Christmas Special The Quizeum

A Christmas stocking bursting with toys, puzzles, dolls

and mementos, this is the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood.

Today, it's host to the Quizeum.

Welcome to Bethnal Green in east London

and Great Britain's finest and largest collection

of childhood memories.

Over the next four rounds, we'll be unwrapping clothes,

dolls' houses, baby walkers, games, trains and automobiles

and asking a series of questions

that'll bring out the child in us all.

-Won't it, kids?

-Yes!

-Yes.

Good. But which boys and girls are coming out to play here today?

We've assembled our old favourites and regulars for you.

Well, it's Christmas and no-one else was available.

On my right, milk monitor Lars Tharp

is joining forces with teacher's pet Dr Nina Ramirez.

Opposite them are the naughtiest girls in the school -

Professor Kate Williams and, on a return visit to our playpen,

writer, historian and art expert Hallie Rubenhold.

So, this museum, I think, I've got a theory actually,

that lots of people bring their kids here

but actually it's adults who stand in awe in front of these cases.

-Lars, have you got a favourite toy?

-I do. I'm afraid he's awaiting repair.

-He's my Bamse.

-Your what?

-Bamse is the Danish for teddy bear.

-I see. Right.

-Cute!

What about over here?

-Hallie, have you got a favourite toy that you still hang on to?

-Ooh...

No, but I'll tell you what I really want.

I want a really old, big dolls' house.

-Did you have a dolls' house when you were a kid.

-I did!

It was made out of tin and just wasn't as satisfactory

as some of these gorgeous antique ones that you can see here.

I definitely had a dolls' house that we used as a garage.

But anyway, it's time to get our Quizeum game out of its box

and carefully study the rules on the inside of the lid.

You must buzz in to win an open question

which will gain you one point

and the opportunity to answer a special two-point bonus.

So, fingers at the ready. No talking at the back.

Here is your first question.

It's a Christmas decoration from the Erzgebirge region of Germany.

How do you get the sails at the top to spin? BUZZER

-Candles.

-Candles, you light the candles and off they go.

So, here's your specialist question coming in now.

Right. What is this and how did losing a piece of it drive Daddy mad?

This is from a cabinet that was called...

I think it's Lady Charlotte's cabinet, is that right?

And I think that it was owned by George...IV?

These were some of the earliest jigsaw puzzles put together

and, yes, they put together all the various maps.

OK, so you're getting close.

We've got Lady Charlotte, Lady Charlotte Finch.

And she was the governess.

So tell me what you see there and what happened there.

Well, I think what we have here is North America

going up to the Arctic Circle up there. And, er...

The thing that immediately springs to mind is that

when George III heard that he had lost his American colonies,

he went even madder than he was anyway

in the first place.

-I don't know whether that's what you're getting at?

-It is indeed.

A large chunk of it, which is mapped out there in different sections,

was actually lost by George III and he, as it were,

got annoyed about that.

"Mad" in the American sense,

although he was considered to be mad originally,

so I'll give you two points for that because we have worked our way there.

So, erm...

-We're smiling here.

-You're smiling away.

Do you know anything more about Lady Charlotte?

I know she was the governess of the children of George III.

How many children were there?

There were seven sons and six daughters that survived.

This was apparently in Kew Palace and it is the puzzle cabinet,

-the dissected piece...

-Dissection map.

And it really shows, I think, how many of the toys here are both

educational and also playthings at the same time.

That's a brilliant answer and very, very informative,

-but they got the points.

-They got the points. They got the points.

But fingers back on your buzzers for the next opener.

Have a look at this. This is James Bond's car,

but what did Corgi change to make it more appealing to '60s children?

BUZZER

They put in an ejector seat.

No, there was an ejector seat in the original.

Did they put a James Bond figurine in it?

No, they didn't, no. Because there was a sort of James Bond figurine -

although I'm not saying that Sean Connery was...a figurine,

he's a good deal more than that.

Many believe he was the best, apart from Patrick Troughton, obviously.

So, er, now... You are going to have another go at this.

What did they do to change it?

Was it the colour?

-Because it's from the film Goldfinger, isn't it?

-Yes.

-So they've made it gold.

-They made it gold!

They thought kids would prefer a gold car.

They thought the silver car would just look unpainted.

So they did indeed make it gold.

So you get the next specialist question. Have a look at this.

So here's your specialist question for two points -

who made this in 1904 and which event in 1902

guaranteed the toy's popularity?

I think this is a Steiff bear, made in Germany, but I think it

commemorates something to do with President Roosevelt.

