Endless Lockdown Quiz!

Ellen aired between 1994 and 1998.

Ellen DeGeneres Fact

Ellen Degeneres’s daytime talk show returned Sep. 21st, 2020, amid ‘toxic workplace’ controversy, which Degeneres promised to address on the show.  In May 2021, DeGeneres announced she would be quitting the show.

The Armenian genocide was the systematic killing and deportation of around 1 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey) during World War I (1915-1917).

Joe Biden and the Armenian genocide fact:

President Joe Biden acknowledged the Armenian genocide formally on Saturday, April 24, the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Turkey’s foreign minister has warned the Biden administration in the past that the recognition would “harm” U.S.-Turkey ties.

President Joe Biden addressed congress for the first time on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Also, for the first time, a female vice president, Kamala Harris, was seated behind the chief executive, next to another woman, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. As Biden greeted “Madam Vice President,” He added, “No president has ever said those words from this podium, and it’s about time.“

What else did President Biden say?

President Biden also pointed to the nation’s emergence from the coronavirus, warned that “Gun violence has become an epidemic in America,” and told “all the transgender Americans watching at home” that “your president has your back.”

The Oslo Accords were a 1993 attempt to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians, resulting in the formation of a Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, but without a Palestinian state or peace for either side.

New Fact

The historic events are being made into an HBO Max movie, starring Ruth Wilson and Andrew Scott.  Steven Spielberg is producing the film,  based on the award-winning play by J.T. Rogers, named ‘Oslo.’

Diwali is the Indian festival of lights, usually lasting five days and celebrated during the Hindu Lunisolar month, Kartika. It’s one of Hinduism’s most popular festivals, symbolizing the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.”

Miranda Lambert held onto her record as the most decorated winner in ACM history in Sunday’s April 18, 2021, ceremony. Maren Morris won Female artist of the year.

Any notable performances?

Besides Lambert’s performances, Carrie Underwood performed in the 2021 ACMs with gospel legend CeCe Winans.

R.I.P Dustin Diamond, best known as Screech on the hit ’90s sitcom “Saved by the Bell.” Diamond was hospitalized in January 2021 and died Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, after a three-week fight with carcinoma. He was 44.

Screenshot: Saved by the Bell

Roberta Flack was the first artist to win Record of the Year in two consecutive years for 1973 (“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”) and 1974 (“Killing Me Softly with His Song”). In 2021, Billie Eilish became the second woman overall to win the category two consecutive years for 2020 (“Bad Guy”) and 2021 (“Everything I Wanted”). 

Bonus Fact:

Eilish is also the third musician ever to win Record of the Year two years in a row. U2 won it in 2001 (“Beautiful Day”) and 2002 (“Walk On”) – which is also the only occurrence of an artist winning the award two consecutive years with records from the same album.

The word inauguration stems from the Latin augur –  the rituals of ancient Roman priests interpreting if it was the gods’ will for a public official to assume office.

Wikipedia was launched on Jan. 15, 2001. Happy 20th birthday, Wikis.

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Kyrgyzstan is a country in Central Asia. 

This question’s quote is the opening sentence in the Wikipedia synopsis of the 2005 film V for Vendetta.

Bonus Fact

The UK is celebrating Guy Fawkes Night (the face from the movie’s mask) every November 5th – some by watching the film. The disturbing similarities between the movie and the actual 2020 reality impacted social media in late 2020.

The Chinese authorities were angry at South Korean boy band BTS after its leader thanked Korean War veterans for their sacrifices in a recorded acceptance speech for an award from the Korea Society for promoting US-Korean relations. When asked about the controversy, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said, “It should be our common pursuit to take history as a mirror, face the future, cherish peace and promote friendship.” The hashtag “BTS Insults China” was viewed more than 4.5 million times on Weibo.