1. bunny tail
   cat whiskers
2. rabbit ears

Antennas that were set on top of your TV set were known as "rabbit ears."

1. display
   lazy susan
2. tuner

The basic components of a basic television include a tuner to process the sound and picture, a display to see the video signal and speakers to hear the audio signal.

1. an all-electronic television
   a monochrome/black-and-white television
2. a completely wireless television

When American inventor Philo Farnsworth demonstrated it at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, the all-electronic television was considered the future of television. Previously, he had demonstrated it in September 1928, but it was closed to press only.

1. Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford
   Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan
2. John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon

In 1960, U.S. presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon were the first candidates to debate live on television before the election. In 1974, Nixon also used a television broadcast to resign from his presidency.

1. before
   after
2. the same year

While the first LCD TVs went on sale in 1988 in the U.S., plasma displays weren't available until 1997. LCDs have had more staying power over the years, though, due to low-cost LCD competition.

1. "Jesus of Nazareth"
   "North and South"
2. "Roots"

The TV miniseries "Roots" is based on Alex Haley's 1976 novel "Roots: The Saga of an American Family." It first aired on the ABC network, premiering in January 1977, and went on to receive 37 Emmy Award nominations, of which it won nine. It also won a Golden Globe.

1. "M*A*S*H"
   "The Sopranos"
2. "The X-Files"

The most-watched series finale in history isn't "The Sopranos" or "Friends," although they both were very popular. It's the finale to the show "M*A*S*H" -- an episode called, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" -- that attracted an audience of 105.9 million viewers on February 28, 1983.

1. the Stanley Cup
   the Super Bowl
2. the World Series

For several years, the Super Bowl has been the most-watched sporting event nationally broadcast in the U.S.

1. a cathode ray tube (CRT) television set
   an electro-mechanical television system
2. a liquid-crystal display (LCD) television set

Paul Nipkow patented the concept of an electro-mechanical television system back in 1884 -- under German Patent No. 30105. The system was based on a rotating scanning-disk with a series of holes, which we now call a Nipkow disk.

1. bezel to bezel
   diagonally
2. top to bottom

Don't be fooled that the new 50-inch TV is 50-inches wide. Televisions are measured diagonally, from one top corner to its opposite bottom corner.

1. a static black screen
   a static blue screen
2. a test pattern

When stations didn't have television broadcasting available 24/7, they used a test-pattern screen until programming resumed.

1. Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)
   National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
2. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

The same year that "All My Children," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Monday Night Football" premiered, American audiences were also introduced to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

1. "seeking a buyer for an Oyster Bay, Long Island, estate"
   television sets
2. watchmaker Bulova

Bulova bought the first official advertisement that appeared on American television. It aired during the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies game, on New York's WNBT (which became WNBC).

1. because of the Civil War
   because of World War I
2. because of World War II

The FCC halted all American television broadcasting in 1942 because of the U.S. involvement in World War II. When DuMont, which at the time was a rival network of NBC and CBS, petitioned to resume its broadcasts, it was approved.

1. "Gilligan's Island"
   "Sesame Street"
2. the Tournament of Roses Parade

On New Year's Day in 1954, NBC broadcast the Tournament of Roses Parade nationally -- and in color.

1. "The Brady Bunch"
   "I Love Lucy"
2. "Kraft Television Theatre"

The Golden Age of Television is the 12-year period between 1948 and 1960. Variety shows were popular during this period, and those such as "Alcoa Hour," "Kraft Television Theatre," "Playhouse 90," the "U.S. Steel Hour" and "Westinghouse Studio One" were broadcast live from New York City. The sitcom "I Love Lucy" also premiered during this time (in 1951). "The Brady Bunch," though, didn't air until 1969.

1. the first digital-terrestrial (DTTV) broadcast
   the first high-definition (HDTV) broadcast
2. the first Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) broadcast

It was WRAL-TV in North Carolina that was the first station in the U.S. to broadcast a public high-definition television (HDTV) signal, in July 1996. HDTV sets became available to the American public in 1998.

1. the 1936 Summer Games
   the 1956 Summer Games
2. the 1972 Winter Games

The 1936 Summer Olympics, held in Berlin, Germany, was the first to be televised. Twenty-five viewing rooms were erected around the city, where anyone could watch the black-and-white coverage. The event marked the first live television broadcast of a sporting event. It wasn't until the 1960 Winter Games, held in Squaw Valley, California, that the Olympic Games were broadcast in the U.S.

