Quiz of the Day
The Roaring Twenties & Jazz Age
Thursday, 24 September 2026
F. Scott Fitzgerald was born on 24 Sep 1896 — evoking the 1920s: jazz, flappers, prohibition, literature and Art Deco.
1. Which 1925 novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald's most famous work, has come to define the Jazz Age?
- The Great Gatsby
- This Side of Paradise
- Tender Is the Night
- The Beautiful and Damned
The Great Gatsby sold only modestly during Fitzgerald's lifetime, and he died in 1940 believing himself a failure. The book's reputation soared after World War II, partly because copies were distributed to American soldiers as Armed Services Editions. It is now regularly ranked among the greatest American novels ever written.
2. The 18th Amendment, which ushered in the era known as Prohibition, banned the manufacture and sale of what?
- Tobacco
- Firearms
- Alcohol
- Gambling
National Prohibition took effect on January 17, 1920, enforced under the Volstead Act. Rather than ending drinking, it fueled bootlegging, organized crime and illegal bars. It was repealed in 1933 by the 21st Amendment — the only constitutional amendment ever passed to repeal another.
3. Legendary jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong was famously known by which nickname?
- Bird
- Satchmo
- Dizzy
- Duke
"Satchmo" was a shortening of "Satchelmouth," a nickname referring to Armstrong's wide grin. He became one of the most influential figures in jazz history, transforming it into a soloist's art form. The other nicknames belonged to fellow greats: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie "Bird" Parker and Duke Ellington.
4. What term described the fashionable, unconventional young women of the 1920s who bobbed their hair and defied Victorian norms?
- Debutantes
- Suffragettes
- Gibson Girls
- Flappers
Flappers wore shorter skirts, danced to jazz, drank in public and embraced a spirit of liberation after World War I. The "Gibson Girl" was an earlier feminine ideal from around 1900, making it a plausible but wrong answer. Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda were often seen as icons of this glamorous, rebellious culture.
5. Which energetic dance became a defining craze of the Roaring Twenties?
- The Charleston
- The Macarena
- The Jitterbug
- The Twist
The Charleston, characterized by fast kicking steps and swinging arms, took its name from the city of Charleston, South Carolina. It exploded in popularity after appearing in the 1923 Broadway show "Runnin' Wild." The Jitterbug rose in the swing era of the 1930s and 40s, while the Twist and Macarena came decades later.
6. What was the name for an illegal establishment that secretly sold alcoholic drinks during Prohibition?
- Distillery
- Tavern
- Speakeasy
- Saloon
The term "speakeasy" is thought to come from patrons being told to speak quietly, or "easy," to avoid attracting the authorities. New York City alone was estimated to have tens of thousands of them during the 1920s. Entry often required a password, and many were hidden behind ordinary storefronts or basements.
7. Ratified in 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed American women which right?
- The right to equal pay
- The right to vote
- The right to own property
- The right to serve on juries
The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, when Tennessee became the 36th state to approve it. The decisive vote reportedly came from young legislator Harry Burn, who changed his position after receiving a letter from his mother urging him to support suffrage. It capped a decades-long campaign led by activists like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
8. In which year was The Great Gatsby first published?
- 1920
- 1925
- 1929
- 1922
The Great Gatsby was published on April 10, 1925, by Charles Scribner's Sons. Fitzgerald struggled to settle on a title, at various points considering "Trimalchio in West Egg" and "Under the Red, White, and Blue." The novel is set in 1922, the same summer Fitzgerald himself lived on Long Island, which inspired its fictional settings of West Egg and East Egg.
9. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight aboard which aircraft?
- Enola Gay
- Wright Flyer
- Kitty Hawk
- Spirit of St. Louis
Lindbergh flew from New York to Paris in May 1927, covering roughly 3,600 miles in about 33.5 hours. The single-engine plane was named for the St. Louis businessmen who financed the flight. His feat made him one of the most famous people in the world and symbolized the daring, modern spirit of the decade.
10. Which 1927 film is widely regarded as the first feature-length "talkie," with synchronized dialogue and singing?
- The Jazz Singer
- Metropolis
- Nosferatu
- The Gold Rush
The Jazz Singer, produced by Warner Bros. and starring Al Jolson, marked the end of the silent film era. Jolson's ad-libbed line "You ain't heard nothin' yet" became one of the most famous moments in cinema history. Its success triggered Hollywood's rapid transition to sound pictures.
11. Duke Ellington's orchestra rose to fame with a celebrated residency at which Harlem nightclub?
- Birdland
- The Cotton Club
- Studio 54
- The Copacabana
The Cotton Club, where Ellington's band held a long residency starting in 1927, showcased Black performers but notoriously admitted mostly white patrons. Radio broadcasts from the club helped make Ellington a national star. Birdland, named after saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker, did not open until 1949.
12. The elegant Art Deco design style takes its name from a landmark 1925 international exposition held in which city?
- New York
- Paris
- Vienna
- London
The style was named after the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, held in Paris in 1925. Characterized by bold geometric shapes, sleek lines and lavish ornamentation, Art Deco defined the era's architecture, fashion and design. New York's Chrysler Building, completed in 1930, remains one of its most iconic monuments.
13. In which American city was F. Scott Fitzgerald born on September 24, 1896?
- Rockville, Maryland
- Asheville, North Carolina
- St. Paul, Minnesota
- Louisville, Kentucky
Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and his full name was Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald. He was named after a distant relative, Francis Scott Key, who wrote the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner." Fitzgerald drew heavily on his Midwestern upbringing for the narrator Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby.
14. Which 1924 composition by George Gershwin famously blended classical music with jazz idioms?
- The Rite of Spring
- An American in Paris
- Rhapsody in Blue
- Boléro
Rhapsody in Blue premiered in New York in February 1924 with Gershwin himself at the piano. Its soaring opening clarinet glissando became one of the most recognizable sounds in American music. Gershwin's later work "An American in Paris" appeared in 1928, while Boléro and The Rite of Spring were by Ravel and Stravinsky.
15. Which American-born performer became a superstar in 1920s Paris, famous for her provocative "banana skirt" dance?
- Ma Rainey
- Josephine Baker
- Billie Holiday
- Bessie Smith
Josephine Baker took Paris by storm in the 1925 revue La Revue Nègre and her "Danse Sauvage," later performing in a costume of artificial bananas. She became one of the highest-paid entertainers in Europe and even kept a pet cheetah. Decades later she worked with the French Resistance in World War II and championed civil rights.