Year in Review 1959 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Vanguard 2

The first weather satellite was Vanguard 2. It was launched on February 17, 1959. It was intended to measure cloud cover and resistance but a poor axis of rotation kept it from collecting a notable amount of useful data. It was soon replaced by more sophisticated technology.

In January, 1958, Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States. The Russians beat the United States by launching Sputnik in October 1957. Telstar was launched in 1962 and was the first active telecommunication satellite.

It was built by engineers at Bell Telephone Laboratories. On August 12, 1960, the United States launched Echo 1, a passive reflector satellite with no amplification possibilities. The technology was ineffective and it was soon abandoned in favor of active systems. Echo 1 was visible to the eye because of its shiny surface.

Answer: Pantyhose

In 1959 Allen Gant Sr. of Glen Raven Mills introduced pantyhose. In 1965 they introduced a seam-free version of pantyhose that coincided with the introduction of the miniskirt. Pantyhose are composed of nylon and spandex. The material is prone to tearing after snagging on something. Hanes introduced L'eggs in the seventies.

They came in white plastic chicken egg-shaped containers. Hubert Givenchy designed a sack dress in 1957 and by 1958 it became a common fashion item. Other innovations appearing on the market include the Bic pen, aluminum beer cans and the microchip.

The microchip technology resulted in several new products using miniaturized electronics such as transistor radios.

Answer: Ben-Hur

The Best Picture Oscar went to MGM's "Ben-Hur" and William Wyler won for best Director. Charlton Heston received the Best Actor Academy Award and Best Supporting Actor went to Hugh Griffith. Shelley Winters received the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in "The Diary of Anne Frank". "North by Northwest" was nominated for Film Editing, Art Direction and the Ernest Lehman screenplay.

The Cary Grant film "Operation Petticoat" received the Academy Award Nomination for Best Screenplay. In 1959 the Three Stooges made their 180th and final short film titled "Sappy Bullfighters". Future film stars Linda Blair and Val Kilmer were born in 1959. Lou Costello, Errol Flynn and George Reeves were among the film legends who left us.

Answer: Sleeping Beauty

"Sleeping Beauty" is the first animated feature to be shot in "Super Technirama 70", a wide screen process. It was also distributed in 35MM for theaters that could not project the wide screen format. It was released to theaters on January 29, 1959. The film's musical score features the Berlin Symphony Orchestra.

The music is adapted from Tchaikovsky's 1890 "Sleeping Beauty" ballet. The movie garnered an Oscar for the soundtrack scoring. During its original release "Sleeping Beauty" returned only half the $6,000,000 it cost to produce, nearly bankrupting Disney Studios. "Cinderella" was released by Disney in February of 1950. "Peter Pan" is the 14th of the Disney animated features and was originally released to theaters on February 5, 1953. "Lady and the Tramp" premiered two years later.

Answer: Sleep Walk

"Sleep Walk" was written and recorded in 1959 by brothers Santo and Johnny Farina. "Sleep Walk" entered Billboard's Top 40 on August 17th, 1959, then rose to the number one position for two weeks in September. It remained in the Top 40 until November.

It was the last instrumental to hit number one in the fifties and the sixth number one instrumental of the rock era. It earned Santo and Johnny a gold record. The song has been redone by numerous artists. Sandy Nelson recorded "Teen Beat". It rose to number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1959. "Tequila" was a hit for The Champs the previous year. "40 Miles of Bad Road" was a 1959 Duane Eddy single. Dave "Baby" Cortez had a #1 instrumental hit in May, 1959, with "The Happy Organ".

Answer: Comet Cleanser

Nestle Quik Strawberry Powder was introduced in 1959. The strawberry powder was the first new Nestle powder product since their chocolate powder hit shelves in 1948. Tang was first marketed in powdered form in 1959. William A. Mitchell invented Tang and also invented Pop Rocks.

In May of 1959 the first Barbie doll went on display at the American Toy Fair in New York City. It was eleven inches tall with a waterfall of blond hair. Barbie was the first mass-produced toy doll in the United States with adult features. Comet Cleanser was introduced in 1956 by Procter and Gamble. Jiffy Pop also became available in 1959.

Answer: Chicago White Sox

The 1959 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers beating the American League champion Chicago White Sox four games to two. After three of the games were played in Los Angeles the final game was played on October 8th at Comisky Park in Chicago.

The Dodgers broke open the game with six runs in the fourth inning for an 8-0 lead and won by a final score of 9-3. The series was also the first one played in Memorial Coliseum, the first games in World Series history to exceed 90,000 in attendance and the first World Championship for a West Coast team.

In 1959 Pumpsie Green became the first black player to wear a Red Sox uniform. Gordy Coleman made his debut with the Cleveland Indians in 1959. Third baseman Harmon Killebrew of the Senators played in the 1959 All-Star Game.

Answer: Lee Petty

Lee Petty won with an average speed of 135.521 MPH. He defeated Johnny Beauchamp in a memorable way. Petty and Beauchamp were lapping Joe Weatherly at the finish and officials called Beauchamp the winner as the three cars crossed the line. After reviewing photographs and film of the finish for three days the call was reversed and Petty was awarded the win.

In 1960 Junior Johnson won despite having a slower car than the lead cars. He used the draft method to keep up with the leaders. The Daytona 500 became the first 500-mile auto race televised live on network television when CBS aired it in 1979. Since 1995 television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year.

The Indianapolis 500 has a larger track attendance.

After the Daytona 500 winning driver gets the Harley J. Earl Trophy the winning car is displayed for a year in a museum next to Daytona International Speedway. The Daytona Kennel Club Dog track back stretch passes under the bleachers of the race track.

Answer: The Buick LeSabre

The Buick LeSabre was manufactured by the Buick division of General Motors from 1959-2005. It had the lowest base price in the Buick lineup. Of the four models introduced by Buick in 1959 the LeSabre lasted the longest. Other Buick models in 1959 were the Invicta and Electra.

The LeSabre was powered by a 364 cubic-inch V8, which was smaller than the 401 cubic-inch V8 used in the more expensive Invicta and Electra models. The Pontiac Tempest is a compact made by Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors and introduced in the 1961 model year.

The Oldsmobile Cutlass was introduced in 1961 as a unibody compact car. The Ford Fairlane was manufactured between 1955 and 1971 by the Ford Motor Company. The name was taken from Henry Ford's estate near Dearborn called Fair Lane.

Answer: Bonanza

Bonanza debuted on September 12th, 1959. It ran on Saturday evenings opposite "The Perry Como Hour". "Bonanza" was one of the earliest television series to be broadcast in color. The family western lasted 14 seasons, making it the second longest running western series behind "Gunsmoke".

When the series began the actors were all unknown to television audiences but they would all go on to have successful careers on other shows with the exception of Dan Blocker, who passed away in 1972. The radio version of "Gunsmoke" ran from 1952 to 1961 and the television show ran from 1955 to 1975. "The Big Valley" ran on ABC from 1965 to 1969. "Have Gun Will Travel" aired on CBS from 1957 through 1963.

Other shows that began in 1959 include "Rawhide", "Twilight Zone", "The Untouchables" and "Hawaiian Eye". Shows airing their final episode in 1959 include "Your Hit Parade", the original "Dragnet" and the original "Mickey Mouse Club".