Q 01/05

Bill Nye began doing stand-up comedy after winning a lookalike contest for which famous comedian?

A) Robin Williams

B) Chevy Chase

C) Steve Martin

D) Dan Aykroyd

Answer · why

C) Steve Martin

Steve Martin was the comedian Nye resembled, and friends were soon asking for impressions at parties. He started moonlighting as a comic while keeping...

Q 02/05

Which famous astronomer taught Bill Nye at Cornell University and later advised him on his show?

A) Carl Sagan

B) Stephen Hawking

C) Clyde Tombaugh

D) James Van Allen

Answer · why

A) Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan taught Nye astronomy at Cornell, then gave him five minutes of advice a decade later: stick to pure science, because kids respond to it mor...

Q 03/05

Bill Nye applied four times, always without success, to be trained for which job?

A) Navy fighter pilot

B) NASA astronaut

C) Antarctic researcher

D) Submarine officer

Answer · why

B) NASA astronaut

NASA astronaut was the job Nye wanted, but the space agency's training programme turned him down four times. He reached Mars another way, helping desi...

Q 04/05

What job did Bill Nye's mother, Jacqueline Jenkins-Nye, do for the US Navy in World War II?

A) Test pilot

B) Radar operator

C) Ship welder

D) Codebreaker

Answer · why

D) Codebreaker

Codebreaker was her wartime role: she was one of the Goucher College graduates the Navy enlisted to crack Japanese and German codes. Nye's father spen...

Q 05/05

Bill Nye's Flight episode included the parody "Smells Like Air Pressure", spoofing which band's hit?

A) Pearl Jam

B) Nirvana

C) Soundgarden

D) Green Day

Answer · why

B) Nirvana

Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was the target, performed by a spoof band billed as Nyevana. Most episodes carried a science parody of a chart hit...