Sports & Entertainment
Who slapped Chris Rock on live TV at the Oscars?
Will Smith
This WNBA player and Olympic gold medalist is currently serving a 9-year prison sentence for drug smuggling and possession in Russia.
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning British Monarch, died in 2022. How old was she?
96 years old
(she reigned for 70 years)
Hurricane Ian devastated southern Florida when it made landfall in October. It demolished a bridge that cut off access to which island?
Sanibel
The National Toy Hall of Fame honored three new inductees this year. One of them is a toy that has existed for over 2,000 years and has been a childhood staple of cultures in Asia, Europe, Australia and the Americas.
The top.
The other 2 inductees were Lite Brite and Masters of the Universe (muscle bound action figures)
In 2022, the silver screen finally released a sequel to the popular Top Gun movie starring Tom Cruise. What was the name of the blockbuster sequel?
Top Gun Maverick (Or just "Maverick" is an acceptable answer)
An outbreak of Monkeypox began in early May when the first case was reported where?
London, England
(United Kingdom also an acceptable answer)
After a 19-year run, Ellen DeGeneres concluded her daytime talk show this year. Her guest line-up in the final show included someone who happened to be Ellen's very first guest when the show debuted in 2003. Who was that guest?
Jennifer Aniston
The water levels at this lake, the 2nd largest reservoir in the US, have dropped around 100 feet in the last 3 years, triggering a potential energy crisis for millions of people who rely on the lake's dam as a power source.
Lake Powell
(On the Colorado River in UT and AZ; the dam is the Glen Canyon Dam)
In honor of what would've been Betty White's 100th birthday (1/17/22), people joined #TheBettyWhiteChallenge by doing what?
Donating to animal shelters.
Which musical performer and marketing genius made history this year as the first artist with the entire Top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 List?
On 11/15/2022, the global population reached this new height.
8 Billion
Bruce Willis, age 67, permanently stepped away from acting this year. Why?
His health.
He was diagnosed with aphasia which impacts his ability to express or understand spoken or written language.
This animal was almost entirely wiped out of existence in the 19th & 20th centuries, and was one of the 1st species to be protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1970. In 2022, the global population of this animal rebounded from 10,000 to nearly 80,000.
Humpback Whales
What movie won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2022?
CODA (Children of Deaf Adult)
In baseball, who was the American League's MVP this year?
Aaron Judge broke the record for single-season home runs (in the AL) which stood for more than 6 decades, when he hit his 62nd home run against the TX Rangers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a 'special military operation' striking Ukraine's capital of Kyiv--marking the start of the invasion on Ukraine. In what month did this happen?
February
The invasion began the morning of Feb 24th.
Who is Ketanji Brown Jackson?
The first black female U.S. Supreme Court justice
Just last month (November), explorers searching the Atlantic Ocean for World War II artifacts lost at sea stumbled onto something else - a 20-foot long piece of debris from what?
The Space Shuttle Challenger, which was destroyed shortly after take-off in 1986.
Brett Favre was involved in a scandal this year (and still is). He is accused of misusing state welfare funds to build what?
A volleyball facility
(at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi)
The Houston Astros competed against the Philadelphia Phillies to become the 2022 World Series Champions in November. How many games did it take them to secure the series victory?
Six.
Game 6 in Houston on Nov 5, 2022
The 'Mona Lisa' was the subject of an attempted vandalism when a visitor to the world-famous Louvre Museum smeared what all over the painting's protective glass?
Frosting
The Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial was held (and broadcast) from April 11th through June 1st. What complaint did Depp allege against Heard in his lawsuit? (Why was he suing her?)
Defamation.
Depp filed a complaint of defamation claiming $50M in damages; Heard counterclaimed against Depp for $100M in damages. Depp was awarded $10.35M, Heard was awarded $1M.
The world's largest floating wind farm was approved to be built this year. Once completed, it will generate enough power for 927,000 homes. Where will this wind farm be? (Name the body of water or the coastal country)
In the Celtic ('Kel-tik') Sea between Wales and the SW coast of England in the United Kingdom.
No elephants