Q 01/05

Thomas Jefferson modeled the domed Rotunda at the University of Virginia on which ancient temple?

A) The Parthenon

B) The Pantheon

C) The Maison Carrée

D) The Temple of Vesta

Answer · why

B) The Pantheon

The Pantheon in Rome set the proportions, but the Rotunda's dome is only half as wide. Jefferson is thought to have worked from a drawing in his copy ...

Q 02/05

Which American writer studied languages at the University of Virginia in 1826 but left within a year, short of money?

A) Nathaniel Hawthorne

B) James Fenimore Cooper

C) Herman Melville

D) Edgar Allan Poe

Answer · why

D) Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe lived at 13 West Range, a room still maintained by the Raven Society, a campus group named for his most famous poem.

Q 03/05

Which No. 16 seed beat top-seeded UVA in 2018, the first such upset in the men's NCAA basketball tournament?

A) UMBC

B) Lehigh

C) Mercer

D) Hampton

Answer · why

A) UMBC

UMBC won 74–54 after a first half tied at 21, ending a run of 135 straight defeats for No. 16 seeds against No. 1 seeds.

Q 04/05

Which future Saturday Night Live head writer graduated from the University of Virginia in 1992 with a degree in drama?

A) Seth Meyers

B) Colin Jost

C) Tina Fey

D) Adam McKay

Answer · why

C) Tina Fey

Tina Fey studied playwriting and acting in Charlottesville and won the university's Pettway Prize before she graduated.

Q 05/05

University of Virginia fans are called Hoos, short for which nickname that grew out of a school rallying cry?

A) Yahoos

B) Wahoos

C) Hoosiers

D) Hoodoos

Answer · why

B) Wahoos

Wahoos comes from the cheer Wah-hoo-wah, and it was a student term well before local sportswriters began using it beside the official Cavaliers.