"Under the Dome" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Potatoes

Ollie's younger brother died in an accident. Both his mother and father committed suicide, leaving Ollie the only member of the Dinsmore family alive. At the dome he made a connection with Private Clint Ames. Ollie had been throwing rocks at the dome. He was hoping that one wouldn't bounce back and then he would be able to leave. When Private Ames asked him to stop the rock throwing because it was getting on his nerves, Ollie refused. He explained that it was his job to milk the cows but since the dome came down the grass had gone bad and the cows stopped producing milk. For this reason Private Ames nicknamed Ollie Cowkid.

During the firestorm, Ollie hid in the basement of the barn under the pile of potatoes. The potatoes had been harvested three days before the dome came down and hadn't been sold yet. Lying under the potatoes, Ollie felt like he was buried alive in a potato avalanche. Using his Grampy Tom's oxygen tanks, Ollie forced himself to not move and breathe calmly. Even when the potatoes around him cooked and he became afraid that the oxygen tanks would explode from the heat, he forced himself to stay put. When the fire had burned itself out, Ollie dug himself out of the potato pile and made his way to the dome.

There were only three dozen officers left on the outside of that section of the dome. They had been left behind to dismantle their equipment. Everyone believed there couldn't be anyone left alive after the fire. Everything was burnt and black; the dome itself had a layer of ash and soot. Ollie knocked on the dome, begging for someone to please be there. Private Ames was the officer that heard Ollie. While the other officers set up the fans, Private Ames told Ollie to clear a spot on the dome. He called Ollie Cowkid for encouragement. This spot allowed them to see each other, and for the air to get through the dome. Ollie asked that Private Ames call him by his name instead of Cowkid. A very touching moment was when Ollie realized that he was dying, and asked Private Ames to stay with him. Ollie didn't want to die alone; he said he was glad that the last voice he would hear would be that of Private Ames'.

The dome was removed while Ollie was sleeping. Unsure if the dome would be coming back down, Private Ames grabbed Ollie and dragged him out. Ollie was one of the very few residents of Chester Mill that managed to survive the dome.

Answer: Leatherheads

The dome was put in place by aliens. It is actually a child's toy, an alien ant farm. The children who are playing with the dome find it amusing to watch the residents of Chester Mill. There is no explanation of where the Leatherheads are. Just that they are watching and laughing. Only a small number of residents have actually seen the Leatherheads. Everyone that has seen them agrees that they are children, and far away. No one knows how they know this, just that they do know.

After the power source is found, Rusty Everett examines it. The power source has a hooded lens, which emits purple flashes every fifteen seconds. Norrie calls the power source the flash box because of these flashes.

When someone comes into contact with the dome for the first time they have a physical reaction of a mild electrical shock passing through their body. For the first few minutes after touching the box Rusty is unable to move, including his eyes. He is the first person to have physical contact with the box (in the novel this box is referred to as the power source, the box, the transmitter and a generator.) He is also the first person to see the aliens. Rusty is sure that he hears the aliens laughing and becomes convinced that they are children.
The reason the aliens are called Leatherheads is because of their appearance. They are described as having high faces. Their faces look like geometric solids encased in padded leather. Rusty notices that there are diamond shapes on the side of the face which could be considered ears.

After the firestorm, Julia, Sam and Barbie go to the power source where she is able to communicate with a single Leatherhead girl. After pleading and then sharing her memories, Julia is able to convince the Leatherhead girl to remove the Dome.

Answer: 1976

"The Simpson's Movie" debuted in 2007. "Under the Dome" was published in 2009. Both have a small town in the United States trapped under a dome. That is where the similarities end. The Simpson's dome was put in place by the Government; the Simpson's were able to escape through a sink hole; the Springfield residents were able to create a crack in their dome; and finally, Homer was able to blow the dome up with a bomb.

The Chester Mill dome totally encompasses the town, from above and below. The dome supposedly goes for miles down, and several thousand feet upwards. Rocks, bullets, bombs and strong acid were used in an attempt to break the dome. Each one failed - the dome remained undamaged and intact.

