The Big Quiz of 2006

By Theunis Bates, Jeff Chu, Clayton Neuman

1 Which Bush Administration official turned out to be journalist Robert Novak's primary source in the Valerie Plame leak? A Karl Rove

B Richard Armitage

C Dick Cheney

D "Scooter" Libby

2 In November, Gerald Ford became the longest-lived U.S. President in history. Whose record did he beat?

3 At the ASEAN summit talent show in July, Condoleezza Rice performed a piano sonata by which composer, saying that it reflected the "somber" mood in the world? A Mahler

B Brahms

C Beethoven

D Bach

4 Where was President Bush when he wore this outfit? And what was the occasion?

5 What was Vice President Dick Cheney hunting when he accidentally shot a friend in the face in February? A Grouse

B Deer

C Duck

D Quail

6 What did South Africa become the fifth nation in the world--and the first in Africa--to legalize this fall? A Euthanasia

B Gay marriage

C Marijuana

D Polygamy

7 What were Kuwaiti women allowed to do for the first time on June 29 this year?

8 A Danish newspaper's decision to publish cartoons of what historical figure led to a wave of violent protests from Indonesia to India?

9 Each of these leaders headed a country that joined the U.S.-led "coalition of the willing" against Iraq in 2003. Which one ...

A Was re-elected in 2006?

B Lost re-election in 2006?

C Left office after his term ended in 2006?

[ ] Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

[ ] Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi

[ ] Colombian President Alvaro Uribe

10 What milestone did the Dow Jones industrial average pass for the first time in October?

11 Which of the following celebrities was arrested in 2006? (There may be more than one correct answer.) A Mel Gibson

B Wesley Snipes

C Haley Joel Osment

D Nicole Richie

12 What film won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Picture?

13 Which famous name was the most-searched-for term on Yahoo! in 2006? A Britney Spears

B Lindsay Lohan

C Pamela Anderson

D Donald Rumsfeld

14 Gardasil, a new vaccine approved this year, prevents 70% of the cases of what kind of cancer? A Prostate

B Breast

C Cervical

D Ovarian

15 The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season--the most active in recorded history--actually lasted into 2006. What was the name of the season's last storm, which finally petered out on Jan. 6? A Alpha

B Omega

C Zeta

D Yanni

16 What computer part did Sony recall 9.6 million of this summer, after it started spontaneously combusting?

17 What unusual visitor floating in the Thames River did thousands of Londoners flock to see in January?

18 What university hit the headlines when members of its lacrosse team were accused of rape?

19 Which nation won last summer's World Cup of soccer in Germany?

20 In which Triple Crown horse race did the Thoroughbred Barbaro suffer a broken leg? A Kentucky Derby

B Preakness Stakes

C Belmont Stakes

Answers: 1) b: Armitage; 2) Ronald Reagan's; 3) b: Brahms; 4) Vietnam & the APEC summit; 5) d: quail; 6) b: gay marriage; 7) vote; 8) the prophet Muhammad; 9) Berlusconi: b; Koizumi: c; Uribe: a; 10) 12,000; 11) a, b, c & d: all these celebs were arrested in 2006; 12) Crash; 13) a: Britney Spears; 14) c: cervical cancer; 15) c: Zeta; 16) battery; 17) a whale; 18) Duke; 19) Italy; 20) B: the Preakness