For The Loser Now Will Be Later To Win Quiz

Answer: 1992

Nigel finally achieved his World Champion status in 1992 in a dominant manner with 5 races remaining out of 16 races in the season. He achieved this in the Hungarian Grand Prix, where 2nd place gave him the points needed to take the championship. He had been close to the championship on 3 previous occasions. In 1986 during the final race of the season in Adelaide, Australia, he only needed to finish 3rd or higher to bag the trophy. Mid race, however, his left tyre exploded, forcing a retirement and giving the championship to Alain Prost.

In 1987 he suffered a back injury when he crashed during the Japanese GP, meaning he could not take part in the last 2 races of the season. That year Nigel's teammate Nelson Piquet took the title. In 1991 Nigel again was runner up to Ayrton Senna following a season where reliability issues and driver errors cost him points throughout.

Answer: Susan Lucci

Susan Lucci appeared in 'All my Children' from January 1970 until September 2011 when the show was cancelled. She was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Drama Series almost every year since 1978 for a total of 19 times before she finally won. She received a standing ovation when she won. After her win in 1999, she was nominated again in the same category in 2000 and 2001, but did not win.

The other names are also actresses who won an Emmy in the 1990s in the same category. Kim Zimmer won in 1990 for her role as Reva Shayne in the programme 'Guiding Light'. Linda Dano played Felicia Gallant in 'Another World', and she won in 1993. Cynthia Watros appeared in 'Guiding Light' as Annie Dutton, and she got her Emmy in 1998.

Answer: Vincent Van Gogh

In 1890 Van Gogh sold 'The Red Vineyard' to his friend's sister Anna Boch, a Belgian art collector, for 400 francs (about $3000 in today's money, although obviously the painting is worth millions today). This was the only confirmed sale during his lifetime, however, he may well have traded and bartered other works which were not recorded.

There are well over 800 known paintings completed by Van Gogh before his death, all worth significant sums of money if not priceless. The other three people are also renowned and respected Dutch artists.

Answer: Figure Skater

Vera Wang was born in New York to Chinese parents who immigrated to the US during the 1940s. Her father was a successful businessman, and her mother was a translator at the United Nations. She began figure skating at age 8, training in Denver during the summer and at the New York Skating Club for the rest of the year. She competed in the US Figure Skating Championships in 1968. However, she was devastated when she did not qualify for the 1968 US Olympics team; that helped her decide on her change of career.

After college Wang was appointed as an editor of 'Vogue' magazine and she was one of the youngest editors at that time. She worked for 'Vogue' for 17 years and then she moved to Ralph Lauren. She only stayed there for two years and then at age 40 she left to become an independent bridal wear designer. She is famous for designing wedding gowns for high profile celebrities and she also designs evening wear. She has also kept her interest in figure skating by designing skating costumes. She was inducted into the Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2009 for her contribution to the sport as a costume designer

Answer: One Direction

The group consisted of members Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik (until he decided to leave the band in 2015). Having been initially put through during the auditions, all five were unsuccessful at the boot camp stage of the competition. However, Simon Cowell and judge Nicole Scherzinger decided to put five boys together as a band and so they became eligible to take part in the group category at the judges' houses stage. They progressed through the competition and, although they finished third in the final, they can count themselves as winners as they received a record contract from Simon Cowell's Syco label. The rest is history.

They became one of the best selling bands of all time with over $70 million records sold. The group announced they would be taking a hiatus in 2016, and all have gone on the individual careers with varying levels of success. On 16 October 2024, Liam Payne died after accidentally falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires.

Little Mix was a girl band formed in the same way after not being successful at the boot camp stage of "X Factor UK" in 2011. They went on to win the competition and had a successful career until they also announced a hiatus in 2022 to allow them to pursue solo recording projects. Westlife is an Irish boy band that is managed by Louis Walsh. Take That was formed in Manchester in 1990, and they are often defined as the most successful boy band group in UK chart history. Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams have also had a hugely successful music career away from Take That.

