Chinese New Year: Test your knowledge of monkeys in pop culture
They say that a million monkeys banging away on a million typewriters, given enough time, would eventually crank out the entire works of Shakespeare.
This may not be true, but we do know this: 2016 is the Year of the Monkey, at least according to the Chinese zodiac, which assigns years to one of 12 animals.
Although the word “monkey” is often used as a pejorative (“Don’t make a monkey out of yourself!”), most people, including us, appreciate the peppy primates, as evidenced by their pervasive and often playful presence on television, in film and literature, and in various other parts of our everyday lives.
To celebrate the Lunar New Year, and to give props to our friend the monkey, take this “monkeys in pop culture” quiz. See how you scored at the end, giving yourself one point for each correct answer.
Just keep in mind that chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas are apes, not monkeys, so save your knowledge of King Kong, Planet of the Apes and Bubbles the Chimp for another day.
Now, stop monkeying around and start answering the questions — we guarantee it’ll be more fun than a barrel of monkeys!
1. In the iconic feature film The Wizard of Oz (1939), winged monkeys abduct Dorothy and Toto and dismantle the Scarecrow. What is the name of the king of the winged monkeys?
a) Tetra
b) Major Monkey
c) Nikko
d) Krinkle
2. In the original children’s book Curious George (1941), where did the Man with the Yellow Hat first encounter the lovable but meddlesome monkey?
a) The circus
b) Africa
c) The zoo
d) The produce department of a grocery store
3. Which pop star took his pet monkey, Mally, to Germany on his private plane in 2013, and was detained and fined by authorities for lack of official paperwork for the exotic animal?
a) Chris Brown
b) Adam Levine
c) Bruno Mars
d) Justin Bieber
4. One of the funniest funny animal moments in the history of television occurred on The Tonight Show, when a marmoset monkey named Pipsqueak urinated on the head of the host. Which host was it?
a) Johnny Carson
b) Jay Leno
c) Conan O’Brien
d) Jimmy Fallon
5. Marcel the monkey belonged to which character on the hit sitcom Friends?
a) Rachel
b) Monica
c) Joey
d) Ross
6. The 1988 horror film Monkey Shines, in which a trained monkey named Ella helps a quadriplegic man, is based on a novel by what author? Hint: He did not write Books of Blood, Carrie or Watchers.
a) Clive Barker
b) Michael Stewart
c) Stephen King
d) Dean Koontz
7. The popular GameCube game Super Monkey Ball (2001), in which players tilt the playfield to move their rolling character, is somewhat similar to what coin-op classic?
a) Donkey Kong
b) Zoo Keeper
c) Marble Madness
d) Kangaroo
8. What “Monkee” appeared in an episode of The Brady Bunch, singing the pop tune Girl?
a) Mickey Dolenz
b) Davy Jones
c) Mike Nesmith
d) Peter Tork
9. Blue “space monkey” Gleek assists, amuses and aggravates shape-shifting Wonder Twins Zan and Jayna in what classic cartoon series?
a) Super Friends
b) He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
c) Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
d) The Smurfs
10. Regarding real space monkeys, what was the name of the first simian to be sent successfully into outer space, which begins at 100km above the surface of Earth?
a) Albert II
b) Clyde II
c) Louie II
d) Cheeta II
11. What former member of the rock band Genesis wrote and sang Shock the Monkey, a single that reached No. 29 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart?
a) Phil Collins
b) Mike Rutherford
c) Peter Cetera
d) Peter Gabriel
12. U.S. Sen. Gary Hart was the frontrunner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination before a sex scandal sidetracked his political career. Hart was accused of engaging in “monkey business” with a model. What was her name?
a) Gennifer Flowers
b) Jessica Hahn
c) Donna Rice
d) Paula Jones
13. The Buddhist aphorism “see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil” is typically represented visually by “the three wise monkeys” — one covering his eyes, one covering his ears and one covering his mouth. The most famous carving of this popular pictorial maxim is located over a door of the Nikkō Tōshō-gū shrine in what country?
