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Tom Lehrer Trivia Quizzes

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8 Tom Lehrer quizzes and 95 Tom Lehrer trivia questions.
1.
  The Physical Revue Featuring Tom Lehrer   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In 1951 and 1952 members of the Harvard Physics Department performed a revue featuring the songs of Tom Lehrer. Norman Ramsey recorded one of the shows, from which ten songs have been selected for this quiz. Caution: some physics involved!
Average, 10 Qns, looney_tunes, Aug 19 24
Average
looney_tunes editor
Aug 19 24
4369 plays
2.
  Lobachevsky   top quiz  
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
My daughter uses this family favorite as a humorous way to open discussion in her first-year university classes on the subject of plagiarism. Here, you can just enjoy the wit of Tom Lehrer as you match some of the song's elements appropriately.
Easier, 10 Qns, looney_tunes, Nov 19 17
Easier
looney_tunes editor
253 plays
3.
  An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
On the live album "An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer", recorded during a series of concerts in 1959, a number of Tom Lehrer's humorous songs are presented along with his witty introductions. Can you recognize the songs from their introductions?
Easier, 10 Qns, looney_tunes, May 31 12
Easier
looney_tunes editor
1041 plays
4.
  That Was Tom Lehrer's Year That Was   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
The spoken introductions on Tom Lehrer's album "That Was the Year That Was" provide humorous links and contexts for the songs. How well do you recall this satirical masterpiece?
Average, 15 Qns, looney_tunes, Jun 13 09
Average
looney_tunes editor
502 plays
5.
  Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag"   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
"The Vatican Rag" is a humorous take on the impact of Vatican II on the everyday life of members of the Roman Catholic Church in the 1960s. The more familiar you are with traditional rituals, the funnier it is.
Average, 10 Qns, looney_tunes, Oct 05 08
Average
looney_tunes editor
801 plays
6.
  Test yourself! Tom Lehrer Quiz    
Multiple Choice
 20 Qns
Okay, this is my attempt to get together the toughest questions I can muster up on fifties song satirist Tom Lehrer.
Tough, 20 Qns, bleedingwhiterose, Feb 16 12
Tough
bleedingwhiterose
622 plays
7.
  Tom Lehrer Multiple Choice Quiz    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In case you're sick and tired of Weird Al Yankovic quizzes, here's one on 50's satirist Tom Lehrer. Enjoy!
Average, 10 Qns, YowYow, Jan 02 06
Average
YowYow
1322 plays
8.
  The Elements Song    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
A quiz on Tom Lehrer's "Elements Song"! I'll give you some lyrics and two blanks, and you will have to try to fill them in. I will also give non-music related clues for each one. Let's go, good luck!
Average, 10 Qns, qmwne, Jan 10 06
Average
qmwne
440 plays
trivia question Quick Question
With all the changes to established rituals to be kept in mind, what is the first thing you have to do, according to "The Vatican Rag"?

From Quiz "Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag""




Related Topics
  Comedy Music [Music] (45 quizzes)


Tom Lehrer Trivia Questions
1. The show opens with "The Professor's Song", which includes a reference to trying to remember the equation F=-kx. By what name is this law, which describes the extension of a spring when a force is applied to it, known?

From Quiz The Physical Revue Featuring Tom Lehrer

Answer: Hooke's Law

Tom Lehrer wrote the lyrics to this song, but used a tune from Gilbert and Sullivan (a favourite source of his) called "If You Give Me Your Attention", found in the operetta "Princess Ida". In the lyrics, the 'student' debates over whether the law is linear, quadratic or cubic, then remembers the need for a negative sign. In words, Hooke's Law states that the force tending to restore the spring to its original position is equal in magnitude to the amount by which the spring has been stretched (x) multiplied by a constant (k) whose value depends on the spring under consideration. The law applies to any elastic material, such as a spring, as long as the stretching force does not extend it too far - when the spring deforms, the law fails.

