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Henry | The character was originally named Indiana Smith, after an Alaskan Malamute called Indiana that Lucas owned in the 1970s and on which he based the Star Wars character Chewbacca. Spielberg disliked the name Smith, and Lucas casually suggested Jones as an alternative. The Last Crusade script references the name's origin, with Jones's father revealing his son's birth name to be Henry and explaining that "we named the dog Indiana", to his son's chagrin. | His nickname having come from his dog, what is Indiana Jones's real first name? |
Camouflage | Although highly effective, ghillie suits are impractical for many situations where camouflage is useful. They tend to be very heavy and hot. Even in moderate climates, the temperature inside of the ghillie suit can reach over 50 °C (120 °F). The burlap is also flammable, unless treated with fire retardant, so the wearer may be at increased risk from ignition sources such as smoke grenades or white phosphorus. | For what purpose would someone wear a ghillie suit? |
Astronomy | Urania (; , Ourania; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven"), also spelt Ourania, was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy and a daughter of Zeus by Mnemosyne and also a great granddaughter of Uranus. Some accounts list her as the mother of the musician Linus by Apollo, and Hymenaeus also is said to have been a son of Urania. She is often associated with Universal Love and the Holy Spirit. Eldest of the divine sisters, Urania inherited Zeus' majesty and power and the beauty and grace of her mother Mnemosyne. | According to Greek mythology, Urania was the muse of what? |
StarKist | Charlie the Tuna is the cartoon mascot and spokes-tuna for the StarKist brand. He was created by Tom Rogers of the Leo Burnett Agency after StarKist hired Leo Burnett in 1961. StarKist Tuna is the name of a brand of tuna currently owned by Dongwon Industries, a South Korea-based conglomerate. StarKist itself is based in Pittsburgh, the home of its former parent company, H. J. Heinz Company, sharing its headquarters on the site of Three Rivers Stadium with another former parent company, Del Monte Foods' Pittsburgh headquarters. | What tuna brand uses a cartoon mascot known as Charlie the Tuna to advertise their product? |
British Columbia | British Columbia, (commonly referred to by its initials BC), is the westernmost province of Canada, with a population of more than 4 million people located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. | What is the westernmost of the Canadian provinces? |
San Juan | San Juan (;, Saint John) is the capital and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of the United States. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico ("Rich Port City"). Puerto Rico's capital is the second oldest European-established capital city in the Americas, after Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic. Several historical buildings are located in San Juan; among the most notable are the city's former defensive forts, Fort San Felipe del Morro and Fort San Cristóbal, and La Fortaleza, the oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the Americas. | The second oldest European-established city in the Americas, what is the capital and most populous city in Puerto Rico? |
Lewis Carroll | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 novel written by English mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named | Under what pseudonym did Charles Lutwidge Dodgson write Alice's Adventures in Wonderland? |
Lucky Charms | Lucky Charms is a brand of cereal produced by the General Mills food company since 1964. The cereal consists of toasted oat pieces and multi-colored marshmallow shapes ("marbits" or marshmallow bits). The label features a leprechaun mascot, Lucky, animated in commercials. | What brand of cereal has used a leprechaun as its mascot since General Foods introduced it in 1964? |
Clouds | There are three main genera in the family of high clouds: cirrus, cirrocumulus, and cirrostratus. Cirrostratus clouds commonly produce halos because they are composed almost entirely of ice crystals. Cirrocumulus and cirrostratus are sometimes informally referred to as "cirriform clouds" because of their frequent association with cirrus. They are given the prefix "cirro-", but this refers more to their altitude range than their physical structure. Cirrocumulus in its pure form is actually a high cumuliform genus, and cirrostratus is stratiform, like altostratus and lower based sheet clouds. | Cirrus, cumulus, and stratus are all types of what? |
Macbeth | Lord Macduff, the Thane of Fife, is a character in William Shakespeare's Macbeth (c.1603-1607). Macduff plays a pivotal role in the play: he suspects Macbeth of regicide and eventually kills Macbeth in the final act. He can be seen as the avenging hero who helps save Scotland from Macbeth's tyranny in the play. | Known as the Thane of Fife, what character does Macduff kill in the final act of a famous play by William Shakespeare? |
Nancy Reagan | The phrase "Just Say No" first emerged when Nancy Reagan was visiting Longfellow Elementary School in Oakland, California, in 1982 and was asked by a schoolgirl what to do if she was offered drugs. The first lady responded by saying, "Just say no". Just Say No club organizations within schools and school-run anti-drug programs soon became common, in which young people make pacts not to experiment with drugs. | Which First Lady suggested "just say no" to drugs? |
Bloody Mary | A Caesar or Bloody Caesar is a cocktail created and primarily consumed in Canada. It typically contains vodka, Clamato (a proprietary blend of tomato juice and clam broth), hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce, and is served with ice in a large, celery salt-rimmed glass, typically garnished with a stalk of celery and wedge of lime. What distinguishes it from a Bloody Mary is the inclusion of clam broth. The cocktail may also be contrasted with the Michelada, which has similar flavouring ingredients but uses beer instead of vodka. | What drink, commonly served with a stalk of celery, is composed of tomato juice and vodka? |
Bangladesh | The violent crackdown by Pakistan Army led to Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declaring East Pakistan's independence as the state of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971. Pakistani President Agha Mohammed Yahya ordered the Pakistani military to restore the Pakistani government's authority, beginning the civil war. The war led to a sea of refugees (estimated at the time to be about 10 million) flooding into the eastern provinces of India. Facing a mounting humanitarian and economic crisis, India started actively aiding and organising the Bangladeshi resistance army known as the Mukti Bahini. | March 26, 1971 saw the formation of what country, when East Pakistan declared their independence from Pakistan? |
Motor and hotel | A portmanteau word fuses both the sounds and the meanings of its components, as in smog, coined by blending smoke and fog, or motel, from motor and hotel. In linguistics, a portmanteau is defined as a single morph that represents two or more morphemes. | The word “motel” is a portmanteau of what two words? |
Toyota | Luxury vehicle makers may either be stand-alone companies in their own right, such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz, or a division/subsidiary of a mass market automaker (e.g., Lexus is part of Toyota). Badge engineering is often used for cost savings, for example, the Lincoln vehicles that are based on Ford platforms or Acura models derived from Honda. | Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of what car maker? |
