1962 Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Spy Who Loved Me

The Spy Who Loved Me was published in 1962 and was the tenth of the fourteen James Bond books. The others were:
Casino Royale (1953)
Live and Let Die (1954)
Moonraker (1955)
Diamonds Are Forever (1956)
From Russia, with Love (1957)
Doctor No (1958)
Goldfinger (1959)
For Your Eyes Only (1960)
Thunderball (1961)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963)
You Only Live Twice (1964)
The Man with the Golden Gun (1965)
Octopussy (1966)

Also published in 1962 was Len Deighton's first spy novel, "The Ipcress File" which became an instant bestseller and the first of a series of 'Harry Palmer' films starring Micheal Caine.

Answer: US Moon probe misses moon by 22,000 miles

26 Jan 62 - The Ranger 3 spacecraft was launched to land a seismometer capsule on the moon. Due to a series of malfunctions the spacecraft missed the moon by 22,000 miles. Apparently, it is still in orbit round the Sun.

The other just as unlikely events are all actually true, they just didn't happen in 1962:

17 Feb 58 - Pope Pius XII designated St Clare as the patron saint of television, on the basis that, when she was too ill to attend Mass, she had been miraculously able to see it on the wall of her room. She was canonized St Clare of Assisi by Pope Alexander IV in 1255.

17 Jan 66 - A US B52 bomber crashed into a KC135 tanker whilst refuelling, dropping its four hydrogen bombs over Spain. Three were found near the town of Palomares but the fourth fell into the sea. The bomb, valued at US$2Bn was found with the assistance of a local fisherman, Francisco Ortiz who had witnessed it falling. Ortiz later claimed the standard nominal 2% salvage rights of $40M. The USAF settled out of court.

31 Dec 60 - The Farthing coin is no longer legal tender in Britain. The Farthing (four thing) was worth one quarter of a penny. They had been in continual use since before 1247.

Answer: France detonates its first nuclear bomb

13 Feb 60 - The first French nuclear test, code-named "Gerboise Bleue" ("Blue Gerbil"), was detonated in Algeria just two years before the latter country won its independence. It was the largest first time test of any nation.

As for the events that did happen in 1962:

3 Jan 62 - Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro when he declares he is an Atheist and Marxist. The excommunication was on the basis of a 1949 decree by Pope Pius XII forbidding Catholics from supporting Communist governments.

14 Oct 62 14 - Cuban Missile Crisis begins when a U2 spy flight over Cuba takes pictures of Soviet nuclear missiles being installed. A stand-off brings the World to the brink of nuclear war until the Soviets back down 14 days later.

11 Jun 62 - Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin become the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz. No conclusive evidence has been found that they survived the escape attempt.

Answer: Tiger

The 12 Chinese zodiac signs are, in order, rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, pig.

There are various myths as to how the animals were selected and in which order. Many indicate that the animals had to race to be selected and that the cat was tricked by the rat and finished too late to be included in the zodiac. Thus, to this day the cat is the natural enemy of the rat.

There is also a cycle of five planets with associated elements and colours on top of the cycle of animals. These are Jupiter/green/wood, Mars/red/fire, Saturn/brown/earth, Venus/white/metal, Mercury/black/water. With this dual system the combined zodiacal calendar repeats every 60 years. 1962 was the year of the Black Tiger.

Answer: True

Martin Speckter introduced the 'interrobang' in 1962 which combines the functions of a question mark and an exclamation mark. The character resembles these marks superimposed.

An American advertising agent, he thought the 'interrobang' would convey surprised queries using a single mark. Suggested names for the character were 'exclarotive' and 'exclamaquest' but Speckter chose 'interrobang' which derives from 'interrogatio' which is Latin for question and 'bang' which is printers' slang for exclamation mark.

The interrobang was in vogue in the 1960s but has fallen from use. However, it features in Michael Gerber's Barry Trotter books (parody of Harry Potter) as Barry's scar.

Answer: They achieved independence

They all achieved independence in 1962.

