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Growing up in North Carolina, my family took home delivery of The Charlotte Observer, which for years published “Strictly Personal,” a syndicated column by Chicago-based journalist Sydney J. Harris. I became a fan of Harris’ writing, particularly a recurring feature titled “Things I Learned En Route to Looking Up Other Things.”

In the spirit of those columns, I assembled a trivia quiz in 2018 for Occidental magazine—a collection of 49 questions with the intention of sharing random bits of ɫ����Ƶ history that might not otherwise make it into print. We weren’t keeping score, but one reader bravely shared their results: “five right, three lucky guesses, and 41 wrongs.”

Six years later, here’s a summer sequel of sorts—30 new questions, again in six categories, and perhaps a bit easier than the original. So, sharpen your pencils, and share your results by email to oxymag@oxy.edu. We’ll send a retro ɫ����Ƶ spirit shirt to a winner selected at random from responses received by Friday, September 20.

Round 1: ɫ����Ƶ History

1. The word “occidental” means “relating to the western part of the world, especially the countries of Europe and America.” Put these four entities in the order of their founding:
A) ɫ����Ƶ
B) Occidental Petroleum
C) Occidental, California
D) OxiClean detergent and stain remover

2. Two months after the release of her first No. 1 album, Heart Like a Wheel, Linda Ronstadt performed at Thorne Hall on January 10, 1975. What was the cost of a ticket for ɫ����Ƶ students?
A) $1.50
B) $2.75
C) $4.00
D) Admission was free

3. After receiving an honorary degree from Occidental in 1990, Desmond Tutu was photographed at Disneyland wearing an ɫ����Ƶ sweatshirt standing next to what Disney icons? 
A) Mickey and Minnie 
B) Chip ’n’ Dale
C) Britney and Justin
D) Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too 

4. Presidential pets have long been part of the ɫ����Ƶ community (including President Elam's cats, Oswald and Leland). What was the name of Remsen Bird’s beloved canine companion?
A) Cookie
B) Roxy
C) Meg
D) Lady

5. What is the secret to Oswald the tiger looking so damn young?
A) He washes his fur with OxiClean
B) He walks three miles around the track every day
C) He’s been an adherent of The Zone diet since 1995
D) No one really knows—he never talks

Round 2: Academics

6. Occidental’s Theater and Performance Studies Department has gone by numerous names since its creation in 1923. Which came first?
A) Theater Arts and Rhetoric
B) Speech Education
C) Speech and Drama
D) Theater and Film

7. Resident Professor of Theater Jamie Angell, who stepped away from the classroom this spring after 33 years, recently served as story editor for what Netflix animated series?
A) Big Mouth
B) F for Family
C) Disenchantment
D) Inside Job

8. Professor of History Maryanne Horowitz retired from ɫ����Ƶ this spring after 51 years at the College. Which of the following is not the title of one of her many published articles?
A) “Aristotle and Women”
B) “Judaism in Jean Bodin”
C) “Complementary Methodologies in the History of Ideas”
D) “Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day”

9. Everyone knows Economics Professor Emeritus A.H. Studenmund as "Woody." What does the “A” stand for?
A) Arnold
B) Adam
C) Andrew 
D) Arthur

10. Zachary Silver, who joined the Occidental faculty last fall as an assistant professor of psychology, is undertaking which of the following at the College?
A) A study of the migration patterns of urban coyotes
B) The creation of a canine cognition lab
C) A survey of second-screen usage watching TV at home
D) The effects of pizza consumption among ɫ����Ƶ squirrels

Round 3: Athletics

11. “Playoffs?” NFL coaching great Jim Mora ’57 recently appeared with comedian Kevin Hart in an ad for which sports-betting service?
A) Caesars Sportsbook
B) DraftKings
C) FanDuel
D) BetMGM

12. The women's basketball team went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 13 years in March, led by sharp-shooting senior Toni Thompson. What was her senior high for points in a single game?
A) 37 points
B) 38 points 
C) 41 points
D) 42 points

13. A triple threat in basketball, softball, and volleyball, Nadine Felix Guest made her biggest impact on the basketball court, averaging. 25 points a game as a senior. (She was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame last fall.). What is her other ɫ����Ƶ claim to fame?
A) She served as ASOC president her senior year.
B) She was elected Homecoming Queen.
C) She met President Nixon at the White House.
D) She beat Ben Culley in a game of H-O-R-S-E.