2. The songs on the album "That Was the Year That Was" were originally written to be performed on an American television show. What was its name?

From Quiz That Was Tom Lehrer's Year That Was

Answer: That Was the Week That Was

"That Was the Week That Was", often referred to as TW3, was a satirical television show featuring David Frost which originally aired on the BBC in 1962 and 1963. The American version ran on NBC from January 1964 to May 1965. Tom Lehrer was a regular guest, producing pieces of topical humor. He included these songs in his live performances, and recorded the album "That Was the Year That Was" during a concert at the hungry i in San Francisco during July of 1865.

3. According to the (humorous!) introduction to "The Vatican Rag" on the album "That Was the Year That Was", what was the Second Vatican Council trying to accomplish?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag"

Answer: make the church more commercial

As he says in the introduction to the song: "Another big news story of year concerned the ecumenical council in Rome, known as Vatican II. Among the things they did in an attempt to make the church more commercial was to introduce the vernacular into portions of the mass to replace Latin, and to widen somewhat the range of music permissible in the liturgy, but I feel that if they really want to sell the product, in this secular age, what they ought to do is to redo some of the liturgical music in popular song forms. I have a modest example here. It's called "The Vatican Rag"."

4. "It's simply the names of the chemical elements set to a possibly recognizable tune." The Elements Song is to the tune of a song from what Gilbert and Sullivan light opera?

From Quiz The Elements Song

Answer: The Pirates of Penzance

Yes, it's from "The Pirates of Penzance", specifically from "The Major-General's Song".

5. Tom Lehrer attended which university?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer

Answer: Harvard

He both taught and studied at Harvard, though you really wouldn't think it from "Fight Fiercely Harvard" and "Bright College Days", which shine no more sympathetic light upon his opinion of the place!

6. Tom wrote a dainty, non-violent fight song for which college?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer

Answer: Harvard

'Fight fiercely, Harvard, fight fight fight, impress them with our prowess, do... Oh how we'll celebrate our victory, we shall invite the whole team out for tea, how jolly!' -Tom Lehrer

7. With all the changes to established rituals to be kept in mind, what is the first thing you have to do, according to "The Vatican Rag"?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag"

Answer: Get down on your knees

On entering a church, it is traditional to genuflect (get down on your knees and bow your head) in deference to the image of the crucified Christ that is usually to be seen above the altar. After being seated, one might choose to recite a rosary, which would involve touching each bead of your rosary in order as the appropriate prayer is recited.

8. "There's antimony, arsenic, _______, selenium, And hydrogen and oxygen and _______ and rhenium;" Clue (blank 1): A lightweight metal often used in aircraft. Clue (blank 2): This composes most of our atmosphere.

From Quiz The Elements Song

Answer: Aluminum; Nitrogen

Aluminum is often alloyed to create a lightweight but resilient metal used in making aircraft and other things. Nitrogen composes 78% of our atmosphere.

9. In his hunting song, what does Tom tie to his fender?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer

Answer: Two Game Wardens, Seven Hunters, and a Cow

'I tied them to my fender, and I drove them home somehow, two game wardens, seven hunters, and a cow.'

10. According to "The Vatican Rag", behavior inside a church is becoming less prescribed. Under what conditions can you do whatever steps you want?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag"

Answer: If you have cleared them with the pontiff

This seems to be a reference to the introduction of liturgical dance as a part of church services, one of the 'radical' innovations of the Second Vatican Council. For many older parishioners, this type of change had a far more immediate impact on their lives than the more theologically revolutionary changes introduced by Vatican II.

11. "And nickel, neodynium, neptunium, germanium, And ______, americium, ruthenium, ______;" Clue (blank 1): If you add carbon to this, it becomes steel. Clue (blank 2): A radioactive metal used in certain types of weapons.

From Quiz The Elements Song

Answer: Iron; Uranium

Iron and carbon makes steel, which is stronger than each of them would be alone (a fine example of synergy). Uranium, of course, is used in nuclear weapons.

