Tuesday Trivia - 20th Century Edition

Source

Somewhat of a grab-bag of trivia questions today, which is the first time in a while we've had one of these posts.  I tried to ensure most of the questions involved events that occurred during the last century, giving a few hints along the way, and maybe a distraction.  Let's see how well you were paying attention.  Answers are at the end.  Good luck.  

By the way, I'll apologize in advance for some of the strange formatting which I can't figure out.  I wrote this in Word while I was traveling to Newport RI to see Sarge attend a business meeting, and some of that formatting must have carried over.

1. In 1949 a United States Air Force Boeing B-50 became the first airplane to circle the world non-stop. What was the name of this aircraft?

A. Lucky Lady
B. Enola Gay
C. Spirit of St. Louis II
D. Glamorous Glennis

Source

2. In 1967, Svetlana Alliluyeva, who preferred to be known by her mother’s maiden name, entered the US through our Embassy in India, seeking political asylum. Three years later at age 42 she became Mrs. Lana Peters after marrying William Peters and changing her name. Who was Lana’s father?

A. Josef Stalin

B. Nikita Khrushchev

C. Yuri Gagarin

D. Leonid Brezshnev

Douglas X-3 Stiletto                                                                 Source

3. In July of 1946, designer Louis Reard unveiled this women’s fashion choice that is still worn today by women all over the world. What was it?

A. The Stiletto Heel

B. Nylon Stockings

C. Panti-hose

D. The Bikini

Need a hint?  It was inspired in part by US nuclear testing.

4. What Action Hero first appeared in a comic strip in June 1938 and is still seen in comics today?

A. Batman
B. Superman
C. The Flash
D. Flash Gordon

5. First published in 1922, this magazine is still circulated today.

A. Reader’s Digest
B. Life Magazine
C. Newsday
D. Time Magazine

6.  In about a month, we’ll be setting our clocks back an hour, supposedly granting us all an extra hour of sleep. April 30th, 1916 marked the date the first country introduced Daylight Saving Time (DST). What country was it?
A. France
B. Great Britain
C. USA
D. Germany

7. What opened for the first time in New York way back on October 27^th, 1904.

A. Ellis Island
B. The Manhattan Bridge
C. The New York Subway
D. The first public movie theater in the US.

8. Speaking of movie firsts, what was the name of the first sound and color animated feature film?  It was released in 1937.

A. Fantasia
B. My Old Kentucky Home
C. Steamboat Willie
D. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 

Bonus- what was the highest grossing animated movie during the 20th Century?

9. In 1946, this kitchen appliance was invented and sold, and is found today in most household and restaurant kitchens.

A. The pop-up toaster
B. Microwave Oven
C. The electric dishwasher
D. The garbage disposal

Ok, time for a break. All this 20th Century History is making me feel kind of old. So how about some Plane Pr0n? We just had the Miramar Airshow out here so in honor of that event that I didn’t attend this year, for the 8th year in a row! - I offer you a Blue Angel flying over some beach not in San Diego. H/T to Sierra Hotel Aeronautics, and that dude’s name in the corner- for the pic.  

The “Air” portion of the show was canceled Sunday anyway, due to rain throughout the day, or low ceilings when it wasn’t raining. Yes, it does rain in San Diego!  So it was just a bunch of static-display aircraft anyway so I don’t feel like I’m as much of a traitor to my aviation roots.  As I mentioned last year, while I love all-things airplane related, I’m just not interested in the hassle (crowds, traffic, etc.)

Break’s over, everyone back on their heads- as the joke goes.  Let’s get back to it. 

10. On February 28^th, 1983 a television series ended its run with a final episode titled “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.”  Name the series.

A. The Monty Python Show
B. All in the Family
C. M*A*S*H*
D. Happy Days

11. After decades of oppression and struggle, including being arrested, this man became democratically elected President of his country in 1990. Name him.

A. Nelson Mandela (South Africa)
B. Boris Yeltsin (Russia)
C. Abdul Rahim Hatif (Republic of Afghanistan)
D. Lech Walesa (Poland)

Wiki

12.  What country first gave women the right to vote and stand for elections in 1906?

A. Norway
B. Finland
C. New Zealand
D. Australia

13.  This significant event occurred on September 28^th, 1928.

A. Penicillin was discovered

B. Tomb of King Tut unearthed
C. Babe Ruth hit his 60th Home Run
D. The Stock Market Crashed

The actual banner- (Smithsonian)

14.  The Star-Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814.  In what year was this passed by Congress as the official National Anthem of the US?