Answer: Elvis Presley

Of course this is Elvis Presley. This was said by the Grand Ole Opry talent manager, Jimmy Denny, after Elvis's first appearance there in 1954. Like most people in this quiz and in life, it is often seen that early failure spurs people on to work harder for success, and that was the case with Elvis. Despite the rejection, he continued to perform and was eventually signed by Sun Records and began working with Sam Phillips, Producer.

The other names are all also referred to as Kings of their particular genre of music. Michael Jackson - King of Pop, B.B. King - King of the Blues and Benny King - King of Swing.

Answer: Thomas Edison

Edison's teachers found him to be incapable and disruptive, leading to the comment about him being too stupid to learn. As a result of this, his mother took him out of school and began educating him herself. She believed in his potential and realised that it was his curiousness and creativity that was causing him to be seen as disruptive. The story goes that Edison came home with a letter from the school which only his mother was to read. He asked his mother what it said, and she told him it said, 'Your son is a genius. This school is too small for him and doesn't have good enough teachers to train him. Please teach him yourself.'

Years later, after he had become a famous inventor and after his mother had died, Edison found the letter among her papers and it actually said, 'Your son is mentally deficient. We cannot let him attend our school anymore. He is expelled.' Edison then wrote in his diary, 'Thomas A. Edison was a mentally deficient child whose mother turned him into the genius of the century.' He is now known as one of the most successful inventors who ever lived, holding more than 1,000 patents, including the phonograph and electric light bulb, changing the lives of everyone in the world. Of his approach to failure he said, 'I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that it won't work.'

The other names are inventors who were peers of Edison. Tesla is credited with inventing AC power, and Bell with inventing the telephone. Westinghouse purchased Tesla's patents on AC and was instrumental in developing the AC electrical grid.

Answer: Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein had a surprisingly slow start in life. As a child he didn't start using full sentences until he was four (most children can do this about two years old), he was unable to read until he was seven, and was believed by many to be mentally deficient. He did not do well in school and developed a reputation for missing school and not achieving results. He was good at maths, but struggled with other subjects.

After school he took a series of odd jobs, ending up working as a clerk in a Patents Office. It was here, as he reviewed patent applications while using his math skills, that he discovered a strength which helped propel him to the career and impact that he had on science and physics for the rest of his life. Einstein always felt brokenhearted that his father had died thinking him a failure and not seeing his success.

The other names are peers of Einstein in similar fields. Niels Bohr was a key figure in quantum mechanics who Einstein debated frequently. Max Planck was a respected physicist who greatly influenced Einstein's early understanding in the field. Satyendra Nath Bose was a collaborator on quantum statistics, leading to the Bose-Einstein condensate.

Answer: Michael Jordan

At age 15 Michael Jordan tried out for the varsity team at Emsley A. Laney High School where 50 boys competed for 15 places. Coach Clifton "Pop" Herring said he wasn't tall enough and didn't have enough skill to make the team. Jordan was devastated by this outcome, but vowed to use this failure to be successful, and to never to be outworked again. This attitude (and a growth spurt) saw him make the varsity team the next year, and he ended his senior year as an All American player before embarking on a spectacular professional career.

About his motivation and success, he said, 'I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.'

The other three athletes named were teammates of Jordan in what became known as the 'Dream Team', which won a gold medal for USA at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.

Answer: Stephen King

King is often described as the King of Horror. His first novel was 'Carrie, which was rejected 30 times before it was finally accepted by Doubleday publishers, and published in hardback in April 1974. It was published in paperback in April 1975, and then became a best seller, especially after the release of the film version in 1976. It sold more than 4 million copies. Many of his novels and short stories have been turned into movies or television programmes. He is known for popping up in small part cameos in these works such as a bandleader in 'The Shining' or a minister in 'Pet Sematary.'

The others are also famous and prolific authors in the horror genre, among other genres such as crime or suspense thrillers. R.L. Stine writes 'Goosebumps', a horror fiction series for children. Dean Koontz is known for suspense novels which include horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Poe was a writer and poet who is well known for his themes of gruesome crime and mystery.