Young Americans Trivia Quiz

Answer: 21 Club

The club went through a few different names since cousins Jack Kreindler and Charlie Berns opened the bar in 1922. It became 'Jack and Charlie's 21' in 1929. As a speakeasy during the prohibition era, a lever system was used to empty the alcohol into the sewers when police raided the building. There was also a secret door in a brick wall which led to a hidden wine cellar.

Answer: Eugenie hat

The Eugenie hat was fashionable in the mid-nineteenth century, but became popular again when Greta Garbo wore one in the film 'Romance'. The hat is usually made of felt or velvet, and is tilted downwards. A capotain is the black hat usually associated with Puritans in the 16th and 17th centuries.

While the fedora was popular for most of the twentieth century, Greta Garbo was not the one who made them famous. The bowler hat is associated with 19th and 20th century businessmen.

Answer: Sicily

Operation Husky began on 9th July and involved Allied troops from the United Kingdom, the United States, Free France and Canada. The invasion was a success and brought an end to facism in Italy. Despite its success, over 6,000 American soldiers were injured. 2,811 were killed in action, and 686 were missing in action.

Answer: Alaska and Hawaii

On January 3rd 1959, Alaska became a US state after being a territory since 1912. Hawaii was the fiftieth state to be admitted, later in the year. 94.3% of the Hawaiian population voted to become an official US state in a referendum on June 27th 1959. After each state was admitted, a new flag was created with an additional star representing the new state.

Answer: Civil Rights Movement

While all four options are social justice organisations, it was the Civil Rights movement that campaigned for equal rights for black people in the 1950s and 60s. One of the most notable leaders of the movement was Martin Luther King, Jr., who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in 1964. Alongside the Civil Rights Movement (which centred on black people), there was the Chicano Movement.

The Chicano Movement campaigned for Mexican American rights, and rejected ethnic stereotyping within the media.

Answer: Earth Day

It wasn't just students who participated in the Earth Day protests: across America, 20 million people campaigned to protect the environment. That first Earth Day in April 1970 led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Acts like the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Air Act were also passed as a result. Earth Day continued to be celebrated annually into the 21st century.

Answer: Sony

Sony co-founder Masaru Ibuka came up with the idea of the Walkman as a more compact and affordable alternative to the TC-D5. It was released in Japan in 1979, and in the US in 1980. Other names for the Walkman include 'Soundabout', 'Stowaway', and 'Freestyle'. It had two headphone jacks so that two people could listen to the cassette at the same time.

Answer: Aladdin

Released on November 25 1992, 'Aladdin' was the highest-grossing film of the year. It earned over $504 million worldwide; $19.2 million of that was earned in its opening weekend. It was the most successful animated film until 1994 when 'The Lion King' was released.

'Aladdin' was controversial due to the line, 'Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face' in the opening song. The lyric was later altered to 'Where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense'. The film was also criticised for its stereotypical characters. Despite being set in Asia, the heroes had Anglicised features and Anglo-American accents. Other characters, however, had foreign accents, darker skin, and looked more menacing.

Answer: Bratz

Bratz remained a popular toy throughout the decade and lead to spin-offs like Bratz Babyz. The original dolls had almond-shaped eyes and glittery make-up. Their slogan was, 'The girls with a passion for fashion'. Controversy followed the Bratz brand: a number of organisations complained that the dolls were too adult-like and promotoed the sexualisation of children.

Answer: Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift's '1989' was the best-selling album of the year in the US, beating Disney's 'Frozen' soundtrack to the top.

I have to confess that I'm not a fan of Taylor Swift, but from the little I've heard of her music, I was expecting to find that a large proportion of her fan-base were young people ranging from around 13 to 30. I looked on YouGov, a market research website, to see which demographic was associated with Taylor Swift. On the UK version of the site, my initial thoughts were confirmed; the most common fans were males aged 18-24. As this quiz is all about Americans, however, I switched to the US version of the site. Taking a similar sample size from across the pond, YouGov reckoned that the average American Taylor Swift fan was a 65+ man. It's not quite what I was expecting from the woman who brought us 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' in 2012!