Trivia Quiz?

[phkrause]

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

Who Wrote the Pledge of Allegiance?

In 1892, as part of a national patriotic school program, a 37-year-old minister named Francis Bellamy composed the Pledge of Allegiance. It was originally written and published in, the magazine The Youth's Companion and it was to be an integral part of the Columbus Day festivities.

The original version was a bit different than what we know today. It read: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

In 1923 the American Legion and Daughters of the American Revolution made a change to the pledge. They removed the word "my" and inserted the words "the Flag of the United States of America." This change was made so that immigrant children would know they were saluting the United States flag, and not one from their native country.

With the national fear of communism in 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower urged Congress to add the words "under God" to the pledge. Eisenhower stated this change would "reaffirm the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future" and "strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war."

 

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

Why Do We Place Our Hand Over Our Heart?

We are asked to put our right hand over our heart during the Pledge of Allegiance as a sign of respect. The original Bellamy salute was quite different, as described by Youth's Companion:

At a signal from the Principal the pupils, in ordered ranks, hands to the side, face the flag. Another signal is given; every pupil gives the flag the military salute -- right hand lifted, palm downward, to align with the forehead and close to it. Standing thus, all repeat together, slowly, "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands; one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all." At the words, "to my Flag," the right hand is extended gracefully, palm upward, toward the flag, and remains in this gesture till the end of the affirmation; whereupon all hands immediately drop to the side.

A similar salute was adopted by Italy and Nazi Germany. This caused much confusion and concern among Americans, especially with the United States entering WWII. In 1942, Congress amended the Flag Code to placing the right hand over the heart during the pledge to honor the flag.

 

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

Who Is Michael Newdow and What Does He Have to Do with the Pledge?

Michael Arthur Newdow, an American attorney and physician, found fame throughout the 2000s as he sought to have the Pledge of Allegiance declared unconstitutional because of its inclusion of the phrase "under God." Newdow filed and lost lawsuits to stop the invocation prayer at President Bush's second inauguration and to prevent references to religion from being part of President Obama's inauguration.

[phkrause]

22 hours ago, phkrause said:

Who is Carrie Fisher's famous mother?

Liza Minnelli Shirley MacLaine Elizabeth Taylor Debbie Reynolds

Debbie Reynolds of course!

Answer: Carrie Fisher was born on October 21, 1956 in Los Angeles, California. Her father was singer Eddie Fisher and her mother was legendary actress Debbie Reynolds. In 1952 at age 19, Reynolds starred in Singin' in the Rain, which set her on her path to fame. Reynolds posted a brief message following her daughter's passing “Thank you to everyone who has embraced the gifts and talents of my beloved and amazing daughter. I am grateful for your thoughts and prayers that are now guiding her to her next stop. Love Carries Mother.”

[phkrause]

Which transgender star has an identical twin brother?

A. Laverne Cox
B. Alexis Arquette
C. Caitlin Jenner
D. Candis Cayne

A I believe!!

[phkrause]

What is President Barack Obama's middle name?

Barry Henry David Hussein

Hussein

[phkrause]

4 Birthday Questions About President Andrew Johnson

President Andrew Johnson was born in a log cabin on December 29, 1808, in Raleigh, NC. Rising from poverty to the presidency in just over 50 years, Johnson was fated to have a difficult political career. How much do you know about the life of our 17th president?

What Was Johnson's Childhood Like?

How Did Johnson Learn to Read?

How Did He Get His Start in Politics?

Why Was Johnson Impeached?

[phkrause]

What is the best-selling cereal in the United States?

Lucky Charms Special K Frosted Flakes Honey Nut Cheerios

My guess! Honey Nut Cheerios??

[phkrause]

21 hours ago, phkrause said:

Which transgender star has an identical twin brother?

A. Laverne Cox
B. Alexis Arquette
C. Caitlin Jenner
D. Candis Cayne

A I believe!!

A. Laverne Cox

Seeing double? Laverne Cox's brother, who goes by his stage name M Lamar, also played Cox's pre-transition character in Orange Is the New Black.

Source: various web sites.

[phkrause]

20 hours ago, phkrause said:

What is President Barack Obama's middle name?

Barry Henry David Hussein

Hussein

Answer: Barack Obama's middle name of Hussein was the first name of his paternal grandfather. Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States, as well as the first African American to hold the office. With a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, President Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. He was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008. After being re-elected in 2012, President Obama is currently serving his second and final term, which will end in January 2017.

[phkrause]

19 hours ago, phkrause said:

What Was Johnson's Childhood Like?

