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Quiz about We Didnt Start the Fire
Quiz about We Didnt Start the Fire

We Didn't Start the Fire Trivia Quiz


Using the lyrics to Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire," this quiz tests your knowledge of the historical references in the song. You needn't have heard the song before- but do you know the events he mentions?

A multiple-choice quiz by Giniw. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
Giniw
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
366,207
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
2075
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: matho_77 (10/10), Guest 67 (7/10), alan56 (10/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. In Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire", the first two lines reflect people and events important in 1949, the year Joel was born:

"Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio"

Why is "Red China" on this list?
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. In Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire", these lines reflect 1950:

"Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe"

Who was Joe McCarthy?
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. These lines are from Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire":

"Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye"

Which of the following statements is NOT true of the year 1952?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" mentions these things regarding 1953:

"Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc"

Why are Stalin and Malenkov on this list?
Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" mentions these things, all important in 1955:

"Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland"

Of the people listed here, who died in 1955?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. In Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire", regarding 1961 he sang:

"Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion"

Why is Eichmann mentioned here?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. In "We Didn't Start the Fire", Billy Joel sings of these things:

"Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex
J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say"

Who killed J.F.K.?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" includes these lines:

"Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock"

What was Watergate actually?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" includes these events and people from 1983-1984:

"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide,
Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz"

What did Bernie Goetz do that was noteworthy?
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. "We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone
It will still burn on and on and on and on
And on and on and on and on..."

What is one logical explanation of the chorus of "We Didn't Start the Fire"?
Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 28 2024 : matho_77: 10/10
Mar 22 2024 : Guest 67: 7/10
Mar 22 2024 : alan56: 10/10
Mar 21 2024 : naenae1214: 3/10
Mar 18 2024 : Guest 74: 7/10
Mar 18 2024 : Guest 128: 6/10
Mar 14 2024 : Guest 68: 8/10
Mar 09 2024 : Guest 73: 10/10
Mar 06 2024 : Guest 105: 7/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire", the first two lines reflect people and events important in 1949, the year Joel was born: "Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio" Why is "Red China" on this list?

Answer: The Communists took power in China and established the People's Republic of China

In fact, the Communist Party of China won power after the Chinese Civil War. A new flag was adopted, but the earlier flag was NOT yellow and green. The Communist Party of China is still in power. And the Red Sea is quite a ways away from China, and there was no Chinese attempt to control it.
2. In Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire", these lines reflect 1950: "Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe" Who was Joe McCarthy?

Answer: A U.S. Senator who led a crusade against Communism in the U.S.

McCarthy launched a wide-ranging campaign against people that he claimed were Communists or Communist sympathizers. "McCarthyism" has come to mean any political witch-hunt, especially one that relies on unsubstantiated accusations.
3. These lines are from Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire": "Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye" Which of the following statements is NOT true of the year 1952?

Answer: Liberace, famous pianist, died in a plane crash

Liberace died much later - in 1987, due to complications of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS.) He was 67. He appears on this list of important people and events from 1952 because his TV show, "The Liberace Show," began on July 1, 1952.
4. Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" mentions these things regarding 1953: "Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc" Why are Stalin and Malenkov on this list?

Answer: Stalin died and Malenkov succeeded him as leader of the Soviet Union

Malenkov succeeded Stalin as Premier of the Soviet Union, until he was ousted by Nikita Khrushchev. "Anna Karenina" was written by Leo Tolstoy, and was published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877. A worker revolt took place in Poland in 1970-71, Malenkov was not involved.
5. Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" mentions these things, all important in 1955: "Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland" Of the people listed here, who died in 1955?

Answer: Einstein, James Dean

Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 and James Dean died on September 30, 1955.
Davy Crockett died in 1836, but in 1955 Disney aired a TV mini-series based on his life. Elvis Presley's signed with RCA Records in 1955. He died in 1977.
6. In Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire", regarding 1961 he sang: "Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion" Why is Eichmann mentioned here?

Answer: Adolf Eichmann went on trial for crimes against humanity in World War II

Adolf Eichmann, a "most wanted" Nazi war criminal, was found in Argentina and captured by Israeli agents. He was taken to Israel where he went on trial in 1961 for his crimes. He was convicted and hanged in 1962.
7. In "We Didn't Start the Fire", Billy Joel sings of these things: "Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say" Who killed J.F.K.?

Answer: Lee Harvey Oswald

Conspiracy theories notwithstanding, Lee Harvey Oswald shot on JFK November 22, 1963 in Dallas Texas. Jack Ruby killed Oswald two days later. Chief Justice Earl Warren headed a Congressional Commission assembled to investigate the assassination. Vice President Lyndon Johnson assumed the presidency upon Kennedy's death.
8. Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" includes these lines: "Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock" What was Watergate actually?

Answer: An office building and hotel in Washington, D.C.

The Watergate office building part of the complex housed the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the 1970s. It was the site of a break-in at the DNC, which was linked to the Nixon Administration. A political scandal, known simply as "Watergate," followed, and resulted in the end of Nixon's presidency.
9. Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" includes these events and people from 1983-1984: "Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide, Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz" What did Bernie Goetz do that was noteworthy?

Answer: Shot four black men as they attempted to rob him

In 1984, Bernhard Goetz, nicknamed the "subway vigilante," shot four black men who were attempting to rob him while he was riding a New York Subway train. Although he was charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment and numerous other charges, a jury found him not guilty of all charges except carrying an unlicensed firearm.

Many felt he was a hero for defending himself. Others condemned his actions. The controversy started a dialogue about crime, personal safety, gun control, and poverty.
10. "We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire But when we are gone It will still burn on and on and on and on And on and on and on and on..." What is one logical explanation of the chorus of "We Didn't Start the Fire"?

Answer: There always has been, and always will be events and people that change the world

This song lists in roughly chronological order some of the events and people that shaped the history of the world from 1949 - the year Joel was born - until the year the song was released, 1989. It has often been used as a teaching tool. I love this song, although when it first came out I wondered why he would sing about bacon and Reagan (the line is "Begin, Reagan, Palestine" clearly (to most) a reference to Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of the State of Israel. But I still sing "bacon."
Source: Author Giniw

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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