I see you up there (U2/Spy planes)
Who was the American pilot who was captured by Russian when his U2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union?
a) Francis Gary Powers
b) Chuck Yeager
c) Buzz Aldrin
d) Neil Armstrong
a) Francis Gary Powers (Shot down in 1960)
When did America test the first Hydrogen Bomb?
a) 1948
b) 1952
c) 1959
d) 1964
b) 1952 - The first test took place in 1952 on a small Pacific Island by the Marshall Islands. The explosion, nicknamed the “Mike Shot”, was very successful.
What Year Was The Berlin Wall Put Up?
a) October 21, 1945
b) August 13, 1961
c) August 16, 1976
d) December 7, 1978
b) August 13, 1961
Why can't people see stars in any of the moon landing photos?
a) Sunlight reflecting off the moon washed them out
b) They forgot to put the stars in the photos when they filmed the moon landing in a Hollywood basement
c) A quick exposure of a camera can't capture stars
d) They were on the dark side of the moon
c) A quick exposure of a camera can't capture stars
Which object was modified to hide microfilm?
a) Belt buckle
b) Hat
c) Hollow coin
d) Shoe sole
c) Hollow coin
What was the Bay of Pigs?
a) A failed invasion of Venezuela by America
b) A failed invasion of Cuba by America
c) A failed invasion of Honduras by America
d) A name of a horrible dating website
b) A failed invasion of Cuba by America
What did the American government do when it learned that Francis Gary Powers was captured by Russia?
a) Lied to the American public and Russia saying a weather plane accidentally strayed off course
b) Threatened Russia with war if they did not release our pilot
c) Immediately attempted to get Powers back with the idea of a prisoner swap of a KGB general
d) The CIA lied to the president stating no U2 plane was shot down
a) Lied to the American public and Russia saying a weather plane accidentally strayed off course
Roughly how many nuclear bombs did America have during the Cold War?
a) 4,000
b) 9,000
c) 23,000
d) 32,000
d) 32,000 nuclear warheads (1966)
Russia had close to 40,00 (1988)
What happened when a successful escape occurred?
a) They never had anyone successful escape over the Berlin Wall.
b) The never added soldiers to the barriers to reinforce it, but accepted people might excape.
c) Guards on duty who were responsible for letting someone escape were killed by the communist government.
d) Border soldiers and pioneer units added temporary, individual barriers to a specific site behind the border wall.
d) Border soldiers and pioneer units added temporary, individual barriers to a specific site behind the border wall.
Why was the US flag flapping if there is no wind in space?
a) The fan in the basement of the filming location was accidentally left on
b) There was a rod put along the top of the flag to keep it out for pictures
c) The flag was made of plastic so it would not flop down
d) The flag was actually not flapping, but NASA later photoshopped it to be more patriotic
b) There was a rod put along the top of the flag to keep it out for pictures
In the Cold War, what were ‘Dead Drops’ in the world of spying?
a) A spot to drop a dead body after an assassination
b) A secret codeword for a woman who would spy for Russian to trick men into giving up information
c) A safe house where the CIA could interrogate captured enemies
d) A secret location where a spy could drop information for his or her handler
d) A secret location where a spy could drop information for his or her handler
Why was it called the Bay of Pigs?
a) It was a disaster and American soldiers were slaughtered like pigs when they were caught off guard
b) American soldiers invaded on the Cuban coast known as Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs)
c) Cuban pig farmers were used as spies and gave information to American soldiers
d) It is a famous bay with a rare pigfish that inhabits the waters
b) American soldiers invaded on the Cuban coast known as Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs)
Why was the CIA upset with Gary Powers when he was shot down over the Soviet Union?
a) Upset that he did not activate the anti-missile defenses on his plane
b) Upset that he did not increase his altitude to avoid getting shot down
c) Upset he did not activate self-destruct button and take his suicide pill
d) Upset he did not hit self-destruct button on the film canisters on the plane as he was going down
c) Upset he did not activate self-destruct button and take his suicide pill
What is the largest nuclear bomb America ever tested?
a) Upshot-Knothole
b) Operation Redwing
c) Castle Bravo Test
d) Hardtack 1
c) Castle Bravo Test - 1954 test on Bikini Atoll. They thought it would yield the equivalent of 5 million tons of TNT, but, in fact, "Bravo" yielded 15 megatons - making it more than a thousand times bigger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
How long was the Berlin Wall? (City limits of Berlin)
a) 4 Miles
b) 12 Miles
c) 27 Miles
d) 36 Miles
c) 27 Miles 27 Miles (City Limits) Close to 100 Miles into countryside
Why can't we see Armstrong's camera in the reflection of the picture?
