How would you have fared on 21? Try these authenic questions
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Quiz Show
owlpostgirl — 22 years ago(September 10, 2003 08:44 PM)
Would you have beat your opponents on Twenty-One? Here's a copy of actual quiz questions asked contestant Charles Van Doren. Test yourself and see how you would have fared. (Answers are at the bottom). If you remember the movie well, a couple questions may look familiar.
Here it is.remember now.no cheating.
Question: 1 of 12
Subject: World War II
Lake Ladoga played a large part in a particular phase of World War II. Name the two countries whose troops opposed each other at Lake Ladoga.
~Finland and Russia
~Germany and England
~Italy and the United States
~Norway and Germany
Question: 2 of 12
Subject: Medicine
The necessity for cleanliness and sterilization was not realized until the middle of the nineteenth century. What is the name of the surgeon who introduced sterilization to the operating room?
~Louis Bisio
~Andrew Harmond
~Joseph Lister
~Stephen James
Question: 3 of 12
Subject: Fashion
What synthetic fiber has almost completely replaced silk in women's stockings?
~Rayon
~Nylon
~Acetate
~Banlon
Question: 4 of 12
Subject: Founding Fathers
One of the first American statesmen to protest taxation by the British was a man from Massachusetts who said, "Taxation without representation is tyranny." Name him.
~John Adams
~Josiah Quincy
~Everett Hale
~James Otis
Question: 5 of 12
Subject: Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill wrote a series of six brilliant books chronicling the events leading up to and including World War II. Name three of them.
~"The Gathering Storm, Triumph and Tragedy, The Grand Alliance"
~"Defence and Honor, Their Finest Hour, A Call to Arms"
~"The Hinge of Fate, The Cauldron of Fire, Comfort and Sacrifice"
~"Battle and Betrayal, The Final Contest, Closing the Ring"
Question: 6 of 12
Subject: Queens
The wife of King Ahab was a cruel and willful woman; she favored the idolatrous worship of Baal and persecuted the prophets of Jehovah. What was her name and what country did she rule?
~Bathsheba ruled Sodom
~Esther ruled Capernaum
~Vashti ruled Judea
~Jezebel ruled Palestine
Question: 7 of 12
Subject: The Civil War
Because of a disagreement with his commanding general, Ulysses Grant was virtually placed under arrest for a brief time early in 1862. Who was the commanding general of the Union army at that time?
~Halleck
~Hooker
~McClellan
~Burnside
Question: 8 of 12
Subject: Boxing
Name the three heavyweight champions immediately preceding Joe Louis.
~James J. Braddock, Max Baer, Primo Carnera
~Sugar Ray Robinson, Max Baer, Max Schmeling
~Max Schmeling, John Sullivan, Jersey Joe Walcott
~Primo Carnera, John Sullivan, Max Baer
Question: 9 of 12
Subject: Movies and Movie Stars
In 1954, the Oscars for the best supporting actress, best director, and best story screenplay writer all went to people who worked on the film "On the Waterfront." Name those people.
~John Ford, director; Harold Loessen, writer; Celeste Holme, supporting actress
~Elia Kazan, director; Budd Schulberg, writer; Eva Marie Saint, supporting actress
~John Huston, director; Dennis Brookings, writer; Vivien Leigh, supporting actress
~Joseph L. Mankiewicz, director; Kenneth Ryan, writer; Eleanor Parker, supporting actress
Question: 10 of 12
Subject: Explorers
Pizzaro was an early Spanish explorer who discovered and conquered an advanced civilization. Tell us the civilization he discovered, the country this civilization was in, and the leader of the civilization at the time of the conquest.
~The Aztecs of Mexico were led by Montezuma
~The Toltec of Brazil were led by Balahancha
~The Incas of Peru were led by Atahualpa
~The Mayas of Guatemala were led by Chahanitza
Question: 11 of 12
Subject: Newspapers
The grandsons of Joseph Medill, two of the most successful journalists in the county from 1914 on, were the owners and managers of the "Chicago Tribune" and the "New York Daily News." Who were they?
~Robert R. McCormick and Joseph Patterson
~Edward Johnston and William W. Bennett
~James Edward O'Brien and Tyrone Root
~Phillip T. Blanchard and Robert David Leary
Question: 12 of 12
Subject: Kings
It's well known that some of Henry the VIII's six wives fared better than others. He divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and married his sixth, Catherine Parr, just a few years before he died. Name the second, third, fourth and fifth wives of Henry VIII and describe their fates.
