A "Simpsons" History Class Trivia Quiz

Answer: Grover Cleveland

In the episode "Two Bad Neighbors", Bart was spanked by George Bush (Sr.). Abe claimed to have been spanked on two non-consecutive occasions by Grover Cleveland, an allusion to the fact that Cleveland has been the only president in American history to serve two non-consecutive terms.

He was the 22nd (1885-1889) and 24th (1893-1897) President of the United States, though I'm pretty sure Grandpa Simpson isn't THAT old.

Answer: Palestine, Israel

The Palestine Liberation Organization, headed by Yasser Arafat, agreed to recognize Israel as a state in the 1993 Oslo Accords. With Arafat's death in 2004, the issue is back up for debate, with the Hamas refusing to acknowledge Israel's right to exist.

Answer: Dionne

The Dionne quintuplets, the first known quintuplets to survive infancy, were five identical girls born May 28, 1934 just outside of Callander, Ontario. Shortly after their birth, their father signed a contract with fairground exhibitors to display the girls on tour with the fair.

The public was outraged and the Ontario government intervened to stop the exploitation. The government than began their own exploitation of the little girls, by building them a nursery which soon became "Quintland", a mini-theme park where visitors could observe the girls and even buy merchandise. "Quintland" attracted about 6,000 visitors per day, until 1943.

The girls were Ontario's biggest tourist attraction of the era.

Answer: Betsy Ross

The memorial Lisa visited was for "Winnifred Beecher Howe", based on Winnifred Huck (one of the first females on the US Congress), Harriet Beecher Stowe (abolitionist and author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin"), and Julia Ward Huck (suffragette and write of "The Battle Hymn Republic").

Answer: Eliot Ness

Rex Banner appeared in "Homer vs. the 18th Amendment", when Prohibition was enacted in Springfield. Homer began illegally distributing liquor to Moe's speakeasy and Rex Banner was brought in find and stop the "Beer Baron" as Homer was called.

Eliot Ness was the leader of 'the Untouchables', a group of Prohibition enforcers in the 1920's.

Answer: Smithers

"Deepthroat" was the code name of Woodward and Bernstein's informant during the Watergate scandal.

In the "Simpsons" episode "Sideshow Bob Roberts", Lisa and Bart were trying to figure out how Sideshow Bob managed to win the mayoral election. Smithers met them undercover in a parking garage to point them in the right direction. Lisa even commented to Bart that "we're just like Woodward and Bernstein!" Bart replied "Yeah, but their dad wasn't waiting in the car reading Archie Comics".

Answer: Beware the Ides of March

"Homer the Great" was the episode where Homer became the leader of the Stonecutters and bossed everyone around. Lisa told him to "beware the Ides of March", which, according to Shakespeare at least, was the warning Julius Caesar received before being assassinated by his own friends.

Answer: The Beatles

There were many similarities between Homer's band "The Be Sharps" and The Beatles, including the clever name, Barney's Yoko-like girlfriend, and performing a concert on a rooftop. The Be Sharps also had a huge fanbase, which reflects the "Beatlemania" of 1960's.

Answer: Marilyn Monroe

Smithers was dreaming that Mr. Burns was singing "Happy Birthday, Mr. Smithers" to him, in the way that Marilyn Monroe sang "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" to John F. Kennedy.

Answer: the fall of the Berlin Wall

In this episode, Kent Brockman's daughter told him to do a story on the Lisa Lionheart doll. He agreed, saying "Well, you were right about the Berlin Wall!".

In actual history, Tom Brockaw first brought the story of the fall of the Berlin Wall to Americans, when many other journalists were oblivious that it was even happening.