13. The American television show "Silver Spoons" included a joke delivered by Ricky Schroder towards the Soviet leader. What leader's name provided the punchline to the following joke?
"Hey Yuri, why don't you walk up to a cliff, _________"
From Quiz Quit Laughing--I Am Your Leader
Answer:
Andropov
Yes, it's a corny joke, but then most of the jokes from "Silver Spoons" were. Yuri Andropov's brief rule in the Soviet Union was actually very interesting for the Western World. On one hand, he was a former KGB leader, seemingly as hardline as his predecessors Khrushchev and Brezhnev. On the other hand, he may be best remembered for his exchange of letters with a 10-year old American girl, Samantha Smith.
Dear Mr. Andropov,
My name is Samantha Smith. I am ten years old. Congratulations on your new job. I have been worrying about Russia and the United States getting into a nuclear war. Are you going to vote to have a war or not? If you aren't please tell me how you are going to help to not have a war. This question you do not have to answer, but I would like to know why you want to conquer the world or at least our country. God made the world for us to live together in peace and not to fight.
Sincerely,
Samantha Smith
Dear Samantha,
I received your letter, which is like many others that have reached me recently from your country and from other countries around the world.
It seems to me - I can tell by your letter - that you are a courageous and honest girl, resembling Becky, the friend of Tom Sawyer in the famous book of your compatriot Mark Twain. This book is well known and loved in our country by all boys and girls.
[Most of the letter is omitted here in the interest of brevity.]
We want peace - there is something that we are occupied with: growing wheat, building and inventing, writing books and flying into space. We want peace for ourselves and for all peoples of the planet. For our children and for you, Samantha.
I invite you, if your parents will let you, to come to our country, the best time being this summer. You will find out about our country, meet with your contemporaries, visit an international children's camp - Artek - on the sea. And see for yourself: in the Soviet Union, everyone is for peace and friendship among peoples.
Thank you for your letter. I wish you all the best in your young life.
Y. Andropov