~Anne Boyleyn, divorced; Jane Seymour, died in childbirth; Anne of Cleves, beheaded; Catherine Howard, beheaded
~Anne Boyleyn, died in childbirth; Jane Seymour, beheaded; Anne of Cleves, divorced; Catherine Howard, beheaded
~Anne Boyleyn, beheaded; Jane Seymour, died in childbirth; Anne of Cleves, divorced; Catherine Howard, beheaded
~Anne Boyleyn, beheaded; Jane Seymour, beheaded; Anne of Cleves, died in childbirth; Catherine Howard, divorced
Answers:- Finland and Russia
- Joseph Lister
- Nylon
- James Otis
- "The Gathering Storm, Triumph and Tragedy, The Grand Alliance"
- Jezebel ruled Palestine
- Halleck
- James J. Braddock, Max Baer, Primo Carnera
- El
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andrewsk8s — 21 years ago(November 08, 2004 06:42 AM)
Scored 7, but would have gotten 5 without the multiple choice answers.
On question 1, I got thrown off because I met a Russian survivor of the horrendous siege of Leningrad who mentioned the Germans specifically (and hatefully). Perhaps she was confused as to their true nationality.
Was question 8 answered by Ralph Fiennes in the movie? -
torreydeluca — 21 years ago(December 21, 2004 01:47 PM)
But in real-life Charles van Doren got that one wrong. Obviously he got it wrong on purpose to add to the drama. I believe he and Stempel tied each other two or three times before Herbie was told to blow it on the Oscar winner for Best Picture from 1954.
I'm recalling this from interviews with Stempel I've seen, as well as from books I read on the quiz hows scandals back in college. Charles van Doren comes out a little bit better in the film than in real-life, and the opposite for Stempel.
Herbie really did have an unhealthy obsession over van Doren becoming more famous than he had become, but he wasn't that much of a stereotypical nebbish in real-life. Also, his wife knew all along that he was getting the answers. But I guess it made for a more interesting character.
Back to the questions - I'd have gotten them all right if I were given the answers ahead of time, just like on the show!!! But with the multiple choice I was able to get 11 of them right. -
marlie1013 — 21 years ago(December 28, 2004 06:50 PM)
That's a broad assumption, how about people have a lot more to do now and by the time they get to watching tv they don't want to use their brains, they want mind numbing crap so they don't have to think about what they are watching. It's all about ratings-not about how dumb everyone has gotten.
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torreydeluca — 21 years ago(December 30, 2004 03:24 PM)
People aren't considerably smarter or dumber since the late 1950s. It's just that now-adays we have much more media concentrated on celebrity "news".
Also, when TV first came along so-called intellectuals chided it as "the idiot box" and "the boob tube". They'd also regularly brag about how they didn't own a TV because they knew how to read books and newspapers. One of my freshman year roommates was always acting that way, saying he didn't own a TV with a tone of moral/intellectual superiority. Of course he used to listen to reggae all day long, so
Anyway, back in the late 1950s TV networks tried to win over people into believing that they could produce intellgient programming. That's a major reason why they went after van Doren to be on the show and why the questions were so hard.
Today with networks like PBS, Discovery Channel, and The History Channel, there is enough knowledgeable programming out there that it is no longer necessary to do such things. -
chickenblood — 19 years ago(August 08, 2006 03:47 PM)
Also, when TV first came along so-called intellectuals chided it as "the idiot box" and "the boob tube". They'd also regularly brag about how they didn't own a TV because they knew how to read books and newspapers. One of my freshman year roommates was always acting that way, saying he didn't own a TV with a tone of moral/intellectual superiority. Of course he used to listen to reggae all day long, so
so what?
"Your mother's in here with us." -
chickenblood — 19 years ago(August 10, 2006 08:44 AM)
Wow calm down. I'm not trying to bait anyone, just asked a simple question
I was just wondering how the fact that a man listens to reggae, means that his opinion on something completely unrelated is invalidated.
"Your mother's in here with us." -
torreydeluca — 19 years ago(August 10, 2006 09:18 AM)
I don't need to "calm down". I'm just making the rational choice to avoid a stupid, immature fan-boy war on these boards.
If you don't have an agenda as you claim (which I don't believe based on your smart-ass posting regarding what W.A.S.P. stands for) then I will answer your question:
My freshman roommate categorically derided everything that was on television as being idiotic, and everyone who owned a television as being an uncultured moron. Yet he found no hypocrisy in the fact that he'd skip class and sit in the room listening to music with lyrics that incessantly repeated, "no woman, no cry". He even blasted me for watching a documentary on the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge on PBS while he listened to the homphobic rantings of Shabba Ranks.
Do you see the relation now?
