May 28 Weekly Quiz: Sad Partings, Happy Parties

In Friends, the grumpy neighbor living in the apartment below Monica and Rachel is Mr. Heckles.

Friends Facts:

Mr. Heckles’s name is apparently a fact hard to remember, even for cast members. On HBO Max’s highly anticipated Friends Reunion, released May 27, 2021, David Schwimmer recreates his quiz from series four and asks the female cast members to identify Mr. Heckles’s voice. "Mr. Hinkle?" ventures Lisa Kudrow. “Mr. Wriggles?" tries Jennifer Aniston. Both guessed wrong.

What happened to Mr. Heckles in Friends?

Mr. Heckles dies in the third episode of the second season of Friends, leaving all his possessions to Monica and Rachel. Actor Larry Hankin, who portrayed Mr. Heckles, is still very much alive, at 80. He later appeared on TV as junkyard owner Old Joe in Breaking Bad and reprised his role in the Netflix sequel 2019 film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.

"A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes" is a bestselling book written by Stephen Hawking in 1988. He wrote it for readers who had no prior knowledge of physics.

Stephen Hawking News Fact:

The first draft of Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” is just one of the late physicist's landmark papers and personal belongings to be acquired by London’s Science Museum and the Cambridge University Library, as announced Wednesday, May 26, 2021. The collection also includes Hawking’s personalized wheelchairs and his scripts from his appearance on “The Simpsons.”

Leo the Lion, AKA the roaring lion, has been the mascot of MGM Pictures since entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures in 1924.

MGM News Fact

Online shopping giant Amazon is buying MGM in an $8.45 billion deal, making it the company’s second-largest acquisition after it bought grocer Whole Foods for nearly $14 billion in 2017. On May 26, 2021, Amazon said that it would use MGM’s vast library, which includes characters like Rocky, RoboCop, and Pink Panther, to create new movies and shows.

"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" is a children's picture book designed, illustrated, and written by Eric Carle. On Saturday, the hungry caterpillar eats a piece of chocolate cake, an ice-cream cone, a pickle, a slice of Swiss cheese, a slice of salami, a lollipop, a piece of cherry pie, a sausage, a cupcake, and a slice of watermelon. It's on Monday that he eats an apple.

 "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" 2021 fact

Eric Carle, the beloved children's author/illustrator behind "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and other works, has died Sunday, May 23, 2021, at age 91. "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," published in 1969, has sold 40 million copies and has been translated into 60 languages.

LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s unscripted series, “The Shop: Uninterrupted,” is filmed across different barbershops and features unfiltered conversations and debates.

The Shop 2021 Fact

“The Shop: Uninterrupted” returned to HBO for its fourth season. The season premiere, airing Friday, May 28, featured music mogul and 23-time Grammy winner Jay-Z, Latin rapper and singer-songwriter Bad Bunny, and WNBA star Nneka Ogwumike.

Laugh Now is one of the earliest Banksy artworks, first created in 2002, depicting a monkey wearing a sandwich board with the text, "Laugh now, but one day we'll be in charge."

Is Laugh Now trademarked?

Image: Banksy's Laugh Now.

On May 18, the "Cancellation Division" of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ruled that Banksy's trademark for Laugh Now is invalid. The EUIPO ruled in favor of Greeting card company Full Colour Black which claimed that as a work of public graffiti, "Laugh Now" was free to be photographed by the general public and that Banksy "even provided high-resolution versions of his work on his website and invited the public to download them and produce their own items." On Nov. 15, 2022, the 5th Board of Appeal of the EUIPO confirmed Banksy's monkey trademark is valid. It annulled the cancellation of the EUTM.

David Letterman spearheaded CBS’s The Late Show between August 30, 1993, and May 20, 2015. The Late Show then continued with Stephen Colbert, beginning September 8, 2015.

Late Night News Fact:

Colbert had produced 205 episodes without a live audience since the COVID shut down in March 2020. On Monday, May 24, 2021, CBS announced that Stephen Colbert’s late-night show would return on June 14 with a long-awaited packed studio audience. NBC also said Monday that it plans to have its “Tonight” show with Jimmy Fallon back in front of a fully vaccinated full audience in early June. Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” with Trevor Noah plans to keep operating from Noah’s home when it returns on June 7.

Meeting in Geneva in 1955, the U.S., France, Britain, and the Soviet Union leaders sought to end the Cold War. As this didn’t exactly work out, in 1985, US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev met for a second Geneva Summit to hold talks on international diplomatic relations and the Cold War arms race.

The Biden-Putin Geneva Summit of 2021 Fact

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a third Geneva summit on June 16, 2021. The two leaders discussed face-to-face the escalating tensions between the US and Russia in the first months of the Biden administration.

Singer Drake has logged the most songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with 232 entrees and 45 Top 10 hits.

Drake 2021 Artist of the Decade Billboard Award

Drake extended his record as the most decorated winner in the history of the Billboard Music Awards to 29 wins Sunday, May 23, 2021, with the Artist of the Decade Award.

The 2021 Eurovision song contest was the second time that the United Kingdom received nul points. The first time was in 2003.

Eurovision fact:

Screenshot: The 2021 Eurovision Song Contest

In the 2021 Eurovision song contest, the winner was Italy with the song "Zitti e buoni" (‘Shut up and behave'), performed by Måneskin - a band that came second on Italy’s 2017 X-Factor season.

The most common theory suggests that the name “White Russia” describes the part of Lithuania that had been populated chiefly by Slavs, as opposed to “Black Russia,” which was predominantly inhabited by pagan Balts. Another theory suggests that the old Russian lands that were not conquered by the darker Northern and Central Asian Tatars had been referred to as "White Russia." Both theories refer to the ethnicity of Belarussians. Alternative explanations may be the white clothing worn by the local Slavic population or that the color white was associated with the west.

Belarus News Fact:

European airlines are avoiding flying over Belarus following the arrest of a 26-year-old journalist and activist, Raman Pratasevich. On Sunday, May 23, 2021, a Ryanair jetliner, on which Pratasevich was traveling, was ordered to land when flying over Belarus under a bomb threat pretense. The EU demanded Pratasevich’s release while recommending European carriers avoid Belarus’s airspace. Polish carrier LOT, Baltic airlines, Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, and others said they would refrain from flying over the authoritarian country.

Marshmello is an American electronic music producer and DJ whose songs "Silence," "Wolves," "Friends," "Happier," and "Alone" appeared in the Top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100. In his music videos, he wears a custom white helmet, resembling a marshmallow, but as Forbes found out, his real name is Chris Comstock. On Saturday, May 29, 2021, Marshmello will headline the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final opening ceremony, with Selena Gomez and Khalid appearing during the set.

Marshmello and the Jonas Brothers in 2021

On Tuesday, May 25, 2021, Marshmello released his latest video - a cooperation with the Jonas Brothers titled Leave Before You Love Me. Watch the video.