answer: Bluetooth, the king

In the 900s, King Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson of Norway and Denmark ruled the two nations. Bluetooth technology was named for him because of his unification of the two countries, much as it was envisioned that the technology would tend to unify computers and cell phones.

Bluetooth is the Anglicized version of his name, "Bl�tand".

Source: Author logcrawler

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

Why Be Blue? Trivia Quiz

Varying shades of blue, blue descriptions and phrases that refer to blue are all in here.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>