According to the Author's note at the end of the book, Stephen King started writing the book in 1976. He quit after about two weeks and approximately 75 pages of writing. On his website (http://www.stephenking.com/library/novel/under_the_dome_inspiration.html) Stephen said that the 1976 work was originally named "The Cannibals."

In the Simpson's episode "The Fool Monty" Mr. Burns lost his memory. When is memory returned he decided to have his vengeance on the people of Springfield by encasing them within a dome. From his helicopter he is seen holding up a copy of "Under the Dome" and explains he is going to borrow the idea from a Stephen King novel. After being informed that the dome had been done already Mr. Burns calls off his dome.

There are several websites that debate which came first "Under the Dome" or "The Simpson's Movie" one such site is http://www.neatorama.com/2010/07/26/which-came-first-under-the-dome-or-the-simpsons/

Answer: Murder, no

After the dome came down two distinctive groups developed. The first group consisted of those who were trying to find a way out of the dome. The second group consisted of Big Jim and his supporters, including the newly appointed, hand-picked police officers. Barbie was chosen by the President of the United States to be his "in the dome" man. Big Jim didn't like Barbie, and was in favour of the dome. Big Jim mocked the President and thought Barbie would make a very good scapegoat. Working with his son, Big Jim created a plan that would incriminate Barbie. This plan included Junior breaking into Barbie's apartment to find something that could be planted on one of the bodies. Junior found Barbie's dog tags, planted the dog tags in Angie's hand, and then "found" the bodies. Big Jim stated that if the dome stayed the town couldn have their own trial and execution.

Dale "Barbie" Barbara was arrested and charged with murder. The murder victims were Brenda Perkins, Angela "Angie" McCain, Doreen Sanders and Lester Coggins. Barbie was arrested at the hospital by officer Mel Searles. The dog tags were enough proof to convince several townspeople that Barbie had killed four people. After his arrest a small group developed consisting of those who believed Barbie had been framed. Acting as the town's doctor, Rusty Everett, found it suspicious that the bodies had been taken directly to the funeral home instead of the morgue. Since they were murdered there should have been an autopsy. This group, which includes two police officers, developed and participated in a plan to break Barbie out of jail.

Brenda and Lester were both murdered by Big Jim when they threatened to expose his criminal activities. Angie and Doreen were murdered by Junior.

Answer: James "Big Jim" Rennie

James Rennie is better known as Big Jim. He is a used car salesman, the town's second selectman, a Christian who doesn't believe in swearing or drinking. Big Jim is also a drug lord. He knows everyone's business and is willing to help anyone out as long as it benefits himself in some way.

Big Jim sees the dome as an opportunity to run Chester Mill the way he sees fit. He belittles the President and, along with his son, frames and then arrests the man the President selected. Brenda and Lester are murdered because each presents a roadblock to his plans. Barbie and Rusty are arrested. He orchestrates a riot at the grocery store. Andrea is addicted to pain medication and Big Jim threatens to withhold her pills if she doesn't see things his way. The dome allows Big Jim to become the town's dictator.

The lab is the largest meth lab on the East Coast. Colonel Cox arranges for a visitor's day where the townspeople would go to the dome and meet their families who are outside the dome. While the majority of the town's population are at the dome, Big Jim orders Chief Randolph and a group of officers to go to the lab, take control and retrieve the propane tanks. The lab has over 400 tanks of propane which the town needs to run their generators. If Big Jim can supply the propane, it will make the town's people more in debt to him. This ends horribly. The resulting fire destroys the town and kills the majority of the townspeople. Big Jim does survive the fire by holing up in the town's bomb shelter. He dies when he attempts to change the propane tank and isn't able to.

Answer: 26 and Horace

In the days after the dome came down on the town there were suicides, accidents and murders. On visitor's day there was a massive firestorm that killed most of the townspeople. Only 397 residents survived the fire. Within a few hours after the fire that number had been reduced to 106. By the next morning the number had dropped to 32. Before the dome was removed Big Jim, Aidan Appleton, Benny Drake, Carter Thibodeau and Thurston Marshall had died.

