About This Quiz
It was more than 50 years ago. 1956 was a tumultuous time in the history of the world.
How much do you remember about it? Did you live through it, or do you possess book knowledge about it?
Both will come in handy in our 1956 Trivia Quiz, a devilish collection of questions that will test your knowledge of just about anything.
In sport, do you know the name of the Czech tennis player who was born in 1956? She went on to win more than 20 Grand Slam titles. Or which team were crowned Major League Baseball champs. Perhaps you know who won the National Football League championship, even though there was no Super Bowl yet.
But there are so many more interesting questions, including records, culture and politics.
For example, who was the United States president in 1956? His vice-president? Which little piece of water almost caused an international flare up and who famously said: "We will bury you!"
Finally, a quote you would have heard many times before. But who actually said 'Live fast, die young, leave a good-looking corpse'?
So what are you waiting for? Each question has four potential answers and a hint for when you are really stumped!
Good luck!
The 16th modern Olympics were held in Melbourne, Australia, between November and December of 1956. These were not only the first Olympics to be held in the Southern Hemisphere but the first held outside of either America or Europe.
Yes, Elvis' TV appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show was watched by practically every American household at the time! It made him a national star and soon-to-be international star.
The New York Yankees downed the Brooklyn Dodgers 4-3 in the World Series of 1956. Don Larsen of the Yankees was named MVP.
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James Dean's star was on the rise in Hollywood and around the world. Not only was he handsome, but he could also act as well! Sadly, life ended in the same way as his quote.
Liquid paper was invented in 1956. The inventor was a secretary named Bette Nesmith Graham and it was originally called 'Mistake Out'.
At the time of his death, Jackson Pollack was one of the foremost artists in America, known for his 'drip' technique. He died in a car crash while driving under the influence of alcohol, less than a mile from his home.
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Although Play-Doh was invented in the 1930s, it really took off in terms of sales in 1956 when it was re-branded with its current name and no longer sold as a wallpaper cleaner!
"Marty" was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning four: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay. Marty was directed by Delbert Mann.
Ernest Borgnine won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in "Marty," which won another three Oscars of the eight nominations it received.
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"I Love Lucy" ran for six seasons from 1951 to 1957. It starred Lucile Ball among others and was extremely popular with the American TV-watching public.
The top-selling single of 1956 was Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel.
The New York Giants blew the Chicago Bears away in the NFL championship final in 1956, winning 47-7.
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Former military man Dwight D. Eisenhower was the U.S. President in 1956. He was in office from 1953 to 1961.
Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the U.S.S.R., famously said these words on November 18, 1956, to a room full of Western diplomats, who then left the room. At that point, the Cold War got a little frostier!
Unbelievably, this was an option on some Chrysler models in 1956. Obviously, however, it was not practical and fell away the following year.
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Color television was a fairly new technology in 1956, so NBC introduced a multi-colored peacock to its logo to show it off!
Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco on April 18, 1956. A true fairytale... Hollywood marrying royalty!
For the Prince who has everything... yes, they had to pay $2 million so Grace could marry into royalty. Incredible.
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Yes, the 305 RAMAC computer had its own 5 megabyte hard drive! The drive weighed just over a ton.
Many consider Rocky Marciano to be the greatest fighter ever and with that record, its not difficult to see why.
Marciano won 43 fights by knockout. That's an incredible 87 percent.
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The trouble began when Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser chose to nationalize the Suez Canal. He was attempting to find funds to build the Aswan Dam and because the U.S. and Britain would not help out, he thought that tolling ships that passed through the canal could help provide some cash. It led to a major international crisis.
The Philadelphia Warriors easily claimed the NBA finals in 1956, beating the Fort Wayne Pistons in 4-1 games.
The Eurovision Song Contest is a singing competition held between European nations. Only seven nations participated in the first contest. Lys Assia from Switzerland won.
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Richard Nixon was Eisenhower's running mate in the 1956 elections. The pair won easily, securing 57.4 percent of the vote over Adlai Stevenson.
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille, "The Ten Commandments" also starred Charleton Heston as Moses. It was the most expensive film ever made at the time and was a huge success.
"As The World Turns" ran for 54 years. It was also the first serial program to air for 30 minutes, up from the normal 15 minutes. Many well-known stars acted in the series, including Meg Ryan.
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An adaption of the play, "Pygmalion," by George Bernard Shaw, "My Fair Lady" starred Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews. It ran until 1962 for a total of 2,717 shows.
Flying a Fairey Delta 2, Peter Twiss not only reached 1,000 mph, he went on to clock 1,132 mph.
A 20-year project, the Federal Aid Highway Act saw highways built to link all the states in the U.S. Estimated costs were around $30 billion for the 41,000 miles of highway.
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With the explosion in the popularity of rock 'n roll, thanks to the likes of Elvis, a new dance craze also took off!
Pakistan became an independent country in 1947 and by 1956, was declared an Islamic country.
Flying a Bell X-2, Milburn Apt became the first person to exceed Mach 3. Unfortunately, he lost control of the aircraft and died in the resulting crash.
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Bikini Atoll was the designated site for nuclear tests by the United States between 1946 and 1958.