1. high prices
   little to no color TV shows available
2. reliability
   all of these reasons

In 1954, the Westinghouse color TV sold for $1,295, and the RCA CT-100, which came out just a few weeks after the Westinghouse, wasn't much cheaper, at $1,000. Only 150,000 colors sets had been sold by the end of 1957. High prices, poor reliability and small screens, along with little to no color television programming, all contributed to why TV audiences were slow to adopt the color television set.

1. a selfie
   silhouette images of geometric shapes
2. a sunset

At the turn of the 20th century, Boris Rosing was the first to transmit the silhouette images of various geometric shapes using the three basic components of a mechnical television system: a spinning Nipkow disk, a mirror-drum and a cathode ray tube receiver.

1. a moving image
   an animated short
2. ESPN

In what is believed to have been the first time a working electro-mechanical television system was demonstrated, in 1926 Baird transmitted a moving image with enough detail at 30-line resolution to make out a faint human face.

1. the Apollo 11 moon landing
   "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!"
2. "Sesame Street"
   all of these

In 1969, television saw the first broadcast of "Sesame Street," "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!." The live broadcast of the Apollo 11 moon landing also aired that year, attracting a worldwide audience of at least 720 million people.

1. "Candid Camera"
   "COPS"
2. Mutual of Omaha's "Wild Kingdom"

In 1948, a new type of show premiered on ABC: the reality TV show. The premise of "Candid Camera," which was originally called "Candid Microphone," was to perform practical jokes on unsuspecting people and film their reaction.

1. "The Night America Trembled"
   "The Perry Como Show"
2. "The Twilight Zone"

In 1956, "The Perry Como Show" became the first live network TV series to broadcast most of its episodes in color.

1. the Master System Remote Control System
   the universal remote
2. the Zenith Space Commander

If you had the first wireless remote control, the Zenith Space Command, you'd be able to turn the television set on or off, and you could change the channel. It was sold in 1956, and unlike today's infrared technology, it used ultrasonic tones to communicate with compatible sets.

1. Germany
   Soviet Union
2. United States

The U.S. was the first country to have television, although back then it didn't look much like the TV set in your own home. Television "systems" in the '20s and '30s in the U.S. used what's known as mechanical-scanning methods, rather than the electronic-scan technology of modern-day CRT and LCD displays.

1. in the mid-1950s
   in the mid-1970s
2. in the mid-1990s

In the mid-1970s, two video cassette recorders rose to prominence among the public: the Sony Betamax, which was introduced in 1975, and VHS (short for Video Home System) in 1976.

1. California
   Oregon
2. Pennsylvania

In 1948, in-state innovation broadcasted cable channels in areas of Arkansas, Oregon and Pennsylvania.

1. color television
   live television
2. sepia-tone television

In 1938, DuMont Laboratories produced and sold the first all-electronic TV sets to consumers. And, it's the same year inventor John Logie Baird demonstrated the first color projection television to the public.

1. yes, it's true
   no, that's false
2. partly true -- "Jeopardy!" didn't debut that year

Not only did The Beatles appear on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964, it was the same year several popular TV series premiered, including "Gilligan's Island" and "Jeopardy!."

1. about $50
   about $100
2. $1,000 or more

DVDs or Digital Video Discs (now called Digital Versatile Discs) and the hardware to play them debuted in November 1996 in Japan and in March 1997 in the U.S. Early adopters paid $1,000 or more for one of the first DVD players.

1. "The Tonight Show"
   "Lassie"
2. "Father Knows Best"

In 1954, the NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) set the video standards for color television shows. It's also the same year that "Father Knows Best," "Lassie," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." as well as "Disneyland" premiered.

1. "The French Chef"
   “The Frugal Gourmet"
2. "I Love to Eat"

In 1946, you could tune in to NBC on Friday nights to watch chef James Beard host the 15-minute cooking show "I Love to Eat."

1. one-quarter
   one-half
2. all American homes

First demonstrated in 1946, it wasn't until 1972 when half of American homes had color sets.

1. yes, it was made from gold and diamonds
   yes, that's how the old mechanical TVs were built
2. no, that's a rumor

In 2010, Stuart Hughes' luxury line included the PrestigeHD Supreme Rose TV, which sold for roughly $2.3 million. The TV, of which only three were made, was made from 61 pounds of rose gold with 72 one-carat diamond inlays.