Of the 26 remaining survivors, Sam Verdreaux does die. He is one of the 26 survivors because he died after the dome was removed. His last comment was about seeing the sky again and how blue it was. The remaining 25 survivors are:

1. Barbie (Dale Barbara)
2. Julia Shumway
3. Pete Freeman
4. Rose Twitchell
5. Dougie Twitchell
6. Joe McClatchy
7. Claire McClatchy
8. Piper Libby
9. Ollie Dinsmore
10. Joanie Calvert
11. Norrie Calvert
12. Rusty Everett
13. Linda Everett
14. Janelle Everett
15. Judy Everett
16. Alva Drake
17. Ginny Tomlinson
18. Jackie Wettington
19. Tony Guay
20. Alice Appleton
21. Harriet Bigelow
22. Lissa Jamieson
23. Gina Buffalino
24. Romeo Burpee
25. Little Walter Bushey
26. Horace (dog)

"Under the Dome" has over 1000 pages (hardcover copy) and it is a very fast paced novel. It does end extremely abruptly with the removal of the dome. There is no further explanation of what happened after the dome was gone, or what happened to the remaining survivors.

Answer: October 21st and Halloween

Dome day is October 21st. Chester Mill is enclosed in an impenetrable barrier that conforms exactly to the borders of the town. The dome goes into the ground more than 100 feet (that is how far down that the military officers have managed to dig) and goes approximately 47000 feet above the town. The dome was put into place at 11:44 am.

The dome has an energy field and when a person comes into contact with the dome for the first time they feel an electrical charge. It has an adverse effect on mechanical things such as ipods and pacemakers. Police Chief Howie "Duke" Perkins, upon being called to the dome, was killed when his pacemaker blew up. A very small amount of air can get through the dome, but nothing with any substance. Water can trickle through the dome but not the silt in the water. The United States government first tried to bomb the dome, and then attempted to use powerful acid but neither worked.

There is a greenhouse effect going on inside the dome. The air is slowly going bad and the temperature is rising. After the firestorm the air inside the dome is toxic. The survivors are unable to move more than a couple feet from the dome. Trying to provide some fresh breathable air, soldiers set up massive fans on the outside of the dome, pointing them into the dome. These fans barely provide enough air to keep the survivors breathing. The remaining survivors are gathered at the edge of the dome, where the air is best but even with the fans they are slowly suffocating.

Within the first 55 hours after the dome came down, over two dozen children experienced petit mal seizures. They subsided over time. Five year old Judy Everett during one of these seizures said "the pink stars are falling; the pink stars are falling in line." Her sister, Janelle also experienced a seizure. She warned of the great pumpkin, and how they had to stop it and they have to stop Halloween. Aiden warned of the pink falling stars and that on Halloween there would be no treats, just tricks. Rory Dinsmore before he died commented about the great pumpkin, how everyone needed to watch out for Halloween and to beware of the fire. Joe, after finding the power source, thought he had been dreaming about the pumpkins being on fire.

The warning about the falling pink stars turned out to be a meteor shower seen through the pollution gathered inside the dome. The references to the fire and Halloween suggest that something is going to happen on or around Halloween. the warnings turn out that there was a massive fire that destroyed almost everything and everyone.

Answer: Benny, Joe and Norrie

Three teenagers are responsible for finding the power source for the dome. They are Benny Drake, Joe McClatchey and Norrie Calvert.

There is a group of people working to find a way out of the dome, who believe that finding the power source will be the first step in getting out of the dome. It is decided that the teenagers should be the ones to try and find the power source. No one will be suspicious of a group of teenagers outside with their bikes and a Frisbee.

Everyone agrees that if there is a power source it would have to be located within the dome, and that someone has to find it. Mrs. McClatchey suggests that she thinks the power source would be centrally located. Norrie suggests that instead of being in the center of town that maybe it is above the town. The highest place in Chester Mill is Black Ridge. Along with their bikes and Frisbee the teenagers take a Geiger counter and head for Black Ridge. They find several dead animals along the way, most of them with broken legs. The closer they get to the Ridge the higher the number on the Geiger counter goes. Just before the Ridge the counter reads +200 which is just before the red danger zone.

Before they can get a closer look the three teenagers pass out. Joe thinks he has dreamed about pumpkins being on fire. After they regain consciousness Norrie sees the transmitter flashing a purple light. They agree that they have found the power source/transmitter and that they have seen enough. They return to town, inform the adults and later bring Rusty to the power source so he can examine it.