School bus driver | Otto Mann is a fictional character on the animated TV series The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the school bus driver for Springfield Elementary School. | What is the primary profession of Otto Mann on TV's The Simpsons? |
Vincent van Gogh | Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear is a 1889 self-portrait by Dutch, Post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh. | The Starry Night, The Potato Eaters, and Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear are all paintings by what famed artist? |
Haiti | The Tonton Macoute () or simply as the Macoute was a special operations unit within the Haitian paramilitary force created in 1959 by dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. In 1970 the militia was renamed the ' (Militia of National Security Volunteers or MVSN, perhaps named after the homonymous Italian Fascist paramilitary organisation). Haitians named this force after the Haitian Creole mythological Tonton Macoute (Uncle Gunnysack) bogeyman, who kidnaps and punishes unruly children by snaring them in a gunny sack () and carrying them off to be consumed at breakfast. | The secret police force created by Papa Doc Duvalier, the Tonton Macoute terrorized the citizens of what country? |
Reagan | On March 30, 1981, only 69 days into the new administration, Reagan, his press secretary James Brady, Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty, and Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy were struck by gunfire from would-be assassin John Hinckley Jr., outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. Although "close to death" upon arrival at George Washington University Hospital, Reagan was stabilized in the emergency room, then underwent emergency exploratory surgery. He recovered and was released from the hospital on April 11, becoming the first serving U.S. President to survive being shot in an assassination attempt. The attempt had great influence on Reagan's popularity; polls indicated his approval rating to be around 73%. Reagan believed that God had spared his life so that he might go on to fulfill a greater purpose. | On March 30, 1981, noted asshat John Hinckley, Jr., took a shot at which US official? |
Super Mario Bros. | * Super Mario Bros. 3 is set in the Mushroom World, a collection of eight kingdoms. Seven of these are "Mushroom Kingdoms", ruled by independent Mushroom Kings. The different kingdoms are Grass Land (a plains kingdom), Desert Hill (a desert kingdom), Ocean Side (an ocean kingdom), Big Island (a kingdom where everything is larger), The Sky (a kingdom which consists of the ground level and the sky level), Iced Land (an arctic kingdom), and Pipe Maze (a small island kingdom filled with a maze of Warp Pipes). The eighth world is referred to as "Dark Land" and is ruled by Bowser: King of the Koopas. The instruction manual for the game states Bowser had taken over the Mushroom Kingdom, and the Mushroom Kingdom is a gateway to the Mushroom World. This is never elaborated upon in Super Mario Bros. 3, but Super Mario Galaxy reveals that the Mushroom World is a planet. | What popular Nintendo game is set in the Mushroom Kingdom? |
Denmark | The Treaty of the Danish West Indies was signed in August 1916, with a Danish referendum held in December 1916 to confirm the decision. The deal was finalized on January 17, 1917, when the United States and Denmark exchanged their respective treaty ratifications. The United States took possession of the islands on March 31, 1917 and the territory was renamed the Virgin Islands of the United States. Every year Transfer Day is recognized as a holiday, to commemorate the acquisition of the islands by the United States. U.S. citizenship was granted to the inhabitants of the islands in 1927. | March 31, 1917 saw the US purchase what is now known as the US Virgin Islands from what European country? |
The Mississippi | The book is noted for its colorful description of people and places along the Mississippi River. Set in a Southern antebellum society that had ceased to exist about 20 years before the work was published, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an often scathing satire on entrenched attitudes, particularly racism. | Mark Twain's classic book, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes place along which US river? |
Burger King | Shortly after the acquisition of Burger King by TPG Capital, L.P. in 2002, its new CEO Brad Blum set about turning around the fortunes of the company by initiating an overhaul of its flailing advertising programs. One of the first moves by the company was to reinstate its famous "Have it your way" slogan as the corporate motto. BK handed the effort off to its new advertising agency, Miami-based Crispin Porter + Bogusky (abbreviated as CP+B). CP+B was known for having a hip, subversive tack when creating campaigns for its clients, exactly what BK was looking for. One of CP+B strategies was to revive the Burger King character used during BK's 1970s/1980s Burger King Kingdom children's advertising campaign as a caricatured variation, now simply called "the King". The farcical nature of "the Burger King" centered advertisements inspired an internet meme where the King is edited into unusual situations that are either comical or menacing, many times followed with the phrase "Where is your God now?" | What company encouraged you to "have it your way" in their advertising slogan? |
Heart | An artificial heart is a device that replaces the heart. Artificial hearts are typically used to bridge the time to heart transplantation, or to permanently replace the heart in case heart transplantation is impossible. Although other similar inventions preceded it going back to the late 1940s, the first artificial heart to be successfully implanted in a human was the Jarvik-7 in 1982, designed by a team including Willem Johan Kolff and Robert Jarvik. | First implanted in 1982, the Jarvik-7 was the first successful artificial what? |
John Hinckley | The attempted assassination of United States President Ronald Reagan occurred on March 30, 1981, 69 days into his presidency. While leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. Hinckley's motivation for the attack was to impress actress Jodie Foster, over whom he had developed an obsession after seeing her in the film Taxi Driver. | March 30, 1981 saw Ronald Reagan get shot in the chest by what asshat nutjob? |
Pegasus | Polyeidos told Bellerophon that he would have need of Pegasus. To obtain the services of the untamed winged horse, Polyeidos told Bellerophon to sleep in the temple of Athena. While Bellerophon slept, he dreamed that Athena set a golden bridle beside him, saying "Sleepest thou, prince of the house of Aiolos? Come, take this charm for the steed and show it to the Tamer thy father as thou makest sacrifice to him of a white bull." It was there when he awoke. Bellerophon had to approach Pegasus while it drank from a well; Polyeidos told him which well—the never-failing Pirene on the citadel of Corinth, the city of Bellerophon's birth. Other accounts say that Athena brought Pegasus already tamed and bridled, or that Poseidon the horse-tamer, secretly the father of Bellerophon, brought Pegasus, as Pausanias understood. Bellerophon mounted his steed and flew off to where the Chimera was said to dwell. | Tamed by Bellerophon, what was the name of the winged horse of Greek mythology? |
Love | The Romans adapted the myths and iconography of her Greek counterpart Aphrodite for Roman art and Latin literature. In the later classical tradition of the West, Venus becomes one of the most widely referenced deities of Greco-Roman mythology as the embodiment of love and sexuality. | The counterpart to Aphrodite, the Roman goddess Venus was the god of what? |
