What Happened in ...? (1970s edition) Quiz

Answer: Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix, whom many consider to have been the greatest guitarist in rock history, played his first gig in the basement of a synagogue. He was kicked out between sets due to his crazy playing. The circumstances surrounding his death are murky--it seems clear that he asphyxiated after an overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol, but there were so many contradictory statements by his then-girlfriend (and only witness) that it's unclear exactly what happened that night at the Samarkand.

Answer: Nasdaq Composite

'NASDAQ' was originally an acronym for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, but the exchange says that the initials are now obsolete. The composite index has become the exchange with more volume of trades than any other.

The Nikkei 225 (Japan) began to be calculated in 1950, the Dow Jones started way back in 1896, and the S&P was born in 1957.

Answer: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is about 20 miles off the Indian coast, and its demographics include the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. The country won its independence from Britain in 1948, and has become a popular vacation spot for tourists. In 1960, then-Ceylon elected the world's first female Prime Minister, Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike.

Answer: The Dark Side of the Moon

"The Dark Side of the Moon" was Floyd's sixth album, and contained such classic songs as "Money", "Us and Them" and "Brain Damage". The album cover, with its prism dispersing a ray of light, was named by VH1 (in 2003) the fourth-best cover of all time. Most importantly, the act Milli Vanilli sampled "Money" on their own track of the same name.

EDIT: That last bit was sarcasm.

Answer: Stephen King

"Carrie" was King's first novel to be sold, but he had written several others that publishers had turned down. "Carrie" might have been destined for the same fate--the author wrote the first chapter, didn't think it was very good, and threw it away. His wife (novelist Tabitha King, nee Spruce) dug the papers out of the garbage can, read them, and told him that he needed to finish the book and submit it. And the rest is history--Stephen King has sold more than 350 million copies of his books, won the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and had several Oscar-winning adaptations of his work filmed.

Answer: Saturday Night Live

"Saturday Night Live", created by Lorne Michaels, was originally a replacement for reruns of Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show", and the original title was "NBC's Saturday Night" (they'd change it to the current title in 1976). That first episode featured musical guests Billy Preston and Janis Ian, and the cast members were Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, George Coe, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Michael O'Donoghue and Gilda Radner.

Answer: Legionnaires' disease

The convention was for the American Legion, and was held at the Bellevue Stratford hotel. 34 people died and 221 received medical treatment to deal with the infectious bacterial disease (scientific name: Legionellosis).

Curiously, there WAS a big Ebola outbreak (the first ever seen) in 1976 as well, but that was in Zaire.

Answer: Son of Sam

Berkowitz confessed to six murders, but later recanted and said that he was part of a Satanic cult and that others were involved with the killings. Of course, he also said that his neighbor's dog told him to murder people, so his credibility isn't what it might be.

The name "Son of Sam" came from a letter Berkowitz left in a street near the murders of Alexander Esau and Valentina Suriani--it read, in part, "But I am a monster. I am the "Son of Sam." I am a little brat. When father Sam gets drunk he gets mean."

Answer: Pete Rose

"Charlie Hustle" owns many Major League Baseball records, including most hits (4,256), and won three World Series. He also made 17 All-Star games, at five different positions. One of the best players of all time, Rose became involved in scandal when it was discovered that he'd been betting on baseball games while managing the Reds, and he received a lifetime ban from baseball, meaning that he's not in the Hall of Fame.

Answer: Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania

Twelve days previous to the meltdown at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, the movie "The China Syndrome" (which detailed an accident at a nuclear reactor) was released, leading to a public outcry and the cancellation of the construction of 51 planned nuclear reactors in America.

The Three Mile Island event released 13 million curies of radioactive gases into the atmosphere, but the situation was brought under control within five days.