The Bathtub: Emily's Trivia Quiz: Steal their Soul in South Korea, Make Antarctica Cry Uncle

I love traveling. I've been to many amazing places and seen lots of incredible sights. But you don't want to hear about that. Because, as much as I would love to, I cannot really quiz you on my life. Regardless, as a child from Montgomery County, I spent most of my afternoons after elementary school at planned activities. Ballet on Tuesdays, Girl Scouts on Wednesdays and piano lessons on Fridays. (I hope you're taking notes for that future quiz on me.) But on Monday and Thursday? Straight to the TV for some quality time with PBS. That jet setting Carmen Sandiego had it right! She got to spend all of her time traveling to exotic locales, meeting interesting V.I.L.E. henchmen with punnish names and taking the loot! Plus, like none of those kids were fast enough to figure out where to put those flag thingies at the end of the game, which means she probably got away for yet another heist. Now, instead of a lame geography quiz (which I would have totally LOVED), is a quiz on our favorite international crime ringleader. Go get 'em gumshoes!

1. The a Capella group Rockapella (don't worry, I got the cassette for my birthday and still have it somewhere in my possession) had to change some of the song lyrics to the theme song in 1993. Why?
a. There was a bad word in the lyrics that the producers didn't catch for the first 2 years
b. Catholic groups protested the fact that the Vatican wasn't in the song
c. The Iron Curtain finally fell in Eastern Europe
d. There weren't enough "doowop dup dup eh doowops"

c. "Czechoslovakia" became "Czech and Slovakia" in the song since the former Communist country became two separate states.

2. Who was Carmen Sandiego the "spokesperson" for in Spring 1998?
a. The Association of International Crime Ringleaders
b. The Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City
c. The International Association of Independent Travel Agents
d. Amtrak

d. Carmen Sandiego was the "spokesperson" for Amtrak Spring 1998

3. What does the "V.I.L.E." in V.I.L.E. henchmen stand for?
a. Venomous Illegal Liars Evolving
b. Virtuous Interesting Longitudinal Educators
c. Villains' International League of Evil
d. Virulent Isotopes Leaving Exponentially

c. Duh, mine are stupid

4. On the original 1985 computer game (which is what I had, so I assume you all did too), which of the following cities can you NOT go?
a. Reykjavík, Iceland
b. Kathmandu, Nepal
c. Jerusalem, Israel
d. Kigali, Rwanda

c. Jerusalem, Israel. Just for the record, here are the cities you could travel to: Buenos Aires, Argentina; Sydney, Australia; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Montreal, Canada; Peking, China; Moroni, Comoros; Cairo, Egypt; Paris, France; Athens, Greece; Budapest, Hungary; Reykjavík, Iceland; New Delhi, India; Baghdad, Iraq; Rome, Italy; Tokyo, Japan; Bamako, Mali; Mexico City, Mexico; Kathmandu, Nepal; Oslo, Norway; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; Lima, Peru; Kigali, Rwanda; San Marino, San Marino; Singapore; Moskow, Soviet Union; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Bangkok, Thailand; Istanbul, Turkey; London, United Kingdom; New York, United States.

For an extra bonus point, be the first to comment below with a) places on that list that don't exist anymore by that name; and b) places on that list you really don't want to be today. (Approximately June 2007).

5. Why wasn't anyone we grew up with on WiWiCS?*
a. All the contestants were child actors
b. None of your friends were smart enough
c. To be a contestant, you must be a card carrying member of ACME
d. Contestants had to be residents of the New York City region

d. All contestants had to be from the New York region, *so if you're reading this question and your response is "uhh my friend from third grade was totally on the show." my guess is you are from New York City or its environs and you're an idiot for not taking the chance to be on the show.

6. What disclaimer did they have to add to the reruns of the show's first season?
a. Do not adjust your television sets, these kids really don't know where any of the European countries are
b. All geographic information was accurate as of the date this program was recorded
c. Contestants on this show are residents of the greater New York City tri-state region
d. If you see any V.I.L.E. henchmen in your neighborhood, please notify an adult immediately

That's the cover of the cassette I have. It came with CD liner notes though.

b. The first season was taped in 1991. The Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991. This made many of the geographical facts totally wrong in subsequent years, so they wanted to make sure people knew. This is also why my world placemat, puzzle, globe, and atlases from my childhood are totally wack. But I love them because they're retro and they'll be totally sweet when I'm a professor and can show my students how crazy big the U.S.S.R. was when I was a wee child.

7. On the one celebrity edition of the show, who were the celebrities?
a. Jeremy Miller (Growing Pains), Mayim Bialik (Blossom), and Tatyana Ali (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air).
b. Bill Nye (Bill Nye the Science Guy), Sherri Lewis (Lamb Chop's Play-Along), Bob (Sesame Street)
c. Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Saved by The Bell), Jodie Sweetin (Full House), Jaleel White (Family Matters)
d. Danica McKellar (The Wonder Years), Tracey Gold (Growing Pains), Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)