(Bitter) Sweet '16 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Zika

The Zika Virus was, perhaps, one of the first signs of something being amiss in 2016. Starting with a mosquito bite, the virus spread throughout South America and upwards through the U.S. causing fever, rash, and headaches, though most infected seemed to be quick to recover unless they also took on Guillain-Barré syndrome as a result, causing severe muscle weakness. Cases of Zika were also directly linked to issues in pregnancy leading to microcephaly, which caused the most concern in the media when WHO announced the outbreak.

The state of emergency was lifted by November.

Answer: Fiji

At its most intense, Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston held winds of up to 230 km/h. That moment of intensity happened to be when it made landfall in the island nation of Fiji which, taking the full brunt of this category-5 storm, created $1.4 billion (USD) in damages.

The storm was noteworthy not necessarily because of its strength (record-breaking for the area in itself), but because Fiji is rarely in the path of such natural occurrences. The storm also hit Tonga before dissipating over Australia's coastline.

The storm name Winston was later retired.

Answer: The Panama Papers

Provided by an unnamed whistleblower, the Panama Papers consist of over one million documents from the Mossack Fonseca law firm based in Panama City, Panama, one of the largest offshore accounts suppliers in the world. The data found within them proved that many wealthy politicians, royalty, film stars, and public officials had been storing money in offshore accounts and shell companies, possibly with the intent to commit tax evasion and fraud. What followed were investigations into potential scandals and corruption, especially in Europe and more so with FIFA, the governing body for football which had undergone its own internal upheavals in prior years.

Answer: Gorilla

When a three-year-old child fell into the gorilla enclosure, zoo workers tried to get the gorillas away from the boy, but one-- Harambe, a male silverback-- went to investigate and ended up grabbing the child. This prompted one of the workers to subdue the gorilla, and the resulting gunshot killed the animal, saving the boy from harm.

Intense debate persisted throughout 2016, especially on the internet, where Harambe became immortalized as a meme, as to whether or not killing the animal was the right choice in the situation. Most zoologists concluded that it was; many others believed otherwise.

Answer: Brexit

The Brexit vote was an early warning sign of political upheaval in 2016, preceding what was certainly a complicated year for world politics. After the vote taking place on June 23rd, 52% of UK citizens voted to leave the European Union of which it had been a part for more than four decades.

The vote was quite interesting from a demographical point for view too since citizens of Scotland and Northern Ireland voted heavily in favour of remaining with the EU as did the majority of the city of London.

After the vote, Prime Minister David Cameron resigned; he was replaced by Theresa May.

Answer: Pokemon Go

Yeeaahhh... When Nintendo partnered with Niantic to create a "Pokemon"-based alternative reality game for mobile devices, there was no knowing how popular it would actually be. The app, designed for iOS and Android devices, turned out to be a cultural phenomenon much like the original "Pokemon" video games released in the late 1990s; people could catch Pokemon anywhere they could get a wireless signal. Of course, this also spawned a small issue in that people started paying more attention to their phones than traffic...or muggings...

In some cases, reports state that players broke into houses to catch rare Pokemon. Virtual reality, anyone?

Answer: Creepy clowns

In one of the more unnerving bits of news, creepy clown sightings started cropping up in North America when children were allegedly getting lured into forests by people in clown outfits. The issue spread further than just the States though. By winter, clown sightings were reported as far as Singapore, Chile, Denmark, and New Zealand.

While no one was harmed by any of these occurrences, the panic set into motion by the reported sightings was enough for many retailers to pull clown costumes from their shelves before Halloween.

Answer: Rio de Janeiro

Ah, the home of Zika itself! Rio de Janeiro, Brazil became the first South American city to play host to the Olympic Games in 2016 (two years after hosting the FIFA World Cup), building their way into the hearts of millions of viewers...and it all would have gone much smoother, one would assume, if the cracks didn't start showing.

Besides the Zika concerns, many were also worried about thefts and violence brought on by the city's infamous favelas. Brazilian officials ended up building concrete walls for miles to separate major roadways from these neighbourhoods, blocking them entirely. Additionally, race sites at Guanabara Bay were discovered to be heavily polluted by sewage.

The President of Brazil was impeached shorty before the games. Oh yeah, and the Olympic swimming pools turned green. Probably not a good sign.

Answer: Republican

Oof. This topic is a bit of a doozy, and touching it with a pole of any length is sure to get me in trouble. That being said, certain facts are indisputable. After a lengthy election season, the tally on voting day resulted in Donald Trump receiving 304 electoral college votes to Hillary Clinton's 227 despite the latter winning the popular vote by several million U.S. citizens. Trump would not be inaugurated until early 2017, but once the votes were in, the day was done. Polls forecasted a Clinton victory early on. What wasn't expected (necessarily) was the divide created by the vote, and with reports over the months following the election insinuating Russian influence on the process, the Republican Party's ascension into office was, to say the least, tumultuous before Trump even set foot in the White House.

Answer: Mariah Carey

With only minutes to go, Mariah Carey ended 2016 in a way that could only be described as 'staggering over the finish line'. While Carey, known for her vocal abilities, was expected to perform "We Belong Together". Partway through the song, after complaining about not being able to hear her backing track, it was revealed that she was potentially lip-syncing.

After the incident, Carey blamed production staff of the show for intentionally sabotaging her performance. It was later revealed that she did not rehearse. Who was to blame? The jury is out, but Carey asserted that it wasn't her fault under any circumstances.