Q 01/05

Who created the character of Rudolph, in 1939?

A) Gene Autry

B) Robert L. May

C) Johnny Marks

D) Clement Clarke Moore

Answer · why

B) Robert L. May

Robert L. May, a copywriter at a Chicago mail-order retailer, wrote the Rudolph booklet in 1939 as a work assignment: his employer wanted a Christmas ...

Q 02/05

Which department store commissioned the original booklet?

A) Macy's of New York

B) Montgomery Ward

C) Sears and Roebuck

D) Woolworth Brothers

Answer · why

B) Montgomery Ward

Montgomery Ward, the Chicago mail-order chain, had been buying Christmas colouring booklets to give away and in 1939 decided that producing its own wo...

Q 03/05

Which two names did the author consider before settling on Rudolph?

A) Reginald and Randolph

B) Rollo and Reginald

C) Roland and Rex

D) Rollo and Rufus

Answer · why

B) Rollo and Reginald

The author first tried Rollo and Reginald, rejecting Rollo as too cheerful and Reginald as too British, before settling on Rudolph.

Q 04/05

How many copies did the store give away in the first year?

A) 2.4 million

B) 9 million

C) 120,000

D) 600,000

Answer · why

A) 2.4 million

The store handed out 2.4 million copies of the booklet in the 1939 Christmas season; wartime paper shortages then halted reprints until 1946.

Q 05/05

What gave the author the idea for the glowing nose?

A) Fog off Lake Michigan

B) A lighthouse beam

C) A child's night light

D) A neon shop sign

Answer · why

A) Fog off Lake Michigan

The author said a dense fog rolling in off Lake Michigan, seen from his Chicago office window, gave him the idea of a reindeer with a glowing nose.