1978 - The Disco Year Trivia Quiz

Answer: John XXIII

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (John XXIII) ruled the Roman Catholic Church from 1958 till his death in 1963, when Giovanni Montinni (Paul VI) took over. Pope Paul died August 6, 1978, succeeded by Albino Luciani on August 26, who took the name John Paul I to honor his two predecessors. Sadly, the first John Paul's reign lasted only 33 days (one of the shortest in Catholic history) when he died suddenly September 28. Polish-born Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II), the first non-Italian Pope since the 16th Century, was elected on October 16.

Answer: Affirmed

Affirned, a product of Harbor View Farms in Marion County, Florida, had to beat rival Alydar in all three of the Triple Crown races (Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes) to take the crown. Alydar became the first horse to place second in all three races in the same year. Affirmed's jockey was Steve Cauthen, who was just over 19 years old at the time the feat was accomplished.

The famed Secretariat took the Triple Crown back in 1973, while Seattle Slew did the same in 1977.

Answer: More Than A Woman

'How Deep Is Your Love', 'Night Fever' and 'Stayin' Alive' all came from the soundtrack to the movie, 'Saturday Night Fever'. 'Emotion', performed by Samantha Sang, was also written by the Gibbs brothers. The last remaining song, '(Love Is) Thicker Than Water' was written for younger brother Andy Gibb.

There were two versions of 'More Than A Woman' on the 'Fever' soundtrack (the Bee Gees and Tavares), but neither version was one of the fabled Top Five.

Answer: She was conceived by 'in vitro fertilization'

Known as the world's first 'test-tube baby', Louise was born July 25, 1978 at Oldham General Hospital in Greater Manchester, weiging 5 pounds, 12 ounces. She married in 2004 and became a mother in her own right two years later (by natural means). The horrors of Thalidomide were long past by then, while cloning and space babies were still years away.

Answer: New York

Love Canal, named for William T. Love, was a suburb of Niagra Falls, New York. It was here that officials found a higher than normal rate of children born with deformities or life-threatening conditions, as well as an abnormal number of miscarriages. It was discovered that a business called Hooker Chemical dumped tons of materials, many of which were carcinogenic, under the soil of the area years ago, which was then sold to the community for a single dollar.

By the end of August, many of the residents were evacuated and the cleanup began.

Answer: Tina Fey

Kutcher ('That 70s Show' and 'Punk'd') was born February 7, Grace (also 'That 70s Show' and 'Spider-Man III') was born July 12 and Holmes ('Dawson's Creek' and 'Batman Begins') celebrates on December 18. Fey, of '30 Rock' and 'Saturday Night Live' fame was born May 18, 1970.

Answer: The Deer Hunter

Both 'Deer Hunter' and 'Coming Home' centered around the Vietnam War, but it was 'Deer Hunter' that took the Oscar for Best Picture (and Best Director for Michael Cimino). Best Supporting Actor also went to Christopher Walken as the troubled Nick Chevotarevich.

However. 'Coming Home' took the categories for Best Actor (Jon Voight), Best Actress (Jane Fonda), beating out 'Deer Hunter' nominees Robert DeNiro and Meryl Streep. 'Midnight Express' took the Oscar for Best Music and Original Score (both supplied by Giorgio Moroder) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Oliver Stone).

While garnering no Oscars, 'Animal House' was the fifth highest-grossing film of the year, behind 'Close Encounters', 'Saturday Night Fever', 'Grease' and the first 'Superman' movie.

Answer: 'Just The Way You Are' - Billy Joel

'Last Dance', from the movie 'Thank God It's Friday!' got the Grammy for best R&B song and female vocal for Summer ... and the Academy Award for Song of the Year. (Some felt it was compensation to the disco industry for snubbing 'Saturday Night Fever' in the Oscar categories). Manilow's 'Copacabana' won for Best Pop Male Vocal and the Pop Instrumental Grammy went to Mangione.

But it was Joel's ballad from the hit album 'The Stranger' that garnered the top single prize. The awards were handed out at the Shrine Auditoreum in Los Angeles.

Answer: Leon Spinks

Spinks, a former Marine and member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic boxing team, suprised the seasoned veteran in only his eighth professional bout, becoming one of the fastest to ever win the belt. But, because he refused to defend the belt against Norton, he was stripped of the WBC title before the return bout with Ali in September. Leon's younger brother, Michael, was able to defeat Holmes in a 1985 championship bout, making them the first brothers to hold the heavyweight title.

Answer: Dynasty

'78 was an interesting year for people to watch the exploits of a hodge-podge Ohio radio station, an alien and his cute roommate and an interracially adopted family. Despite the sometimes-implausible plots, the shows did make stars out of Robin Williams (Mork), Gary Coleman (Arnold Willis) and Howard Hessman (Dr. Johnny Fever). 1978 also saw the premier of the first 'Battlestar Gallactica', 'Taxi' and 'Dallas', but 'Dynasty', the prime-time soap opera showcasing the quirky Carrington clan, debuted in 1981.

Answer: The Camp David Accords

There were actually two accords reached at Camp David in Frederick County, Maryland, but it was the second that paved the way for the landmark Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty the following year. The Accords also garnered the Nobel Peace Prize that year for Egyptian president Anwar El Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin.

The accords were assisted and witnessed by U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

Answer: Bridge To Terabithia

'Terabithia', by Katherine Paterson, told the bittersweet story of two lonely children who joined to create their own imaginary kingdom. The story made its way to film as a made-for-TV movie in 1985 and as a feature film in 2007. (The latter was written and produced by Katherine's son, David Paterson, who was the inspiration for the character of Jess Aarons). 'Diaries', about a New York teen growing up in the 60s, also became a movie in 1995, starring Leonardo DeCaprio. 'Eyes Shut' is an easy-reading book by Dr. Seuss, featuring his famout Cat-In-The-Hat. 'Corduroy' was a sequal to the popular 1968 book by Don Freeman.

Answer: Space Invaders

'Invaders', released by Taito in 1978, was based on creator Tomohiro Nishikado's interpretation of the aliens in H.G. Wells' novel, 'The War Of The Worlds'. Niskikado explained it would have been easier to make the 'aliens' look human, but was against it because he felt it would be morally wrong.

The game found its way to North America through the Midway division of Bally Entertainment. 'Asteroids' came out in 1979, followed in 1980 by 'Pac-Man' and in '81 by 'Donkey Kong'.

Answer: Da

Hugh Leonard's 'Da', about a former Irishman returned to his homeland to deal with the ghosts of his past, scored big over Neil Simon's 'Chapter Two', about a widower who's letting his past get in the way of his romance. While 'Gin Game', about a card game with ulterior motives, didn't get the Tony, it did garner the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for D.L. Coburn and further solidified the careers of its two stars, Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. Ira Levin's 'Deathtrap' was no slouch, being popular enough to hold the record for the longest running comedy on Broadway.

Answer: Reverse Discrimination

Allan Bakke, a white applicant to the University of California Davis Medical School, filed suit, claiming he had been turned down twice because of the university's need to fill minority quotas. The court narrowly ruled (5-4) that 'affirmative action' could not be served at the expense of others, even majority races. Eight months later, Bakke was finally admitted to the University. 'Rights of the Accused' was the basis of the famed 'Miranda' case in 1966, abortion rights were secured with the 'Roe v. Wade' case in 1973 and legal counsel was established with 'Gideon' Decision of 1963.