Potpourri of 20th Century American History Quiz

Answer: ambulance driver

Like many artists in World War I, Walt Disney volunteered to serve as an ambulance driver in support of the Allied Powers. Disney shared his occupation at the time with a number of authors, music composers, artists, and successful business men. In many cases, these individuals chose not to join the armed forces in combat roles, or were either too young or too old for regular military service.

With the onset of World War I, Walt Disney left school at the age of 16 and attempted to join the U.S. Army. After being rejected due to his age, Disney joined the American Red Cross. Shortly thereafter, he was sent to France to serve as an ambulance driver after the November 11, 1918 signing of the armistice.

Disney served for one year as an ambulance driver.

Answer: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street

Theodor S. Geisel, under the 'nom de plume' of Dr. Seuss, published his first work, "And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street" in 1937.

In all, Dr. Seuss wrote and illustrated 73 children's books. His works were adapted for 11 TV specials, four feature films, one Broadway show, and four television series.

Among the best selling books by Dr. Seuss were: "Green Eggs And Ham" (1960), "The Cat In The Hat" (1957), "One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" (1960), "Horton Hears A Who" (1957), and "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" (1957).

Dr. Seuss wrote and illustrated one book, "The Seven Lady Godivas" in 1939 that was specifically aimed at adults.

Answer: Washington D.C.

The original experimental aircraft, serial number N-X-211, and named "The Spirit Of St. Louis", is on display at the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Visitors to the museum are almost immediately greeted to the sight of the exhibit. The airplane is on display, suspended by wires from the ceiling above the main entrance to the museum.

The aircraft, officially named the "Ryan NYP", an experimental monoplane built in San Diego, California specifically for the historic flight, was named "The Spirit of St. Louis" in honor of the aircraft's financial investors, who were headquartered and resident in St. Louis, and for Lindbergh himself, who was a native of St. Louis.

During the construction of the airplane, Charles Lindbergh was often personally present at the building site to oversee and monitor construction of the airplane.

A full size replica of the airplane is also on display at the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis, Missouri.

Answer: Federal law enforcement officers

Timothy J. McCarthy was a member of the United States Secret Service Presidential Protection Division in Washington D.C.
McCarthy was on duty, standing near President Ronald Reagan at 2:27pm (Eastern Standard time)on March 30, 1981, when shots were fired at the President as he exited a Washington DC hotel, following a speech.
McCarthy immediately reacted by deliberately shielding the President with a spread eagle pose between the gunman and the President. As the President was being rushed into his waiting limousine, McCarthy was struck in the abdomen by the fourth of six shots fired by would be assassin John W. Hinckley. McCarthy and four others including Reagan suffered gunshot wounds. All shooting victims recovered, and Hinckley was immediately taken into custody. While all are trained to do so, McCarthy was the first Secret Service Agent to place himself immediately in front of a President, possibly saving him from further injury or death.

In a November 1, 1950 presidential assassination attempt, two men tried to rush the temporary residence of President Harry S. Truman outside of Blair House (across the street from the White House) in Washington DC. Three members of Truman's protection detail were shot, one fatally on the grounds of the presidential residence.
White House Police Officer Leslie Coffelt died after receiving multiple gunshot wounds in an exchange of gunfire with one of the would-be assassins, but managed to fatally wound the assassin before succumbing to his injuries. Capitol police officers Donald Birdzell and Joseph Downs were also wounded in the incident and recovered from their injuries.

President Truman who was inside of the residence and heard the gun battle was said to have looked out of his window during the incident but was never in harms way.

Answer: Orville Wright

Lieutenant Selfridge died as a result of an airplane crash, while he was the passenger of a two man aircraft, piloted by Orville Wright.
Selfridge established his place in history as being both the first passenger fatality of a powered airplane crash and the first military person to ever die as a result of an airplane accident.

At the time of the ill fated flight, the Wright Brothers was traveling across the country to demonstrate the capabilities of their Flying Machine to potential customers, including the U.S. Army.

A condition for securing a military contract called for the airplane to be able to carry passengers. In the demonstration for army officials, Lt. Selfridge, an enthusiast of flight, volunteered to accompany Orville Wright on the demonstration flight. With the cheers of 3000 spectators, Wright and Selfridge took off and circled the parade grounds three times at an altitude of 150 feet. It was on the fourth circle of the flight that the propeller broke off, sending the airplane out of control. Wright attempt to make a "controlled crash" landing, but at about 75 feet, the airplane plunged into a nose dive and hit the ground. Both Wright and Selfridge had to be extricated from the wreckage.

Selfridge, who was unconscious, was rushed to a nearby hospital, but died of his injuries without ever regaining consciousness.
Wright suffered a broken leg, several broken ribs, and a number of cuts and bruises, but eventually recovered.

in 1909, the army purchased a Wright flying machine, confident that the aircraft was flight worthy.

