Trivia Quiz?

[phkrause]

Which inventor is generally given credit for the invention of the lightning rod?

Thomas Edison Benjamin Franklin Nikola Tesla Alexander Graham Bell

[dgrimm60]

PHKRAUSE

Benjamin Franklin is the answer

dgrimm60

[phkrause]

23 hours ago, phkrause said:

A popular variety of asparagus shares its name with which First Lady?

Mary Todd Lincoln Dolley Madison Eleanor Roosevelt Martha Washington

 

22 hours ago, dgrimm60 said:

Martha Washington

Answer: This bright-green veggie is packed with good-for-you vitamins and minerals like vitamins A, C, E, K, and B6. The name asparagus comes from the Greek language and means “sprout” or “shoot.” One of the most popular varieties of green asparagus is named after Martha Washington, the wife of George Washington. Yes, eating asparagus does make your pee smell. However, the majority of people cannot smell it. According to scientists, it takes a special gene to detect the smell, of which only 25 percent of the population have.

[phkrause]

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

Who Was Bell's Closest Competitor for the Telephone Patent?

Bell was not alone in his quest to develop a device that could transmit the spoken word over wires. In fact, several other inventors were pursuing similar projects at the same time as Bell. Among those racing Bell to develop the first successful telephone were Elisha Gray, Antonio Meucci, Thomas A. Edison, and Charles Bourseul. Of those, Gray was right on Bell's heels. Bell filed for his telephone patent barely two hours before Gray made a similar filing. Western Union, which had dominated the telegraph industry in the latter half of the 19th century, was desperate to get in on the telephone business as well. To do so, the company hired Gray and Edison to develop their own telephone system, but Bell sued to block Western Union's effort. The legal dispute eventually reached the Supreme Court, which upheld Bell's patent for the telephone.

 

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

What Two People in Bell’s Family Had Serious Hearing Problems?

Both his wife, Mabel, and his mother had serious hearing problems. His wife was completely deaf from an early infection with scarlet fever, and his mother used an ear trumpet to hear. Bell said he would lean close to her when speaking so she could sense the vibrations from his voice. Bell’s interest in helping the deaf led to a number of his inventions.   In 1872, when he was 25, he opened a “School of Vocal Physiology and Mechanics of Speech” in Boston.

 

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

Bell Was President of What Magazine?

The National Geographic magazine as we know it today was largely the brainchild of Alexander Graham Bell.  He was the second president of National Geographic, taking over for his father-in-law, Gardiner Hubbard, the magazine’s first president. At that point, the magazine was struggling, and Bell revitalized it by including dramatic photographs that told a story and by adding interesting illustrations. By 2015, the magazine was published in 40 languages and had a readership of 6.5 million.

 

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

What Did Bell Invent in Haste to Try to Save the Life of a President?

Bell invented a metal detector at the time of President James Garfield's assassination in 1881. Garfield was shot and physicians attending to the president were unable to locate the bullet, so Bell hastily invented a machine that used electromagnets to detect metal in an attempt to save Garfield’s life. The machine might have worked better if Garfield had not been lying in a bed with metal springs, and the president died of his wound several months later.

 

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

How Did The Phone Companies Honor Bell on the Day of His Funeral?

Bell died on August 2, 1922, just a few days after his 75th birthday.  It’s a common custom to hold a minute’s silence when someone of note has passed away, but for Alexander Graham Bell, a remarkable tribute took place after his funeral. Every phone in North America was silenced for a minute in “honor of the man who had given to mankind the means for direct communication at a distance.”   There were more than 14 million telephones in the United States by the time Alexander Graham Bell died. For one minute on August 4, 1922, they were all silent. 

[phkrause]

21 hours ago, phkrause said:

Which inventor is generally given credit for the invention of the lightning rod?

Thomas Edison Benjamin Franklin Nikola Tesla Alexander Graham Bell

 

19 hours ago, dgrimm60 said:

Benjamin Franklin

Answer: A lightning rod is a metal rod mounted on a structure and intended to protect the structure from a lightning strike. If lightning hits the structure, it will preferentially strike the rod and be conducted to ground through a wire, instead of passing through the structure, where it could start a fire or cause electrocution. The principle of the lightning rod was first detailed by Benjamin Franklin in Pennsylvania in 1749, who in the subsequent years developed his invention for household application. The idea spread fast, and Franklin considered it his most important invention. It’s one that is still used to this day.

[phkrause]

What color is the universe according to astronomers at Johns Hopkins University?

