Who in the World Did That? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth (1895-1948) was one of the most important baseball players of the 20th century. He played with the Boston Red Sox (1914-1919), New York Yankees (1920-1934), and Boston Braves (1935). His record of 714 home runs that stood until broken by Hank Aaron in 1974 is even more impressive when you consider that for the first several seasons of his career, Ruth was primarily a pitcher and had limited at-bats.

Answer: John Tyler

John Tyler (1790-1862) had previously served as the President of the United States (1841-1845) after a month of serving as Vice President under William Henry Harrison. A Virginian, Tyler served in the Provisional Confederate Congress from 1861-1862. He was elected to the permanent Confederate House of Representatives, but died before he could take office.

Answer: Richard J. Gatling

Designed by Dr. Gatling in 1861 and patented in 1862, the Gatling gun first saw military use during the Civil War. Hand-cranked, the Gatling gun had several (usually six) barrels around a central shaft. At a time when an infantry soldier had to be quick to get off two or three shots a minute with a musket or rifle, being able to fire 400 rounds a minute (which the Gatling gun could do by 1886) was quite powerful.

Answer: Richard Rodgers

Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) collaborated on many Broadway musicals with first Lorenz Hart and then with Oscar Hammerstein. Arthur Laurents wrote the book for "Do I Hear a Waltz?" and Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics. Richard Rodgers is part of a select group that have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony.

Answer: Anne Baxter

Anne Baxter (1923-1985) had a long career in movies and television. She won the 1947 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "The Razor's Edge". In the first season of Batman, she portrayed Zelda the Great and in the third season of the show, she portrayed, Olga, Queen of the Cossacks.

Answer: Pete Best

Pete Best (born 1941) was a member of the Beatles from 1960 to 1962. His drumming can be heard on several early Beatles recordings. The reasons why he was fired by Beatles manager Brian Epstein are somewhat unclear. In later years, he would tour with the "Pete Best Band".

Answer: Clara Bow

Clara Bow (1905-1965) was known as "the It girl" from her role in the 1927 silent movie "It". Clara Bow was best known for appearing in silent films such as "It" and "Wings" (1927) but she did appear in several early talking pictures in the 1930s. She was considered one of the most bankable stars of the silent film era.

Answer: Allan Alcorn

Allan Alcorn (born 1948) created "Pong" in 1972 while working for Atari. The arcade game proved very popular and inspired several copy-cats. A home version of Pong was released in 1975. The game simulates a table tennis match.

Answer: James Hilton

James Hilton (1900-1954) was an English novelist best known for his books "Lost Horizon" and "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1934). The novel introduced the concept of "Shangri-la". "Lost Horizon" holds the #1 position in Pocket Books series of mass-produced paperbacks introduced in the 1930s. The novel was first adapted for film in 1937.

Answer: Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) is best known for his work "Summa Theologicae" (1265-1274). He attempted to harmonize Aristotle's philosophical ideas with Christian theology. He stated that truth is known through reason and faith. Pope John XXII declared Thomas Aquinas a saint in 1323.