Q 01/05

Which cosmonaut became the first human in space on 12 April, ejecting from Vostok 1 to parachute down separately?

A) Yuri Gagarin

B) Gherman Titov

C) Alexei Leonov

D) Valentina Tereshkova

Answer · why

A) Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin's ejection was kept quiet because record rules said a pilot had to land inside his craft, and once the truth came out the rules were rewr...

Q 02/05

Which club completed the first League and FA Cup double of the 20th century by beating Leicester 2–0 at Wembley?

A) Manchester United

B) Sheffield Wednesday

C) Aston Villa

D) Tottenham Hotspur

Answer · why

D) Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur faced what was in effect ten men, because Leicester right-back Len Chalmers was hurt early on and substitutes were not yet allowed.

Q 03/05

Which 150 mph sports car, launched at the Geneva Motor Show, did Enzo Ferrari reputedly call the most beautiful ever made?

A) Aston Martin DB4

B) Austin-Healey 3000

C) Jaguar E-Type

D) Triumph TR4

Answer · why

C) Jaguar E-Type

Jaguar E-Type fever at the show was such that the factory sent for a second car, and a test engineer dashed it from Coventry to Geneva with minutes to...

Q 04/05

Which Yankees outfielder broke Babe Ruth's home-run record with his 61st on the last day of a newly lengthened season?

A) Mickey Mantle

B) Roger Maris

C) Yogi Berra

D) Whitey Ford

Answer · why

B) Roger Maris

Roger Maris never actually got the famous asterisk, because commissioner Ford Frick had no say over the record books and publishers listed the new mar...

Q 05/05

Which musical, released in October and inspired by Romeo and Juliet, was the highest-grossing film of 1961?

A) The Music Man

B) The Sound of Music

C) My Fair Lady

D) West Side Story

Answer · why

D) West Side Story

West Side Story won ten Academy Awards from eleven nominations, a record for a musical, and Natalie Wood's songs were dubbed by Marni Nixon, who had t...