Algeria was at war struggling for independence from France but none of the other countries were and none of them were suffering famine.

The African Cup of Nations is the national African football competition. It has been held every two years since 1968, and before that was held at irregular intervals. Algeria won it only once in 1990.

Answer: Alessandra Floriani (Mussolini)

Alessandra Mussolini was born on 30 December 1962, the niece of Sophia Loren and granddaughter of Benito Mussolini. An actress and Play Boy model, she earned a degree in Medicine and Surgery and was elected to the Italian parliament in 1992.

Alina Salgado was born in 1979 and is the granddaughter of Fidel Castro. She became a US citizen in 2005. Her mother, Alina Fernandez fled Cuba in 1993.

Ekaterina Zhdanov is the granddaughter of Stalin born in 1950. Her mother, Svetlana famously defected to the West in 1967. She had a child by an American husband returning to Russia in 1984 with Stalin's 13 year old American granddaughter.

Maria del Carmen Martinez-Bordiu, born in 1951 was married to Alfonso de Borbón Dampierre, pretender to the thrones of Spain and France. She is the granddaughter of Generalísimo Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde Salgado Pardo de Andrade better known as General Franco.

Answer: Adolf Eichmann

Eichmann was an SS Obersturmbannführer and was responsible for the logistics of the 'final solution'. Referred to as the 'Chief Executioner' of the Third Reich, in 1960 he was kidnapped from Argentina by Mossad and flown to Israel. There he was convicted of War crimes and hanged on 1 June 1962.

Mengele was the infamous Angel of Death experimenting on prisoners at Auschwitz. He was released by the Americans at the end of the War as they had no idea who he was. He then managed to allude recapture and escape to South America. Mengele died of a stroke in Brazil in 1979.

Hess, Hitler's Deputy parachuted into Britain on the eve of the German invasion of Russia to negotiate a truce. It has been claimed that he was lured to Britain by British Intelligence Officer, Ian Fleming and then captured. Fleming later became famous for his James Bond novels. Hess died in Spandau Prison in 1987. He is believed to have committed suicide although there are unsubstantiated claims he was killed by the British.

Dr Szell was a fictitious character in the 1974 novel, 'Marathon Man' by William Goldman. He was a dentist at Auschwitz wanted for War crimes and hiding in South America. He was probably based on Mengele. In the 1976 film of the book Szell was played by Lawrence Olivier who was Oscar nominated for the role.

Answer: Lawrence of Arabia

Best Picture: "Lawrence Of Arabia"
Nominations: "The Longest Day", "The Music Man", "Mutiny on the Bounty", "To Kill a Mockingbird".

Best Actor: Gregory Peck in "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Nominations: Burt Lancaster in "Birdman of Alcatraz", Jack Lemmon in "Days of Wine and Roses", Marcello Mastroianni in "Divorce Italian Style", Peter O'Toole in "Lawrence of Arabia"

Best Actress: Anne Bancroft in "The Miracle Worker"
Nominations: Bette Davis in "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?", Katharine Hepburn in "Long Day's Journey Into Night", Geraldine Page in "Sweet Bird of Youth," Lee Remick in "Days of Wine and Roses"

Best Supporting Actor: Ed Begley in "Sweet Bird of Youth"
Nominations: Victor Buono in "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?", Telly Savalas in "Birdman of Alcatraz", Omar Sharif in "Lawrence of Arabia", Terence Stamp in "Billy Budd"

Best Supporting Actress: Patty Duke in "The Miracle Worker", Mary Badham in "To Kill a Mockingbird", Shirley Knight in "Sweet Bird of Youth", Angela Lansbury in "The Manchurian Candidate", Thelma Ritter in "Birdman of Alcatraz"

Best Director: David Lean for "Lawrence of Arabia"
Nominations: Pietro Germi for "Divorce Italian Style", Robert Mulligan for "To Kill a Mockingbird", Arthur Penn for "The Miracle Worker", Frank Perry for "David and Lisa".

Answer: False

1960 and 1964 were Leap Years.