If I Had A Hammer Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pete Seeger and Lee Hays

"If I had a hammer
I'd hammer in the morning
I'd hammer in the evening
All over this land
I'd hammer out danger
I'd hammer out a warning
I'd hammer out love between
My brothers and my sisters
All over this land..."

Pete Seeger and Lee Hays were members of The Weavers, a folk foursome popular in the early 1950s. The other members were Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman. They released "If I Had A Hammer" as a single in 1957.

In 1962 it was revised by Peter Paul and Mary and became a hit, earning a Grammy award. Trini Lopez took it to number three on the Billboard charts in 1963.
Seeger and Hays wrote the song after becoming bored during a meeting of People's Songs, a music publishing company.

Answer: Thor

Thor was a deity known throughout Germanic races. He was frequently pictured as a large man with a red beard carrying his hammer. Thor became known as the god of thunder, as well as the god of farmers and free people.

In his fight for order against chaos, Thor had three weapons: Mjölnir, the hammer that hit whatever he threw it at; Megingjord, the belt of power that doubled his strength, and a pair of iron gloves.

Thor was considered to be the second-most important Norse god, after Odin.

Answer: Police

"Sledge Hammer" ran for only 41 episodes from September 1986 to February 1988. The show was a spoof police procedurals, much in the way of "Police Squad".

The show was set in San Francisco, although filmed in Los Angeles. David Rasche starred as Inspector Sledge Hammer. Unfortunately, ABC failed to come up with a solid, regular slot for the show and ratings were poor. Not enough people 'got' the premise; some found it too absurd.

Not much interesting information here, so I'll pad things out with a hammer joke: What do you call a song about hammers? An absolute banger.

Answer: Dulcimer

The Biblical book of Daniel refers to the Dulcimer: "...everyman that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship...."
The hammered dulcimer is a stringed instrument played by striking the strings with a pair of hammers (obviously).
The instrument is perhaps 5,000 years old. Trade routes took the dulcimer east to India and China and west to Africa and Spain.

It has a more recent relative, the Appalachian dulcimer, which was first played by Scotch-Irish immigrants to the Appalachian Mountains of the USA in the early 1800s. Also known as a mountain dulcimer, this version looks more like a guitar and is played by fretting and strumming the strings. It has been claimed that it is easier to play chords on dulcimer than on guitar. Either version is very versatile. In his Beatles days, John Lennon played hammered dulcimer on "Watching the Wheels".

Answer: Horror

Founded in London in 1934, Hammer Film Productions became known for a string of horror movies, although its dominance faded in the 1980s. New owners took over in 2023 promising to reinvigorate the company.
The company launched, or at least developed, the careers of numerous actors who went on to become big stars. The list included Peter Cushing, Oliver Reed and Christopher Lee.

Time for another hammer joke: What do construction workers and volleyball players have in common? They really like to hammer the spikes.

Answer: Peter Gabriel

The innovative stop-motion clay animation video took hours to complete and won a swathe of awards in 1987. The song peaked at number 18 on the UK singles charts and topped the US Billboard Hot 100.

Joke time: What do you call a hammer that's always worried? A nail-biter.

Answer: Mickey Spillane

Mickey Spillane wrote 26 Mike Hammer books and there were around a dozen big screen and made-for-television movies. First appearing in print in 1947, Hammer was "a brawling, brutal private detective " [Britannica.com]. Hammer came from a line of 'hard-bitten' detectives that included Phillip Marlowe and Sam Spade.

Biff Elliott played Hammer in the first outing "I, the Jury" (1953). He was followed by Brian Keith, Ralph Meeker, Robert Bray, Darren McGavin, Mickey Spillane (!), Kevin Dobson, Armand Assante, Stacy Keach, (six outings), Mark Christensen and Rob Estes.

Answer: Curling

Curling was first recorded in Scotland in the 1500s when the sport was played on frozen lochs. Nowadays it is played indoors on specially created ice rinks.
The sport is now played in around 70 countries worldwide, but the granite 'stones' all come from the Scottish island of Ailsa Craig.