Teddy Roosevelt, and I think it was

when he was out shooting one day and he refused to shoot a bear.

Is that right?

Yes, that's completely correct. Two points.

But tell me a little bit more about it, Lars.

Er, Roosevelt was invited to go to some American state

where they had too many bears and, erm, he went out with a party.

They couldn't find a bear,

so they thought they'd do him a favour by

getting a bear and chaining it up to a pole and saying to Mr Roosevelt,

"Well, there you are, Mr Roosevelt. You can take your shot from here."

And he just couldn't. Tears welled up in his eyes...

-Let's assume it was something like that!

-OK.

The company that was already making what we call teddy bears...

I don't know what they called them before they were called teddy bears.

They saw a marketing opportunity

when the story came out in the press and they said, "Ooh!

"This little bear looks just like the ones we sell.

"We're going to call them - in honour of you, Mr Roosevelt -

"we're going to call them teddy bears."

But also there was a popular market for them in England

-because of King Edward...VII, is it?

-Mm.

-So the Steiff lot were in the money.

-So the world went teddy mad.

Margarete Steiff began manufacturing soft toy animals

in the 1880s in Germany.

One of those ideas where you think, "I wonder if this will catch on?"

Originally, though, they were made as pincushions.

By 1907, the company was turning out nearly a million bears a year.

And this particular gentleman dates from 1904.

It's in good nick!

OK. We're ready for another one-point opener.

Here are two successful dolls.

Barbie and Sindy.

Barbie's long-term partner is Ken,

but who is Sindy's significant other?

BEEP

-Andy?

-Not Andy.

-We're thinking Kevin.

-Not Kevin, no.

-We just thought it could be.

No, you're both failing to recognise or remember Paul.

-We're staying with these two babes.

-Oh, God!

In this picture of Barbie and Sindy, which one is Sindy? BEEP

The one on the right-hand side in the ballet skirt.

The one on the right in the ballet skirt?

-Kate.

-Yes?

-You've got a specialist question.

-How pretty!

-OK. It's a dress for a six-year-old.

What personal event might have been expected

to bring its wearing to an end?

To bring its wearing to an end?

Oh, it this for a little boy?

Initially young boys and girls both wore dresses

-until they were between about five to seven.

-When they were breeched.

Which meant that they wore trousers.

And so it was a very significant occasion.

-It meant he was becoming a grown-up little man.

-Into the man's world.

Of course, linked to potty training as well.

Cos it was much easier to change children

when they just had skirts on.

That's a very full and very correct answer that gains you two points.

The boy in this case was called Theophilis Willway.

Boys wore dresses until they were given their first pair of breeches

or trousers, which happened between the ages of four and eight years old.

They might also get their first haircut or be given

a child-sized sword to mark the event.

These days, of course, it's the traditional mobile phone.

Another opener.

Look at this. Invented in 1834, this is a zoetrope,

an early animation toy.

Now the name comes from the Greek "tropos" meaning turning,

but what does "zoe" mean? BUZZER

Life.

It means life.

One point to you, so you get the final specialist question.

Ooh.

Now, this is a board game from around 1850 called

A New Game Of The History Of England.

It features the battles of Trafalgar, Navarino,

Waterloo and Seringapatam.

Which is the earliest and which is the most recent

of these battles?

What was their significance?

OK, so we've got Trafalgar and Waterloo,

which are part of the Napoleonic Wars.

-Seringapatam?

-And Navarino, so they are going to be...

-Peninsula wars?

-East-west?

I think if Navarino is part of the War of the Spanish Succession,

this would be the earlier one.

-Earlier, yep.

-And...

-That's one of the late... Oh, no, hang on.

That would then be Clive of India

and then you end up with Trafalgar, then Waterloo.

-You're wrong.

-Oh!

So we're going to pass it over to the other side.

Let's move the board game over to them.

OK, have a look at it.

Kate and Hallie, we're looking for the earliest battle

and the most recent, in this history which

culminates, in the middle, in the accession of Queen Victoria.

It's an interesting view of history, but we've correctly identified

Waterloo and Trafalgar. We know that that's 1805 and 1815.

But we've got Seringapatam and Navarino. Which was the first

of those four?

We think it's Trafalgar.

-And the last?

-Seringapatam.

-Seringapatam.

No, so none of you got this.

-In fact, the Battle of Seringapatam is the earliest.

-Oh!

-In 1799.

-Oh, dear.

In the fourth Anglo-Mysore War between the East India Company

and the kingdom of Mysore.

And it consolidated British control over India.

So the Battle of Navarino, in 1827, is the most recent

because it helped secure Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire.

