The Ultimate Pop Culture Quiz

That title is such a lie.  This is a pop culture quiz that worked for the time and setting in which it was administered.  Which was to two of my husband’s underlings at work, ages 24 and 26, who are those people who actually do, when asked, admit that they live under rocks.  The quiz came about, as anything at work tends to do, after some well-intentioned bashing turned into an official challenge.

My husband and I spent our car ride to the beach having more fun than I’ve had in a long time crafting questions in ten categories.  We jumped around from subject to subject, enlisting a bit of help here and there from SCL and AGOMYR.  Then, we settled in one night to finish off the quiz and got in a couple heated debates about the rest of the questions, and whether or not I made the entire Oscar category too girly.  As SCL later told me, we poured our heart and soul into these questions.  As this is my blog, I changed the questions I thought were dumb to ones I liked better (Husband Edit: “All of the Oscar ones”).

I’m posting the categories and questions today and will pop back on Tuesday with answers, because I’m sure you’ll all be itching to check how right you are.

John Mayer’s Ex-Girlfriends

1. When she ended up with John Mayer, she was rebounding from Russell Brand.
2. When she broke up with John Mayer, she rebounded with Derek Jeter.
3. The song, “Your Body is a Wonderland,” is rumored to be about this ex.
4. It’s rumored that Mayer’s relationship with this ex ended because he was tweeting too much.
5. In an interview with Playboy, Mayer referred to this ex as his, “sexual napalm.”

O.S.C.A.R.
(In this category, the answers start with the letters O,S,C,A, and R; but not in that order)

1. After 6 nominations for Best Director, he finally won for The Departed.
2. She won Best Actress that year for her role in Erin Brockovich, but she’s remembered more for her stunning black and white dress.
3. His 1998 Best Picture winner gave us famous lines like, “I’m the king of the world!” and “I’ll never let go.”
4. This character, who gave Vivien Leigh her Best Actress nod, was a flighty Southern Belle, who was crafty enough to wear a dress made from her green drapes.
5. This actor picked up his first Oscar for Best Original Screenplay as a kid, and won for Best Director in 2012.

Is This Real Life?

1. Name the first American Idol.
2. This was the first setting that began the Bravo Real Housewives Empire.
3. Considered the first reality show, this series watched real people with real jobs living their real lives.
4. This reality show’s parting line is, “Please pack your knives and go.”
5. This Kardashian sibling is the one without a K-name.

Earworms

1.  The song “Lose Yourself” won two Grammys and was featured in the soundtrack for this movie.
2. This member of One Direction recently broke apart from the band to launch a solo career.
3. Ben and Jerrys named an ice cream flavor after this Grateful Dead front man.
4. Name 5 Taylor Swift Songs
5. This rapper cut Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech short, and told the world he thought Beyonce should have won a VMA.

Wasn’t He in Harry Potter?
(In this category, I list a role from one movie, and you have to name the role that same actor played in Harry Potter)

1. Hans Gruber
2. Commissioner Gordon (in the Christopher Nolan series)
3. Edward Cullen
4. The Dowager Countess of Grantham
5. Marla Singer

B List Siblings of Famous People
(In this category, you get three things the A-lister is famous for, and you have to name the B-lister)

1. Pearl Harbor, Gone Girl, Dazed and Confused
2. I’m a Slave 4 U, Baby One More Time, Womanizer
3. Boogie Nights, TED, The Fighter
4. Bootylicious, Single Ladies, Crazy in Love
5. 30 Rock, Hunt for Red October, Beetlejuice

Hold On to your Jockstrap

1. Al Michaels uttered these famous words when the US hockey team beat Russia in the 1980 Winter Olympics.
2. Tiger Woods’ ex-wife held this job prior to meeting him.
3. This gymnast broke her ankle in the 1996 Summer Olympics, yet still helped Team USA win gold.
4. Thanks to these two halftime performers, sporting events now run on a slight delay and the term,  “wardrobe malfunction” became part of our vernacular.
5. In his farewell address he told the crowd that he considered himself, “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

Finish the TV Theme Song

1. I want to be the very best, like no one ever was…
2. And I’d like to take a minute, just sit right there…
3. Sunny day, sweeping the clouds away…
4. Sometimes you want to go…
5. If nautical nonsense be something you wish…

Spoiler Alert
(I’m giving you spoilers that are more than 10 years old here, so if you’ve stayed in the dark this long, you’re overdue.  Tell me what I’m spoiling.)

1.  The screen cuts to black as Journey plays, “Don’t Stop Believing.”
2. Joey picks Pacey.
3. Rosebud is the sled.
4. Darth Vader is Luke’s Father.
5. Gwyneth Paltrow’s head ends up in a box.

Potpourri
(I was pushing for Potent Potables to be a category, but there’s nothing innately pop-culture-y about that)

1. These two feuding rappers were shot and killed within 6 months of each other.
2. Every week the TV Guide comes to Chandler and Joey’s apartment.  What name appears on the address label?
3. This is currently the longest running Broadway show.
4. Katniss Everdeen hails from this District.
5. OJ Simpson fled from the police in this vehicle.

Lightning Round
(In this round, the two contestants will go back and forth, each naming one answer, until the other is stumped.  Winner is the one who answers last.)

1.  Name a movie in which Samuel L. Jackson’s character does not die.
2. Name an EGOT winner.
3. Name a Superman villain.
4. Name someone who has played James Bond.
5. Name members of the Simpsons’ family.