How Well Do You Know the Year 1955?

The 28th Academy Awards were held in Los Angeles in 1956 and covered films from 1955. The Best Picture Oscar went to a movie about a 34-year old unmarried butcher from New York who finally finds love. The film starred Ernest Borgnine. What movie was this?

• Love is a Many Splendored Thing

• Bedazzled

• Marty

Ray Kroc opened the 9th restaurant in this famous American fast food chain on April 15, 1955. With which fast food chain was Ray Kroc associated?

• McDonald's

• Burger King

• Kentucky Fried Chicken

What is the name of the organization of Communist states that began in 1955 and included USSR, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Albania and Romania?

• Warsaw Pact

• Il Comunista

• Red Army

The year 1955 saw the release of the film "Blackboard Jungle" starring Glenn Ford, Anne Francis and Sidney Poitier about an inner city high school. The film included a Bill Haley and the Comets song that many feel started rock and roll. The same song was used as the first theme for the TV show "Happy Days." What song was it?

• That'll Be the Day

• Rock Around the Clock

• Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On

The year 1955 saw the opening of a theme park on a 160-acre former orange grove in Anaheim, California. The park included Main Street USA, Tomorrowland, Frontierland, Adventureland and Fantasyland. Today there are similar theme parks in Florida, Japan, France and Hong Kong. What is the name of this theme park that opened July 17, 1955?

• Walt Disney World

• Magic Kingdom

• Disneyland

The New York Yankees did not win the World Series in 1955. The team that won was managed by Walt Alston and featured star pitchers Johnny Podres and Don Newcombe and hitters Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges and Pee Wee Reese. Who won the 1955 World Series?

• Brooklyn Dodgers

• Los Angeles Dodgers

• New York Giants

On December 1, 1955 a black woman boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama and took a vacant seat. When a white passenger subsequently boarded, the bus driver ordered the black woman to give up her seat. She refused, thus sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott which then led to the long overdue Civil Rights Movement in the US. Who was this courageous black woman?

• Dorothy Dandridge

• Rosa Parks

• Bessie Coleman

Which hurricane hit the U.S. in 1955, killing 200 people?

• Hurricane Oracle

• Hurricane Diane

• Hurricane Lillian

Who were the NFL Champions in 1955?

• Cleveland Browns

• Pittsburgh Steelers

• New England Patriots

Which of the following was first developed in 1955?

• Microwave oven

• Color television

• Oral contraceptive

Which popular game show made its debut in 1955?

• The $64,000 Question

• Jeopardy

• Hollywood Squares

Which of the following men died in 1955?

• Albert Einstein

• Joseph Stalin

• Humphrey Bogart

What vaccine began to be administered in schools in 1955?

• Chickenpox

• Polio

• Measles

Which actor died in a car crash in 1955?

• James Dean

• Hans Albers

• Clark Gable

April of 1955 saw the British Prime Minister resign for medical reasons. This man served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945, and again from 1951 to 1955. Who was he?

• Winston Churchill

• Harold Macmillan

• Clement Attlee