Q 01/05

Which New York Yankees first baseman, who retired in 1939, gave ALS its common American name?

A) Joe DiMaggio

B) Lou Gehrig

C) Babe Ruth

D) Mickey Mantle

Answer · why

B) Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig played 2,130 consecutive games before unexplained weakness ended his streak in May 1939. He died of the disease two years later, aged 37.

Q 02/05

Which Cambridge physicist was diagnosed with ALS at 21, given two years to live, and survived for over 50?

A) Roger Penrose

B) Ernest Rutherford

C) Stephen Hawking

D) Paul Dirac

Answer · why

C) Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking had an unusually slow-moving form of the disease. In later life he worked his speech synthesizer with a single cheek muscle.

Q 03/05

Which viral social media stunt of summer 2014 raised more than $115 million to fight ALS?

A) Ice Bucket Challenge

B) Running Man Challenge

C) Cinnamon Challenge

D) No Makeup Selfie

Answer · why

A) Ice Bucket Challenge

The Ice Bucket Challenge had people film themselves being drenched in freezing water, then nominate friends to follow. The money helped fund the disco...

Q 04/05

Stephen Hillenburg, who kept working after an ALS diagnosis in 2017, created which long-running Nickelodeon cartoon?

A) Rocko's Modern Life

B) The Fairly OddParents

C) The Loud House

D) SpongeBob SquarePants

Answer · why

D) SpongeBob SquarePants

SpongeBob SquarePants grew out of a tide-pool picture book Hillenburg made while teaching marine biology. He died in 2018, aged 57.

Q 05/05

Movement of which body part is usually spared by ALS, letting many patients communicate through special computers?

A) Tongue

B) Eyes

C) Fingers

D) Neck

Answer · why

B) Eyes

Eyes usually stay under voluntary control even late in the disease. Gaze-tracking screens let people type and speak simply by looking at letters.