Answer: the Apollo 11 space mission

Much of the world celebrated in July of 1969 when man first walked on the moon. Few realized the concern of American space officials who, based on their research and scientific principles, believed they could safely return astronauts Neill Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin to the orbiting command module, flown by Michael Collins for the return trip to Earth - but had their anxieties. The actual process, though technologically sound was untested. Neill Armstrong would later comment that he felt he and Aldrin had a 50/50 chance of returning home. In preparation for the worst case scenario, which would maroon the space travelers on the Moon's surface, presidential speech writer William Safire was directed to prepare a speech to be deliver to the people of the world by President Richard M. Nixon in the event of tragedy. The speech was completed and presented to the President for use, should the circumstances warrant.
Following the successful liftoff from the Moon and docking with the command module, the space travelers were homeward bound, and the speech was never delivered.

Safire's speech, entitled "In Event Of Moon Disaster" read as follows:

"Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.

These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal; the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at the stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man's search will not be denied. But these men were the first and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every human who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind."

Answer: federal law enforcement

Chapman, Lahart, and seven other men were hand selected by Eliot Ness to become U.S. Federal Law Enforcement Agents for his elite unit of crime fighters. The goal of the unit was to bring an end to the crime organization headed by Al Capone. The group of officers were referred to as "The Untouchables". The unit added two further members bringing their total strength to 11, and began to aggressively enforce Prohibition and tax laws, which negatively impacted the heart of Capone's criminal empire. Specific locations targeted by the unit were Capone run "speakeasies" (illegal drinking establishments) and breweries that produced the illegal alcohol. After two years (1929-1931), Capone was finally arrested, charged with his crimes, and sentenced to federal prison.

The Untouchables were disbanded following the apprehension of Capone in 1931.

Because of wide spread corruption in the law enforcement community, Ness originally closely reviewed 50 files of potential team members before selecting his 11 member task force.

The men selected by Ness had reputations above reproach for honesty. They received their name "The Untouchables" because they could not be brought off or bribed by Capone and his crime organization

Answer: NASA astronaut

Astronaut Edward H. White became the first American to preform an Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) or "space walk" as part of the Gemini 4 space mission.
White spent 23 minutes outside of his space capsule, propelled by a hand held maneuvering oxygen jet gun, on an eight meter long cord tethered to his space craft.

Nineteen months later, on January 27, 1967, White was killed, along with fellow astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Roger Chaffee during a pre-launch training exercise while aboard their Apollo 1 space vehicle, when a flash fire broke out in the capsule as it sat on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The Apollo 1 crew became the first American astronaut to lose their lives while on board their space vehicle.

Answer: Jack Swigert

56 hours into the mission of Apollo 13, the seventh manned space mission to the Moon, Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert stirred the oxygen tank of the space vehicle as directed by Mission control. Moments later, there was a loud "bang" heard in the space vehicle, and emergency warning indicators were activated.

Swigert spoke to CAPCOM flight director Jack Lousma. Their conversation was as follows;
Swigert: "Okay Houston, we've had a problem here".
Lousma: (Asking for confirmation of the last message), "This is Houston, say again please?
Mission Commander James Lovell: "Houston, we've had a problem, we had a main B bus over-volt"
Lousma: "Okay, stand by 13, we're looking at it".

In the 1995 Ron Howard film "Apollo 13", the actual line was misquoted by actor Tom Hanks when he stated, "Houston, we have a problem" in the reenactment of the incident. Hanks misquote has been galvanized into the minds of many as being the actual statement made.

The "bang" heard by the crew was the explosion of the number two air tank, which caused an electrical short circuit and fire, resulting in the mechanical failure of the command space module.
The astronauts were forced to use the smaller attached Lunar Landing Module as a "lifeboat", completing their mission from that vehicle. Problems that arose that threatened the air supply were addressed and handled with some creative thinking and jury-rigging life support systems. The astronauts were not able to continue their trip to the Moon, but were able to safely return the 200,000 miles back home safely.

Clarifications:
"CAPCOM" refers to the flight director who is in charge of space capsule communications between the command center on Earth and the space vehicle. In most cases, the CAPCOM flight director is the only person who communicates directly with the astronauts.

"HOUSTON" refers to the Houston Space Center in Houston, Texas, which serves as ground control for space flights following their successful lift off.
Flight directors at that location monitor every aspect of the space mission and the welfare of the flight crews.

The phrase, "Houston, we have a problem" has since become a part of American lexicon, indicating a problem or event gone wrong.

Answer: youngest showgirl in Las Vegas history

At the age of 17 (before she could legally vote, drink, or smoke) Cassandra Peterson graduated from high school and relocated to Las Vegas, where she secured a job as a showgirl in the production "Vive Les Girls".
Peterson was listed in the "Guinness Book of World Records" as being to youngest showgirl ever in Las Vegas history.

Peterson's career included performing as lead singer for a rock band, involvement in a musical comedy show, and working as a go go dancer.

Peterson's break came in 1981, when she won the role as host of horror movies at a Los Angeles, California television station. Peterson hosted "Movie Macabre" in the character of "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark".
As Elvira, Peterson appeared on screen in a tight fitting, low cut black gown, wearing heavy pancake makeup and a tall "beehive" style black wig. When now playing the role of a vamp, Elvira spoke with a quirky "valley girl" accent.

Elvira became a mega media personality, appearing in nearly 70 television and movie projects, television commercials for a number of products, and gained "cult figure" status among a loyal following.