a) China
b) Japan
c) Indonesia
d) India
14. In Night at the Museum (2006), a capuchin monkey named Dexter steals a plastic toy from security guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), who works the night shift at the American Museum of Natural History. What type of toy is it?
a) Handcuffs
b) Baby bottle
c) Set of keys
d) Gun
15. Which famous sports announcer sparked controversy when he referred to Herb Mul-Key of the Washington Redskins as a “little monkey”?
a) Howard Cosell
b) Jimmy “the Greek” Snyder
c) John Madden
b) Frank Gifford
Answers:
1. C, Nikko. Nikko was played by little person Pat Walshe, who only appeared in three other films: Roseanna McCoy (1949), Pinky (1949) and Panic in the Streets (1950).
2. B, Africa. Curiosity didn’t kill George like the proverbial cat, but it did get him captured as he couldn’t resist trying on the yellow hat that the man had set down as a trap. Later, the Man in the Yellow Hat takes George to an American zoo.
3. D, Justin Bieber. Not only was Bieber detained and fined, his pet capuchin monkey, which was a birthday gift from rapper Jamal “Mally Mall” Rashid, was confiscated.
4. A, Johnny Carson. “Was it saliva?” Carson asked the animal trainer in his typical, yet spontaneous, deadpan style.
5. D, Ross. Marcel debuted in Episode 10 of Season 1, “The One With the Monkey.” Unfortunately, in Episode 21, “The One with the Fake Monica,” Ross has to get rid of Marcel because the amorous monkey has reached sexual maturity.
6. B, Michael Stewart. A lesser-known author than Barker, King or Koontz, Stewart also wrote such novels as Blindsight, Prodigy and Belladonna.
7. C, Marble Madness. Released by Atari Games in 1984, Marble Madness has players guiding a rolling marble through a series of obstacle-ridden mazes.
8. B, Davy Jones. In “Getting Davy Jones” (Episode 12 of Season 3), Marcia, the president of the local Davy Jones fan club, persuades him to make an appearance at the school dance. More than two decades later, Jones, Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork appeared in The Brady Bunch Movie (1995).
9. A, Super Friends. Making his debut in the first episode of The All-New Super Friends Hour (1977), Gleek is a mischievous monkey who provides comic relief in stories that feature not only Zan and Jayna, but also Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman and Aquaman.
10. A, Albert II. A male rhesus monkey, Albert II reached 134 kilometers aboard a V2 rocket on June 14, 1949 (his progenitor, Albert, only reached 63 kilometers). Sadly, he died upon his return because of a parachute malfunction on the recovery capsule.
11. D, Peter Gabriel. In a 1993 interview, Gabriel said the cryptic tune was a relationship song about “jealousy and a sort of animal nature.”
12. C, Donna Rice. Although they denied the affair, Hart and Rice were seen getting chummy on a yacht called, fittingly enough, Monkey Business.
13. B, Japan. While the “see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil” philosophy probably dates back to Confucian China, the three wise monkeys visualization, aka the three mystic apes, likely originated in 17th-century Japan.
14. C, Set of keys. In his monkey mind, Dexter thought they were real keys that would let him escape.
15. A, Howard Cosell. On the Sept. 24, 1973, edition of Monday Night Football, while narrating halftime highlights of the previous day’s games, Cosell said, “Look at that little monkey run!” This was in reference to Mul-Key’s 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the St. Louis Cardinals.
How did you score?
0-5 Points: Monkey see, monkey do, and you should definitely do this quiz again.
6-10 Points: Not terrible, but it will take some time to get this monkey off your back.
11-14 Points: Good job, treat yourself to a banana!
15 Points: Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle! Perfect score!
This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 1:28 PM with the headline "Chinese New Year: Test your knowledge of monkeys in pop culture."