On August 17, 21 years ago, then US President Bill Clinton admitted in taped testimony of his physical relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. We’ll commemorate the event with a quiz on scandals.
Scandalous affairs
3 If Watergate was about the burglary in the Democratic Party headquarters that brought down President Richard Nixon, what was Envelopegate about?
4 Which film-maker fled to France hours before being arrested, for allegedly drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl, Samantha Gailey in 1977?
5 French professor and politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn had to resign from his post in one of the most important bodies in the world of finance for assaulting a hotel staff in 2011. Which organisation did he lead?
6 This British secretary of state for war had to resign at the height of the Cold War in 1963, when he was revealed to be having a sexual relationship with a 19-year-old model who was also reportedly dating a Soviet naval attaché. He later redeemed his reputation with his tireless efforts for Toynbee Hall charity and was awarded a CBE in 1975.
7 What led to the resignation of Karnataka BJP ministers Laxman Savadi, Krishna Palemar and CC Patil in February 2012?
8 Who won an Olympic medal for chariot racing in 67 AD even after being thrown from his chariot and not completing the race?
9 For being the centre of which specific scandal did Charles Lincoln Van Doren have to testify before the US Congress in 1959?
10 Born Julia Jean, this famous actor had a daughter with Stephen Crane. In 1958, this 14-year-old daughter Cheryl fatally stabbed her mother’s boyfriend, gangster Johnny Stompanato, when he was threatening them both. Name the actor.
Answers
1 Pamela Chaudry Singh, also known as Pamella Bordes, who later became a successful photographer
2 Jerry Lee Lewis. He went on to marry four more times and was also arrested outside Elvis Presley’s house in 1976 for allegedly intending to shoot him
3 When Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced La La Land as the Best Picture in the 2017 Oscar ceremony instead of Moonlight , thanks to a mistake by PricewaterhouseCoopers
4 Roman Polanski
5 International Monetary Fund (IMF)
6 John Profumo; the woman in question was Christine Keeler
7 They were allegedly watching pornographic material on a mobile phone in the Legislative Assembly. They later clarified that they were just critically examining evidence against foreign tourists at a rave party
8 Nero. The logic was that he would have won if he had completed the race. They removed his name from the winner’s’ lists the year after he died
9 The Quiz Show Scandal. He testified that he had been supplied correct answers by the producers of the show Twenty-One to help him win
10 Lana Turner
Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster;
Twitter: @joybhattacharj