On Tuesday morning, The New York Times sent out a facial recognition quiz to its readers, showing pictures of 52 different faces for them to correctly identify. These faces included major political figures, artists, actors and athletes that made headlines during 2024.
American swimmer Katie Ledecky was one of the 52 faces, and 50% of quiz-takers were able to identify her as of Tuesday afternoon. She was the 36th-most recognized individual, as well as the fifth-most recognized athlete out of the nine in the quiz.
- To take the quiz, click here.
At the 2024 Olympic Games, Ledecky took home two gold medals, a silver and a bronze, becoming the most decorated U.S. female Olympian of all-time. With her victory in the 800 freestyle, she also became the second swimmer to ever win the same event four Olympics in a row.
The active athlete that most quiz-takers recognized was American gymnast Simone Biles, who scored an overwhelming 92%. WNBA player Caitlin Clark, NBA player Bronny James and recently retired Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal also scored above 50%, getting 76%, 61% and 56% of all quiz-takers’ recognition respectivley.
Full Quiz Results as of December 24, 2024 (Athletes In Bold):
Note: Occupations of each individual are listed as how they are listed in the actual New York Times quiz.
- Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States — 97%
- Elon Musk, Businessman — 96%
- Donald Trump, President-Elect of the United States — 96%
- Cher, Singer — 94%
- Nancy Pelosi, House member from California— 94%
- Simone Biles, Gymnast — 92%
- Martha Stewart, Businesswoman — 91%
- JD Vance, Vice President-Elect of the United States — 89%
- O.J. Simpson, Former football player and murder suspect — 89%
- Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota — 87%
- Jennifer Lopez, Singer and actress — 85%
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Politician — 85%
- Catherine, Princess of Wales, British royal family member — 84%
- Matt Gaetz, Former House member from Florida — 83%
- Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime minister of Israel — 83%
- Eric Adams, Mayor of New York City — 78%
- Hulk Hogan, Wrestler — 77%
- Liz Cheney, Former House member from Wyoming — 77%
- Hunter Biden, Lawyer — 77%
- Diddy, Rapper — 76%
- Ariana Grande, Singer and actress — 76%
- Ryan Reynolds, Actor — 74%
- Caitlin Clark, Basketball player — 73%
- Larry David, Comedian — 71%
- Stormy Daniels, Adult film star — 70%
- Denzel Washington, Actor — 68%
- Maggie Smith, Actress — 68%
- Joe Rogan, Podcaster — 67%
- James Earl Jones, Actor — 66%
- Timothee Chalamet — 65%
- Zendaya, Actress — 62%
- Bronny James, Basketball player — 61%
- Drake, Rapper — 61%
- Rafael Nadal, Former tennis player — 56%
- Bashar al-Assad, Former president of Syria — 56%
- Katie Ledecky, Swimmer — 50%
- Sabrina Carpenter, Singer — 46%
- Chappell Roan, Singer — 41%
- Kendrick Lamar, Rapper — 41%
- Charli XCX, Singer — 40%
- Cynthia Erivo, Singer and actress — 38%
- Josh Allen, Football player — 36%
- Aaron Judge, Baseball player – 35%
- Moo Deng, Pygmy hippo — 32%
- Glen Powell, Actor — 31%
- Rachael “Raygun” Gunn — Breakdancer — 27%
- Claudia Sheinbaum, President of Mexico – 23%
- Ta-Nehisi Coates, Author — 22%
- Alex Cooper, Podcaster — 16%
- Sarah McBride, U.S. representative-elect for Delaware — 16%
- Yahta Sinwar, Former leader of Hamas — 14%
- Anna Sawai, Actress — 9%
Individuals who became viral sensations on social media platforms such as Australian breakdancer Raygun and hippo Moo Deng both scored under 35%, seeming to highlight that either much of the New York times readership is not “chronically online,” or that online trends don’t really influence real life.
Obviously, The New York Times readers are not representative of the whole population. As of 2023, 84% of its subscribers are American and 91% of its readers identify as Democrats. In addition, 61% of all online readers are part of the Gen Z or millenial age group.
In addition, there was also a separate “hard mode” sports-specific quiz, where the names of an additional ten athletes were given out. The most recognized athlete in that quiz was Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who 54% of readers were able to identify.
- To take the athlete-specific quiz, click here.
Full “Hard Mode: Sports” Quiz Results as of December 24, 2024:
- Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens quarterback — 54%
- Juan Soto, New York Mets outfielder — 49%
- Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics forward ‚ 44%
- Sha’Carri Richardson, American sprinter — 41%
- Carlos Alcaraz, Tennis player — 38%
- Max Verstappen, Formula 1 champion — 31%
- A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces center — 25%
- Dawn Staley, University of South Carolina coach — 25%
- Ilona Maher, Rugby player — 23%
- Lamine Yamal, Spanish soccer player — 11%