Black Beige Yellow Blue

[phkrause]

Which singer has her own line of sweet potato pies?

Tina Turner Aretha Franklin Dolly Parton Patti LaBelle

[phkrause]

20 hours ago, phkrause said:

What color is the universe according to astronomers at Johns Hopkins University?

Black Beige Yellow Blue

Answer: The Universe may appear like a vast expanse of darkness but the average color is actually beige, according to scientists. A team of astronomers at Johns Hopkins University determined that the overall color of the universe is a light beige referred to as cosmic latte. In 2001, astronomers Karl Glazebrook and Ivan Baldry used spectral analysis to survey more than 200,000 galaxies to determine its color. When they asked for suggestions for a name of the color in a Washington Post article, a reader named Peter Drum came up with Cosmic Latte.

[phkrause]

18 hours ago, phkrause said:

Which singer has her own line of sweet potato pies?

Tina Turner Aretha Franklin Dolly Parton Patti LaBelle

Answer: Singer Patti LaBelle has teamed up with Wal-Mart to make a sweet potato pie. Since her sweet potato pies first debuted at Walmart in 2015, they’ve been flying off the shelves, thanks in part to YouTube star James Wright Chanel’s ode to them. The video went viral, and has more than 8 million views. According to Wal-Mart, they were selling a pie per second after the video dropped. “Sweet potato pie is in my blood, my mother and father and all of my great aunts, great grandmother and everyone grew up on sweet potato pie,” LaBelle says.

[phkrause]

What famous toy was introduced on this day in 1959 by the Mattel?

Slinky Mr. Potato Head Cabbage Patch Kid Barbie

[dgrimm60]

PHKRAUSE

the answer is Barbie

dgrimm60

[phkrause]

In the late ’90s, a Chihuahua named Gidget served as the “spokesdog” for what restaurant chain?

Arby's Pizza Hut Subway Taco Bell

I'm thinking Taco Bell??

[phkrause]

On 3/9/2018 at 6:57 PM, phkrause said:

What famous toy was introduced on this day in 1959 by the Mattel?

Slinky Mr. Potato Head Cabbage Patch Kid Barbie

 

On 3/9/2018 at 7:10 PM, dgrimm60 said:

Barbie

Answer: On this day in 1959, the first Barbie doll went on display at the American Toy Fair in New York City. Standing eleven inches tall, with blond hair, Barbie was the first mass-produced toy doll in the United States with adult features. The woman behind Barbie was Ruth Handler, who co-founded Mattel, Inc. with her husband in 1945. Barbie’s appearance was modeled on a doll named Lilli, based on a German comic strip character. Mattel bought the rights to Lilli and made its own version, which Handler named after her daughter, Barbara.

[phkrause]

23 hours ago, phkrause said:

In the late ’90s, a Chihuahua named Gidget served as the “spokesdog” for what restaurant chain?

Arby's Pizza Hut Subway Taco Bell

I'm thinking Taco Bell??

Answer: Gidget, nicknamed the "Taco Bell Chihuahua", was an advertising figure and mascot for the Taco Bell restaurant chain from May 16, 1993 to October 23, 2004. The dog (sometimes depicted as a Mexican revolutionary wearing a beret or as a bandido wearing a sombrero) was made to speak through special effects. Her advertising catchphrase was "¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!" ("I want Taco Bell!"). The figure grew popular, so much so that toy figures of the dog were produced, and "¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!" became a recognized piece of popular culture.

[phkrause]

Which brand features a red spoon on its logo?

Betty Crocker Häagen-Dazs Duncan Hines Campbell's

[dgrimm60]

PHKRAUSE

the answer is Betty Crocker

ddgrimm60

[phkrause]

What was Dear Abby's last name?

Van Horn Van Dyke Van Williams Van Buren

[dgrimm60]

PHKRAUSE

the answer is Van Buren

dgrimm60

[phkrause]

15 hours ago, phkrause said:

Which brand features a red spoon on its logo?

Betty Crocker Häagen-Dazs Duncan Hines Campbell's

 

14 hours ago, dgrimm60 said:

Betty Crocker

Answer: Betty Crocker is a fictional character used in advertising campaigns for food and recipes. In 1954, General Mills branded the red spoon logo, giving various food-related merchandise the Betty Seal of Approval. The character was first developed in 1921 as a way to give a personalized response to consumer product questions. The name Betty was selected because it was viewed as a cheery, all-American name. It was paired with the last name Crocker, in honor of William Crocker, a Washburn Crosby Company director.

