An Entertainment Common Bond Quiz

Answer: Scranton, Pennsylvania

Long associated with the state of Delaware, Joe Biden was actually born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Economic difficulties forced the family to move to Delaware during Biden's childhood. His long career in service of the United States (US) government began when he was elected a US Senator at 30 years old. Elected six more times to represent the people of Delaware, Biden is one of the longest serving Senators in US history. That experience played a key part in Barack Obama selecting Biden as his Vice President, and Biden served two terms as Vice President prior to serving as the 46th President of the US.

Answer: Mockumentary

A mockumentary style movie humorously presents fictional events as if they are real. The term is a portmanteau of the works "mock" and "documentary."

Reiner's movie follows the members of a fictional band (Spinal Tap) going on a tour and giving interviews as if they really are being interviewed for a documentary. The original film was released in 1984, with a sequel "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues" being released in 2025. The sequel was Reiner's final film prior to his death. While the mockumentary style existed prior to the 1984 movie, the film is widely credited with launching the genre and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Answer: Paper

A ream is the equivalent of 500 individual sheets of paper, while a quire is 25 sheets of paper. Other units include bundles (1,000 sheets), bales (5,000 sheets), and pallets (200,000 sheets). First created in China around 105 AD, paper is considered one of the Four Great Inventions from imperial China. The other three are gunpowder, the compass, and printing.

Answer: The Boss

One of the best selling musicians of all time, Bruce Springsteen has had a career spanning over sixty years, releasing multiple albums that have reached the top of the Billboard 200 charts. His rock music often contains themes related to the working class and social commentary.

His 1984 album "Born to Run" has sold over 30 million copies and is one of the best-selling albums of all time. Among the many highlights of his career, he has won Grammy Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and performed the Super Bowl half time show.

Answer: Cornell University

Founded in 1865, Cornell University is one of eight school in the Ivy League (along with Brown University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Yale University). The school's sports teams are nicknamed the Cornell Big Red and feature a bear as the school's unofficial mascot. Famous alumni from the school include Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, scientist and television presenter Bill Nye, actor Christopher Reeve, and football pioneer Pop Warner.

Answer: Beets

The term borscht broadly applies to a sour soup made with meat stock, vegetables, and seasonings and does not technically require beets to be called borscht. However, beets are commonly associated with borscht due to the dish's popularity and distinctive red color. Beets have a variety of recognized health benefits including being linked to lower blood pressure, better digestive health, improved brain function, and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Answer: Flat Stanley

The original "Flat Stanley" book was published in 1964 and features the eight year old Stanley being squashed flat while sleeping. Fortunately he is uninjured and able to use his flatness to go under doorways, be flown as a kite, and be sent in the mail to visit friends. Seizing on the mail theme, the Flat Stanley project has students decorating their own flat cut-outs and mailing them to friends and other students around the world. Along with the cut-outs, students are encouraged to make up their own Flat Stanley stories or diary entries to share with their new pen pals.

Answer: Hidden camera prank show

Launched in 2011, "Impractical Jokers" features a group of "jokers" performing various pranks in front of unsuspecting strangers. Much of the show's humor is derived from watching a joker's embarrassment when performing the pranks and the surprised reactions of the strangers. If a joker is unable (or unwilling) to complete a prank, or completes it less successfully than the other jokers, the joker is credited with a loss.

At the end of the show, the joker who loses the most pranks is declared the "big loser" and must complete a very embarrassing punishment devised by the other jokers.

Answer: Ryan Howard

Howard became the Phillies' regular first baseman in 2005 and led all major league rookies in home runs, despite playing little more than half the season in the big leagues. Howard's 2006 season was the best individual season of his career, establishing a Phillies single season record of 58 homeruns, to go along with his career highs in RBIs and batting average.

While age and injury would negatively impact the second half of his career, Howard still made three All Star teams, finished in the top five in the MVP voting three additional times, and was crowned a World Series Champion in 2008.

Answer: The Office

All of the previous clues relate in some from to the American version of "The Office."

1) The primary setting for the show is SCRANTON, Pennsylvania.
2) The show is filmed in a MOCKUMENTARY style.
3) The main company on the show, Dunder Mifflin, is a PAPER company.
4) The main character, Michael Scott is THE BOSS and even bought himself a "World's Best Boss" mug. A subplot in one episode also involves Michael falsely claiming to have Bruce Springsteen tickets to auction off.
5) Andy Bernard is a proud graduate of CORNELL UNIVERSITY and brings up his alma mater multiple times during the show.
6) In addition to his office job, Dwight Schrute owns a BEET farm that is referenced often on the show.
7) One of the salesmen in the office is STANLEY Hudson.
8) Jim is known for playing many PRANKS, especially on Dwight. These include putting his items in Jell-o, moving his desk into the restroom, and dressing exactly like Dwight.
9) RYAN HOWARD is the name of a character on the show, and was actually named after the baseball player. When the show came out, the baseball player was a relatively unknown player on the Phillies minor league team (based in Scranton). The name was chosen to honor its Scranton roots and both the player and the show exploded in popularity at the same time.