We Didn't Start the Fire Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Communists took power in China and established the People's Republic of China

In fact, the Communist Party of China won power after the Chinese Civil War. A new flag was adopted, but the earlier flag was NOT yellow and green. The Communist Party of China is still in power. And the Red Sea is quite a ways away from China, and there was no Chinese attempt to control it.

Answer: A U.S. Senator who led a crusade against Communism in the U.S.

McCarthy launched a wide-ranging campaign against people that he claimed were Communists or Communist sympathizers. "McCarthyism" has come to mean any political witch-hunt, especially one that relies on unsubstantiated accusations.

Answer: Liberace, famous pianist, died in a plane crash

Liberace died much later - in 1987, due to complications of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS.) He was 67. He appears on this list of important people and events from 1952 because his TV show, "The Liberace Show," began on July 1, 1952.

Answer: Stalin died and Malenkov succeeded him as leader of the Soviet Union

Malenkov succeeded Stalin as Premier of the Soviet Union, until he was ousted by Nikita Khrushchev. "Anna Karenina" was written by Leo Tolstoy, and was published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877. A worker revolt took place in Poland in 1970-71, Malenkov was not involved.

Answer: Einstein, James Dean

Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 and James Dean died on September 30, 1955.
Davy Crockett died in 1836, but in 1955 Disney aired a TV mini-series based on his life. Elvis Presley's signed with RCA Records in 1955. He died in 1977.

Answer: Adolf Eichmann went on trial for crimes against humanity in World War II

Adolf Eichmann, a "most wanted" Nazi war criminal, was found in Argentina and captured by Israeli agents. He was taken to Israel where he went on trial in 1961 for his crimes. He was convicted and hanged in 1962.

Answer: Lee Harvey Oswald

Conspiracy theories notwithstanding, Lee Harvey Oswald shot on JFK November 22, 1963 in Dallas Texas. Jack Ruby killed Oswald two days later. Chief Justice Earl Warren headed a Congressional Commission assembled to investigate the assassination. Vice President Lyndon Johnson assumed the presidency upon Kennedy's death.

Answer: An office building and hotel in Washington, D.C.

The Watergate office building part of the complex housed the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the 1970s. It was the site of a break-in at the DNC, which was linked to the Nixon Administration. A political scandal, known simply as "Watergate," followed, and resulted in the end of Nixon's presidency.

Answer: Shot four black men as they attempted to rob him

In 1984, Bernhard Goetz, nicknamed the "subway vigilante," shot four black men who were attempting to rob him while he was riding a New York Subway train. Although he was charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment and numerous other charges, a jury found him not guilty of all charges except carrying an unlicensed firearm.

Many felt he was a hero for defending himself. Others condemned his actions. The controversy started a dialogue about crime, personal safety, gun control, and poverty.

Answer: There always has been, and always will be events and people that change the world

This song lists in roughly chronological order some of the events and people that shaped the history of the world from 1949 - the year Joel was born - until the year the song was released, 1989. It has often been used as a teaching tool. I love this song, although when it first came out I wondered why he would sing about bacon and Reagan (the line is "Begin, Reagan, Palestine" clearly (to most) a reference to Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of the State of Israel. But I still sing "bacon."