Q 01/05

Which tiny European state gained a Hollywood princess when Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier III in April 1956?

A) San Marino

B) Monaco

C) Luxembourg

D) Andorra

Answer · why

B) Monaco

Monaco's new princess gave up Hollywood for the role: Grace Kelly retired from acting at age 26 to marry Rainier III.

Q 02/05

Which Elvis Presley single, inspired by a news story of a lonely man's death, was his first million-seller in 1956?

A) Hound Dog

B) Blue Suede Shoes

C) Heartbreak Hotel

D) Don't Be Cruel

Answer · why

C) Heartbreak Hotel

Heartbreak Hotel topped the Billboard Top 100 for seven weeks. It was Presley's first single for his new label, RCA Victor.

Q 03/05

Which waterway did Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalise in 1956, prompting an invasion by Britain, France and Israel?

A) Suez Canal

B) Panama Canal

C) Strait of Hormuz

D) Bosporus Strait

Answer · why

A) Suez Canal

The Suez Canal stayed closed from October 1956 to March 1957, and the crisis brought international humiliation for Britain and France.

Q 04/05

Which Australian city hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics, the first Games ever staged in the Southern Hemisphere?

A) Sydney

B) Brisbane

C) Gold Coast

D) Melbourne

Answer · why

D) Melbourne

Melbourne staged the only Summer Games ever held in November and December, timed to catch the warm weather of the southern spring.

Q 05/05

Which Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright left his first wife to marry film star Marilyn Monroe in June 1956?

A) Tennessee Williams

B) Arthur Miller

C) Eugene O'Neill

D) William Inge

Answer · why

B) Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee that same month and refused to name names, earning a contempt conviction th...