Take A Shot Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dark Star

On May 2, 1953, Native Dancer was a 3/5 favorite to win the Kentucky Derby. Lightly regarded Dark Star went off at 25/1. After Dark Star opened a lead, Native Dancer made a gallant stretch run, only to lose by a head. The two horses next met in the Preakness, the second race in the Triple Crown.

In the lead, Dark Star suddenly slowed and finished a beaten fifth with Native Dancer claiming the win. The injured leg that led to Dark Star's loss also ended his racing career.

Answer: Shoot the moon

A variation of Whist, Hearts penalizes players for capturing the Queen of Spades (usually 13 points) and for each heart taken (usually one point each). The object is to have the fewest points at the conclusion of the game. One strategy is for a player to try to "shoot the moon" by intentionally taking all of the hearts and the Queen of Spades. If successful, the player gets zero points and each opponent receives 26 points. If the attempt fails, the player is penalized for each penalty card he captured, up to 25 points, and all the other players receive no points. [One variation of Hearts reverses the scoring, so that a player who succeeds at "shooting the moon" receives 26 points and the other players get zero.

In this version, the player with the most points wins.]

Answer: The American Revolution

The American Revolution is generally dated from April 18, 1775 when British troops marching from Boston to confiscate arms and ammunition in Concord were met by colonists at the village green in Lexington. A shot was fired, no one knows by which side, and soon eight Americans were dead and several wounded. One redcoat was also wounded. The encounter was immortalized by Ralph Waldo Emerson whose poem "Concord Hymn" was sung at dedication of the Battle Monument on July 4,1837. "By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world."

Answer: Jack McCall

James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok had a reputation as a lawman, gunfighter, and gambler. Although his exploits have been greatly exaggerated, they are based in solid facts. In 1871, Hickok mistakenly killed his deputy during a shootout in Abilene, and never fought another gun battle. Drifting around the west as a gambler, he came to Deadwood, South Dakota, early in 1876 and soon became a regular poker player in the No. 10 Saloon. On the afternoon of August 2, 1876, Hickok was playing poker with his back to the door. Jack McCall, a young gunslinger wanting to enhance his reputation, walked up behind Hickok and shot him in the back of his head. McCall was arrested, tried, convicted, and executed. By tradition, Hickok died holding a pair of black aces and a pair of black eights, a combination known as the Dead Man's Hand.

Answer: Elke Sommer

In "A Shot In The Dark," the second "Pink Panther" film, Clouseau (Sellers) investigates a series of murders at the country estate of Benjamin Ballon (George Sanders). A maid, Maria Gambrelli (Elke Sommer) is the prime and only suspect. Because Clouseau is very much attracted to Maria, he assumes she is innocent.

After much ado, Clouseau brings the case to a very surprising conclusion. [No spoiler here.] Capucine co-starred in "The Pink Panther" (1963), Schell in "The Return Of The Pink Panther" (1975), and Cannon in "Revenge Of The Pink Panther" (1978).

Answer: Bob Marley

The iconic Bob Marley was the Jamaican singer/songwriter who is credited with internationally popularizing reggae music and Jamaican culture, and with expanding the Rastafarian religion. In 1963, he began with The Wailers. Their 1973 album "Burnin'" established Marley as a force. Arguably the top song on that album was "I Shot The Sheriff." (He did shoot the sheriff, in self-defense, but didn't shoot the deputy.) At the too young age of 36, Marley died from cancer that had spread throughout his body.

Answer: Apollo

Inspired by President John F. Kennedy's 1962 resolve "to go to the moon in this decade," NASA developed that year the Apollo program designed to land an American on the lunar surface. There were a total of 17 Apollo missions, including those cancelled. On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module made the first moon landing; Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin were the first two humans to set foot on the moon.

Answer: Kristin Shepard

"Dallas" aired from 1978 to 1991, centering on the wealthy Ewing family in Texas who got rich through oil and cattle. On March 21, 1980, J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman), the eldest son, is shot twice. Viewers had to wait until the show resumed in the fall (November 21, 1980) to learn who shot him and whether he survived. Kristin Shepard (Mary Crosby), his sister-in-law and mistress, was named as the assailant. J.R. survived, but did not press charges. Sue Ellen Shepard (Linda Gray) was J.R.'s wife, Miss Ellie Ewing (Barbara Bel Geddes) was his mother, and Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) was a younger brother.

Answer: Whiskey

A boilermaker traditionally includes a glass of beer and a shot of whiskey. Two variations exist. First, the drinker downs the shot, then polishes of the beer. Second, the drinker mixes the shot and beer together, then consumes it. Either way, it is a potent drink.

Answer: Golf ball

Alan Shepard, one of the seven original astronauts, was the first American in space (May 5, 1961). His second space flight was as commander of Apollo 14, a moon mission, that included Stuart Roosa and Edgar Mitchell. On February 15, 1971, Shepard and Mitchell landed on the moon, collected several pounds of moon rocks, and conducted scientific experiments.

Shepard also was the first person to shoot a golf ball on the moon (an experiment to see how far it would go in the lower gravity of the moon).