Lurch | Lurch (whose first name is unknown) is a fictional character created by American cartoonist Charles Addams as a manservant to The Addams Family. In the original television series, Lurch was played by Ted Cassidy, who used the famous catchphrase, "You rang?" (a similar phrase was the trademark of the character Maynard G. Krebs in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis). | Originally played by Ted Cassidy, what was the name of the butler in The Addams Family'? |
Basketball | The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as the sport's most complete library, in addition to promoting and preserving the history of basketball. Dedicated to Canadian doctor and inventor of the sport James Naismith, it was opened in, and inducted its first class in 1959. | Opened in 1959, the Hall of Fame for what sport is found near downtown Springfield, MA? |
Bull | The world of bullfighting is a key part of Lamborghini's identity. In 1962, Ferruccio Lamborghini visited the Seville ranch of Don Eduardo Miura, a renowned breeder of Spanish fighting bulls. Lamborghini, a Taurus himself, was so impressed by the majestic Miura animals that he decided to adopt a raging bull as the emblem for the automaker he would open shortly. | The Italian automaker Lamborghini uses what animal as its logo? |
Married... with Children | The network expanded its programming into prime time on April 5, 1987, inaugurating its Sunday night lineup with the premieres of the sitcom Married... with Children and the sketch comedy series The Tracey Ullman Show. Fox added one new show per week over the next several weeks, with the drama 21 Jump Street, and comedies Mr. President and Duet completing its Sunday schedule. On July 11, the network rolled out its Saturday night schedule with the premiere of the supernatural drama series Werewolf, which began with a two-hour pilot movie event. Three other series were added to the Saturday lineup over the next three weeks: comedies The New Adventures of Beans Baxter, Karen's Song and Down and Out in Beverly Hills (the latter being an adaptation of the film of the same name). Both Karen's Song and Down and Out in Beverly Hills were canceled by the start of the 1987–88 television season, the network's first fall launch, and were replaced by the sitcoms Second Chance and Women in Prison. | What was the first program shown on Fox when the network started broadcasting in prime time in April 1987? |
Eye | The human retina has approximately 6 million cones and 120 million rods. Signals from the rods and cones converge on ganglion and bipolar cells for preprocessing before they are sent to the lateral geniculate nucleus. At the "center" of the retina (the point directly behind the lens) lies the fovea (or fovea centralis), which contains only cone cells; and is the region capable of producing the highest visual acuity or highest resolution. Across the rest of the retina, rods and cones are intermingled. No photoreceptors are found at the blind spot, the area where ganglion cell fibers are collected into the optic nerve and leave the eye. | Where in the human body would you find cones and rods? |
Athens, Greece | The 1896 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was a multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896. It was the first international Olympic Games held in the modern era. Because Ancient Greece was the birthplace of the Olympic Games, Athens was considered to be an appropriate choice to stage the inaugural modern Games. It was unanimously chosen as the host city during a congress organised by Pierre de Coubertin, a French pedagogue and historian, in Paris, on 23 June 1894. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was also instituted during this congress. | April 6, 1896 saw the start of the modern Olympics era when what European city hosted the Games of the 1 Olympiad? |
Cracker Jack | Cracker Jack's Mascots Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo were introduced as early as 1916 and registered as a trademark in 1919. Sailor Jack was modeled after Robert Rueckheim, grandson of Frederick. Robert, the son of the third and eldest Rueckheim brother, Edward, died of pneumonia shortly after his image appeared at the age of 8. The sailor boy image acquired such meaning for the founder of Cracker Jack that he had it carved on his tombstone, which can still be seen in St. Henry's Cemetery in Chicago. Sailor Jack's dog Bingo was based on a real-life dog named Russell, a stray adopted in 1917 by Henry Eckstein, who demanded that the dog be used on the packaging. Russell died of old age in 1930. | Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo are the mascot for what? |
Frank Gehry | Even before groundbreaking, Seattle Weekly said the design could refer to "the often quoted comparison to a smashed electric guitar." Indeed, Gehry himself had made the comparison, "We started collecting pictures of Stratocasters, bringing in guitar bodies, drawing on those shapes in developing our ideas."Downey, Roger (February 18, 1998). [http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/9807/features-downey.php "Experience This!"]. Seattle Weekly. Retrieved 2006-10-22. The architecture was greeted by Seattle residents with a mixture of acclaim for Gehry and derision for this particular edifice. "Frank Gehry," remarked British-born, Seattle-based writer Jonathan Raban, "has created some wonderful buildings, like the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, but his Seattle effort, the Experience Music Project, is not one of them." | What world famous architect designed Seattle’s Experience Music Project to look somewhat like a “smashed guitar”? |
Scalene | *A scalene triangle has all its sides of different lengths. Equivalently, it has all angles of different measure. A right triangle is also a scalene triangle if and only if it is not isosceles. | In what type of triangle are all of the sides different in length? |
Archduke Franz Ferdinand | The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, occurred on 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo when they were shot dead by Gavrilo Princip. Princip was one of a group of six assassins (five Serbs and one Bosniak) coordinated by Danilo Ilić, a Bosnian Serb and a member of the Black Hand secret society. The political objective of the assassination was to break off Austria-Hungary's South Slav provinces so they could be combined into a Yugoslavia. The assassins' motives were consistent with the movement that later became known as Young Bosnia. The assassination led directly to the First World War when Austria-Hungary subsequently issued an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia, which was partially rejected. Austria-Hungary then declared war. | The assassination of which Austrian royalty precipitated World War I? |
Michigan | The Great Lakes (also called the Laurentian Great Lakes, or the Great Lakes of North America) are a series of interconnected freshwater lakes located primarily in the upper midwest region of North America, on the Canada–United States border, which connect to the Atlantic Ocean through the Saint Lawrence River. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron (or Michigan–Huron), Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth, containing 21% of the world's surface fresh water by volume. The total surface is , and the total volume (measured at the low water datum) is . Due to their sea-like characteristics (rolling waves, sustained winds, strong currents, great depths, and distant horizons) the five Great Lakes have also long been referred to as inland seas. Lake Superior is the second largest lake in the world by area, and Lake Michigan is the largest lake that is entirely within one country. The southern half of the Great Lakes is bordered by the Great Lakes Megalopolis. | Which of the Great Lakes does not border on Canada? |