And effectively, it was the last battle to take place with only

sailing ships taking part, and that was in 1827.

Rather wonderful board game, though, isn't it? Rather splendid,

because what happened during the 19th century is the upper

and middle classes suddenly found themselves with more leisure time,

so it became a boom period for indoor entertainment.

Amongst popular parlour games of the period was Hot Cockles, in which

a blindfolded person has to identify who in the room

has just kicked him,

and Snapdragon, which involved trying to retrieve raisins

from the bottom of a bowl of brandy which had been set on fire.

Thank goodness board game manufacturers stepped in

to stop the Victorians making their own entertainment.

And at the end of the round,

it's time to find out how we're doing on the scores.

Well, Kate and Hallie, you've got three,

but Lars and Nina, seizing those objects as they came in,

-you've rushed ahead with seven.

-Yes! Good.

We now have some toys coming to the table,

one for each team.

We're going to get two accounts of these toys.

One is true and one is a fairy story, but can their opponents identify

which is which without the help of comical nose extensions?

It's time for a question of attribution -

Call Of Duty: Doll Warfare III.

Let's hear from Lars and Nina first

and we'll put the doll in front of Kate and Hallie for their inspection.

So, Lars, would you like to tell us what this is?

OK. You can see it's now been dressed in hip 1960s-'70s garb,

but at its heart there you have a German 1930s monkey, a pet monkey.

And, er, this monkey has rather a special story.

It came over with a child who was on the Kindertransport,

fleeing Germany in the 1930s.

And it became such an important memory of the survival of this

particular child, that it was passed down through the generations.

The irony is that the family name of this monkey that escaped

Herr Hitler is, his name is Hermann.

OK. So...

-Nina, you have another story relating to this doll?

-I do.

As you can see, the clothes are 1960s

and the monkey itself is 1960s.

Made of nylon stockings.

And made as a sort of a teaching aid by a governess for two boys

that were in her care so that they could create stories,

building up a whole world for the monkeys to inhabit,

and his name is not Hermann, his name is Angle.

So, that's Angle the Monkey, the creator of stories

or Hermann the Monkey who made a trip from Germany.

OK. My sense is, I mean, this looks very nylon-y to me, I have to say.

He does look nylon-y tights,

-but then I find the idea of the Kindertransport very...

-Compelling?

Very compelling and it's a reason why he'd be here

and why he'd be kept, why he'd be conserved as special.

Oh, I'll get it wrong. I'll get it wrong. I give up.

Hallie, don't let Kate prevaricate any more. You go. Tell me.

Although I am not completely convinced of this,

let's go for Hermann the German monkey.

Is it Hermann the German monkey, Lars?

-He's actually an Angle, not a German.

-Oh!

You were right.

Always trust your instincts!

This is one of a troupe of soft monkey toys

made in the 1960s out of old stockings.

Two brothers filled three exercise books with details of monkey society,

the monkeys' religious views,

monkey judicial systems and monkey political struggles

and the BBC have been broadcasting a long-running adaptation of this

called Today In Parliament.

So, now we're going to bring in another object.

So...

Here she is. Hallie and Kate, who is she?

Hallie, do you want to go first?

So, this is one of a set of three fashion dolls

made by a fashion doll maker in Germany called Karl Mendel.

And the three dolls were named after the three eldest daughters

of Queen Charlotte and George III.

And it was such a sumptuous

and deluxe one that Karl Mendel gave her

and the two other ones to Queen Charlotte

and then eventually it was given to the museum

by Queen Mary at around the eve of the First World War.

There we are. Kate, do you have another fairy story to put before us?

Yes, this is Mrs Candour from the School For Scandal,

the 1777 play by Sheridan.

This is a very famous actress role, but she was actually made

much later than the 1770s, she was made in the 1930s.

So, is this a character from the School For Scandal

or is it a German fashion doll?

Erm, I don't think that this is that old, do you?

-What do you think?

-Well, you see, the hair looks old an dusty.

To me, that looks like an 18th-century doll

and really rather a fine one, actually.

It's got kirby grips in it!

Yeah, I think it's modern.

It could be just a very, very clever forgery. I'm happy to go with you.

I'm going to take a punt

that I think Kate is telling the truth.

So, Kate, are you telling the truth?

I am telling the truth. She was a fake made in the 1930s.

And she even tricked the buyers at the museum

who believed that she was a genuine 18th-century fashion doll.

So, Lars, you are not far off.

And I obviously have the superior eye, Lars.

SHE GIGGLES

They're not getting one over on you, Nina.

