What Happened in ...? (1920s edition) Quiz

Answer: Babe Ruth

Before Ruth was sold, the Red Sox had been incredibly successful, winning the first World Series in 1903 and racking up four more in the next sixteen years. After Ruth went to the New York Yankees, though, there would be a championship drought in Boston for 86 years, ending finally in 2004 (while the Yankees would win 26 World Series championships in that timespan). It was called 'The Curse of the Bambino' (one of Ruth's nicknames).

EDIT: I'm informed that the Red Sox owner (Henry Frazee) also secured a $300,000 loan (with Fenway Park as collateral) from the Yankees in the Ruth sale. Thanks, ignotus!

Answer: The Miss America Pageant was held

The first winner of the pageant was Margaret Gorman of Washington, D.C., and she took home a 3-foot tall Golden Mermaid trophy. The pageant was restricted to white women only for much of its history, and the first black woman to win was Vanessa Williams in 1984. In 2006 the competition moved from Atlantic City to Las Vegas.

Answer: Tutankhamun's tomb

On the 26th of November, Carter (an English archaeologist) with Lord Carnarvon (his sponsor) cracked open the tomb and found wondrous treasures inside. Tutankhamun ruled Egypt from 1333 B.C. to 1324 B.C., and his tomb was the most complete ever found (by legitimate scientists, anyway).

Answer: The Beer Hall Putsch

Hitler and his people (including Ludendorff, Hermann Goering and Rudolf Hess) stormed the Bürgerbräukeller and took hostage von Kahr, von Seisser, and von Lossow, the triumvirs of the Bavarian government. The putsch was initially very popular, but within two days Hitler had been arrested and charged with treason. He spent his time in jail writing "Mein Kampf" (with Hess).

Answer: J. Edgar Hoover

John Edgar Hoover founded the Federal Bureau of Investigation (the successor to the earlier Bureau of Investigation) in 1935, and he remained the director of the agency until 1972. He was remarkably successful in creating a crime-fighting agency that dealt with gangsters (the Bureau killed John Dillinger and captured Machine Gun Kelly), but he also overstepped the bounds of his job by compiling files on political figures and harrassing political dissenters.

Answer: Teaching evolution

The trial of John Scopes (which would be called the "Monkey Trial") pitted Clarence Darrow (for the defense) against William Jennings Bryan (for the prosecution). It was a nationwide sensation, and its details were broadcast all around the country on the relatively new medium of radio. Scopes was convicted--he DID break the law, after all--but was only fined a hundred dollars. Later, on appeal, even that paltry fine was dismissed.

Answer: Route 66

During the Dust Bowl of the 30's, Route 66 was an important road for the migrants who were moving west to find jobs. It's been immortalized in song (by Nat King Cole, Chuck Berry, Depeche Mode and myriad others who covered Bobby Troup's tune "Route 66") and in various other media, including the 1960's television show of the same name starring Martin Milner.

Answer: The Harlem Globetrotters

The Globetrotters were originally from Chicago--the "Harlem" was added to make them seem exotic and because Harlem was considered the center of black culture. There have been many famous Globetrotters, including Wilt Chamberlain and Magic Johnson. The team's winning percentage from 1927 to 2006 was a stunning 98.4%.

Answer: The last volume of the Oxford English Dictionary was released

In 1880, the Philological Society thought they might be done with the project in ten years. Over the OED's seventy-year gestation period three of its editors died and would not see the final product. In 1989 the Second Edition of the OED came out, containing over 300,000 entries and almost two and a half million usage quotations.

Answer: The Museum of Modern Art

The MoMA opened in November, nine days after Wall Street crashed, and was located on the twelfth floor of the Hecksher Building. Currently the museum has 630,000 feet of exhibit space and hosts over two million visitors a year, many of them coming to see van Gogh's "The Starry Night", Dali's "The Persistence of Memory" and Wyeth's "Christina's World".