Johnson's parents, Raleigh town constable Jacob Johnson and washerwoman Polly McDonough Johnson, were both illiterate. When Andrew was only three years old, his father died of a heart attack shortly after rescuing three local men from drowning. In an effort to support the family his mother continued to work as a washerwoman, a job that took her unescorted into the homes of others and thus earned her -- and the entire family -- a questionable reputation. The not-so subtle prejudice he experienced as a child was to shape Johnson's social views for the rest of his life. 

Andrew had an older brother, William, four years his elder. Not long after the death of Jacob Johnson, Polly Johnson apprenticed her older son to a local tailor named James Selby. When Andrew reached the age of 10, he too was apprenticed to Selby. Under the terms of the indenture agreement, both boys were bound to work for Selby until they reached the age of 21. However, when he was 15, Andrew, unhappy as a tailor's apprentice, and persuaded his brother to run away from Selby. All of Selby's attempts to get his apprentices back were unsuccessful. 

Because both Andrew and William spent most of their childhood working to help support their family, neither had an opportunity to get a formal education, and both boys, like their parents, were unable to read.

 

19 hours ago, phkrause said:

How Did Johnson Learn to Read?

Despite his unhappiness serving as an apprentice tailor, the position gave Andrew a trade that allowed him to make a living as a young man. After a few years of working as itinerant tailors in the Carolinas as they continued to elude the agents of Selby who sought to return them to apprenticeship, Andrew, William, and their mother moved to Greeneville, Tennessee. 

Shortly after setting up a successful tailoring business in Greeneville, Andrew met and married Eliza McCardle. Better educated as a child, Eliza devoted much of her energy to teaching her husband how to read and how to solve basic mathematical problems. To help make up for his woeful lack of education in his younger years, Eliza often read aloud to Andrew as he labored away in his tailor shop.

 

19 hours ago, phkrause said:

How Did He Get His Start in Politics?

Because Johnson was keenly interested in politics, his tailor shop became a local forum for heated political discussions. Because of the prejudice he and his family had experienced as a child, Johnson compensated by developing strong white supremacist views. Although he was an unqualified supporter of the Union, Johnson was a bitter foe of the abolitionist movement and during his years in Tennessee state politics he supported a state constitutional amendment disenfranchising free blacks.

His political career began at the local level when he was elected an alderman in 1829 and went on to become Greeneville's mayor five years later. In 1835 he was elected to the Tennessee state legislature, and in 1843 Johnson became the first Tennessee Democrat to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. After five two-year terms in the House, Johnson was elected governor of Tennessee in 1853, and in 1856 he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

 

19 hours ago, phkrause said:

Why Was Johnson Impeached?

One of the reasons that Abraham Lincoln selected Johnson as his running mate in the 1864 presidential election is because the two men shared similar philosophies about how the South should be treated in the wake of the Civil War. Both were anxious to see the Southern states returned to the Union fold as expeditiously and painlessly as possible.

However, with Lincoln gone, the Radical Republicans in Congress took exception to Johnson's lenient policies toward former Confederates and also his opposition to measures aimed at integrating former slaves into the general population. The straw that broke the camel's back came when Johnson suspended Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. The bill of impeachment against Johnson listed 11 articles of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson, nine of which cite Johnson’s removal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, a violation of the Tenure of Office Act. The House vote made President Johnson the first president to be impeached in U.S. history.

[phkrause]

19 hours ago, phkrause said:

What is the best-selling cereal in the United States?

Lucky Charms Special K Frosted Flakes Honey Nut Cheerios

My guess! Honey Nut Cheerios??

Answer: According to the most recent data, Honey Nut Cheerios is the best-selling cereal in the United States. Honey Nut Cheerios is a variation of Cheerios breakfast cereal, introduced in 1979 by the General Mills cereal company. A serving of Honey Nut Cheerios has eight times more sugar than a serving of Cheerios and twice as much sugar as an Oreo cookie. While Honey Nut Cheerios used to be made with actual nuts, as of 2006, the nuts were discontinued, and natural flavor is used instead.

[phkrause]

What is the official name of the eye chart at the doctor's office - the one with the big "E" at the top?

A. Sloan Chart
B. Jaeger Chart
C. Holland Chart
D. Snellen Chart

[phkrause]

How tall was the shortest player to ever play in the NBA?

5 feet, 3 inches 5 feet, 5 inches 5 feet, 7 inches 5 feet, 9 inches

I know do you???? hohohehehaha!!

[phkrause]

Trivia: The Burning of Buffalo by the British

On December 30, 1813, British forces and their native American allies sacked and burned to the ground the frontier village of Buffalo in far western New York State. Try your luck with our trivia questions to see how much you know about the War of 1812, Buffalo's role in the war, and why the British targeted it.

