Friday, Nov. 12 Weekly Quiz: Big Bird, ABBA, Bitcoin

Texas senator Ted Cruz tweeted “Government propaganda … for your five-year-old!” in response to Sesame Street’s Big Bird’s Nov. 6, 2021, tweet, “I got the Covid-19 vaccine today!”. The Big Bird tweet came after the final US approval for five to 11-year-olds to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine.

Did Big Bird’s vaccination go well?

The perpetually six-and-a-half-year-old Big Bird wrote that her “wing is feeling a little sore, but it’ll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy.”

On Nov. 9, 2021, General Electric announced that it would divide itself into three public companies focused on aviation, health care, and energy. On July 18, 2022, GE revealed the names of the three companies: the aviation business will be called GE Aerospace, the energy wing will be called GE Vernova, and the healthcare business will be named GE Healthcare.

What happened to the General Electric light bulbs?

In 2020, GE stopped making the light bulbs that the company had been making since it was founded in the late 19th century. GE Appliances has been majority-owned by Chinese multinational home appliances company Haier since 2016.

The 30-year-old Houston native Travis Scott founded the Astroworld Festival in 2018.

What happened at the 2021 Astroworld Festival?

Eight people, aged 14 to 27, died Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at a Travis Scott concert during the 2021 Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas. The crowd surge happened in a sold-out, two-day event held in NRG Park, a venue that could have contained 200,000 people but limited the attendance to 50,000. Drake joined Scott on-stage at the concert.

How did Travis Scott react?

In a tweet posted Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, Scott said he was “absolutely devastated by what took place last night” and pledged to work “together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need.”

Mikheil Saakashvili is Georgia's former president. He led the Rose Revolution in 2003 to oust former leader Eduard Shevardnadze and served as president from 2004 to 2013 before starting a new career in Ukraine.

Why is Mikheil Saakashvili in jail?

Georgian authorities arrested Saakashvili on Oct. 1, 2021. He returned to Georgia on the eve of the elections to "rally the opposition and save the country." On Saturday, Nov. 6, around 3,000 Georgian protesters held a rally outside the prison where he was on hunger strike. Georgia's state security service said the protests were part of a planned coup devised and directed by Saakashvili.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi escaped unharmed in an assassination attempt by three armed drones in Baghdad on Saturday night, Nov. 6, 2021. Six members of Kadhimi's protection force stationed outside his residence in the Green Zone were wounded.

Who attacked Mustafa al-Kadimi?

The attack came two days after violent clashes in Baghdad between government forces and supporters of Iran-backed political parties, who lost dozens of seats in parliament after a general election on Oct. 10 -  most of which have armed wings.

Yeezy Apparel, the company founded by the artist formerly known as Kanye West (who now goes by Ye), will pay $950,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office over shipping delays. The California state law requires online shopping items to be delivered within 30 days. The LA County DA also alleged that Yeezy made “untrue or misleading statements” about its ability to ship orders within a given timeline, especially in cases where customers paid extra for faster delivery.

Bitcoin and Ethereum hit record peaks on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. Ethereum, the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market value, hit $4,842, while Bitcoin rose as high as $68,564. Since June, both have more than doubled and added nearly 70% against the dollar since the start of Oct. 2021. By Nov. 2022, Bitcoin dropped to $16,548, and Ethereum dropped to $1,214.

Starting in 1989, Dean Stockwell appeared in Quantum Leap alongside Scott Bakula for five seasons. He then guest-starred in Bakula's Star Trek: Enterprise, and they both appeared in a 2014 episode of NCIS: New Orleans, titled "Chasing Ghosts." Bakula was not in Battlestar Galactica.

Did Dean Stockwell die?

Dean Stockwell died of natural causes at home on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021. Apart from regular guest appearances in shows like "Battlestar Galactica" and "JAG," Stockwell had prominent roles in David Lynch's "Blue Velvet," Wim Wenders' "Paris, Texas" and Jonathan Demme's "Married to the Mob," which also got him an Oscar nomination.

In 2015, Burt Bacharach became the oldest artist to play the ‘legends’ slot at the Glastonbury festival. He was 87 at the time.

Is Diana Ross performing at the 2022 Glastonbury festival?

Diana Ross has been confirmed to play the Sunday afternoon “legends” slot in Glastonbury’s 2022 festival. Ross will be 78 years old when she takes the Pyramid stage. The festival opens its gates on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Ross is scheduled to play June arena concerts across the UK in Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, London, and Durham.

In 1975's "The Secrets of Isis," Isis was the first female character on television with superpowers. An archaeology teacher by day, Andrea Thomas battled evil when she wore an ancient amulet that transformed her into the Egyptian goddess, Isis. "The Secrets of Isis" premiered in September 1975, two months before Lynda Carter's first appearance as Wonder Woman. "The Bionic Woman," starring Lindsay Wagner, began in January 1976.

Is Isis dead?

JoAnna Cameron, who portrayed Isis, died of stroke complications on Oct. 15, 2021, in Oahu, Hawaii. She was 73.

Which Guinness World Record did JoAnna Cameron hold?

The Guinness Book of World Records said in 1979 that Cameron had appeared in more than 100 commercials on network television, more than anyone else in advertising history.

2021's "Voyage" is the first ABBA album with new songs since "The Visitors" in 1981, released before the band split. ABBA Gold, a greatest hits compilation initially released in 1992, passed its 1000th week on the UK Album Chart in July 2021.

Are ABBA reuniting on stage?

The new album launches a new ABBA concert show - also called Voyage - featuring digital representations of the four band members created by motion-capture technology. From May 2022, fans will have a chance to catch the ABBA avatars (AKA ABBAtars) accompanied by a live band at a purpose-built ABBA Arena in London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Showtime’s 2021 Dexter sequel is titled Dexter: New Blood. The 10-episode miniseries, which premiered Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021, is set 10 years after the last episode of the original series.

Twitter Blue is the company's subscription service, allowing paying subscribers to recall tweets, theme their Twitter app and app icon, and experience new features early.

Where and when is Twitter Blue available?

Twitter first launched the Twitter Blue service in June 2021 in Canada and Australia on iOS. On Nov. 9, 2021, Twitter Blue became available in the US and New Zealand and on Android and the web. After purchasing Twitter, Elon Musk said he was considering raising the subscription price and moving all verified users to the paid program. Starting Dec. 13, 2022, the relaunched service costs $8 a month for web users and $11 a month for iPhone users. Subscribers see fewer ads, can post longer videos, and have their tweets emphasized.

The title of Will Smith’s 2021 memoir is “Will.”

What’s in Will Smith’s autobiography?

Written with Mark Manson, Will Smith describes in his new book a childhood in the Wynnefield neighborhood of West Philadelphia, with a hard-drinking abusive father and an office and then school administrator abused mother. He then describes the early days of the rap scene, concluding with his present-day stardom.

Annie Leibovitz’s new book “Wonderland” is an anthology of fashion images shot mainly for Vogue magazine. The book, which arrives on Nov. 17, is a nod to Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”