This is Mrs Candour, a character from Sheridan's School For Scandal,

fraudulently created in the 20th century as an attempt to prove

that entertainment franchises had been around for 200 years

longer than suspected.

After that entertaining fantasy, we return to grim reality

because the scores now stand as follows -

-Kate and Hallie you still have three.

-Oh, no!

-You haven't lost any points.

That's one thing.

Lars and Nina, you've gained some points there and you're now at ten.

Are you unassailable?

We shall see,

because we're going on now to our guided tour.

I'm going to take each of the teams on a quick whip around the museum.

Lars and Nina, put on your gumboots and form a crocodile.

You're coming first.

I have two objects for you, three questions

and three points available, but only one connection.

OK, here we are. Two objects.

Now, this is your first object, this tiny,

little and rather obvious Christmas card. No points for that.

And if you seek the second object, look all about you.

It's the building. So, your first question -

this museum houses the V&A collection of childhood memorabilia,

but how are we connected with South Kensington in a more physical way?

I think I know this.

-Right...

-Good, that's helpful.

When what is now the South Kensington museum complex

was being developed, there was a sequence of iron structures

made to house the collections before the permanent buildings were put up.

And those were dismantled

and three of those arches were needing a new home.

This part of the structure was offered up

and it ended up with a permanent home here in Bethnal Green.

Correct. You certainly get your one point there.

OK, here's your second question.

Here is a Christmas card from around 1890,

but out of three things illustrated here - Father Christmas' red outfit,

the Christmas cracker and what was then called the safety bicycle -

which was the most up-to-date at the time of this Christmas card?

-At the time of the card? OK.

-OK. Father Christmas in the red suit,

I just have this ringing memory of it being

a result of the Coca-Cola advertising campaign,

because he's traditionally - St Nicholas - in green.

And then I seem to remember something about him

wearing red in an advert.

In fact, the Coca-Cola ads that used the red costume

date from the 1930s.

The Father Christmas red look here, especially with the fur trim,

was invented by an American cartoonist called Thomas Nast

working in the 1860s.

And what about the Christmas cracker?

I'd have thought that was a Victorian invention,

but whether it's before the safety bicycle?

-I think the safety bicycle is the hi-tech thing on this card.

-Yes.

That's my guess.

The safety bicycle was in fact invented in 1885,

so this one here is bang up-to-date,

so I'm going to give you your point there.

The cracker, of course, was invented in 1846

by Thomas Smith in England, in London. So, we're moving on.

This is your final question.

Which individual connects the Christmas card and the building?

-Ah, we know this, don't we?

-It's the amazing Henry Cole

who worked with the Prince Consort after...

Well, during the Great Exhibition of 1851

and then transformed it into what we now know as the V&A,

and Henry Cole, amongst all of his other accomplishments,

he invented the whole idea of the Christmas card.

Henry Cole invented the Christmas card in 1843

and he was the same man

who became the director of the South Kensington Museum and therefore was,

I suppose, responsible for giving Bethnal Green this museum.

Well done, that's three points.

We're now going to find out how Hallie and Kate get on.

Once again, it's three questions and three points to make one connection.

Right, two figures of fun.

Here's your first question -

where in 1956 did this particular design of robot originate?

-America? Is it an American robot?

-I don't think that's enough.

I need a little bit more detail than that.

Maybe from... I don't know, a sci-fi film or television programme.

-An American sci-fi TV show?

-Possibly?

Well, you're in the right area.

-Is it called Robbie the Robot?

-He's called Robbie the Robot.

What sort of robot do you think, Hallie?

I don't think he'll be a menacing robot.

And especially not if he is something that appeals to children.

-He won't be scary.

-A cuddly, friendly, helpful robot.

-OK.

So far, we have the idea that he's a cuddly,

friendly robot from some sort of TV or filmed series made in America.

And you want the title?

I would like a little bit more than that about his origins,

but, actually, I'm going to stop you

because he comes from the MGM film Forbidden Planet.

-Oh!

-Made in 1956, which was an enormous world-wide hit.

-I can't give you a point for that.

-Sorry, Robbie!

We're moving on to the next one.

This is a marionette, but where did that name derive from?

-Was it French? A French name?

-It sounds French.

-Yes?

Well, I would guess...

I mean "marion" might have something to do with Mary.

Maybe the figurines you might find in a nativity scene.

In a crib of some sort?

-So you're thinking Mary, the Virgin Mary.

-Yes, I am.

-Well, you're right.

-Hooray!

-It is a diminutive of the Virgin Mary

and it wasn't actually for a nativity play,

but another festival. The 15th of August?

Feast of the Assumption?

The Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven.

And the marionette, in its fully fledged form,

didn't really emerge until the 19th century.

Articulated limbs and strings, and an early marionette would have

just been on a stick, acting out this moment.

So, you got that one and you get that point.

Let's move on to our final question.

These two figures are both, funnily enough, called Robbie.

One is Robbie the Robot and the other is Robin Goodfellow,

but what else connects them both?

Both helpful and friendly characters?

HE LAUGHS

-I think that sounds like a good guess!

-Yes, that's quite nice.

Actually, he's not. Robin Goodfellow is not particularly friendly

and not particularly helpful.

Any guesses at where Robin Goodfellow comes from?

He looks a bit like Puck from Midsummer Night's Dream.

This is indeed Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream.

In the Quarto and the Folio,

he's constantly referred to as Robin Goodfellow.

That's his character name and it's only

in the Arden Shakespeare that they go back to calling him Puck throughout.

So, he is obviously a fairy from Shakespeare. What about Robbie?

-Well, he's definitely not.

-Doesn't look like a fairy.

Well, that's where you're wrong, I'm afraid.

-He is also a fairy from Shakespeare.

-Really?!

-Sorry, Robbie!

-You're a Shakespeare fairy.

-I'm afraid so,

-because Forbidden Planet was loosely based...

-Ooh...

-..on The Tempest.

-Oh.

And so, unbelievably if you look at him,

-he is Ariel.

-I'm sorry, Robbie.

-Oh, well. Oh, dear.

-So I'm afraid I can only give you one point.

-One point!

Let's get back to the desk to add up the scores.

And so we return from our wanderings in space

and time to gaze in wonder at the scores.

Kate and Hallie, you got one point there.

I'm sorry to have to tell you,

though, that Lars and Nina managed to garner three points.

Which means that they are standing at 13 and you are standing at four.

But 13, what a magnificent score, and you might be able to add to that

as we go on into our final quickfire round.

Here's a uniform worn by the members

of which organisation? BUZZER

-Thunderbirds.

-Not Thunderbirds.

-International Rescue.

-International Rescue!

Good. Fingers on the buzzers again

because this is a magic lantern slide,

but what children's classic does it portray?

BUZZER AND BEEP TOGETHER

-Peter Pan.

-Peter Pan there, yes.

This dolls' house was made in 1673.

What does the unicorn...? BEEP AND BUZZER

It tells us that it was the house of an apothecary or chemist

because that was their sign.

That was the profession of the occupants. They were apothecaries.

Look at this. What are the pouches for on this girls' nightcap?

BEEP AND BUZZER

-Kate.

-Catching fleas.

-Not catching fleas.

-Curls.

-They were for setting her curls.

This is an Italian presepio scene.

What city is the centre of their manufacture? BUZZER

-Naples.

-Naples, yes.

This is Action Man. By what name is he known in...? BUZZER

-GI Joe.

-GI Joe, Nina.

The first Rubik's cubes hit the toy shops in 1977.

What is their Hungarian inventor's first name?

BUZZER

-No, you have to...

-Ermo!

No, not Ermo, no.

-Erno?

-Ernest?

-Erno, yes. You're quite right. You got that, good.

-What?!

-Don't get in a state. You're well ahead.

Let the girls have just one crumb from your table.

It's Christmas.

What feature of this teething stick

was supposed to prevent the spread of evil? BEEP AND BUZZER

-Coral.

-The coral, yes indeed.

This is He-Man, a master of the universe.

What was the name of his nemesis? BUZZER

-Skeletor.

-Skeletor.

-Oh, phew!

This is an 18th-century pudding hat for toddlers.

What was it used for? BEEP AND BUZZER

When they were walking, it meant when they fell,

-they wouldn't hurt their heads.

-Yes.

-Like a helmet.

To protect them when learning to walk.

Who joined Santa's sleigh team in 1939? BEEP

Rudolph.

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. SLEIGH BELLS

And the sound of Santa's sleigh bells tells me

that playtime has to come to an end.

But before we hang up our stockings and go to bed,

let's have a look at our final scores.

Kate and Hallie, you did very, very well in that round

because you got some points and made up your total to nine.

But I'm afraid it is only half

of Lars and Nina's triumphant score of 18.

So, many congratulations.

You've won the last of our series because we've come

to the end of our time here in this, the world's ultimate toy box.

As F Scott Fitzgerald said,

being grown-up is a terribly hard thing to do.

It's much easier to skip it and go from one childhood to another.

And so we must thank the museum here today for preserving

so many childhood memories for us.

Thank you, goodbye and merry Christmas.