12. "The Elements" takes its tune from which opera?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer

Answer: The Pirates of Penzance

From "Songs and More songs by Tom Lehrer" is the major general's song from "The Pirates of Penzance" by Gilbert and Sullivan. The words of its last line were true as of the date of recording, but presumably will not remain so for long.

13. In his song, 'My Hometown', Tom mentions the 'fellow... that taught our Sunday School... and the kindly Parson Brown'. What did they do?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer

Answer: He doesn't say

'That fellow was no fool who taught our Sunday school, and neither was the kindly Parson Brown... you know, I'd better leave this part out just to be on the safe side, in my hometown...' -Tom Lehrer

14. "The Derivative Song" describes what is usually known as Newton's Method for finding the derivative of a function. What branch of mathematics is concerned with differentiation?

From Quiz The Physical Revue Featuring Tom Lehrer

Answer: Calculus

"The Derivative Song" has words by Tom Lehrer, set to the tune "There'll Be Some Changes Made", by W. Benton Overstreet. The song is sung in the revue by Robert H. Welker, accompanying himself on the guitar. If you can follow it, the song actually has a very nice summary of the process! Also, note the apt title of the tune he 'borrowed'.

15. The verbal aspects of the traditional Roman Catholic Mass are also shown to be changing dramatically. What does "The Vatican Rag" urge everyone to say?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag"

Answer: His own Kyrie Eleison

These are all traditional names for common prayers in the Roman Catholic church. "Kyrie eleison" is Greek for "Lord have mercy", a prayer that forms part of the prayers of intercession. "Mea culpa" is Latin for "by my own fault", a part of the rite of confession. "Agnus Dei" is Latin for "Lamb of God", a prayer that asks for the forgiveness of our sins. "Pater Noster" is Latin for "Our Father", also known as "The Lord's Prayer." As a result of Vatican II, services started to be said in the vernacular instead of the traditional Latin (with touches of Greek). Hence, everybody can say them in their own languages.

16. Who did Agnes "Get it" from?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer

Answer: Jim

From "I got it from Agnes": "I got it from Agnes, she got it from Jim, we all agree itmust have been Louise who gave it to him".

17. This show features a performance of a song that Lehrer later released in solo performance, "Lobachevsky". According to this song, what is the secret of success in the world of physics? It's not allowed here at FunTrivia.

From Quiz The Physical Revue Featuring Tom Lehrer

Answer: plagiarism

Do not take this as good advice! According to the lyrics, nothing succeeds like plagiarism: "Plagiarize, Let no one else's work evade your eyes, Remember why the good lord made your eyes, So don't shade your eyes, But plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize - Only be sure always to call it please 'research'." According to Lehrer, he has used several different Russian phrases to embellish this song over the years, all of which he was taught to pronounce by Munro Edmonson during this time. They include Russian translations of 'once there was a king who had a pet flea' and 'now I go [or I must go] where even the Tsar goes on foot (a reference to the toilet).'

18. According to "The Vatican Rag", what do you do after you 'get in line in that processional'?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag"

Answer: Step into that small confessional

The sacrament of penance (formerly known as confession) was traditionally carried out in a confessional - a small booth with two sides divided by a screen so that the priest hearing the confession could not see the confessor. The penance required to show sincere contrition and make one eligible for absolution may well have involved more rosaries, genuflection and head bowing, but that is not the stage described in the song. The image conjured in the song of a conga line approaching the confessional suggests a rather frivolous interpretation of events!

19. Who did Daniel "Give it" to?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer

Answer: His Spaniel

"She gave it to Daniel, whose Spaniel has it now"

20. From what object did Tom drink wine in the song 'Weinerschnizel Waltz'?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer

Answer: A shoe

'I drank some champagne from your shoe, la-da-da... little did I know as I raised that cup, it took three bottles to fill the thing up...' -Tom Lehrer

21. Tom Lehrer's song "The Elements" is a patter song, to the tune of "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General", written by Gilbert and Sullivan for their show "The Pirates of Penzance". How many elements does Lehrer include in the song?