14. Last fall, ɫ����Ƶ men’s soccer team won its first SCIAC championship in the team’s history, advancing all the way to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III National Tournament. When did the men’s soccer program begin?
A) 1965 
B) 1967
C) 1971 
D) 1974

15. In 2023, legendary Occidental baseball coach Bill Anderson was elected to the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. How many SCIAC titles did his baseball teams win?
A) 8 
B) 9
C) 10
D) 11

Round 4: Popular Culture

16. In the 2016 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sympathizer, the book’s protagonist enrolls at Occidental, where he is befriended by the chair and secretary of which fictitious academic department?
A) Astrobiology
B) Egyptology
C) Oriental Studies
D) Underwater Basket Weaving

17) For real: What popular TikTok phrase did President Tom Stritikus drop into his welcoming remarks to the Class of 2028?
A) “Very mindful, very demure.”
B) “Life happens. Coffee helps.”
C) “Vibe check.”
D) “Dance like no one's watching.”

18. Gabriela Cowperthwaite ’93, the acclaimed documentary filmmaker behind Blackfish, is also a prolific feature filmmaker. Which of the following films did she not direct?
A) I.S.S.
B) Megan Leavey
C) Our Friend
D) PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie

19. Oscar-winning actor and activist Jane Fonda—who will be in conversation with Climate One founder and co-host Greg Dalton ’86 in Thorne Hall on October 1—made her film debut in the 1960 film Tall Story, which was filmed in part at Occidental. What young Hollywood star was the male lead in that film?
A) Robert Redford
B) Dennis Hopper
C) Anthony Perkins
D) Tab Hunter

20. Veteran Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde ’77 was honored as a at the D23 Ultimate Fan Event in August. Which of the following theme park attractions did he not work on?
A) Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
B) Expedition Everest
C) Pandora—The World of Avatar
D) Guardians of the Galaxy—Mission: Breakout!

Round 5: Politics and Government

21. Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren ’78 braved the waters of reality TV to appear in what series in 2022?
A) Undercover Boss
B) Below Deck
C) Is It Cake?
D) Real Housewives of San Bernardino County

22. Which prominent Republican politician delivered the Jack Kemp ’57 Distinguished Lecture last September?
A) Liz Cheney
B) Adam Kinzinger
C) Chris Christie
D) Lauren Boebert

23. Monica Rodriguez ’96 is currently serving her second term on the Los Angeles City Council. Which of the statements below is not true?
A) She represents the city’s 7th District.
B) She is a first-generation college graduate.
C) She first ran for council in 2007.
D) She was reelected in 2022 by the second-largest margin in the city of any election on the primary ballot.

24. Twenty-three ɫ����Ƶ students have signed up to participate in Campaign Semester this fall. Which of the following politicians was elected to office without the help of an ɫ����Ƶ intern?
A) Elizabeth Warren
B) Kyrsten Sinema
C) Tammy Duckworth
D) Marjorie Taylor Greene

25. Which of the following once or future U.S. presidents never visited the Occidental campus?
A) William Howard Taft
B) Richard Nixon
C) Ronald Reagan
D) Bill Clinton

Round 6: Potpourri

26) A colorful 4,000-square-foot asphalt mural at a dangerous intersection near the ɫ����Ƶ campus was completed in February. For whom is the street redesign/public safety project named?
A) Professor Emeritus Roger Boesche
B) President Emeritus John Brooks Slaughter
C) Secretary of the College and Archivist Jean Paule
D) Professor Emeritus Bob Winter

