Popcorn and Mayhem Trivia Quiz

Answer: Edmund Fitzgerald

The song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fizgerald" honours the 29 crewmen lost when the ship went down in Lake Superior in November 1975 with no survivors. Lightfoot's song was written before the wreckage was examined, but he changed some words later in live performances to reflect new information.

The freighter was enroute carrying iron ore pellets from Superior, Minnesota to Detroit, when a storm, which had been predicted to pass south of the lake, blew up, and the ship was well out on course when strong gales started to blow across the entire lake. Despite the captain seeking shelter close to shore, the storm worsened and the ship was lost with all hands.

Answer: Titanic

After Robert Ballard's discovery of the Titanic in 1985, James Cameron (who was fascinated by shipwrecks) made several dives on the wreck and obtained footage later used in his celebrated movie. Starring Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet, much of the detail was meticulously researched, down to the 1912 Renault CB Coupe DeVille used in the steamy love scene. Miss Winslet (Rose) refused to wear a wetsuit while filming the water scenes, and became very ill with pneumonia.

Answer: Contagion

"Contagion" is an eerie foretaste of the COVID-19 world pandemic, even down to the origin of the disease (an infected bat). The movie traces the family of the first victim, and the struggle of the scientists and medical specialists to isolate the virus and create a vaccine, with backlash and obstruction from anti-vaxxers and natural therapy supporters. Soderbergh had the backing of a stellar cast including Matt Damon and Laurence Fishburne, who helped create the tension and urgency of the time.

Answer: American Pie

McLean's song was mostly about the catastrophic plane crash in 1959, which killed the Big Bopper (J.P.Richardson Jr.), Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, who were some of the most popular stars of early rock and roll. The recurring line in the song refers to this as "the day the music died".

It contains references to many other musicians and public figures, mostly as cryptic comments, but the song is mainly a commentary looking back at those times when he was a young paperboy viewing the world.

Answer: Into Thin Air

Krakauer, a journalist, originally intended only to climb as far as base camp and report on the exploitation of Mount Everest, but planning for the trip rekindled his love of climbing. The disaster took place in 1996, with eight lives lost on the mountain, despite heroic life-saving rescues by some guides. Krakauer's book revealed that short-cuts in safety procedures may have compromised safety, but his book also generated controversy. This was the third highest loss of life on Everest in a single day, and was eclipsed by the 2015 avalanches, when 20 climbers died.

Answer: Chernobyl

Jared Harris (Richard Harris' son) and Stellan Skarsgard star in the historical drama series directed by Johan Renck.

The story gives the facts of the nuclear plant disaster at Chernobyl in Ukraine. It tells the stories of the people who were caught up in the response and their efforts to mitigate the extent of the effects of the meltdown and the steam explosion. Harris takes the part of Valery Legasov, an expert called in to help contain the disaster. He subsequently committed suicide the day before he was due to release his findings.

Answer: New York Mining Disaster 1941

There was no mining disaster in New York in 1941. The song was based on the Welsh tragedy at Aberfan in 1966, when a colliery tip collapsed on the village, most particularly the primary school. 116 young children and 28 adults were killed as a result. The Bee Gees' song imagined the last thoughts of people trapped underground in a similar situation before their oxygen ran out.

Answer: The Perfect Storm

Six men died aboard the Andrea Gail in 1991, during an eight-day storm. The event was called "the Perfect Storm" because it combined Hurricane Grace with a cold front and a high-pressure system, resulting in an almost unprecedented and long lasting weather event. Altogether thirteen lives were lost during the storm. The book was later made into a movie starring George Clooney.

Answer: High Water

The series was released in 2022, created and directed by Jan Holoubek, who based it on Kasper Bajon's true story about the 1997 Central European floods. The action centres on the city of Wroclaw, in Southwestern Poland, and deals in part with the experts' frustrated attempts to avert tragedy while dealing with obstruction by local authorities.

The series was released in English and in Polish on Netflix.

Answer: Armageddon

Armageddon is a movie about a team of oil-drillers who are hastily trained as astronauts and sent into space to destroy a large asteroid on collision course with earth. Ben Affleck is credited with asking if it wouldn't be a better idea to train astronauts in the craft of oil-drilling...Michael Bay, the director, told him to shut up. Also starring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton, the movie was the highest grossing of 1998.