The Miss America Beauty Pageant Quiz

Answer a series of forehead-slapping anecdotal factoids. It's up to you to weigh each fact in each anecdotal factoid. They're tricky. One might seem like total B.S. until it's revealed to be strangely and disturbingly "True." Another anecdotal factoid might seem to contain all solid and verifiable facts until it's revealed to be yet one more big fat garden variety "Bald-Faced Lie." And here's the trickiest part: an anecdotal factoid might even be "Half-True"; in other words, a mishmosh of truths and bald-faced lies, where you don't know where one ends and the other begins, much like the usual slop served by Madison Avenue, Washington D.C., and the Internet in its entirety.

Category: Here she is: The Miss America Quiz!

Decide for yourself, and mark "T" for "Truth", "F" for "Bald-Faced Lie" or "TF" for "Half-Truth" in the blank slot next to each factoid.

1) __ During the 1968 Miss America Pageant, radical feminist Robin Morgan led a protest against the event, crowning a live sheep as Miss America and dumping high-heeled shoes, cosmetics, and brassieres into a "freedom trash can" on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. The contents of the trash can were then lit on fire. The news media was there to record the event. This became the very first feminist bra burning protest.

2) __ Bette Cooper, Miss America of 1937, was an unwilling participant. She entered the contest as a dare from friends. When she was crowned Miss America, she had second thoughts and "escaped" the event in a motor boat with her male chaperone. After the Boardwalk crowds dispersed and the Pageant ended, Ms. Cooper was amazed to discover that the judges hadn't disqualified her and she was still Miss America.

3) __ After Miss Indiana, Leticia Davenport, was crowned Miss America of 1928, it was discovered that several years earlier she had won the title of "Miss 100 Percent America, a contest and pageant held yearly by the Ku Klux Klan. Despite the controversy, Ms. Davenport wasn't disqualified.

4) __ Before Henrietta Leaver was crowned Miss America of 1935, she posed for sculptor Frank Vittor, famous for sculpting the heads of three U.S. Presidents. A month after she was crowned, Vittor unveiled a nude statue of Ms. Leaver.

5) __ Yolanda Betbeze, Miss America of 1951, refused to pose in a bathing suit for the competition. This act caused a major Pageant sponsor, Catalina swimwear, to drop out. The company later created and sponsored two competing Pageants: Miss U.S.A. and Miss Universe.

6) __ The 1922 Miss America competition was the first time that there were two Miss Americas due to a voting tie. The winners were Mary Katherine Campbell and Rebecca Ann King.

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Here are the answers for Here she is: The Miss America Quiz!

A reminder: "T" is for "Truth", "F" is for "Bald-Faced Lie" or "TF" is for "Half-Truth".

1) TF: This anecdote is both true and false. It's true that radical feminist Robin Morgan led a protest against the 1968 Miss America Pageant on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. It's also true that a live sheep was crowned Miss America and that the protesters dumped high-heeled shoes, cosmetics, and brassieres into a "freedom trash can" at the demonstration. It's false that the contents of the trash can were then lit on fire.

In 1992, in a MS. Magazine article, contributing editor Lindsy Van Gelder confessed that she had fabricated the bonfire and bra burning story when she was a young reporter for the New York Post in 1968.

2) T: It's true that Bette Cooper, Miss America of 1937, escaped from the event in a motor boat with her male chaperone, Frank Off. It's also true that the judges hadn't disqualified her and she was still Miss America. Alive and well in Connecticut, Bette Cooper still refuses to talk about the incident.

3) TF: This anecdote is both true and false. It's false that Leticia Davenport was crowned Miss America of 1928. From 1928 through 1932, no Miss America competitions were held. It's true that there was a "Miss 100 Percent America" contest and pageant held yearly by the Ku Klux Klan.

A side note: "Rule number seven" in the official Miss America rule book had stated for years that "contestants must be of good health and of the white race." Up to 1970, contestants had to list how far back they could trace their American ancestry. In 1970, Miss Iowa's Cheryl Brown became the first African-American to compete in the Miss America event.

4) T: It's true that, before Henrietta Leaver was crowned Miss America of 1935, she posed for sculptor Frank Vittor. It's also true that Vittor later unveiled a nude statue of Ms. Leaver. Miss America, however, protested, claiming that she was clothed in a bathing suit while posing for Vittor, and that her grandmother was present during the entire session.

5) T: It's true that, because Miss America Yolanda Betbeze refused to pose in a bathing suit for the competition, Catalina swimwear dropped out as a major Pageant sponsor. It's also true that they later created and sponsored the competing Miss U.S.A. and Miss Universe Pageants.

6) TF: This anecdote is both true and false. It's false that that there were two Miss Americas in 1922. In fact, there was never a tie in the history of the event. It's true that Mary Katherine Campbell was crowned Miss America in 1922. Ms. Campbell's claim to fame was that she was the only Miss America to win the competition twice: in 1922 and 1923.

SOURCES:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/missamerica/filmmore/pt.html

http://www.missamerica.org/our-miss-americas/1920/1922.asp

http://www.missamerica.org/our-miss-americas/1930/1935.asp

http://www.missamerica.org/our-miss-americas/1950/1951.asp

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/missamerica/peopleevents/e_inclusion.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/missamerica/peopleevents/e_mind.html

http://www.missamerica.org/our-miss-americas/1930/1937.asp

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/burnbra.htm