Left-Handed Scribes: Devilish or Divine? Quiz

Answer: Douglas Adams

Adams and Graham Chapman were friends and writing partners, which led to cameos by Adams in several episodes of "Monty Python's Flying Circus". After submitting a "Doctor Who" movie called "Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen", he was hired as a script editor and wrote three serials for the fourth doctor, Tom Baker. "Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen" eventually became "Life, the Universe, and Everything", the third book in the "Hitchhiker" series.

Answer: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

"Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead" portrays Hamlet's two old friends when they are not on stage during "Hamlet". Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, Fortinbras, Horatio, and Ophelia all appear, though most of the play is a "Waiting for Godot"-like exchange between the two main characters.

Regan and Goneril are two of King Lear's three daughters. Lodovico and Gratiano are two Venetians from "Othello". Antipholus of Ephesus and Antipholus of Syracuse are twin brothers in "The Comedy of Errors".

Answer: "A Tale of Two Cities", Charles Dickens

"The French Revolution" was written only 40 years after the historical events had taken place, and in a time when many countries in Europe were teetering on the verge of revolution. Carlyle advocated for dynamic heroes to control the "spiritual forces" of a revolutionary movement, and though he abhorred the idea of an hereditary aristocracy, he also found democracy ridiculous. Dickens wrote that he read Carlyle's book "500 times" and even asked Carlyle for background sources when writing "A Tale of Two Cities".

Answer: Bill Clinton

In a 2006 Quinnipiac University Polling Institute poll, Clinton was rated second-best president since World War II, after Ronald Reagan. In the same poll, he was also rated third-worst, after Richard Nixon and George W. Bush. He has written several books, but his most famous was his autobiography, "My Life", published in 2004.

The audiobook version, read by Clinton himself, won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.

Answer: Tina Fey

Tina Fey was a writer on "Saturday Night Live" for two seasons and head writer for seven seasons. She then went on to create, write, and star in "30 Rock". She has also made movies like "Baby Mama", "Megamind", and "Mean Girls". Somewhere in between all of these successes, she found the time to write a comedic autobiography, "Bossypants".

She is also the youngest person ever to win the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Answer: Appalachian Trail

Bryson lived most of his adult life in Britain after meeting his wife there. From 1995 to 2003, he lived in Hanover, New Hampshire, and during this time, he walked the Appalachian Trail with a friend and wrote "A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail", published in 1998.

The book is humorous, especially in the duo's numerous failures, but also includes interesting discussions of the history, ecology, and sociology of the trail.

Answer: Obama

"Dreams from My Father" recounts President Obama's life up to his matriculation in law school, including his parents' divorce, his childhood years living in Indonesia, and visiting relatives in Kenya. The book was well received by critics and the publisher gave him an advance to write an abridged version for middle school children. "The Audacity of Hope" was based on a phrase from Obama's 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, originally attributed to Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Obama's former pastor.

The book outlines Obama's views on spiritual and political matters and spent 30 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List.

Answer: Whoopi Goldberg

The "Sugar Plum Ballerinas" is co-written with Deborah Underwood, and tells the story of a reluctant ballerina with a "stage mom" who enrolls her in a ballet school. "Is It Just Me" addresses the lack of civility in our modern world in a humorous way. "Book" could be called a memoir, but critics have said it didn't delve deep enough into what could have been a very interesting story of being a 17-year-old welfare mom.

It was published in 1997, early in her movie career and before her political and social activism, so hopefully she'll write another memoir soon!

Answer: Bob Dole

After several failed presidential bids, Dole became a spokesperson for Viagra, Visa, Dunkin' Donuts, and Pepsi. He appeared frequently as a guest correspondent on "Larry King Live" and "The Daily Show". In "Great Presidential Wit", Dole ranked all of the U.S. Presidents from funniest (Abraham Lincoln) to least funny (Millard Fillmore).

Answer: He wrote backward, from right to left.

Although it has been suggested that DaVinci wrote right to left to preserve some sort of secrecy, it is much likelier that he found it more practical. It is, however, surprising that he would admit to being left-handed, since at the time, left-hand bias was proof of witchcraft or demonic possession.