Answer: Medicine for melancholy

Phil Bushey is Sammy's husband and Little Walter's father. Most of the townspeople thought he had left town and abandoned his family. Instead he has been at the meth lab. He has taken a new name and is now called Chef. It is his job to create the meth.

Andy Sanders' wife dies when her plane crashes into the dome and his daughter is murdered. He becomes very distraught and decides the best thing would be to commit suicide. Before he is able to follow through on his plan he's called to assist at the hospital. There he is informed that Sammy killed two people and then killed herself. Andy then goes to the lab to tell Chef about his wife. Chef offered Andy meth, which he accepts and he takes to it, exceptionally well. Andy and Chef then go to the hospital to retrieve Sammy's body and together they bury her.

Chef has an excessive belief in God. He firmly believes that the dome is God's will, and so is making meth. His philosophy is God is great, meth is good, selling meth is bad and they shouldn't be doing that but sharing meth is really good. After seeing Andy upset about his wife and daughter, Chef explains that meth is medicine, medicine for melancholy. The newly addicted Andy fully agrees with this and quickly developed an extremely strong friendship with Chef.
The lab has more than 400 tanks of propane. Chef knows that he needs the propane to continue with his meth production. He is adamant that he will protect and defend the lab and propane until the end. Andy agrees to support Chef in his efforts. During the visitor's day at the dome, Big Jim sends the police to the lab to confiscate the propane and shut the lab down. During the battle for the lab Chef is badly wounded. Foreseeing a fight for the propane, Chef had set up explosives in the meth production room. Before he dies Chef detonated these explosives. The 400+ propane tanks mixed with the meth chemicals ignited, which created the firestorm that destroyed Chester Mills.

Answer: Sam Verdreaux

Sam Verdreaux was Chester Mill's town drunk and was called Sloppy Sam. Big Jim decided that there would be no liquor sales until the dome was removed. Sam did not take this news well. He had money and felt he should be able to buy what he wanted. Junior informed him that in Chester Mill there were no more rights and that the constitution had been canceled. In an attempt to get booze, Sam threatened the newly appointed police officers. After that Sam said that he had to have the booze to combat the shakes and DT's. Freddy Denton, Johnny Carver and Junior decided to teach Sam a lesson; they beat and humiliated him and then arrested him for trying to purchase booze.

In an plan to rile the townspeople up, Big Jim told Junior to offer Sam whiskey in exchange for starting a riot at Food City. Desperate for alcohol, Sam agreed and threw the rocks that started the riot. One of the rocks hit the owner's daughter in the face and Sam felt guilty about causing her injury.

Four years before the dome came down on the town, Sam had been misdiagnosed with having emphysema. It turned out to be bronchitis and it eventually cleared up. He kept the oxygen deliveries because it didn't cost him anything and sometimes the oxygen gave the body a perk up. Sam called his shed where he kept the tanks his oxygen bar. He was able to survive the firestorm because of those oxygen tanks. After the fire Sam walked the three miles to the dome. On the trip to the dome he had to discard a couple of the oxygen tanks because they were too heavy for him. Upon arriving at the dome he removed the oxygen tank and mask and lit up a cigarette. The toxic air inside the dome didn't seem to affect him.

Julia needed to get to the power source because she had an idea that might get the dome removed. The problem with that was that the air inside the dome was toxic. The van had enough clean breathable air inside it to get them to the Ridge but not enough to get them back. Sam's solution was to empty the tires of their air into hefty bags, creating homemade scuba tanks. Feeling bad about his part in starting the riot, Sam offered to drive the van to the power source, saying he wouldn't stop until he got them there. Stephen King's message in "Under the Dome" appears to be that helping others is good, hurting others is bad and redemption is possible. On the drive to the power source Sam felt something inside him rip, he ruptured his lung, and he was willing to give up his life if doing so saved the remaining survivors. At the transmitter Julia convinced a single female Leatherhead to remove the dome. Sam survived long enough to see the dome removed but died after the dome was removed; his last comment was about how blue the sky is.