The A to Z Challenge asks bloggers to post 26 posts, one for each letter of the English alphabet, in April. Most of us choose to make these posts on a particular theme. My theme for 2023 is 1943 Washington D.C., the setting of the novel that I’m writing. Visit daily in April for a new post on my topic.

Q is for Quiz Show

The first episode of a new radio quiz show aired on November 14, 1943. “Battle of the Bureaus” pitted a team from two different government agencies each Sunday from 1pm to 1:30pm.

A display ad for the show from the Evening Star, April 30, 1944. From Library of Congress.

The first match up was the Navy Bureau of Supplies and Accounts vs. the Army Signal Corps. Each team was composed of four players, two men and two women.

The quiz consisted of questions in four categories:

• Sound identification
• General information
• Spelling bee
• Music

The winners were awarded war stamps.

The show originated at Arlington Farms, a large complex of dorm housing for the women flooding into Washington D.C. for war jobs.

Brooks Women’s Wear and Apparel sponsored the show.

CBS aired the show nationally.

Variety’s review of the initial episode said that it had “the stiffness of a new shoe” but believed that there was potential to tweak the show for “more zip.”

Does “Battle of the Bureas” sound like riveting war-time entertainment to you?

Radioddities. (1943, Nov 14). The Washington Post (1923-1954) Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/radioddities/docview/151668960/se-2