Q 01/05

Which Soviet satellite, a polished sphere launched in October 1957, became the first artificial object to orbit Earth?

A) Vostok 1

B) Sputnik 1

C) Luna 1

D) Voskhod 1

Answer · why

B) Sputnik 1

Sputnik 1 was only 58 cm across, yet its radio pulses were easily picked up by amateur operators, and its orbit carried it over virtually the entire i...

Q 02/05

Which stray dog from the streets of Moscow became the first animal to orbit Earth in November 1957?

A) Belka

B) Strelka

C) Zvezdochka

D) Laika

Answer · why

D) Laika

Laika died from overheating hours into the flight, on the craft's fourth orbit. Soviet scientists chose Moscow strays because they assumed such dogs h...

Q 03/05

To which Southern state capital did President Eisenhower send the 101st Airborne in 1957 to escort nine Black students?

A) Little Rock

B) Montgomery

C) Baton Rouge

D) Nashville

Answer · why

A) Little Rock

Little Rock became a test of federal power after Governor Orval Faubus used the Arkansas National Guard to keep the students out of Central High. Eise...

Q 04/05

Which 1957 Dr. Seuss book was written with just 236 different words to replace dull school reading primers?

A) Green Eggs and Ham

B) If I Ran the Circus

C) The Cat in the Hat

D) Yertle the Turtle

Answer · why

C) The Cat in the Hat

The Cat in the Hat grew out of a request from an education publisher for a more entertaining primer. Its author later said it was the book he was prou...

Q 05/05

Which musical opened on Broadway in 1957, moving Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to rival New York street gangs?

A) Guys and Dolls

B) West Side Story

C) The Music Man

D) Bells Are Ringing

Answer · why

B) West Side Story

West Side Story marked the Broadway debut of lyricist Stephen Sondheim. A backers' audition that spring failed to raise any money, and a producer pull...