Famous rejections and narrow escapes
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Famous Rejections and Narrow Escapes — Daily trivia Saturday, September 12, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01Sony could have bought film rights to nearly every Marvel hero for $25 million, but took only which one?
- AIron Man
- BThor
- CSpider-Man
- DBlack Panther
Show answer
Spider-Man
Spider-Man. Sony reportedly said nobody cared about the others, among them Iron Man, Thor and Black Panther.
Q 02Which band did Decca Records turn down, reportedly saying guitar groups were on the way out?
- AThe Beatles
- BThe Who
- CThe Kinks
- DThe Beach Boys
Show answer
The Beatles
The Beatles. The next year George Harrison tipped off Decca's Dick Rowe about the Rolling Stones, and Rowe signed them.
Q 03Which Paris landmark escaped demolition because it made a useful radio antenna?
- AArc de Triomphe
- BNotre-Dame
- CThe Panthéon
- DEiffel Tower
Show answer
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower. Maupassant and dozens of other artists had protested against it as 'useless and monstrous'.
Q 04Charles Guth revived bankrupt Pepsi after which soda maker refused him a discount?
- ADr Pepper
- BCoca-Cola
- C7 Up
- DRC Cola
Show answer
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola. Guth put Pepsi in the soda fountains of the Loft candy stores he ran, and Loft later won control of Pepsi from him in court.
Q 05When a boy's Argentine club reneged on paying for his growth-hormone treatment, which club pledged on a napkin to sign him?
- ABarcelona
- BReal Madrid
- CParis Saint-Germain
- DInter Miami
Show answer
Barcelona
Barcelona. Its sporting director wrote the pledge to sign 13-year-old Lionel Messi on a napkin, which sold at auction in 2024 for over £760,000.
Q 06Houghton Mifflin rejected whose cookbook as too much like an encyclopedia?
- AMartha Stewart
- BIna Garten
- CJulia Child
- DNigella Lawson
Show answer
Julia Child
Julia Child, with co-authors Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle. Knopf editor Judith Jones championed the manuscript, and Mastering the Art of French Cooking came out in 1961.
Q 07TLC rejected '...Baby One More Time' over 'hit me', which its Swedish writers thought was slang for what?
- AKiss me
- BCall me
- CDeal me a card
- DForgive me
Show answer
Call me
Call me. The Backstreet Boys passed on the song too, and Britney Spears made it her debut single.
Q 08After refusing a pay cut, Walt Disney lost which rabbit character and created Mickey Mouse instead?
- ACrusader Rabbit
- BBr'er Rabbit
- CThumper
- DOswald
Show answer
Oswald
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Disney got him back in 2006 by releasing sportscaster Al Michaels from his ABC and ESPN contract to join NBC.
Q 09Which company turned down a $44.6 billion bid, then sold its web business to Verizon for a tenth of that?
- AYahoo
- BAOL
- CExcite
- DLycos
Show answer
Yahoo
Yahoo. It said Microsoft's 2008 offer undervalued the company, and three months later Microsoft walked away.
Q 10Western Union reportedly spurned Bell's telephone patents, then made rival phones using which inventor's work?
- ANikola Tesla
- BThomas Edison
- CSamuel Morse
- DGuglielmo Marconi
Show answer
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison. His transmitter gave Western Union's phones an edge, until Bell sued and Western Union left the phone business in 1879.
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