We Didn't Start the Fire Trivia Quiz

Answer: Journalist

He was a radio and newspaper journalist who "invented" the gossip column. He used his extensive contacts in the government and entertainment industry to gather embarrassing information on celebrities. He then used this information to attack his enemies or blackmail influential people.

He began his career in the newspaper industry in 1920 and by 1930 he also had a radio show. His career began to decline in the 1950s when he sided with Senator Joseph McCarthy in his quest to root out communists in the entertainment industry.

He retired in 1969 and died in 1972 of prostate cancer.

Answer: Drive it

Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. As with most American companies, it struggled through the Great Depression then flourished during Word War II with government contracts. They produced some innovative cars during the post war period but in the early 1950s Ford and General Motors began a price war which resulted in deep discounts that Studebaker could not match.

At the end of the 1964 model year they were out of the automobile business.

Answer: King Mongkut of Siam

This is a reference to the musical "The King and I" by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein, which was adapted from the novel "Anna and the King of Siam" written by Margaret Landon. The novel is based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens who was a British schoolteacher who was hired as a governess to the children of the King.

The musical was released in 1951 and was a success, winning three Tony awards in 1952. It has been revived many times and has won the Tony award for best revival in 1996 and 2015.

Answer: Polio

Dr Jonas Salk released the polio vaccine in 1955. Polio was one of the most frightening public health concerns of the first half of the 1900s. Polio is a highly contagious viral illness that can cause paralysis. Most cases are asymptomatic or cause mild disease but around 1% of cases caused paralysis.

There is no cure for polio but thanks to vaccinations many parts of the world have now been declared polio free. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries that harbor a wild polio virus.

Answer: 1955 World Series

The team now known as the Dodgers was originally formed in 1883. The team had been successful throughout the years but the 1955 team was the one and only team to win the World Series while in Brooklyn by beating their crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees. Walter O'Malley acquired ownership of the team in 1950 and began looking for locations to build a new stadium to replace Ebbets Field.

As he was unable to get approval for the land he wanted in New York, Los Angeles officials offered him what he wanted to after the last game in Brooklyn on September 24. 1957, the team moved to LA and became the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Answer: A prescription drug

Today it is used to treat certain cancers and complications of leprosy, but in the late 1950s and early 1960s it was used in Canada and in Europe to treat nausea, especially nausea due to morning sickness in pregnancy. It was soon found to cause birth defects.

The type of defect depended on how far along in the pregnancy it was taken. As a result of this, many nations instituted stricter rules for testing and licensing drugs.

Answer: Parkland Memorial Hospital

JFK was shot on November 22, 1963 at 12:30 pm and was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas where he was pronounced dead at 1:00 pm. Two days later Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin, was shot by Jack Ruby and taken to the same hospital where he died during surgery to repair the damage from the gunshot wound to his abdomen. Jack Ruby was tried and convicted of Oswald's murder but his verdict was overturned and a new trial was ordered. Before the second trial could begin, Ruby suffered a pulmonary embolus due to lung cancer and was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital where he, too, was pronounced dead on January 3, 1967.

Answer: New York

The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, better known simply as Woodstock, was held over 4 days in August of 1969 on a dairy farm in New York. It is estimated that 400,000 people attended. "Rolling Stone" magazine listed it in their list of "50 Moments that Changed the History of Rock and Roll".

The long list of performers included: Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and many more.

Answer: She was the first American woman in space

In 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space when she was aboard the space shuttle Challenger. She took a second trip to space on the Challenger again in 1984. She was not the first woman in space however: the Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova beat her by twenty years when she piloted the Russian ship Vostok 6 in June 1963.

Answer: Subway shooting

Mr Goetz was the shooter in the infamous 1984 New York subway shooting. He alleged it was in self defense, his victims claimed the shooting was racially motivated. Crime was high in New York in 1984 so Mr Goetz was carrying a gun on his subway commute when 4 younger men approached him.

He claims they tried to rob him, they claim they were just panhandling. He ended up shooting and seriously injuring all four. He was tried and foundnot guilty of attempted murder but found guilty of carrying a gun illegally.

He did eventually lose a $43 million civil suit. As a result of this case, the laws on self defense in the state of New York were revised.