Calling all "Cosmo" Girls Trivia Quiz

Answer: a family magazine

"The Cosmopolitan" was first published in 1886 by the company Schlicht and Field. It was intended to be a "first-class family magazine", with sections devoted to women (cooking and fashion articles, for example), sections for young teens or children, sections on parenting advice, and sections for men. By the end of 1886, the magazine had reached about 25,000 people.

Answer: literature

Schlicht and Field went out of business in 1888. The magazine was bought by John Brisben Walker in 1889 and he appointed E.D. Walker as editor. E.D. Walker began changing the face of the magazine. He included illustrations, book reviews and short stories written by contemporary authors.

When that proved popular, the magazine became primarily about publishing fiction and circulation reached about 75,000 by 1892. In 1905, William Randolph Hearst bought the magazine, but it continued on as a fiction magazine.

It featured the writing of popular authors such as Rudyard Kipling, Jack London, H.G. Wells, Sinclair Lewis and George Bernard Shaw.

Answer: Helen Gurley Brown

Brown became the editor-in-chief of "Cosmopolitan" in 1965. The magazine became a sort of continuation of her 1962 book "Sex and the Single Woman". The book had tried to break down taboos on pre-marital sex, and to tell single women in America that they weren't the only ones engaging in it. According to the "How 'Cosmo' Changed the World" section on the magazine's website, Brown was sending two messages to women - "they didn't need a man to be happy...[and] enjoy sex with whoever they damn well pleased - without guilt". Brown had been receiving lots of compliments, as well questions and requests for advice from the readers of her book, and she thought that with her own magazine, she could properly address women's questions in one forum.

Helen Gurley Brown remains the International Editor of "Cosmopolitan" magazine, but every country's version has its own editor-in-chief, with Kate White now at the head of the American magazine.

Answer: Burt Reynolds

The photo appeared in the April 1972 publication. It featured a naked Burt lying on a bearskin rug, smoking a cigarette. It was very risqué at the time, but in a case of 'no publicity is bad publicity', both Burt Reynolds and "Cosmo" magazine became wildly popular after that.

The photo has been called "a cultural artifact of the Sexual Revolution" (in Rodger Streitmatter's book "Sex Sells").

Answer: False

The UK edition was not launched until the 1970s, but it is considered to have become more explicit, more quickly than the American one did. While the U.S. edition was still using euphemisms and dancing around more taboo topics, the UK magazine jumped right into things like strong sexual language, featured full male nudity and discussed topics like sexually transmitted diseases and rape.

Answer: Women on Top

"Bedroom Blog" is a newer feature, as even the whole trend of blogging is fairly new. It features a continuing story of one "Cosmo" girl and her journey through life, focusing on her relationship and her career.

"Guy Without His Shirt" is exactly what it sounds like. Every issue, a guy (non-celebrity; girls can even send in their boyfriends' pictures if they want), and a picture of him is taken without his shirt on.

"Guy Confessions" is a section where males send in their embarrassing stories. It is preceded in every issue by the "Confessions" section, which features girls' embarrassing stories.

Answer: Bedside Astrologer

The horoscopes often start out with something general, then offer a more specific prediction first for single girls, then for 'attached' girls. They also offer a prediction of what will be your 'hottest' days of the month. There is also a smaller section for guys' horoscopes, but it is meant to be read not by the men themselves, but for the girls to look up their boyfriends' signs and find out what he is going to be like for the month ahead.

In every January issue, a much more detailed "Bedside Astrologer" is published with predictions for the year ahead.

Answer: Spanish

There are two "Cosmopolitan Television" networks, one based in Spain and one in Latin America that broadcasts to about many countries out of Argentina. It is to be launched in Canada in 2008, and will feature shows focused on self-help (think "What Not To Wear" or interior decorating shows), as well as chick flicks, both old and new.

Answer: sexual orientation

The first edition of "CosmoGIRL!" was published in 1999. It is more of a celebrity gossip and fashion advice magazine than the main "Cosmo" is. There is also a focus on love and relationship issues, but obviously, since it is a magazine for teens as young as 12 or 13, it is much more oriented towards advice on asking out a cute boy than advice on finding new sex positions.

In the love section, there are usually stories submitted by readers about how they fell in love, or how they met their boyfriends, etc.

The editors make a point of also including in this section stories from lesbian girls on how they found their girlfriends or dealt with coming out to their parents. It was not until I read about that that I realized I have never read anything about lesbianism, not even a reader-submitted story, in "Cosmopolitan".

Answer: Fun Fearless Female

The Fun Fearless Female awards celebrate women who are strong and confident and excel at what they do. Celebrities are often named Fun Fearless Females, but "Cosmo" also regularly features regular women who have made a difference in their communities. "Grey's Anatomy" actress Katherine Heigl won the Fun Fearless Female of the Year award for 2007. Past winners include Beyonce, Eva Mendes and Ashlee Simpson.