Q 01/05

Which consumer-goods giant produced 20 soap operas, including Guiding Light, and gave the genre its name?

A) Johnson & Johnson

B) Procter & Gamble

C) Lever Brothers

D) Colgate-Palmolive

Answer · why

B) Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble, maker of Ivory soap, was one of the biggest sponsors of radio serials, hence 'soap operas'; it returned to daytime TV in 2025 after ...

Q 02/05

Painted Dreams, regarded as the first soap opera, premiered on WGN radio in 1930 in which city?

A) Los Angeles

B) New York

C) Chicago

D) Cincinnati

Answer · why

C) Chicago

Chicago's WGN refused to sell Painted Dreams to a national network, so its creator sued the station, claiming the show as her own property.

Q 03/05

Which writer created both Guiding Light and As the World Turns?

A) Claire Labine

B) Agnes Nixon

C) Lee Phillip Bell

D) Irna Phillips

Answer · why

D) Irna Phillips

Irna Phillips wanted to be an actress, but was told her looks would not get her far, so she became a schoolteacher before writing for radio.

Q 04/05

Counting radio, roughly how long did Guiding Light run before ending in September 2009?

A) 48 years

B) 85 years

C) 72 years

D) 57 years

Answer · why

C) 72 years

It began on NBC radio in January 1937 and moved to CBS television in 1952, making it the longest-running American soap opera of all.

Q 05/05

Which Friends character played Dr. Drake Ramoray on the real soap Days of Our Lives?

A) Chandler Bing

B) Ross Geller

C) Joey Tribbiani

D) Gunther

Answer · why

C) Joey Tribbiani

Joey Tribbiani lost the part after telling Soap Opera Digest he wrote his own lines, so the writers dropped Dr. Ramoray down an elevator shaft.