What Was the British Motive for Burning Buffalo?

What Caused the War of 1812?

What Much Larger City Did the British Torch During the War of 1812?

Which Side Won the War of 1812?

[phkrause]

How much did the Tyrannosaurus Rex weigh?

2 tons 6 tons 9 tons 12 tons

[phkrause]

21 hours ago, phkrause said:

What is the official name of the eye chart at the doctor's office - the one with the big "E" at the top?

A. Sloan Chart
B. Jaeger Chart
C. Holland Chart
D. Snellen Chart

D. Snellen Chart

Named after Dutch opthamologist Herman Snellen, the Snellen chart is the one doctors use to check vision.

Source: various web sites.

[phkrause]

20 hours ago, phkrause said:

How tall was the shortest player to ever play in the NBA?

5 feet, 3 inches 5 feet, 5 inches 5 feet, 7 inches 5 feet, 9 inches

I know do you???? hohohehehaha!!

Answer: At 5 feet, 3 inches, Tyrone Bogues, better known as Muggsy Bogues, holds the record as the shortest player in NBA history. Bogues played point guard for four teams during his 14 season career in the NBA. In his rookie year, Bogues was a teammate of Manute Bol who stood 7 feet 7 inches tall. They were the tallest and shortest players in NBA history at the time, with 28 inches difference between them. Bol and Bogues appeared on three magazine covers together. Only 25 players in NBA history have been at a listed height of 5 feet, 9 inches or shorter.

[phkrause]

20 hours ago, phkrause said:

What Was the British Motive for Burning Buffalo?

In a word, revenge. Earlier in December, Brigadier General George McClure of the New York State militia had ordered his troops to evacuate Fort George, a British garrison on the Canadian side of the Niagara River that the Americans had seized and occupied since May 1813. McClure also ordered his evacuating troops to burn the nearby village of Newark, which is today known as Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario. Months earlier, American forces had torched the provincial capital of York (now known as Toronto). Angered by these American acts of destruction, British Lieutenant General Gordon Drummond, born in Canada, was determined to avenge these acts, and he took it out on the American villages of Buffalo and Black Rock.

 

20 hours ago, phkrause said:

What Caused the War of 1812?

Britain and France, locked in combat during the Napoleonic Wars since the beginning of the 19th century, both enacted economic sanctions that hurt U.S. efforts to expand its international trade. On top of that, Americans were outraged at the British practice of impressing U.S. merchant sailors into the service of the Crown, as well as British support for native Americans fighting the expansion of European Americans into new territories. These mounting grievances against Britain prompted President James Madison to send a message to Congress that listed in detail the British acts and the injurious effects they were having on American interests. Both houses of Congress voted to approve a declaration of war against Britain, which was issued on June 18, 1812.

 

20 hours ago, phkrause said:

What Much Larger City Did the British Torch During the War of 1812?

During the sweltering August of 1814, the 8,000 residents of America's new capital city found themselves the target of invading British troops who were marching northwest toward Washington from the Chesapeake Bay. As the 4,000-strong British force neared the nation's capital, most Washington residents fled into the surrounding countryside. The British made short work of American defenders in nearby Bladensburg, Maryland, despite the superior numbers of the U.S. troops. This left open the door to Washington, which the British quickly captured on August 24, 1814. The British burned most of the city to the ground, including the White House and the U.S. Capitol, only the shell of which remained.

 

20 hours ago, phkrause said:

Which Side Won the War of 1812?

The war ended in a stalemate. Both sides had suffered considerable losses and were eager to see an end to hostilities. Somehow forgotten in the haste to put an end to the war were some of the earlier grievances Americans had about British impressment of U.S. merchant seamen into service for the crown and the illegal boarding of U.S. merchant ships by the British. Under the Treaty of Ghent, signed in the Belgian city of that name on December 24, 1814, all territories conquered by either side reverted to their pre-war owners.

[phkrause]

20 hours ago, phkrause said:

How much did the Tyrannosaurus Rex weigh?

2 tons 6 tons 9 tons 12 tons

Answer: Tyrannosaurus Rex was one of the largest meat-eating dinosaurs that ever lived. A Tyrannosaurus Rex weighed about nine tons (18,000 pounds), was between 15 and 20 feet tall and measured 40 feet in length. One of the largest dinosaurs that ever lived, Tyrannosaurus rex was a fierce carnivore. Scientists believe this predator could eat up to 500 pounds of meat in one bite. Tyrannosaurus rex lived in forested river valleys in North America during the late Cretaceous period. It became extinct about 65 million years ago in the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction.

