Q 01/05

In which city was Kurt Vonnegut born and raised?

A) Chicago

B) Indianapolis

C) Schenectady

D) Cincinnati

Answer · why

B) Indianapolis

Indianapolis: his mother's family had grown rich there from a brewery, until Prohibition shut it down.

Q 02/05

Vonnegut was born 11 November 1922, four years after what?

A) The Russian Revolution

B) The WWI armistice

C) The Versailles Treaty

D) America joining WWI

Answer · why

B) The WWI armistice

The WWI armistice: he went on to fight in the next world war, and was captured by the Germans.

Q 03/05

What was the profession of Vonnegut's father and grandfather?

A) Newspaper editors

B) Hardware merchants

C) Architects

D) Brewers

Answer · why

C) Architects

Architects: when the Great Depression hit, building work dried up and his father was left without work for much of the 1930s.

Q 04/05

Whom did Vonnegut credit with raising him and giving him his values during his first decade?

A) His older sister Alice

B) Ida Young, the family cook

C) A Shortridge English teacher

D) His older brother Bernard

Answer · why

B) Ida Young, the family cook

Ida Young, the family cook: he said the compassionate, forgiving side of his beliefs came from her.

Q 05/05

Which 1997 newspaper column went viral as a commencement speech by Vonnegut, though he never gave it?

A) This Is Water

B) Wear Sunscreen

C) Make Good Art

D) You Are Not Special

Answer · why

B) Wear Sunscreen

Wear Sunscreen: Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich wrote it, and Baz Luhrmann turned it into a hit spoken-word song.