HISTORY: We Didn't Start The Fire

Billy Joel's song We Didn't Start The Fire is a catalogue of people, places and events that were making headlines from 1949 to 1989. Each of the questions is related to something or someone mentioned in the song. In each case, we include a snippet of the lyrics to set the scene.

 

1. "Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock."
   Name the U.S. space mission in July 1969 that culminated in Neil Armstrong becoming the first man to set foot on the moon.
   

    

   ANSWER: Apollo 11 (If answer given is "Apollo," ask player to be more specific.)

    

2. "Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson."
   On Feb. 20, 1962, John Glenn became the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth. His flight consisted of how many orbits?
   

    

   ANSWER: Three

    

3. "Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac."
   In 1957, the governor of Arkansas called out the National Guard to stop nine black students from attending Little Rock Central High School. President Dwight Eishenhower countered by sending in federal troops to enforce school integration. Name the Arkansas governor.
   

    

   ANSWER: Orval Faubus

    

4. "JFK blown away, What else do I have to say?"
   Plenty, it seems. Accusations of conspiracies and coverups were put forward following the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. One of the best-known of the conspiracy theorists was Mark Lane, who published a book in 1966 disputing the findings of the Warren Commission. What is the title of the book?
   

    

   ANSWER: Rush To Judgment

5. "Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again ."
   In 1968, Richard Nixon was elected president six years after telling reporters they wouldn't have him "to kick around anymore." What political office had he unsuccessfully sought in 1962?
   

    

   ANSWER: Governor of California (If answer given is "governor,"ask player to be more specific.)

    

6. "Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan ."
   In 1979, followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini took 66 Americans hostage in Tehran. However, the Canadian ambassador in Iran arranged for six other Americans who had eluded detection to escape by issuing them Canadian passports. Name him.
   

    

   ANSWER: Kenneth Taylor

    

7. "Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khruschev, Princess Grace, Peyton Place ."
   In 1956, the novel Peyton Place, a tale of sex and hypocrisy in small-town New England, became a publishing sensation. Who wrote the book?
   

    

   ANSWER: Grace Metalious

    

8. "Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron, Dien Bien Phu falls, Rock Around The Clock."
   An early rock 'n' roll hit, Bill Haley's Rock Around The Clock was featured in what 1955 movie about a teacher trying to win the respect of his juvenile delinquent pupils at a New York school?

    

   ANSWER: Blackboard Jungle

    

9. "Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen ."
   In what year did Queen Elizabeth II's coronation take place?

    

   ANSWER: 1953

    

10. "Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray, South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio."
    On February 7, 1949, baseball great Joe DiMaggio signed a new contract with the New York Yankees. Within $5,000, what was he going to be paid per season under his new deal, a record amount at the time?

     

    ANSWER: $100,000 (Accept $95,000 to $105,000)