Keyboard Cat Quiz: Fatso, Charlie Schmidt and Early Memes

This Keyboard Cat quiz rewinds to a 1980s home video of a cat in a blue shirt playing an electric keyboard. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on Fatso, Charlie Schmidt, the 2007 upload, the play him off meme, Brad O'Farrell, blooper endings, the cat's successors and the meme's place in history.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Name
What was the original Keyboard Cat's name?
Owner
Who filmed the original Keyboard Cat?
Year
When was the original video recorded?
Upload
When did Schmidt upload it to YouTube?
Shirt
What was the cat wearing?
Meme
What phrase made the meme famous?
Who
Who started the play him off format in 2009?
Use
How was Keyboard Cat used in videos?
Later
What did Schmidt do after Fatso?
Era
Keyboard Cat belongs to which era of memes?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What was the original Keyboard Cat's name?
Answer: Fatso
The cat was filmed in the 1980s.
Q2: Who filmed the original Keyboard Cat?
Answer: Charlie Schmidt
He was an artist from Spokane.
Q3: When was the original video recorded?
Answer: 1984
It sat unseen for years.
Q4: When did Schmidt upload it to YouTube?
Answer: 2007
YouTube was still young.
Q5: What was the cat wearing?
Answer: A blue shirt
It looked like a performer.
Q6: What phrase made the meme famous?
Answer: Play him off, Keyboard Cat
It ended failure videos.
Q7: Who started the play him off format in 2009?
Answer: Brad O'Farrell
He edited the clip onto a blooper.
Q8: How was Keyboard Cat used in videos?
Answer: To end clips of people failing
The music played them off stage.
Q9: What did Schmidt do after Fatso?
Answer: Filmed new keyboard cats
One was named Bento.
Q10: Keyboard Cat belongs to which era of memes?
Answer: Early YouTube memes
It came before smartphones were common.

Keyboard Cat Quiz – Fatso, Charlie Schmidt and Early Memes

Keyboard Cat began as a home video recorded in 1984 by artist Charlie Schmidt. His cat Fatso, wearing a blue shirt, appeared to play a cheerful tune on an electric keyboard.

Schmidt uploaded the clip to YouTube in 2007. In 2009 Brad O'Farrell added it to the end of a blooper, and the phrase play him off, Keyboard Cat spread across the internet.

People used the clip to end videos of embarrassing falls and failures. Fatso had died in 1987, but Schmidt later filmed new keyboard cats, including one named Bento, keeping the joke alive for a new generation of viewers.

What This Quiz Teaches

Internet fans will enjoy these questions.

Who the cat was
Who filmed it
When it went online
How the meme worked
What came after

Did You Know?

Keyboard Cat appeared in TV ads.
The meme was featured on late-night shows.
Schmidt guided the paws for the performance.
It is often listed among the first big viral videos.
Cats became the internet's favorite subject.