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POP QUIZ

1. In 1920, eugenicists compiled lists of ship captains and their progeny to identify the genetic trait associated with "love of the sea." What was the trait called?

a. Thalassophilia
b. Nauticaphilia
c. Nauticamoré
d. Homosassa

2. Which of the following blurbs appeared in ads for the 1917 Hollywood movie The Black Stork?
a. A "eugenic love story"
b. "The law of heredity winds like a red thread through the family history of every criminal, of every epileptic, eccentric and insane person. Shall we sit still...without applying the remedy?"
c. "Kill Defectives, Save the Nation and See The Black Stork"
d. All of the above

3. True or false: According to Paul Pop-enoe, founder of the Southern California branch of the American Eugenics Society, "divorcées represent a type that is eugenically less desirable than the average. They have a higher frequency of mental diseases, shorter expectations of life, and a high degree of sterility."

4. Many companies have parodied subliminal imagery in advertisements, but only one of the following to do so was named in Subliminal Seduction. Which one?

a. Seagram's
b. Absolut
c. Cutty Sark
d. Royal Canadian

5. In 1919, a study found that fewer than 12% of Negro songs were in a minor key. Eugenical News said the study illustrated:

a. That European music traditions are superior to those of the Negro.
b. That "the Negro is temperamentally sunny, cheerful, optimistic."
c. That "the Negro can't sing."
d. None of the above.

6. Which of the following confessions was not prompted by Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ?

a. After seeing the movie, Norwegian neo-Nazi Johnny Olsen confessed to committing arson.
b. After seeing the movie, Turner Lee Bingham of Mesa, Arizona, confessed to committing burglary.
c. After seeing the movie, Texan Dan Leach told police he killed his pregnant girlfriend.
d. After seeing the movie, 15-year old Ed Starr confessed to maiming a dog.

7. Match the following with the correct euphemisms:

i. Starbucks employees
ii. Disney employees
iii. Wal-Mart employees
iv. Saturn employees

a. team members
b. cast members
c. associates
d. baristas and partners

ANSWERS: 1. A (Edwin Black, War Against the Weak, p. 105); 2. D (Black, p. 257); 3. True (Daniel Kevles, In the Name of Eugenics, p. 65); 4. D; 5. B (Black, p. 105); 6. D (BBC News, 3/29/04; ABC7Chicago.com, 3/30/04); 7. Starbucks, D; Disney, B; Wal-Mart, C; Saturn, A.