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About This Quiz
The drive-in culture is as American as apple pie and baseball. You think you can challenge yourself to see if you’ve got enough of that vintage Americana knowledge within you? Then open up this quiz and hop in -- pun intended!
The drive-in culture was ushered into the American scene during World War II. As it started to boom, the culture also changed drastically due to the effects of this war. But after the war, the scene was another story -- a more nostalgic one.
Soldiers soon came back home, went back to living their lives and working on their jobs, and started having families of their own. Of course, American pop culture started entertaining them, and American culture also started developing around them. Intersect these developments on the homefront with technological innovations reaped from the Industrial Revolution and you get newer forms of living life, experiencing life, participating in life, and enjoying life.
The drive-in culture was one such development that Americans enjoyed experiencing. During its heyday in the 1940s and ‘50s, around 4,000 drive-in theaters existed all over the country. While the numbers have dwindled drastically, some of them still exist today.
So, you think you can hop on in to challenge yourself with this fun drive-in quiz? Then open it up and drive on down the road!
At the center of the drive-in culture is what kind of Industrial Revolution “machine�
The car
The emergence of the automobile changed many things in American culture. This happened during the early parts of the 20th century.
The railroad
The airplane
The yacht
The term "drive-in†always invokes this kind of establishment. What is it?
Bookstore
Library
Theater
The drive-in culture actually encompasses many establishments such as banks, restaurants, and even chapels. But the drive-in theater is the most recognizable establishment in this group.
School
In which US state was the first drive-in recognized?
New York
New Jersey
The widely recognized beginnings of the first American drive-in are rooted in New Jersey, specifically in Camden. But other historians also point to earlier “partial prototypes†being established in other parts of North America.
California
Ohio
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What is essentially the concept of a drive-in theater?
A pugilist match
A sleepover
A social gathering
An outdoor movie screening
Outdoor movie screenings were not a new concept when the drive-in theater was invented. But the drive-in narrowed it down to using a car as part of the outdoor screening experience.
The success of drive-in culture owed much to the success of this mass-produced affordable car. What was it?
Honda M
Benz 501
Model T
Henry Ford’s revolutionary ford Model T made cars affordable to the general public. This meant that many Americans could now own one, or two, or three!
Porsche L
Originally, how many movies could you watch at a drive-in theater?
Only 1
Due to the logistics of the set-up, the early drive-in theater could only show one movie in a few days or an entire week, depending on its movie rental contract with producers.
More than 3
10 short films and 1 long film
5 short reels and 1 newsreel
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With the advent of the car came the advent of this passage system, which also helped the drive-in culture boom. What was this system?
The Dewey Decimal System
The Interstate Highway System
Due to the development of the Interstate Highway System, roads greatly improved in America. This coincided with the boom of the automobiles.
The Bronchial System
The Metric System
In which decade was the first drive-in theater born?
The 1940s
The 1900s
The 1970s
The 1930s
It was during the 1930s when the concept for the drive-in theater was patented. It was held by businessman-inventor Richard Hollingshead Jr.
Where did drive-in inventor Richard Hollingshead Jr. try creating many experiments that eventually led to his greatest invention?
At the White House
In his own house
Hollingshead used his own house to test several parts of the drive-in concept.
In a community park
At a nearby farm
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What brand of movie projector did drive-in inventor Hollingshead Jr. use for his project?
Kodak
Kodak held the early monopoly of film technology in the early 20th century. Thus, a Kodak projector was used for this experimental project.
Lumix
Fuji
Sony
The earliest drive-in setup consisted of an outdoor screen. But where were the speakers placed?
Outside the fences
At the entrance gate
Near the screen
The early set-up had a huge speaker planted near the screen.
Underneath the lot
What aspect of the drive-in viewing experience did Hollingston Jr. made sure of, before opening his establishment?
That all cars had a good view of the outdoor screen
Since patrons would be sitting inside their cars to watch the film, Hollingston had to make sure all the cars had a good vantage point of the screen wherever they might be parked.
That bubblegum be outlawed inside
That patrons’ cars were brand-new
That popcorn had melted butter
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What did Hollingston Jr. install in his first drive-in theater to ensure that cars’ occupants could view the film screen properly?
A second screen
Pulleys
Tow trucks
Ramps
Several parts of the land where the drive-in was had to have ramps, for unobstructed viewing.
The first patented drive-in theater in New Jersey showed the “foreign film†entitled "Wives Beware!" Where was this film originally from?
France
India
UK
"Wives Beware!" was originally entitled "Two White Arms." This British comedy was released in 1932.
No one knows
What was the first major appeal of the drive-in theater concept for patrons?
They could watch a movie in the comfort of their cars
To watch a movie in the comfort of your car was a novelty for early drive-in theater patrons.
