
2016 in Review: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
By: Bambi Turner
Image: Shutterstock

About This Quiz


1.0 of 30
What team did the Chicago Cubs defeat to win the World Series?

2016 was a good year for Cubs fans. The beloved Chicago team ended a 108-year World Series drought when they beat the Cleveland Indians in dramatic fashion -- taking Game 7 all the way to 10 innings to win by a single run.

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How old was Muhammed Ali when he passed away in June 2016?

The 1960 Olympic gold medalist and 1964 heavyweight champion of the world passed away on June 3, 2016, at the age of 74.

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What state passed a controversial bathroom bill in March 2016?

North Carolina's governor signed a bill on March 23 which requires people within the state to choose restrooms based on their biological sex. The new law was highly controversial, and many saw it as an attack on LGBT rights.

4.0 of 30
What year did the U.S. embargo against Cuba get put in place?

President Kennedy made the embargo permanent in 1962. In April 2016, President Obama lifted restrictions against travel and remittances to the island nation. By October, the U.S. abstained for the first time in history in an annual UN vote about whether to continue the embargo.

5.0 of 30
President Obama visited this city to discuss drinking water problems on May 4, 2016.

In January, the president declined to declare a drinking water crisis in Flint. By May, problems with lead in the water supply led Obama to visit the former GM hometown, where more than 40 percent of families now live in poverty.

6.0 of 30
The population of this animal increased for the first time in over a century in 2016.

It may have been a bad year for some, but 2016 was a great year for tigers, who saw their numbers increase from 3,200 in 2010 to 3,890 in 2016 -- the first increase in the wild tiger population in 100 years.

7.0 of 30
What zoo was home to Harambe?

A gorilla named Harambe lived a comfortable life at the Cincinnati Zoo, until zoo officials were forced to kill him after a child fell into his enclosure on May 28, 2016.

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President Obama became the first sitting president to visit this city.

More than 70 years after the bombing of Hiroshima, President Obama became the first sitting U.S. President to visit the Japanese city since it was virtually destroyed in 1945. He made a somber speech and met with survivors on May 27, 2016.

9.0 of 30
What city is Pulse nightclub -- site of a horrific terrorist attack -- located in?

A terrorist attack on June 12 at Orlando's Pulse nightclub killed 49 people and left 53 more injured. The terrible incident -- which claimed many members of the gay community -- became the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.

10.0 of 30
In 2016, the U.S. government announced that this person's picture would appear on the new $20 bill.

On April 20, 2016, government officials announced that Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman would replace Andrew Jackson on a new $20 bill. To further honor women, pictures of famous suffragettes would appear on new $10 bills.

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What infamous criminal was finally released from prison in 2016?

After his 1981 attempted assassination of President Reagan, John Hinckley Jr. spent more than 30 years under lock and key before he was granted full-time convalescent leave in September 2016.

12.0 of 30
What storm became the first Category 5 hurricane to hit the Atlantic since 2007?

Hurricane Matthew killed more than 1,000 people in Haiti, and more than two dozen in the U.S. when it swept through the region in October, becoming the first Category 5 storm to hit the area since 2007.

13.0 of 30
Hillary Clinton was the first female presidential nominee for a major party.

She may not have won the election, but Clinton scored a victory for women everywhere when she was named the Democratic nominee for president in July 2016. The nomination made her the first female in history to win the nomination of a major U.S. political party.

14.0 of 30
Clinton won the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election.

Not only did Clinton win the popular vote, but she won it by a large margin of around 2.5 million votes. Despite the turnout for Clinton, Trump won the election by beating Clinton 30 states to 20 in terms of electoral votes.

15.0 of 30
Where can you find the Stonewall Monument?

The Stonewall Monument in New York's Greenwich Village became the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBT rights and culture when it was established in June 2016.

16.0 of 30
What southern city suffered from a major wildfire in late November 2016?

The Gatlinburg, Tennessee fire killed 14 people, destroyed homes and businesses and reduced 20,000 acres of Great Smoky Mountains National Park to ashes in late 2016. Two youths were arrested and blamed for starting the blaze.

17.0 of 30
What is Joaquin Guzman better known as?

In January 2016, Mexican law enforcement famously captured Guzman in a blaze of gunfire. The drug kingpin, who is better known as El Chapo, had escaped from prison twice previously throughout his long criminal career.

18.0 of 30
Which of these diseases made headlines in 2016 for its effect on pregnant women?

Zika was a major concern in 2016. Scientists learned that the rapidly spreading mosquito-transmitted disease could lead to microcephaly in unborn babies. With no available cure or vaccine, pregnant women were told to cover up and avoid mosquito-plagued areas.

19.0 of 30
What percent of people in Britain voted to leave the EU in June 2016?

British citizens voted to leave the European Union on June 23, 2016, in a movement called Brexit. The motion passed 52 percent to 48 percent.

20.0 of 30
Where were the 2016 Summer Olympics held?

The 2016 Summer Games were a bright spot in a tough year. The U.S. led the medal count with 121 total metals earned in Rio, 46 of them gold.

21.0 of 30
Which of these three celebs departed the world first in 2016?

The world lost many beloved celebrities in 2016, including David Bowie on January 10, Alan Rickman on January 14 and Glen Frey on January 18.

22.0 of 30
What were people protesting at Standing Rock?

The spirited protesters at Standing Rock in North Dakota fought against a 1,172-mile-long oil pipeline. On December 4, the group won a small victory when the Army Corps of Engineers announced that it would not grant developers a variance to run the pipeline under Lake Oahe.

23.0 of 30
The Ice Bucket Challenge provided a critical breakthrough for this disease in 2016.

In July 2016, scientists announced that thanks to funds raised from the Ice Bucket Challenge, they had identified a gene responsible for ALS. This significant breakthrough will help doctors treat -- and possibly cure -- patients of ALS in the future.

24.0 of 30
What branch of the military does Eric Fanning represent?

Five years after "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ended, Eric Fanning was named Secretary of the Army. The selection made Fanning the first openly gay military leader in U.S. history.

25.0 of 30
What closing benchmark did the DOW reach for the first time on November 22, 2016?

The DOW Jones Industrial closed above 19,000 for the first time in history on November 22nd. The NASDAQ and S&P also hit record highs that day.

26.0 of 30
Which country set a world tree-planting record in July?

Prior to July 2016, the world record for most trees planted in a single day was less than one million. India smashed that record to pieces on July 11 when 800,000 volunteers planted 50 million trees in a single day.

27.0 of 30
What movie finally earned Leonardo DiCaprio his first Oscar?

At the 88th Academy Awards in February 2016, DiCaprio finally picked up that long-elusive Best Actor win for "The Revenant" after five nominations.

28.0 of 30
How many people downloaded Pokemon GO in 2016?

At least 500 million people around the world downloaded the mobile Pokemon-chasing game from its July 2016 release through the end of the year.

29.0 of 30
What country's president encouraged killing drug pushers and users in 2016?

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte swore a vendetta against drug users and sellers, with more than 6,000 people killed by police or vigilantes between July 1 and early December. Despite his extreme methods, he maintains an 80 percent approval rating as of December 2016.

30.0 of 30
Where did the Juno mission finally arrive in 2016?

Launched in 2011, Juno provided some of the most detailed photos and information ever collected about Jupiter when it reached the planet on July 4, 2016.

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