27. Last September, Associate Professor of Music Adam Schoenberg premiered a new composition titled “Cool Cat” after a legendary Los Angeles figure. Who was it?
A) Grubby, the meerkat at the L.A. Zoo
B) Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl
C) P-22, the mountain lion
D) Comedian and actor Katt Williams

28) Will Ireton ’11 played baseball at Occidental for two years before transferring to Menlo College, where he graduated as class valedictorian. What's he doing these days?
A) Running for Congress in California’s Central Valley
B) Serving as interpreter for the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani
C) Coaching a Triple-A baseball team in Oklahoma City 
D) Stunt coordinator on Deadpool & Wolverine

29) ɫ����Ƶ’s Fifty Year Club celebrated a milestone anniversary in June. What was the first graduating class inducted into this exceedingly exclusive institution?
A) The Class of 1899 
B) The Class of 1904
C) The Class of 1914
D) The Class of 1924

30. Not adjusted for inflation, which one of these movies filmed at ɫ����Ƶ made the most money at the box office? (A bonus point for which earned the least.)
A) The Holiday
B) Clueless
C) Jurassic Park Ill
D) Star Trek Ill: The Search for Spock

Let’s go to the answers!

ɫ����Ƶ History

1. C-A-B-D) Occidental, Calif., was founded in 1876. ɫ����Ƶ was founded in 1887; Occidental Petroleum in 1920; and OxiClean in 1998.
2. B) $2.75. Thorne Hall was filled to capacity.
3. A) Mickey and Minnie. (Britney and Justin didn’t join the Mickey Mouse Club until 1993.)
4. C) Meg, who was a frequent subject of Bird’s doodlings.
5. D) No one really knows—he never talks.

Academics
6. B) Speech Education, from 1923 until 1941.
7. C) Disenchantment, created by Angell’s friend and Lincoln High School classmate Matt Groening.
8. D) “Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day.”
9. A) Arnold Harwood Studenmund is his given name.
10. B) The creation of a canine cognition lab (click to sign up).

Athletics
11. B) DraftKings (Please bet responsibly).
12. D) Forty-two points, in the Tigers’ 85-81 victory over Cal Lu on January 3. Thompson was the fifth-highest scorer in all of Division Ill last season.
13. B) Guest was elected Homecoming Queen.
14. B) 1967.
15. C) Ten, including a school-record four straight SCIAC championships in Anderson's last four years.

Pop Culture

16. C) Oriental Studies.
17. A) “Very mindful, very demure.”
18. D) PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (a rip-roaring action film for the 5-year-old inside us all).
19. C) Anthony Perkins (although Redford makes an uncredited appearance as a basketball player).
20. A) Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.

Politics and Government
21. A) Undercover Boss.
22. B) Former congressman Adam Kinzinger, who also spoke at the Democratic National Convention in July.
23. D) In fact, Rodriguez was reelected in 2022 by the largest margin in the city of any election on the primary ballot.
24. D) Marjorie Taylor Greene.
25) D) This was a tricky one: Former President Bill Clinton spoke to a Politics 231 class (titled Topics in Contemporary Foreign Policy: The Clinton Years) at Professor Derek Shearer’s mother’s Brentwood home in 2002—but he never came to ɫ����Ƶ.

Potpourri
26. A) Professor Emeritus Roger Boesche. The area is named Boesche Way in his memory.
27. C) P-22, the mountain lion.
28. B) Serving as interpreter for Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani.
29. B) The Class of 1904 celebrated its 50th anniversary at the inaugural Fifty Year Club event in 1954.
30. C) Jurassic Park III ($368.8 million worldwide, followed by The Holiday ($205.9 million), Star Trek III ($76.5 million) and Clueless ($56.7 million? As if!).

Top photo: Anthony Perkins and Jane Fonda are chemistry lab partners in Tall Story, which was filmed on the Occidental campus in the fall of 1959.