[phkrause]

14 hours ago, phkrause said:

What was Dear Abby's last name?

Van Horn Van Dyke Van Williams Van Buren

 

6 hours ago, dgrimm60 said:

Van Buren

Answer: Dear Abby is the name of the advice column founded in 1956 by Pauline Phillips under the pen name "Abigail Van Buren" and carried on today by her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, who now owns the legal rights to the pen name. According to Pauline Phillips, she came up with the pen name Abigail Van Buren by combining the name of Biblical figure Abigail in the Book of I Samuel, with the last name of former U.S. President Martin Van Buren. A similar column, Ask Ann Landers, was written from 1955 to 2002 by Pauline Phillips twin sister.

[phkrause]

5 Things You Didn't Know About Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

On March 11, 1818, a new book was published by an anonymous author. Several years later, that book, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, was reprinted with the true author's name on it: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Here are five things you might not have known about the book that began it all for science fiction.

The Name of the Monster is Not Named Frankenstein

This is one of the most common misconceptions about Frankenstein.  Though many today incorrectly refer to the monster as “Frankenstein,” that’s actually the name of the creator. The scientist is named Victor Frankenstein, and the creation itself has no name. Among the eponymous titles used by the creature, one is “The Adam of your labors.”  The monster is called other various names, including “monster” (obviously), “demon” and the good old “it,” but never “Frankenstein.”

Frankenstein Exists Because of a Writing Contest

The book was the result of a contest in which Shelley, her husband, and a group of friends were going to see who could write the best ghost story. Mary Shelley, her husband Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and John Polidori competed against each other to see who could write the best horror story. Needless to say, Mary Shelley won the match.  It is said that the plot came to Mary Shelley in a dream about a scientist who created life.

Thomas Edison Made It Into A Movie

In 1910, Thomas Edison and his studio, Edison Manufacturing Company, released a 16-minute short film that was a loose interpretation of Mary Shelley’s now infamous novel Frankenstein.  Frankenstein was filmed at Edison Motion Picture Studios located on the corner of Decatur Avenue and Oliver Place in the Bronx, New York. The film was seen as sacrilegious and was considered lost until discovered in the 1950s by a private collector. 

The Modern Vampire Story Came From The Same Contest

Vampire legends are very old, but vampire fiction got a real boost at the same ghost story contest that led to Frankenstein. In fact, Lord Byron, the famous British poet, may have provided the original idea. He was not the writer, though; that was John Polidori, another attendee at the ghost story gathering. Polidori was inspired by Lord Byron's idea and wrote out an entire story called The Vampyre, which is thought to be the first real piece of vampire literature. Interestingly, both The Vampyre and Frankenstein were initially published anonymously. Polidori was revealed as the author of his book a few years later, but Mary Shelley didn't get full printed credit for her story until the 1830s.

There Is a Real Castle Frankenstein

Mary Shelley said the name of Frankenstein came in her dream but in Germany there is a Castle Frankenstein, which Shelley visited it in 1814. The castle is near the city of Darmstadt. While the castle is partly in ruins now, its caretakers have taken to the Frankenstein fame well, holding large Halloween parties at the site. When the castle was in better shape, it was occupied by a man named Dippel, an alchemist who thought he could create an oil that would confer health from every ailment and make people live decades longer. He didn't succeed, of course, but his reputation—and his apparent belief that the deliberate transfer of souls between bodies was possible—may have influenced Shelley. However, she had never named Dippel as a direct inspiration for her story.

[phkrause]

What company has used the slogan “You are now free to move about the country”?

Delta Air Lines JetBlue Airways Southwest Airlines United Airlines

[dgrimm60]

PHKRAUSE

the answer is Southwest Airlines

dgrimm60

[dgrimm60]

PHKRAUSE

the answer is Southwest Airlines

dgrimm60

[phkrause]

20 hours ago, phkrause said:

What company has used the slogan “You are now free to move about the country”?

Delta Air Lines JetBlue Airways Southwest Airlines United Airlines

 

17 hours ago, dgrimm60 said:

Southwest Airlines

Answer: Southwest immortalized the advertising tagline "you are now free to move about the country," a line that underscored the point that Southwest offered cheap fares so just about anyone could travel. The slogan is accompanied by a “DING!” noise and is a take-off on a pilot’s frequent line of “You are now free to move about the cabin.” Southwest Airlines began in 1967 as a low-cost airline based in Dallas, serving Houston and San Antonio. It is now one of the largest airlines in the United States. The airline's current slogan is "Low fares. Nothing to hide."