A. 1914 on its 100th Anniversary
B. 1931
C. 1935
D. 1865 upon the occasion of the ending of the Civil War

15.  I’ve previously said that there are no original ideas in Hollywood these days, with remakes of movies (Ghostbusters), serial sequels (Iron Man, The Avengers, Fast and the Furious 17), or movies badly made from TV shows (21 Jump Street, Bewitched). In an earlier question, the answer was a TV show that had been adapted from a movie.  But in reality, they haven’t had a new thought in decades.  In 1959 a Broadway production opened which was later adapted into a musical film.  What was the name of the play/movie?

A. The King and I
B. The Sound of Music
C. Oklahoma
D. South Pacific

Source

16.  The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed in 1949 to counter the threat of Communism in Europe.  Six years later, the Warsaw Pact was cobbled together to be the Russkie counterpart to NATO.  There was a lesser-known third organization formed however.  Can you name it?

A. Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
B. South-East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO)
C. The Northern European Defense League (NEDL)
D. The Baltic Nations Organization (OBN)

17.  How many countries have landed on the moon?

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

Enough for today class.  See you next week.

1.  What was the name of the B-50 that circled the globe?  Lucky Lady II.  The flight time was 94 hours and 1 minute for her, which had in-flight refueling during the trip.  There was no Spirit of St. Louis II, but of course, the original is famous for being piloted by Charles Lindberg non-stop from NYC to Paris in 1927.  The Enola Gay also earned a first, but as the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb at the end of WWII.

2. Svetlana Alliluyeva was the only daughter of Josef Stalin who was born in 1878 and ruled from ’27 until his death in ’53.  Lana’s mother Nadezhda was his second wife who killed herself in 1932 when Lana was only 9.  Khrushchev ruled from ’55 to 64, dying in ’71.  Yuri Gagarin was the first man into space, and Leonid Brezhnev '06 to '82) ruled from '64 till his death.

3. The Bikini name was inspired by the news of the U.S. atomic test on Bikini Atoll.  Nylons were a DuPont product at the 1939 World’s Fair.  Pantyhose were developed in ’53, but didn’t hit the market until ’59. Stilettos came out in the 50’s, but didn’t hit their stride until the 60’s.

4. Superman was created in 1933, but he was sold to and published by Detective Comics in 1938.  Batman came a year later, Flash Gordon in ’34, and the Flash in '40.

5.  It was Reader’s Digest.  The others were later (Time 1923), fake (Newsday) or now defunct (Life 1883 to 1972 and 1978 to 2002).

6. Germany first introduced Daylight Savings Time to minimize the use of artificial light, saving fuel for the war effort.  Britain quickly adopted the same, although it was proposed to Parliament back in 1905.  The US followed suit in 1918.

7.  35 years after the first elevated city train, the NY Subway opened to great fanfare.  Ellis Island opened on the first day of 1892, and the Bridge on the last day of 1909.  Pittsburgh had the first public movie house in June of 1905.

8. It was Snow White that was color animation with sound.  Steamboat Willie was just a short, and it wasn't color.  "My Old Kentucky Home" (1926) was the first cartoon to use a soundtrack, but it was black and white.  "Fantasia" didn't come out until 1940.

Bonus answer- The Lion King.  Frozen is tops for all time.

9. It was the Microwave.  Remember the Amana RadarRange?  It came from radar technology used during WWII.  The others all preceded it.  I read that the electric dishwasher disposal was invented by some guy in his basement, so his wife would have an easier time washing dishes.  He could have just helped her wash them I suppose.  That reminds me of those thoughtful husbands that buy their wives vacuums for their anniversary.  

10.  MASH

11.  Lech Walesa

12.  Would you believe it was Finland?  The first female members of parliament were elected in Finland in 1907 after receiving the right to vote and stand for election in 1906. New Zealand women were their first to vote in 1893 followed by Australia in 1902, but no right to serve.  Norway followed the Fins in 1913.

13.  Penicillin was discovered, and there was much rejoicing by Sailors in foreign ports around the world.

14.  The song became our anthem in 1931.  It was just a poem at first, and the Newspapers dubbed it the Star Spangled Banner upon printing it a few weeks later.

15.  While all four were once on Broadway and became movies, three of them pre-date "The Sound of Music", which hit theaters in 1965.  King was 1951 and 1956, Oklahoma was way back in ‘43 and ’55, and South Pacific was ‘49 and ’58.

SEATO - Wiki

16. SEATO was formed on the 8th of September, 1954. Like NATO, it also had the goal of preventing the spread of communism, but in South-East Asia. It was joined by Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States. However, it was put out of service on 30th June 1977.  I made up NEDL and OBN.

17.  Landing on the moon is still a rarity, with only 3 countries having that distinction- USA, USSR, and China.  Although China didn't do it until 2013.