It Happened in 1950 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Joseph McCarthy

Joseph R. McCarthy (1908-1957) served as US Senator from Wisconsin from 1947 until his death. His 1950 speech to the Republican Women's club of Wheeling, WV, is seen by many as the start of the second "Red Scare" in US history. Over time, the number of people on McCarthy's "list" varied. On December 2, 1954, he was officially censured by the US Senate.

Although the other three men were also anti-Communist, it was McCarthy who made this particular speech.

Answer: California

If I had told you that the research laboratory was part of the University of California at Berkeley, that would have been a big tip off. The team of physics researchers (Stanley G. Thompson, Kenneth Street, Jr., Albert Ghiorso, and Glenn T. Seaborg) first synthesized the element, californium, on February 09, 1950. californium has the atomic number of 98 and is radioactive in its various forms. Neutrons from californium are used to treat some cancers.

Answer: Wal-Mart

The businessman was Sam Walton (1918-1992) and that store was called "Walton's Five and Dime". The first store with the "Wal-Mart" title opened in 1962. Sam Walton's wealth was an estimated 4.6 billion dollars at the time of his death. In 2016, there were over 11,000 Wal-Mart stores.

Answer: Korean War

Before World War Two, Japan controlled the Korean peninsula. After the war, the US and the Soviet Union occupied Korea, dividing it at the 38 degrees north latitude. Although a cease fire was agreed to in 1953, no formal peace treaty has ever been signed between North Korea and South Korea. Vietnam lies far south of 38 degrees and the Six Days War and the Yom Kippur War occurred in 1967 and 1973, respectively.

Answer: Uruguay

Although the match took place in Brazil, the team from Uruguay defeated the Brazilians 2-1. Uruguay had previously won the World Cup in 1930. 13 teams (including the above mentioned, Sweden, the United States, and Mexico) participated in the World Cup tournament from June 24 to July 16.

Answer: Swim the English Channel

Her time was 13 hours, 22 minutes. Florence Chadwick (1918-1995) competed in long-distance swimming races from a young age. She became the very first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. The English Channel, separating Britain from France is 20.7 miles wide at its narrowest point, the Strait of Dover.

Answer: Indonesia

Indonesia, then known as the Dutch East Indies, declared in independence in 1945 following World War II. The Netherlands formally recognized this independence in 1949 following an unsuccessful attempt to reassert control. Indonesia is large both in terms of size (over 735,000 square miles) and in terms of population (about 255,000,000 according to a 2015 estimate).

Indonesia is located off the coast of Southeast Asia and is made of over 13,000 islands. While the other colonies were all Dutch, only the Dutch East Indies/Indonesia is located in Asia.

Answer: Linus

The first strip only appeared in nine newspapers. Of the original four characters, only Charlie Brown and Snoopy were still part of the comic at the end of its run in 2000. Shermy (not to be confused with Sherman) and Patty (not to be confused with Peppermint Patty) were phased out as time went on. Linus was introduced to the strip in 1952.

Answer: Lowest scoring game in NBA history

The final score of the game was an amazing 19-18. It was a common practice in NBA games for a team with a lead to delay taking a shot as long as possible. In this particular game, the Pistons were doing just this to limit the impact of the Lakers' star player, George Mikan. This was one of the events that led to the NBA implementing the 24-second shot clock in 1954.

Answer: The singing of Truman's daughter, Margaret

Margaret had received operatic vocal training and performed in concerts and other public venues in the late 1940s and 1950s. In his review, Hume stated, "She cannot sing with anything approaching professional finish.". Truman in a letter to Hume wrote, "Some day I hope to meet you.

When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!" Hume was reportedly not to upset by the message, telling a third party that Truman was probably already upset by the recent death of his friend, press secretary Charlie Ross.