[phkrause]

The screenwriter "Edmond Dantes," responsible for such films as Beethoven, Drillbit Taylor and Maid in Manhattan, is the pen name of which prolific film writer?

A. William Goldman
B. Oliver Stone
C. John Hughes
D. Cameron Crowe

[phkrause]

What is the name of the car-sized rover that was launched by NASA to explore Mars?

Surveyor Luna Ranger Curiosity

[phkrause]

Trivia: The Kennedy Curse or Just Plain Bad Luck?

On Dec. 31, 1997, Michael Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, died in a freak skiing accident. Answer the questions to decide whether his death was part of the Kennedy curse or it was just bad luck.

How Did Michael Kennedy Die?

When Did the Persistent Rumor of the Kennedy Curse Begin?

Did the Supposed Curse Continue?

What Were Other Tragedies in the Family?

[phkrause]

When was the first Times Square Ball Drop?

1899 1907 1922 1933

[phkrause]

On 12/31/2016 at 5:45 PM, phkrause said:

The screenwriter "Edmond Dantes," responsible for such films as Beethoven, Drillbit Taylor and Maid in Manhattan, is the pen name of which prolific film writer?

A. William Goldman
B. Oliver Stone
C. John Hughes
D. Cameron Crowe

C. John Hughes

Because he was saturating the market with more successful films like the Home Alone series and basically EVERY '80s comedy, John Hughes went by the name Edmond Dantes for some of his other work.

Source: various web sites.

(I kinda thought he was the one)

[phkrause]

On 12/31/2016 at 5:52 PM, phkrause said:

What is the name of the car-sized rover that was launched by NASA to explore Mars?

Surveyor Luna Ranger Curiosity

Answer: Curiosity is a car-sized robotic rover exploring Gale Crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Curiosity was launched from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011, aboard the MSL spacecraft and landed on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on Mars on August 6, 2012. Curiosity is about the size of a small SUV. Curiosity's main goal is to assess whether the Red Planet is, or ever was, capable of supporting microbial life. Another objective is to learn more about the red planet's environment.

[phkrause]

On 12/31/2016 at 6:38 PM, phkrause said:

How Did Michael Kennedy Die?

Michael Kennedy, 39, was known as an excellent skier, reportedly being able to ski blindfolded and backward. This might have come in handy since the Kennedys were well-known for playing football while on skis. On the day of his death on New Year's Eve, while playing ski football with other family members in Aspen, Colorado, Kennedy lost control and crashed into a tree. Although paramedics arrived within minutes, he was pronounced dead 90 minutes later at a nearby hospital. The odds of dying in a skiing accident are one in 1.4 million.

 

On 12/31/2016 at 6:38 PM, phkrause said:

When Did the Persistent Rumor of the Kennedy Curse Begin?

Tragedy has followed the family of Joseph Kennedy Sr. Of the nine children in the family, Joseph Kennedy Jr. died in 1944 in a secret bombing mission during WWII. Four years later, daughter Kathleen died in a plane crash. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Harvey Lee Oswald in Dallas, Texas, in 1963. His death was followed by the death of son Robert Kennedy by an assassin's bullet in 1968 as he left the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

 

On 12/31/2016 at 6:38 PM, phkrause said:

Did the Supposed Curse Continue?

Tragedy continued to stalk the Kennedy family. David Kennedy, son of Robert, an alcoholic and heroin addict, died in a hotel room in Florida from an overdose in 1984. John Kennedy Jr., son of President Kennedy, died along with his wife, Carolyn, and sister-in-law, Lauren, when his plane crashed in 1999. Mary Kennedy, wife of Robert Kennedy Jr., committed suicide by hanging herself in 2012.

 

On 12/31/2016 at 6:38 PM, phkrause said:

What Were Other Tragedies in the Family?

Not all tragedies in the Kennedy family resulted in death. Intellectually challenged Rosemary was the third daughter of Joseph Sr. Because she was difficult to handle and had violent mood swings, she underwent a lobotomy. This procedure left her unable to care for herself and resulted in lifelong institutionalization. While on a campaign trip in 1964, Edward M. Kennedy was also the victim of a plane crash, which claimed the lives of two other people who were aboard.

In 1969, he was immersed in scandal when his car went off a bridge, and the young woman in his car died. Joseph P. Kennedy, son of Robert, was on a plane that was hijacked by gunmen in 1972. Fortunately, the passengers were let go when the plane landed in Yemen. In 1973, he was involved in a motor vehicle accident that left a female passenger permanently paralyzed. Ted Kennedy Jr. lost his leg in 1973 to childhood cancer.

Statistically, the odds of all this happening to one family are astronomical. Question: curse or happenchance?