The idea is to slide a round, smooth stone weighing 38 to 44 pounds along the rink towards a target painted on the ice. The winner is the player, or team, that gets more stones closer to the centre (the button) than their opponents. They can knock opponents out of the way in doing so.

The opponents in the sport play their stones alternatively. A hammer is the last stone of each end and is seen as giving a great advantage.

Answer: Wrestling

"The Hammer" was a true-story movie about Matt Hamill, a deaf wrestler and martial arts exponent. Russell Harvard, who was himself deaf, played Hamill.

Joke time: Wife texts husband on a cold winter morning: "Windows frozen, won't open."
Husband texts back: "Gently pour some lukewarm water over it and then gently tap edges with hammer."

Wife texts back 10 minutes later: "Computer really messed up now."

Answer: John Robertson

Born in Edinburgh in 1964, John Robertson was an attacking player for a number of teams and was also capped by Scotland (though scandalously not often enough). He played more than 500 games for Heart of Midlothian in the 1980s.

Before he first signed for Hearts in 1981, he was approached by their bitter and less successful Edinburgh rivals, Hibernian. He asked for time to think it over, but Hibs refused to allow it and he was told "you'll never play football in this town again." On signing for Hearts he subsequently scored 27 times in games against Hibs.

Not noted for his athletic appearance, in 2021 Robertson released his autobiography: "Robbo: The Game's Not Over till the Fat Striker Scores". In 2010 he was asked about his goals against Hibs: "I remember all of them and every single one was a deliberate stab through the heart of Hibernian Football Club. Nothing against the fans, but you lot have to understand that when Hibs didn't sign me, I wanted revenge. Some folk laugh at that and say: 'What, all 27?' I suppose maybe 25 were punishment; the other two I banged in just for the hell of it."

If you know your British football, you'll know the wrong answers were from other UK nations: Hughes (Wales), Dougan (Northern Ireland), and Ball (the other one).

Answer: West Ham United

As a long-time fan of West Ham United, this quiz author abhors the modern habit of using "Irons" as a nickname. West Ham United trace their roots to 1895 with the foundation of Thames Ironworks FC by Arnold Hills, managing director of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company. He had been a footballer and had played for England. After some success there was a reorganisation in 1900, when the old club was wound up and a new Club, West Ham United, was formed.

The traditional crest of West Ham United, two crossed iron-working hammers, was retained to this day although the original castle on the crest was dropped and the word "London" added.

Answer: John Henry

"This nine pound hammer is a little too heavy
For my size, Buddy for my size
Roll on buddy, don't you roll so slow
 How can I roll, when the wheels won't roll...

"This old hammer, it killed John Henry
Ain't gonna kill me, ain't gonna kill me..."

Origins of the song are thought to date to 1891. The nine-pound hammer was a tool used by freed slaves and convicts to build the Swannanoa Tunnel in North Carolina. The version we know today was recorded for the first time on May 13, 1927 in New York by Al Hopkins & His Buckle Busters. [It has been altered in versions over the years since.] It is thought there was a real John Henry, described as a black freed slave who worked on the railroads.

Answer: Soviet Union

The traditional flag of the Soviet Union had a red background and a crossed hammer and sickle with a star above. This represented the communist revolution.
Russia stopped using the hammer and sickle, but several nationals and former Soviet nations continue to do so.

Joke time: A blacksmith said to his new helper, "You see this piece of iron? When I nod my head, you hit it as hard as you can with your hammer."
Those were his last words.

Answer: Accelerator

"Shaky Town" was written by Browne's guitarist Danny Kortchmar and appeared on the album "Running On Empty".

Although not mentioned in the song, in American trucker parlance "Shaky Town" was Los Angeles, California - given because of its habit of 'shaking' during earthquakes. The album reached number three on the Billboard 200 in 1978 - and remains one of this quiz authors all-time favourites.

Answer: Shark

There is a great number of hammerhead shark subspecies, ranging in size. The largest encountered was 20 feet. Hammerheads can be found in warm and temperate waters around coasts, but also in the open seas. They are generally not considered dangerous to humans, although there is a slight chance they might attack.

Some countries offer safaris that allow humans to go swimming with hammer heads.