Our American Cousin | United States President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, while attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre as the American Civil War was drawing to a close. The assassination occurred five days after the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, General Robert E. Lee, surrendered to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant and the Union Army of the Potomac. | What play was Abraham Lincoln watching at the time of his assassination? |
Neutral corner | If a "clinch" – a defensive move in which a boxer wraps his or her opponents arms and holds on to create a pause – is broken by the referee, each fighter must take a full step back before punching again (alternatively, the referee may direct the fighters to "punch out" of the clinch). When a boxer is knocked down, the other boxer must immediately cease fighting and move to the furthest neutral corner of the ring until the referee has either ruled a knockout or called for the fight to continue. | Where must a boxer stand when his opponent is knocked down? |
Iron Age | The Bronze Age in Northern Europe spans the entire 2nd millennium BC (Unetice culture, Urnfield culture, Tumulus culture, Terramare culture, Lusatian culture) lasting until c. 600 BC. The Northern Bronze Age was both a period and a Bronze Age culture in Scandinavian pre-history, c. 1700–500 BC, with sites that reached as far east as Estonia. Succeeding the Late Neolithic culture, its ethnic and linguistic affinities are unknown in the absence of written sources. It is followed by the Pre-Roman Iron Age. | In the pre-history of man, what age followed the Bronze Age? |
The Boston Red Sox | Fenway Park is a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts, at 4 Yawkey Way near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the location for the Boston Red Sox, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. It is the oldest ballpark in MLB. | What MLB team calls Fenway Park home? |
Brooklyn Dodgers | Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman who became the first African American to play in the major leagues in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when the Brooklyn Dodgers started him at first base on April 15, 1947. The Dodgers, by playing Robinson, heralded the end of racial segregation that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. | April 15, 1947 saw Jackie Robinson break the "color barrier" in major league baseball when he joined what club? |
Endeavour | A sixth orbiter, Enterprise, was built in 1976 for use in Approach and Landing Tests and had no orbital capability. Four fully operational orbiters were initially built: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis. Of these, two were lost in mission accidents: Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003, with a total of fourteen astronauts killed. A fifth operational orbiter, Endeavour, was built in 1991 to replace Challenger. The Space Shuttle was retired from service upon the conclusion of Atlantiss final flight on July 21, 2011. | Who's missing: Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis |
Elba | Separated from his wife and son, who had returned to Austria, cut off from the allowance guaranteed to him by the Treaty of Fontainebleau, and aware of rumours he was about to be banished to a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean. Napoleon escaped from Elba, with 700 men over him, in the brig on 26 February 1815. Two days later, he landed on the French mainland at Golfe-Juan and started heading north. | To which island was Napoleon first exiled to in 1814? |
Lost Horizon | Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. Hilton describes Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains. Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise, and particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia – a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world. In the novel Lost Horizon, the people who live at Shangri-La are almost immortal, living years beyond the normal lifespan and only very slowly aging in appearance. The word also evokes the imagery of exoticism of the Orient. In the ancient Tibetan scriptures, existence of seven such places is mentioned as Nghe-Beyul Khembalung. Khembalung is one of several beyuls ("hidden lands" similar to Shangri-La) believed to have been created by Padmasambhava in the 9th century as idyllic, sacred places of refuge for Buddhists during times of strife (Reinhard 1978). | The fictional utopian valley known as Shangri-La first appeared in what 1933 novel by English writer James Hilton? |
Elbow | The radius is part of two joints: the elbow and the wrist. At the elbow, it joins with the capitulum of the humerus, and in separate region, the ulna at the radial notch. At the wrist, the radius forms a joint with the ulna bone. | The humerus, paired radius, and ulna come together to form what joint? |
Civil War | In order to help pay for its war effort in the American Civil War, Congress imposed its first personal income tax in 1861. It was part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800). This tax was repealed and replaced by another income tax in 1862. | The first income tax in the US, 3% of all incomes over US $800, was levied to pay for what war? |
The Tracey Ullman Show | The network added a third night of programming, on Mondays, at the start of the 1989–90 television season, a season that heralded the start of a turnaround for Fox. That season saw the debut of a midseason replacement series, The Simpsons, an animated series that originated as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show; ranked at a three-way tie for 29th place in the Nielsen ratings, it became a breakout hit and was the first Fox series to break the Top 30. The Simpsons, at 27 years as of 2016, is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009, it surpassed Gunsmoke as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series. That year, Fox also first introduced the documentary series Cops and crime-focused magazine program America's Most Wanted (the latter of which debuted as a half-hour series as part of the network's mainly comedy-based Sunday lineup for its first season, before expanding to an hour and moving to Fridays for the 1990–91 season). These two series, which would become staples on the network for just over two decades, would eventually be paired to form the nucleus of Fox's Saturday night schedule beginning in the 1994–95 season. Meanwhile, Married... with Children – which broke ground from other family sitcoms of the period as it centered on a dysfunctional lower-middle-class family, whose patriarch often openly loathed his failures and being saddled with a wife and two children – saw viewer interest substantially increase beginning in its third season after, in an ironic twist, Michigan homemaker Terry Rakolta lodged a boycott to force Fox to cancel the series after objecting to risque humor and sexual content featured in a 1989 episode. Married...s newfound success led it to become the network's longest-running live-action sitcom, airing for 11 seasons. | April 19, 1987 saw the debut of The Simpsons as series of shorts on what prime time Fox series? |
The Simpsons | The Simpsons shorts are an American animated TV series of 48 one-minute shorts that ran on the variety television program The Tracey Ullman Show for three seasons, before the characters spun off into The Simpsons, their own half-hour prime time show. It features Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The series was created by Matt Groening, who designed the Simpson family and wrote many of the shorts. The shorts first aired on April 19, 1987 starting with "Good Night". The final short to air was "TV Simpsons", originally airing on May 14, 1989. The Simpsons later debuted on December 17, 1989, as an independent series with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". | What TV staple had its debut on April 19, 1987 as a short on The Tracy Ullman Show? |
Wrigley Field | The Cubs have played their home games at Wrigley Field, also known as "The Friendly Confines" since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Whales, a Federal League baseball team. The Cubs also shared the park with the Chicago Bears of the NFL for 50 years. The ballpark includes a manual scoreboard, ivy-covered brick walls, and relatively small dimensions. | The second oldest ballpark in the Major Leagues, where do the Chicago Cubs play their home games? |
Birds | Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. The word "ornithology" derives from the ancient Greek ὄρνις ornis ("bird") and λόγος logos ("rationale" or "explanation"). Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds. Most marked among these is the extent of studies undertaken by amateurs working within the parameters of strict scientific methodology. | Ornithology is the study of what? |
Vanilla Ice | Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known by his stage name, Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor and television host. Born in South Dallas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, Ice released his debut album, Hooked, in 1989 on Ichiban Records, before signing a contract with SBK Records, a record label of the EMI Group which released a reformatted version of the album under the title To the Extreme. Ice's 1990 single "Ice Ice Baby" was the first hip hop single to top the Billboard charts. | Born Robert Matthew Van Winkle in Dallas, Tx, what rapper had his best known hit with 1990s Ice Ice Baby? |
Time flies | Tempus fugit is a Latin phrase, usually translated into English as "time flies". The expression comes from line 284 of book 3 of Virgil's Georgics,Vergilius Maro, Publius. Georgicon, III. c. 29 . Hosted at Wikisource. where it appears as fugit inreparabile tempus: "it escapes, irretrievable time". The phrase is used in both its Latin and English forms as a proverb that "time's a-wasting". Tempus fugit, however, is typically employed as an admonition against sloth and procrastination (cf. carpe diem) rather than a motto in favor of licentiousness (cf. "gather ye rosebuds while ye may"); the English form is often merely descriptive: "time flies like the wind", "time flies when you're having fun". | Commonly seen on clocks, what it the usual translation of the Latin phrase Tempus Fugit |
Abraham Lincoln | William Henry Harrison holds the record for shortest term served, holding the office of presidency for 31 days before dying. Harrison was the first president to die while in office when he caught pneumonia and died on April 4, 1841. On July 9, 1850, Zachary Taylor died from acute gastroenteritis. Abraham Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated. He was shot behind his left ear by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865. Sixteen years later, on September 19, 1881, President James A. Garfield was assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau. Nearly twenty years after that, President William McKinley died from complications after being shot twice by Leon Czolgosz. President Warren G. Harding suffered a heart attack, and died on August 2, 1923. On April 12, 1945, Franklin Delano Roosevelt collapsed and died as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage. The most recent president to die in office was John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated with two rifle shots on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. | Who was the first US president to be assassinated? |
Tennessee | The state of Tennessee is rooted in the Watauga Association, a 1772 frontier pact generally regarded as the first constitutional government west of the Appalachians. What is now Tennessee was initially part of North Carolina, and later part of the Southwest Territory. Tennessee was admitted to the Union as the 16th state on June 1, 1796. Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union and join the Confederacy at the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War in 1861. Occupied by Union forces from 1862, it was the first state to be readmitted to the Union at the end of the war. | What state, known as The Volunteer State, was the 16th state to join the Union on June 1, 1796? |
Australia and New Zealand | The date 25 April was officially named Anzac Day in 1916; in that year it was marked by a wide variety of ceremonies and services in Australia and New Zealand, including a commemorative march through London involving Australian and New Zealand troops. In New Zealand it was gazetted as a half-day holiday. | April 25 is celebrated as Anzac day in many parts of the world, a day to honor soldiers from what nations? |
Tanzania | After the Zanzibar Revolution overthrew the Arab dynasty in neighbouring Zanzibar, which had become independent in 1963, the archipelago merged with mainland Tanganyika on 26 April 1964. On 29 October of the same year, the country was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania ("Tan" comes from Tanganyika and "Zan" from Zanzibar). The union of the two hitherto separate regions was controversial among many Zanzibaris (even those sympathetic to the revolution) but was accepted by both the Nyerere government and the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar owing to shared political values and goals. | The African countries of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged on April 26, 1964 to form what new country? |
Philadelphia | Rocky Balboa is a 2006 American sports drama film written, directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone who reprises his role as the title character. It is the sixth installment in the Rocky franchise with Balboa in retirement, a widower living in Philadelphia, and the owner and operator of a local Italian restaurant called "Adrian's", named after his late wife. | In the Rocky film franchise, what town does Rocky Balboa call home? |
Jamie Hyneman | Imahara joined MythBusters on the invitation of friend and occasional employer Jamie Hyneman and former ILM colleague Linda Wolkovitch, who is now an Associate Producer of MythBusters. He joined as the third member of the Build Team, replacing former MythBusters welder Scottie Chapman. His colleagues often jokingly refer to him as the "geek" of the Build Team. He often makes the robots that are needed for the show and otherwise specializes in operating the computers and electronics for the myths. On August 21, 2014, Hyneman and MythBusters co-host Adam Savage announced that Grant, along with cast members Kari Byron and Tory Belleci, would be leaving the show. | Who's missing: Grant Imahara, Kari Byron, Tory Belleci, Adam Savage |
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus | * The Weather Show, a segment of the Schoolhouse Rock! Science Rock series, originally titled "The Greatest Show on Earth" and withdrew after complaint from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Eventually retitled. | What circus billed itself as “The Greatest Show on Earth”? |
Swan | "The Ugly Duckling" (Danish: Den grimme ælling) is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805 – 1875). The story tells of a homely little bird born in a barnyard who suffers abuse from the others around him until, much to his delight (and to the surprise of others), he matures into a beautiful swan, the most beautiful bird of all. The story is beloved around the world as a tale about personal transformation for the better. “The Ugly Duckling” was first published 11 November 1843, with three other tales by Andersen in Copenhagen, Denmark to great critical acclaim. The tale has been adapted to various media including opera, musical, and animated film. The tale is completely Andersen's invention and owes no debt to fairy tales or folklore. | What kind of animal does “The Ugly Duckling” turn out to be in Hans Christian Andersen’s children’s story? |
In a pumpkin shell | According to Time magazine, "The Pumpkin Eater of the nursery rhyme put his wife in a pumpkin shell, and there he kept her very well. Giving a wry contemporary twist to Mother Goose, Penelope Mortimer's vivid first-person novel suggests that the poor creature then swiftly developed shell shock. In this slow, strong, incisive film version of the book, the ironing out of a well-kept wife's unkempt psyche is portrayed with harrowing perception by Anne Bancroft." Judith Crist of the New York Herald Tribune said Bancroft "seems a cowlike creature with no aspirations or intellect above her pelvis." Variety wrote "[Pinter's] script vividly brings to life the principal characters in this story of a shattered marriage, though Pinter's resort to flashback technique is confusing in the early stages. Jack Clayton's direction gets off to a slow, almost casual start, but the pace quickens as the drama becomes more intense." | According to the nursery rhyme, where did Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater put his wife? |
The Wright brothers | The bicycle business of the Wright brothers, the Wright Cycle Company (originally the Wright Cycle Exchange) successively occupied five different locations in Dayton, Ohio. Orville and Wilbur Wright began their bicycle repair, rental and sales business in 1892, while continuing to operate a print shop (they ended their local newspaper business in 1890). In 1896 they began manufacturing and selling bicycles of their own design, the Van Cleve and St. Claire, named after their ancestors. They invented the self-oiling hub and the innovation of machining the crankarm and pedal on the left side of the bike with left-hand threads to prevent the pedal from coming unscrewed while cycling. The brick building at 22 South Williams St., where the Wrights worked from 1895 to 1897, is the only extant building on its original foundation and in its original location that housed a Wright bicycle shop. They ran their printing shop on the second-floor. The 22 South Williams Street building is part of Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park and the National Aviation Heritage Area. | Who famously owned a bicycle shop at 22 South Williams Street, Dayton, Oh? |
Charlie Brown | The Little Red-Haired Girl is an unseen character in the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, who serves as the object of Charlie Brown's affection, and a symbol of unrequited love. While never seen in the strip, she appears onscreen in several television specials, in which her name has been revealed as Heather Wold. Charlie Brown most often notices her while eating lunch outdoors, always failing to muster the courage to speak to her. She figures prominently in Valentine's Day strips, several of which focus on Charlie Brown's hope of getting a valentine from her. Charlie Brown typically attempts to give her a valentine but panics at the last minute. | Although never seen in the comic book, which Peanuts character is in love with The Little Red-Haired Girl? |
A | The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is an 1850 work of fiction in a historical setting, written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. The book is considered to be his "masterwork". (quote in article refers to it as his "masterwork", listen to the audio to hear it the original reference to it being his "magnum opus") Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt. | What letter is The Scarlet Letter in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel of the same name? |
Family Circus | The central characters of Family Circus are a family whose surname is rarely mentioned (although the cartoon of August 26, 2013, in which Billy refers to "Grandma Keane" and "Grandma Carne" indicates the same surnames as the author's family). The parents, Bil and Thelma (Thel), are modeled after the author and his wife, Thelma Carne Keane.[http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2008/05/26/Inspiration_for_Circus_mom_dead_at_82/UPI-32201211818159 Inspiration For Circus Mom Dead at 82], United Press International, UPI.com, May 26, 2008 Their four children, Billy, Dolly, Jeffy, and P.J., are fictionalized composites of the Keanes' five children. With the exception of P.J., no characters have aged appreciably during the run of the strip. | Which comic strip, created by Bil Keane, focuses on parents Bill and Thelma, and kids Billy, Dolly, Jeffy, and P.J.? |
Ohio | Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in Ashtabula, Burton, East Liverpool, Jackson Township, New Philadelphia, Salem, and Warren, Ohio, with additional facilities in Cleveland, Independence, and Twinsburg, Ohio, New York City, and Florence, Italy. | In what state is Kent State University located? |
Vulcan | The Arm & Hammer logo dates back to the 1860s. James A. Church ran a spice business known as Vulcan Spice Mills. According to the company, the Arm and Hammer logo represents Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and metalworking. | According to the company, the Arm and Hammer logo represents which Roman god, the god of fire and metalworking? |
Donatello | April O'Neil is a fictional character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media. In all of the TMNT continuities, she is a good friend of the Turtles: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo. | Who is missing: April O'Neil, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael |
Norse | In Norse religion, Asgard (; "Enclosure of the Æsir") is one of the Nine Worlds and home to the Æsir tribe of gods. It is surrounded by an incomplete wall attributed to a Hrimthurs riding the stallion Svaðilfari, according to Gylfaginning. Odin and his wife, Frigg, are the rulers of Asgard. | Asgard is home to the gods of what culture? |
Avengers | When the Asgardian god Loki seeks revenge against his brother Thor, his machinations unwittingly lead teenager Rick Jones to collect Ant-Man, the Wasp, and Iron Man to help Thor and the Hulk, whom Loki used as a pawn. After the group vanquished Loki, Ant-Man stated that the five worked well together and suggested they form a team; the Wasp named the group Avengers. | What name was given to the team consisting of Iron Man, Ant-Man, Wasp, Thor, and the Hulk? |
Clark Kent | James Bartholomew "Jimmy" Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Clark Kent/Superman, and has a good working relationship with his boss Perry White. Olsen looks up to his coworkers as role models and parent figures. | Who, along with fellow reporter Lois, acts as a mentor and role model for young photojournalist Jimmy Olsen? |
Air Force One | * VC-25 – This aircraft is the U.S. Air Force very important person (VIP) version of the 747-200B. The U.S. Air Force operates two of them in VIP configuration as the VC-25A. Tail numbers 28000 and 29000 are popularly known as Air Force One, which is technically the air-traffic call sign for any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the U.S. President. Although based on the 747-200B design, they include several innovations introduced on the 747-400. Partially completed aircraft from Everett, Washington, were flown to Wichita, Kansas, for final outfitting. | What is the official call sign of the Boeing 747 that carries the president? |
Sigmund Freud | Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst. Freud was born to Galician Jewish parents in the Moravian town of Freiberg, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He qualified as a doctor of medicine in 1881 at the University of Vienna. Upon completing his habilitation in 1885, he was appointed a docent in neuropathology and became an affiliated professor in 1902. Freud lived and worked in Vienna, having set up his clinical practice there in 1886. In 1938 Freud left Austria to escape the Nazis. He died in exile in the United Kingdom in 1939. | May 6, 1856 saw the birth of what Austrian neurologist, credited as the father of psychoanalysis? |
1945 | Victory in Europe Day, generally known as V-E Day, VE Day or simply V Day was the public holiday celebrated on 8 May 1945 (7 May in Commonwealth realms) to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. It thus marked the end of World War II in Europe. | May 8 is known as Victory in Europe day when the Allies accepted the unconditional surrender of Germany, in what year? |
Clarksville | The Monkees' first single, "Last Train to Clarksville" b/w "Take a Giant Step", was released in August 1966, just weeks prior to the TV broadcast debut. In conjunction with the first broadcast of the television show on September 12, 1966, on the NBC television network, NBC and Columbia had a major hit on their hands. The first long-playing album, The Monkees, was released a month later, spent 13 weeks at #1 and stayed on the Billboard charts for 78 weeks. Twenty years later, during their reunion, it would spend another 24 weeks on the Billboard charts. This first album is also notable, in addition to containing their debut single, for containing band member Nesmith's first foray into country-rock, "Papa Gene's Blues," which mixed country, rock and Latin flavors. | Where do The Monkees take the last train to in their 1966 hit? |
The law | Jurisprudence is the science, study, and theory of law. It includes principles behind law that make the law. Scholars of jurisprudence, also known as jurists or legal theorists (including legal philosophers and social theorists of law), hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems, and of legal institutions. Modern jurisprudence began in the 18th century and was focused on the first principles of the natural law, civil law, and the law of nations. General jurisprudence can be divided into categories both by the type of question scholars seek to answer and by the theories of jurisprudence, or schools of thought, regarding how those questions are best answered. Contemporary philosophy of law, which deals with general jurisprudence, addresses problems in two rough groups: | Jurisprudence is the study and theory of what? |
Peter Pan | Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (9 May 1860 - 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland but moved to London, where he wrote a number of successful novels and plays. There he met the Llewelyn Davies boys, who inspired him to write about a baby boy who has magical adventures in Kensington Gardens (included in The Little White Bird), then to write Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, a "fairy play" about an ageless boy and an ordinary girl named Wendy who have adventures in the fantasy setting of Neverland. | Scottish author Sir James Matthew Barrie, wrote what famous book, subtitled “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up”? |
String instrument | A luthier ( ) is someone who builds or repairs string instruments generally consisting of a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" comes from the French word luth, which means lute. The term originally referred to makers of lutes and is now used interchangeably with any term that refers to makers of a specific, or specialty, type of stringed instrument, such as violin maker, guitar maker, or lute maker, but excluding makers of instruments such as harps and pianos, which require different skills and construction methods because their strings are secured to a frame. | A luthier is a craftsman specializing in the making of what? |
Seven dirty words | The seven dirty words (or "Filthy Words") are seven English-language words that American comedian George Carlin first listed in 1972 in his monologue "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television". The words are: shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits. | For a point each, name the “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” |
Air plane | Barnstormers performed a variety of stunts, with some specializing as stunt pilots or aerialists. Stunt pilots performed a variety of aerobatic maneuvers, including spins, dives, loop-the-loops and barrel rolls, while aerialists performed feats of wing walking, stunt parachuting, midair plane transfers, or even playing tennis, target shooting, and dancing on the plane's wings. | A barnstormer performs stunts using what type of vehicle or craft? |
Corps of Discovery | The Corps of Discovery departed from Camp Dubois at 4pm on May 14, 1804, and met up with Lewis in St. Charles, Missouri, a short time later, marking the beginning of the voyage to the Pacific coast. The Corps followed the Missouri River westward. Soon, they passed La Charrette, the last Euro-American settlement on the Missouri River. | May 14, 1804 saw what group break camp at Camp Dubois for 2 year expedition to the Pacific coast and back? |
US Army | "Be All You Can Be" was the recruiting slogan of the United States Army for over twenty years. Earl Carter (pen-name, E.N.J. Carter) working for the N.W. Ayer Advertising Agency as a Senior Copywriter created the “Be All You Can Be” theme line in 1980. In January 2003, the U.S. Army awarded Carter its Outstanding Civilian Service Award. Carter’s original concept sheet, with words “Be All You Can Be”, is now part of a permanent collection at the US Army Heritage Center Foundation. | Who used the advertising slogan "be all that you can be"? |
Cape Horn | This is a list of the extreme points of South America, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location on the continent. The continent's southernmost point is incorrectly often said to be Cape Horn, but Águila Islet of the Diego Ramirez Islands is actually the southernmost point. | What is the southern most point of land in South America? |
101 Dalmatians | Walt Disney's early vision for The Rescuers (1977) revolved around the kidnapping of a polar bear from a city zoo; writers considered reusing Cruella as the main antagonist (presumably driven by her desire for the bear's fur). The idea was dismissed when the source for the storyline changed, and Disney did not want to make a sequel out of an otherwise unrelated film. Cruella returned in 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure once again as the main antagonist, where she was voiced by Susanne Blakeslee. Blakeslee also voiced Cruella in Disney's House of Mouse, which featured a running gag in which she inspects dogs from other Disney films with a measuring ruler. She also appeared in Mickey's House of Villains. Cruella appears in animation one more time in Disney's Christmas Favorites during the segment "Santa Cruella". Cruella is also one of the Disney Villains Mickey fights in Disney's Hollywood Studios version of Fantasmic! Nighttime Show Spectacular in Walt Disney World. In Disney On Ice play "Celebrations," Cruella was one of the Villains who appears during the Halloween Party. | Cruella DeVil was a villainess in which animated Disney film? |
Mickey Mouse | Plane Crazy is an American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The cartoon, released in 1929 by the Walt Disney Studios, was the first creation of the character Mickey Mouse. It was made as a silent film and given a test screening to a theater audience on May 15, 1928, but failed to pick up a distributor. Later that year, Disney released Mickey's first sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie, which was an enormous success. Following this, Plane Crazy was released as a sound cartoon on March 17, 1929. It was the fourth Mickey film to be released after Steamboat Willie, The Gallopin' Gaucho, and The Barn Dance (1928). | May 15, 1928 saw what iconic film character introduced in the animated cartoon Plane Crazy? |
12 | The flag of the Union consists of a circle of 12 golden stars on a blue background. The blue represents the West, while the number and position of the stars represent completeness and unity, respectively. Originally designed in 1955 for the Council of Europe, the flag was adopted by the European Communities, the predecessors of the present Union, in 1986. | How many gold stars are there on the blue background of the European Union flag? |
Thailand | The signature of King Mongkut (r. 1851 – 1868) reads SPPM (Somdet Phra Poramenthra Maha) Mongkut King of the Siamese, giving the name "Siam" official status until 23 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand. Thailand was renamed Siam from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it again reverted to Thailand. | What country was formerly known as Siam until June 23, 1939, and again from 1945 to May 11, 1949? |
San Diego Padres | Petco Park is a baseball park located in the downtown area of San Diego, California, United States, that is home to the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). The park opened in 2004, replacing Qualcomm Stadium, which the Padres shared with the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). Petco Park is named after the San Diego-based pet supplies retailer Petco, which paid for the naming rights until 2026. In addition to baseball, the park is also used as venue for concerts, football, golf, and rugby sevens. | An open air ballpark build in 2004, what National League baseball team plays at Petco Park? |
Bark | Cinnamon ( ) is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods. The term "cinnamon" also refers to its mid-brown colour. While Cinnamomum verum is sometimes considered to be "true cinnamon", most cinnamon in international commerce is derived from related species, which are also referred to as "cassia" to distinguish them from "true cinnamon". | From which part of a tree do we get the spice cinnamon? |
Transcontinental Railroad | The golden spike (also known as The Last Spike ) is the ceremonial final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the First Transcontinental Railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads on May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory. The term last spike has been used to refer to one driven at the usually ceremonial completion of any new railroad construction projects, particularly those in which construction is undertaken from two disparate origins towards a meeting point. The spike now lies in the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University. | The golden spike, driven at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869, is famous for completing what? |
Mickey Mouse | Plane Crazy is an American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The cartoon, released in 1929 by the Walt Disney Studios, was the first creation of the character Mickey Mouse. It was made as a silent film and given a test screening to a theater audience on May 15, 1928, but failed to pick up a distributor. Later that year, Disney released Mickey's first sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie, which was an enormous success. Following this, Plane Crazy was released as a sound cartoon on March 17, 1929. It was the fourth Mickey film to be released after Steamboat Willie, The Gallopin' Gaucho, and The Barn Dance (1928). | "Plane Crazy" was the first cartoon to introduce what now iconic cartoon character, when it debuted on May 15, 1928? |
14th | The Renaissance (,) is a period in Europe, from the 14th to the 17th century, regarded as the cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. It started as a cultural movement in Italy in the Late Medieval period and later spread to the rest of Europe, marking the beginning of the Early Modern Age. | In what century did the Renaissance begin? |
CQD | Although used worldwide by Marconi operators, CQD was never adopted as an international standard, since it could be mistaken for a general call "CQ" if the reception were poor. At the second International Radiotelegraphic Convention, held in Berlin in 1906, Germany's ' distress signal of three-dots/three-dashes/three-dots (· · · – – – · · · ) was adopted as the international Morse code distress signal. (This distress signal soon became known as "SOS". Germany had first adopted this distress signal in regulations effective 1 April 1905.) | In Morse code, what was the radio distress signal used before the adoption of SOS in 1908? |
Herman Melville | According to Hall, his middle name and the nickname "Moby" were given to him by his parents because of an ancestral relationship to Moby Dick author Herman Melville: "The basis for Richard Melville Hall—and for Moby—is that supposedly Herman Melville was my great-great-great-grand uncle." | The singer known as Moby got his nickname because what famed writer was his great-great-great-granduncle? |
Shylock | The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare in which a merchant in 16th-century Venice must default on a large loan provided by an abused Jewish moneylender. It is believed to have been written between 1596 and 1599. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic scenes, and is best known for Shylock and the famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech. Also notable is Portia's speech about "the quality of mercy". | Who is the famous moneylender in Shakespeare’s tragic comedy “The Merchant of Venice”? |
Mount St. Helens | The May 18, 1980 event was the most deadly and economically destructive volcanic eruption in the history of the United States. Approximately fifty-seven people were killed directly from the blast and 200 houses, 47 bridges, 15 mi of railways and 185 mi of highway were destroyed; two people were killed indirectly in accidents that resulted from poor visibility, and two more suffered fatal heart attacks from shoveling ash. U.S. President Jimmy Carter surveyed the damage and said it looked more desolate than a moonscape. A film crew was dropped by helicopter on Mount St. Helens on May 23 to document the destruction. However their compasses spun in circles and they quickly became lost. A second eruption occurred the next day (see below), but the crew survived and were rescued two days after that. The eruption ejected more than 1 cumi of material. A quarter of that volume was fresh lava in the form of ash, pumice and volcanic bombs while the rest was fragmented, older rock. The removal of the north side of the mountain (13% of the cone's volume) reduced Mount St. Helens' height by about 390 m and left a crater 1 to wide and 2100 ft deep with its north end open in a huge breach. | May 18, 1980 saw the eruption of what, causing the death of 57 people and over $3 billion in damages? |
50 | *Finally, if seven tiles have been laid on the board in one turn (known as a "bingo" in North America, a "scrabble" in Spain and France, and a "bonus" elsewhere ), after all of the words formed have been scored, 50 bonus points are added. | How many bonus points does a Scrabble player receive when playing all 7 of their tiles in a single turn? |
Countess | An earl has the title Earl of [X] when the title originates from a placename, or Earl [X] when the title comes from a surname. In either case, he is referred to as Lord [X], and his wife as Lady [X]. A countess who holds an earldom in her own right also uses Lady [X], but her husband does not have a title (unless he has one in his own right). | What is the wife of an Earl called? |
Subsets and Splits