They could sleep while watching a movie
They could walk out if the movie is bad
They could swap cars while watching
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True or false: The first drive-in theater’s primary target market was families.
True
Drive-ins were initially designed to have something for the entire family. That was the intended demographic.
False.
The first patrons of the drive-in theater culture were called what?
The drivers
The ozoners
Ozoners was the term for drive-in movie patrons. Breathing fresh air while watching a film was unique indeed.
The curbers
The bumpers
Which popular movie musical glorified the drive-in theater culture of the ‘50s?
Grease
The movie musical, "Grease," was set in the ‘50s, so, of course, the drive-in theater had to be there.
Wicked
The Sound of Music
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
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Movie patrons on the heavier side liked the drive-in theater concept. Why is that?
They could walk around the place
They had unlimited snacks access
More comfortable seating set up for them
It was reported that the drive-in inventor’s mother was an inspiration to have heavier-set people like her go watch a movie. Back then, theaters had smaller cramped rows and seats, not friendly to larger people.
They could doze off in their car from time to time
Since it’s an outdoor cinema viewing experience, what did Hollingshead Jr. do to “block†outsiders from seeing the outdoor screen?
He poked their eyes from a distance
He placed trees around the establishment
Hollingston had tall trees planted all around the drive-in so as to block the screen. Smart and eco-friendly!
He flashed light bulbs at them
He hosed them down
Since the earliest drive-ins broadcast the sound very loudly, what happened to the mostly suburban areas where they were located?
Got windows broken
Complained of noise pollution
Residents complained of noise pollution, forcing drive-in owners to renovate this portion of their business.
Got TP-ed
Listened in on the movie of the day
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Usually, what time of day did the early drive-ins show their films?
Morning
Noon
Night
Since it’s an outdoor screening, all film screenings were scheduled at night.
Late afternoon
Since families could bring small children in the back seat of their cars, this “informal industry†suffered. What industry is this?
The shoeshine boys
The babysitter's club
Babysitters reportedly complained that they no longer had work since parents could bring their children to the drive-in where they could sit or sleep in the backseat while they watched a movie.
The newspaper delivery guys
The mailman
It was obvious that the one-source speaker wasn’t working for drive-ins. What sound innovation came next?
Showed only silent films
Turned off the sound
Cars had to move closer together
Speaker poles near cars
Speakers mounted on poles were found beside the parking slots of cars. That way the sound was broken down into smaller units closer to the audience.
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Teenagers of the 1950s discovered the drive-in as a great place to do this activity.
Go on a date
Drive-in theaters provided great date venues for teens back then.
Study for an exam
Sleep
Make some money
Drive-ins got a notorious reputation when patrons started to make out or have sex inside the parked cars! What did the media call this “phenomenon�
The Fogged Windows
The Love Bowl
The Passion Pit
The passion pit is what people termed drive-ins when teens started doing other things there during the 1950s.
The Sweet Spot
What’s a drive-in theater without this other kind of establishment?
Concessionaire
A food concessionaire is also found inside a drive-in, where snacks could be bought.
Church
School
Hospital
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Aside from watching from the comforts of their car, what activity did drive-in patrons enjoy doing there?
Smoking
Patrons could freely sit on their car hoods and smoke cigarettes while watching a film. Some even drank beers.
Farting
Gambling
Ogling
Which generation is credited with helping the drive-in concept boom, especially after World War II?
Generation X
Gen Y
Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers
Vietnam Vets
Next to movies, drive-ins also offered snacks. What do you call the servers who delivered the food to the customers’ cars?
Busboy
Carhop
Carhops usually wore roller skates and went to the cars to take orders and deliver them.
Stewards
Hostess
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When the standing speakers didn’t really fly, what was the next audio innovation for drive-ins?
Speakers that could be hung inside the cars
Smaller speakers could be hung inside each car window, and patrons could even control the sound volume.
Cut screening time in half instead
Bullhorns
Attach megaphones to speakers
Aside from speakers hanging on the car windows, what food innovation was later hung in windows?
Food trays
Food trays were later adopted to have them clamped on car windows. This innovation is said to have started in a Chicago drive-in.
Bubblegum
Canisters
Glasses
What kind of flashy lights were used to attract patrons to “drive in†the drive-ins?
Strobes
LED lights
Mirror ball
Neon
Did you know all neon signs aren't made from neon gas? Only the color red is made from actual neon gas. The rest are various other gases that produce colors ranging from blue to green to purple and beyond.
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What final audio innovation was applied to the drive-in theater system?
Walkmans
Using the car radios as speakers
Someone finally thought of broadcasting the film’s soundtrack over low radio frequencies that could be picked up by the cars’ built-in radios.
Earphones were given to patrons
Subtitles for the movies
You Got:
/35
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