From Quiz The Physical Revue Featuring Tom Lehrer

Answer: 102

Remember, this song was being performed in January of 1951, and there have been more elements discovered since then. This was foreshadowed by Lehrer in the closing lines of the song: "These are the only ones of which the news has come to Ha'vard, And there may be many others, but they haven't been discavard." The misspelling of Harvard and discovered is intended to reflect the way they were sung in order to produce a rhyme.

22. Still considering the rite of penance as described in "The Vatican Rag", what will 'the guy who's got religion' tell you?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag"

Answer: If your sin's original

The guy who's got religion is a reference to the priest who conducts the rite of penance. Apparently, ordinary churchgoers do not have religion (or at least, not as much). Actually, the concept of Original Sin is not usually relevant for the rite of penance - mortal and venial sins are of more common concern in the context of confession. A mortal sin leads to much more severe consequences than a venial sin. The traditional Seven Deadly Sins are pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth.

23. And who did their dentist "Get it" from?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer

Answer: They don't know

"Our dentist even got it and we're still wondering how."

24. Who did Tom 'get it' from?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer

Answer: Agnes

'I got it from Agnes, she got it from Jim, we all agree it must have been Louise who gave it to him...' -Tom Lehrer

25. From what stage musical does the song which Tom Lehrer adapted for "A Litre and a Gram" come?

From Quiz The Physical Revue Featuring Tom Lehrer

Answer: Guys and Dolls

The tune is that of "A Bushel and a Peck", by Frank Loesser, from the show "Guys and Dolls". As the first verse tells us, "I love you, a liter and a gram A liter and a gram, and it's crazy that I am, A meter and a yard, and a Newton and a Watt, A Newton and a Watt, and I wanna know a lot about you, about you." A liter (or litre) is a metric unit of volume, while the gram is a metric unit of mass. The rest of the song includes reference to many different common units used in making physical measurements, both metric and Imperial - poundal, dyne, foot-pound, erg, joule, calorie, centigrade, Fahrenheit.

26. Where does Tom Lehrer not suggest one might "Get it"?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer

Answer: The street

"You might get it at the pub or in the club or in the loo and if you will be my friend then I might- mind you I said might give it to you!" If anyone has anything other than my sordid speculations to suggest as to what "It" is I would be very grateful!

27. "There's a Delta for Every Epsilon" describes the conditions governing whether or not a function has a limit at a given point, and bemoans the fact that poor Epsilon only gets a Delta under what condition?

From Quiz The Physical Revue Featuring Tom Lehrer

Answer: Epsilon is positive

The first step of describing how to find the limit of a function traditionally starts with words something like "for every epsilon greater than zero there exists a delta such that ..." - this is called an epsilon-delta definition. The song asks for our sympathy for all those negative epsilons out there.

28. Moving on through the service, where does "The Vatican Rag" recommend that you should make a cross?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag"

Answer: On your abdomen

Actually, the chest is a more usual place for making the sign of the cross, but it doesn't rhyme nicely. Before the reading from the Gospel in a service, it is usual to cross one's forehead, lips and chest, indicating the desire to open the mind to understand, the mouth to praise and the heart to feel the message that is about to be heard.

29. "There's sulfur, californium, and fermium, _______; And also mendelevium, einsteinium, nobelium; And argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc and rhodium, And chlorine, carbon, cobalt, copper, tungsten, tin, and sodium!"

From Quiz The Elements Song

Answer: Berkelium

The college is University of California - Berkeley.

30. What metaphor does Tom use to describe life in 'Bright College Days'?

From Quiz Tom Lehrer

Answer: razor blade

'Soon we will be sliding down the razor blade of life... eww...' -Tom Lehrer

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Last Updated Oct 25 2025 5:50 AM
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