a) Hollywood forgot to put a camera in his hands when faking (I mean filming) the moon landing
b) It was the wrong angle to see a camera
c) The camera was mounted on his suit and is in the photo
d) The curve on the glass of his space helmet makes it hard to see the camera due to distortion
c) The camera was mounted on his suit and is in the photo
The CIA used suicide glasses in case of capture. Which drug was hidden in ear pieces?
a) Cyanide
b) Meth
c) Hemlock
d) Snake Venom
a) Cyanide
Why did American attempt to invade Cuba?
a) Overthrow Fidel Castro
b) Remove Soviet nuclear weapons
c) Reopen mafia casinos
d) The CIA was bored and needed something to do
a) Overthrow Fidel Castro
During the Cold War, in the 1980s, US president Ronald Reagan introduced a new program that he hoped would be able to shoot down Russian missiles. What was the nickname of this weapon system?
a) Star Trek
b) Star Wars
c) Space Pew Pew
d) Russian Missile Containment System
b) Star Wars
What year was the most active for nuclear testing?
a) 1951
b) 1962
c) 1977
d) 1984
b) 1962 - The peak of nuclear testing came in 1962, with 178 detonations in a single year. To put that in perspective, that's one nuclear explosion every two days, sustained for an entire year. The U.S. conducted 96 tests and the Soviet Union conducted 78.
What were Wall-Peckers? (a Berlin Wall term relating to Wood-Peckers)
a) People who broke pieces of the wall to keep as souvenirs
b) People who attempted to break through the wall, but were arrested
c) Family members who were arrested for helping their family members escape through the Berlin Wall by providing them tools like hammers/chisels
d) People in East Berlin who lived in taller apartment buildings who could see over the wall into West Berlin (like a bird living in a tree)
a) People who broke pieces of the wall to keep as souvenirs.
Why does it appear the shadows are ‘off’ or wrong in the moon landing photos?
a) Without an atmosphere, light diffusion is different than on earth and the moon is a highly reflective with uneven topography
b) Lamps in the Hollywood basement was put in wrong place
c) The sun was having a solar flare during this time
d) Lights from the space capsule caught light from the sun causing reflections that make the shadows are wrong
a) Without an atmosphere, light diffusion is different than on earth and the moon is a highly reflective with uneven topography
What clothing item was commonly used as a spy gadget that concealed a radio transmitter?
a) Shoe
b) Belt
c) Wrist watch
d) Hat
a) Shoe
Why was the Bay of Pigs such a failed mess when we tried to invade Cuba?
a) We landed in marshy bogs where our guys got pinned down
b) The CIA used obsolete WW2 planes that missed their bombing targets before the invasion
c) American forces quickly became outnumbered when Castro quickly mobilized 20,000 soldiers to meet our guys
d) When the president ordered additional air support, the fighter pilots showed up an hour late as they were confused by the time zone difference (and were shot down anyhow)
e) All of the above are true (no way?)
e) All of the above are true (no way?)
What made the SR-71 Blackbird difficult to shoot down?
a) It had heavy armor plating that enemy weapons could not penetrate
b) It was highly maneuverable and could fly in circles, which would make missiles fly past it
c) It had advanced laser systems that would intercept and shoot down incoming missiles
d) It could fly extremely fast and at a extremely high altitude of 85,000 feet above the earth
d) It could fly extremely fast and at a extremely high altitude of 85,000 feet above the earth
Roughly how many countries have nuclear weapons today?
a) 4
b) 7
c) 9
d) 13
c) 9 United States, Russia, France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea
How many people died trying to escape over, under or through the Berlin Wall?
a) Less than 10
b) Roughly 40
c) Over 100
d) Well Over 1,000
c) Over 100 Over 100 (numbers vary by websites) - 140 to 327
When looking at the photos of the Apollo 11 spacecraft landing location, critics ask why the moon dust is not disturbed by spacecraft thrusters as it landed?
a) Due to low gravity on the moon the thrusters only had 1.5psi of thrust so no moon dust was stirred up
b) The moon dust was stirred up but settled back down when the photo was taken
c) There is no moon dust, it is mostly solid rock
d) Hollywood props department lowered the spacecraft down using ropes and pulleys as they did not actually use a real rocket engine in the basement when filming
a) Due to low gravity on the moon the thrusters only had 1.5psi of thrust so no moon dust was stirred up
Spies, Julius & Ethel Rosenburg, were sentenced and put to death by America for giving Russia what knowledge during the Cold War?
a) Knowledge how to build Atomic Bombs
b) Knowledge how to build Jet Engines
c) Knowledge how to build Spy Satellites
d) Knowledge how to build Computers
a) Knowledge how to build Atomic Bombs
After the Bay of Pigs invasion, what did America give to Cuba in exchange for the prisoners?
a) One million dollars in cash
b) Reassurance we would not invade Cuba again
c) Baby Food & Medicine
d) 15,000 New Ford/Chevy Automobiles
c) Baby Food & Medicine