The Michigan Today trivia contest

Play our trivia contest, earn a chance to win a Ralph Williams t-shirt!

In the spirit of the movie “Answer This!”—in which the main character, a University of Michigan graduate student, plays pub trivia—Michigan Today presents the Ralph Williams Trivia Contest. Answer the questions below and submit your contact information. We’ll hold a random drawing from all completed entries.

Ten winners will receive coupons for free “Answer This!” t-shirts featuring professor Ralph Williams, who co-stars in the film.

One grand prize winner will receive 4 VIP tickets to the Ann Arbor premiere of “Answer This!” where they will meet the directors and stars of the movie.

Hint: Most answers can be found in back issues of Michigan Today. Search the archive here.

The Michigan Today trivia game
  1. Who is the most decorated athlete in U-M history?

    Gymnast Elise Ray
    Football player Tom Harmon
    Swimmer Shannon Shakespeare
    Basketball player Glen Rice
    Runner Kevin Sullivan

  2. In 2010, Barack Obama spoke at U-M’s spring commencement. Which one of these presidents did not visit U-M?

    George H.W. Bush
    Ronald Reagan
    John F. Kennedy
    Teddy Roosevelt
    Lyndon Johnson

  3. What was the “three feet rule”?

    Bo Schembechler’s rule for how wide a lineman’s stance must be
    Policy that required a couple to keep at least that many feet on the floor during dorm-room visits
    The buffer of personal space insisted upon by U-M’s second president, Erastus Haven
    The maximum distance that anti-Vietnam War protesters would allow between themselves, in order to make emergency arm-linking easier

  4. Football coach Rich Rodriguez is known as the creator of the spread-option offense. Which sports innovation was not created by U-M coaches or players?

    Refusing to dip the US flag at the Olympics
    Substituting different players for offense and defense
    Selling tickets to a non-college audience
    Leaping backward over a high-jump bar
    Posing like a Heisman trophy after scoring a touchdown

  5. U-M has produced several transformative figures in the field of computing. Who of these were not a Michigan alum?

    Google co-founder Larry Page
    Sun Microsystems founder Bill Joy
    Thomas Knoll, inventor of Photoshop
    Video game heroine Ms. Pac Man

  6. According to U-M researchers Stephen and Rachel Kaplan, taking a walk outdoors…

    Improves the mind’s ability to focus
    Destroys unwanted glial cells
    Means never having to say you’re sorry
    Burns more calories per minute than taking a walk indoors

  7. U-M’s first Regents nearly located the Diag and central campus somewhere else. Where?

    Lansing
    On the other side of Division Street
    North of the current campus, on the bluffs above the Huron River
    On the current site of Michigan Stadium
    On a west Ann Arbor field where Henry Ford had abandoned plans for a factory

  8. Why did John Lennon come to Ann Arbor in 1971?

    As a favor to Moby Benedict
    To “Free John Sinclair!”
    To sing “Give Peace a Chance” (live, for the first time)
    To host an exhibition of his drawings at the U-M art museum
    To produce an album with then-student Iggy Pop

  9. Professor of English and religion Ralph Williams appears in the movie “Answer This!” in what role?

    Thomas Gorfman, nutty sidekick to the hero, Paul
    Elliot Tarson, colorful professor of English at U-M
    Morton Telegraph, chump
    Turner Schumacher, dour organizer of pub trivia competitions

    Please confirm that you are a real person by entering the text shown in the anti-spam image below. (Audio version available for the vision impaired.)

Leave a comment: