Trivia Quiz?

[phkrause]

17 hours ago, phkrause said:

What is a group of flamingos called?

Pride Flamboyance Parliament Fabulousness

A Pride I believe??

Answer: A group of flamingos is called a flamboyance. Flamingos are social birds, and tens of thousands can live together in a single colony. Flamingos are one of the oldest species of birds, with fossil remains dating back 30 to 50 million years. Their distinctive pink color develops over time thanks to their selective diet. What do flamingos eat? A flamingo's diet primarily consists of aquatic organisms — such as shrimp and algae — high in pigments called carotenoids. It is estimated that 1 out of 300 people have an irrational phobia of flamingos.

[phkrause]

17 hours ago, phkrause said:

What is a group of flamingos called?

Pride Flamboyance Parliament Fabulousness

A Pride I believe??

Answer: A group of flamingos is called a flamboyance. Flamingos are social birds, and tens of thousands can live together in a single colony. Flamingos are one of the oldest species of birds, with fossil remains dating back 30 to 50 million years. Their distinctive pink color develops over time thanks to their selective diet. What do flamingos eat? A flamingo's diet primarily consists of aquatic organisms — such as shrimp and algae — high in pigments called carotenoids. It is estimated that 1 out of 300 people have an irrational phobia of flamingos.

[phkrause]

18 hours ago, phkrause said:

Why Was Anne Boleyn Executed?

Anne Boleyn was Henry VIII’s second wife and was executed for adultery, conspiracy, incest and witchcraft. Henry had divorced his first wife, which got him excommunicated from the Catholic Church. After tiring of Anne, he turned his attention to Jane Seymour, soon-to-be wife number three. Anne was charged with having an incestuous affair with her brother, George Boleyn, who was Lord Rochford.

She was taken to the Tower of London and imprisoned in the royal apartments. She was found guilty at trial, and her marriage to Henry was annulled. A swordsman was brought from France to perform the execution. She was beheaded on May 19, 1536, after serving as Queen of England for about three years.

 

18 hours ago, phkrause said:

Which Roman Empress Was Murdered by Her Husband?

Claudia Octavia, wife and empress consort to Roman Emperor Nero, was murdered by him following their divorce. She had an impressive Roman lineage, being the daughter of Emperor Claudius, cousin to Caligula and great-niece of Tiberius. Nero, whose real name was Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, was the first cousin of her mother. Nero disliked her enough that he tried to strangle her on several occasions. He finally divorced her and banished her on a fake charge of adultery.

The people of Rome protested so much, Nero agreed to remarry her. Instead, he ordered her death. She was tied up and her veins opened as was customary in a Roman suicide. Then she was suffocated in a bath of hot, steamy water. Afterward, her head was removed and sent to Nero’s other wife, Poppaea.

 

18 hours ago, phkrause said:

What Other Wife Did Henry VIII Have Beheaded?

Catherine Howard was another of Henry VIII’s wives who was executed. At age 49, King Henry became besotted with the 15-year-old Howard, following his marriage annulment from Anne of Cleves. However, while a vivacious and pretty young girl, she had grown up in poverty and was unfamiliar with court life. Catherine Howard became Henry VIII’s fifth wife. 

However, after about 18 months, the Archbishop of Canterbury approached the king with the news that Howard was having affairs behind his back. It was confirmed after an investigation, and Howard admitted it was true. A vote by the British Parliament, supported by the king, condemned her to death early in 1542. She was beheaded on February 13, at age 17, after having practiced laying her head on the executioner’s block so that she would die with dignity.

 

18 hours ago, phkrause said:

What Roman Empress Ended Up in Hot Water?

Flavia Maxima Fausta, born about 289 A.D. and daughter of the Emperor of Rome, Maximianus, was married to the Roman Emperor Constantine I. Reportedly, Flavia approached Constantine’s son Crispus, wanting to have an affair. She was rebuffed. In retribution, she told Constantine that the son had tried to attack her, so the Emperor had him executed, supposedly at her suggestion. Finally recognizing that his wife had made false allegations against his son, he had her executed by being placed in a bath of steaming water in about 326 A.D.

[phkrause]

Which of the following was an occupation of Gerald Ford before his foray into politics?

A. Model
B. Bar Bouncer
C. Optometrist
D. Carpenter

[phkrause]

In which plane did Charles Lindbergh make the first nonstop solo transatlantic flight on this day in 1927?

The Spruce Goose Gulfstream I The Spirit of St. Louis Enola Gay

[phkrause]

It Won't Take You 33.5 Hours to Answer These Trivia Questions

May 20, 1927, aviator Charles A. Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, on the world’s first solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean and the first ever nonstop flight between New York to Paris. Try answering these trivia questions about Lindbergh's groundbreaking feat of aviation.

How Long Did The Historic Flight Take?

What Happened to the Spirit of St. Louis After the Trip?

So Did Lindbergh Really Stay Awake All That Time?

Why Is San Diego International Airport Called Lindbergh Field?

[phkrause]

Which lieutenant colonel was implicated in the Iran-Contra affair in the 1980s?

Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. Colin Powell David Petraeus Oliver North

I believe that would be Oliver North??

[phkrause]

23 hours ago, phkrause said:

Which of the following was an occupation of Gerald Ford before his foray into politics?

A. Model
B. Bar Bouncer
C. Optometrist
D. Carpenter

A. Model

He didn't always look like that - in his 20s, Ford worked as a model and even appeared on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine.

Source: various web sites.

[phkrause]

23 hours ago, phkrause said:

In which plane did Charles Lindbergh make the first nonstop solo transatlantic flight on this day in 1927?

The Spruce Goose Gulfstream I The Spirit of St. Louis Enola Gay

Answer: On this day in 1927, Charles Lindbergh strapped into his famous airplane, “The Spirit of St. Louis,” and took off on the first solo transatlantic airplane flight. Lindbergh emerged from the virtual obscurity of a U.S. Air Mail pilot to instantaneous world fame as the result of his solo nonstop flight made from the Roosevelt Field in Garden City on New York's Long Island to Le Bourget Field in Paris, France. As a result of his landmark 33-hour, 30-minute non-stop flight, Lindbergh was the first person in history to be in New York one day and Paris the next.

[phkrause]

21 hours ago, phkrause said:

How Long Did The Historic Flight Take?

Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Airfield, Garden City, New York, and landed 33 hours, 30 minutes later at Aéroport Le Bourget in Paris, France, a distance of approximately 3,600 miles.  Modern jets can travel the same distance in about six hours, but that's because they are traveling with much more power and more efficient engines, and more engines in the first place. The Spirit of St. Louis, Lindbergh's plane, was a single-engine monoplane, one of those older, small planes with one long wing centered above the body of the plane. The plane had been custom-designed for the trip, but its designers still didn't have the advantage of all the information available now regarding aerodynamic design. Even more tricky was the fact that Lindbergh had to use a periscope to see in front of the plane; the custom design included moving the fuel tank to the front and pushing the cockpit back, blocking the view that a pilot would normally have. Just a few days before, Lindbergh had flown the plane across the country with one stop in St. Louis, and that trip took a whopping 21 hours and 40 minutes. 

 

21 hours ago, phkrause said:

What Happened to the Spirit of St. Louis After the Trip?

Lindbergh elected to return to the United States by battleship, with the plane safely anchored aboard. However, once he returned to the States, he once again flew the plane around the country and then into Mexico and South America. The legs from Washington to Mexico City and Havana to St. Louis were both flown nonstop. Lindbergh proved his feat was not a one-time wonder. In 1928, Lindbergh gave the plane to the Smithsonian Institution, where it remains on display.

 

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

So Did Lindbergh Really Stay Awake All That Time?

Yes. Staying awake for 33.5 hours might not sound like much to anyone who was ever a college student, but as anyone will tell you, spending 33.5 hours on duty and attempting to stay alert is quite another animal. Lindbergh started to hallucinate during the trip, having conversations with ghostly figures who were very knowledgeable about aviation and more mystical matters.

Lindbergh's experience was not unusual, though. Many pilots have reported similar experiences even if they hadn't been awake for that long. Think about that the next time you fly.

 

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

Why Is San Diego International Airport Called Lindbergh Field?

The Spirit of St. Louis was built in San Diego by Ryan Airlines, and while the name "Lindbergh Field" isn't official, it has stuck as a colloquial moniker. There have been some attempts to disassociate that name from the airport on the grounds that Lindbergh's antisemitism made him a terrible choice for the hero worship that naming the airport after him implies, especially because Lindbergh himself was the target of a virtual boycott after he opposed entering World War II and made disparaging remarks about Jews (even President Franklin Roosevelt claimed he could tell Lindbergh was a Nazi). However, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority has no plans in the works to discourage the use of the name Lindbergh Field.

For fun: Just as Lindbergh was an adventurous pilot, working as a barnstormer and stunt pilot at one point, Lindbergh Field requires modern pilots to be a little adventurous, too. The airport has been named one of the scariest in the United States because of its steep descent over a hill east of the airport and the occasional close landings and takeoffs between different planes. Certain approaches to the single runway take the plane close to downtown skyscrapers, and the planes have to clear a multistory parking garage that sits below the flight path in front of the runway.

[phkrause]

19 hours ago, phkrause said:

Which lieutenant colonel was implicated in the Iran-Contra affair in the 1980s?

Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. Colin Powell David Petraeus Oliver North

I believe that would be Oliver North??

Answer: Oliver North is primarily remembered for his term as a National Security Council staff member during the Iran–Contra affair, a political scandal of the late 1980s. The scandal involved the illegal sale of weapons to Iran to encourage the release of U.S. hostages. North formulated the second part of the plan, which was to divert proceeds from the arms sales to support the Contra rebel groups in Nicaragua, which had been specifically prohibited under the Boland Amendment. He was convicted of three charges, which were overturned in 1990.

[phkrause]

Which rock band had an album called Fables of the Reconstruction?

A. The B-52s
B. REM
C. The Smithereens
D. The Cars

[phkrause]

In 1885, what arrived stateside in 350 individual pieces, in more than 200 boxes?

Gateway Arch Statue of Liberty Empire State Building Washington Monument

[phkrause]

Vroom Vroom! 4 Trivia Questions About Speed Limits in America

On May 21, 1901, Connecticut enacted the first speed-limit law for motorized vehicles in America. See if you can zoom through these trivia questions about speed limits.

What Were the First Speed Limits Enacted in Connecticut?

Were There Speed Limits for Other Vehicles?

What State Tried to Copy the German Autobahn in the 1990s?

What States Have the Highest and Lowest Speed Limits?

[phkrause]

What triangular New York building was one of the city's first skyscrapers?

Woolworth Building Chrysler Building Carnegie Hall Tower Flatiron Building

[phkrause]

14 hours ago, phkrause said:

Which rock band had an album called Fables of the Reconstruction?

A. The B-52s
B. REM
C. The Smithereens
D. The Cars

B. REM

Athens, Georgia-based REM's album Fables of the Reconstruction was released in 1985.

Source: various web sites.

[phkrause]

14 hours ago, phkrause said:

In 1885, what arrived stateside in 350 individual pieces, in more than 200 boxes?

Gateway Arch Statue of Liberty Empire State Building Washington Monument

Answer: In 1885, the dismantled Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of America, arrived in New York Harbor after being shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in 350 individual pieces packed in more than 200 cases. After being reassembled, the 450,000-pound copper and iron statue was officially dedicated on October 28, 1886, by President Grover Cleveland, and became known around the world as an enduring symbol of freedom and democracy.

[phkrause]

14 hours ago, phkrause said:

What Were the First Speed Limits Enacted in Connecticut?

A measure introduced by Connecticut Congressman Robert Woodruff limited the speed of motor vehicles to 8 mph inside a city’s limits. A zooming 12 mph was allowed when traveling on other types of roads. In addition, a driver approaching a horse was required to slow down and stop, if necessary, to prevent frightening the animal. Speedometers had been around since Olds introduced them in their 1901 model, so drivers could actually monitor their speed.

 

14 hours ago, phkrause said:

Were There Speed Limits for Other Vehicles?

A measure introduced by Connecticut Congressman Robert Woodruff limited the speed of motor vehicles to 8 mph inside a city’s limits. A zooming 12 mph was allowed when traveling on other types of roads. In addition, a driver approaching a horse was required to slow down and stop, if necessary, to prevent frightening the animal. Speedometers had been around since Olds introduced them in their 1901 model, so drivers could actually monitor their speed.

 

14 hours ago, phkrause said:

What State Tried to Copy the German Autobahn in the 1990s?

From the end of 1995 to late May 1999, Montana had no daytime speed limits, except what was considered as “prudent and reasonable,” a speed that police in Montana thought of as being around 80 mph. This did not affect nighttime driving. It was kept at 65 mph. However, during the remaining five months of this period, the Montana Supreme Court ruled that the law’s wording was too vague and basically tossed it out the window. This meant that Montana had no speed limit whatsoever for those final months. The current speed limits in Montana are 80 for rural interstates for all vehicles except big trucks. The speed limit on urban interstates is 65 mph.

Montana took action to raise their state’s speed limit because the nationwide speed limit had been lowered by the federal government to 55 mph between 1974 and 1995 because of the energy crisis of the 70s. Interestingly enough, the freedom of driving at a higher speed in Montana resulted in a lower incidence of traffic accidents. This was another reason the government gave for lowering the nationwide speed limit in the first place.

 

14 hours ago, phkrause said:

What States Have the Highest and Lowest Speed Limits?

Since the 55-mph speed limit was repealed toward the end of 1995, states have been given more leeway in setting speed limits. Many of them have increased speed limits to 70 or more on some stretches of highway. Texas State Highway 130, which is a toll road that goes from Seguin to the north side of Mustang Ridge, has the highest speed limit in the country at 85 mph. Texas not only has the highest speed on one road but the highest overall speed statewide if all three types of roads are taken into account with an average of 78.3 mph.

A number of states have retained the 55 mph speed limit. Washington, D.C. still uses it, which isn’t surprising since traffic on interstates leading into and out of the city is frequently congested.  Alaska retained the 55 mph speed limit on urban interstates, along with Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia.

[phkrause]

13 hours ago, phkrause said:

What triangular New York building was one of the city's first skyscrapers?

Woolworth Building Chrysler Building Carnegie Hall Tower Flatiron Building

Answer: The Flatiron Building, originally the Fuller Building, is a triangular 22-story steel-framed landmarked building located at 175 Fifth Avenue in New York City, and is considered to be a groundbreaking skyscraper. Upon completion in 1902, it was one of the tallest buildings in the city. The building sits on a triangular block formed by Fifth Avenue, Broadway, and East 22nd Street, with 23rd Street grazing the triangle's northern peak. As with numerous other wedge-shaped buildings, the name "Flatiron" derives from its resemblance to a cast-iron clothes iron.

[phkrause]

Which of the following marshmallows in Lucky Charms gives people the power of invisibility?

A. Purple Horseshoes
B. Clovers
C. Blue Moons
D. Shooting Stars

[phkrause]

A full-scale replica of what major world landmark can be found in Nashville, Tennessee?

Big Ben Parthenon Colosseum Eiffel Tower

[phkrause]

Here's Johnny! Can You Answer These Tonight Show Trivia Questions?

May 22, 1992, marked the end of an era for late-night television. After nearly 30 years on the air, Johnny Carson signed off from The Tonight Show for the last time. Think you know the show well enough to ace these trivia questions about the show?

Who was Carson’s Last Guest on The Tonight Show?

What Guest Appeared on the Tonight Show More Than Any Other?

Which Celebrities Were Considered to Replace Carson After He Announced His Retirement?

What’s the Total Number of Times Carson Hosted The Tonight Show?

[phkrause]

Which author, born on this day in 1859, created the fictional character Sherlock Holmes?

Charles Dickens Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Ian Fleming Robert Louis Stevenson

[phkrause]

On 5/22/2017 at 0:14 PM, phkrause said:

Which of the following marshmallows in Lucky Charms gives people the power of invisibility?

A. Purple Horseshoes
B. Clovers
C. Blue Moons
D. Shooting Stars

C. Blue Moons

Magically delicious - and apparently powerful. Blue Moon marshmallows supposedly give consumers the power to disappear... just like a bowl of this family-favorite cereal.

Source: various web sites.

[phkrause]

On 5/22/2017 at 0:19 PM, phkrause said:

A full-scale replica of what major world landmark can be found in Nashville, Tennessee?

Big Ben Parthenon Colosseum Eiffel Tower

Answer: The Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee is a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens built in 1897. Nashville's moniker, the "Athens of the South", influenced the choice of the building as the centerpiece of the 1897 Centennial Exposition. A number of buildings at the Exposition were based on ancient originals, however the Parthenon was the only one that was an exact reproduction. Today the Parthenon, which functions as an art museum, stands as the centerpiece of Centennial Park, a large public park just west of downtown Nashville.