A Capital Event
Questions:
An Answer Man-er from our nation's capital suggested
a Theme Quiz on capitals around the world and here in our 50 states. See how you do. 1. What capital is often called the Eternal
City?
2. What nation's capital is the city in the preceding query?
3. Name the sovereign state located within
the city of Rome.
4. Name the capital of Vietnam and the famed actress to whose name it was linked as a result of
her strong support for the enemy of the United States in the Vietnam War.
5. Poland's capital has been invaded several
times by such dictatorial countries as Germany and Russia. Name Poland's capital.
6. Name the capital of the Wolverine
State, also known as the Great Lakes State.
7. What is the capital of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico?
8.
Name the capital of the Coyote State.
9. Which state capital was the scene of a noted "Tea Party"?
10. What
is the capital of Greece?
He Was Always There
Questions:
1. She entertained U.S. troops in World War II,
Korea and Viet Nam, sometimes spending up to six months overseas with our men in uniform. even worked as a nurse on wounded
soldiers. For her service to the Special Forces, she received an honorary Green Beret with the rank of lieutenant colonel
from President Lyndon Johnson, and was later awarded the highest commendation for a civilian -- the Presidential Medal of
Freedom. Name her.
2. Perhaps the highest award bestowed on the heroine in the preceding question was her funeral
in 1994. How was she specially honored at her last rites ceremony? For Bragging Rights, tell us where this ceremony took place.
3. What law enforcement group is nicknamed the "Mounties"?
4. Which state's name is derived from an Iroquoian
word meaning "great river"?
5. What breed of dog was kept in the Alps for the rescue of travelers trapped in blizzard-like
situations?
6. What actor starred in "My Fair Lady" both on stage and screen?
7. Did the star in the preceding
question win an Academy Award for that film?
8. Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt once was quoted as saying that
everyone should be required to read a particular biographical book. What was that book?
9. Name the famed pirate who
was commissioned as a privateer by the British to defend their ships, but instead turned to piracy and was tried and hanged
for it by the English.
10. Where was Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, R-California, born?
Madame Alexander dolls were the creation of Beatrice Alexander Behrman, the daughter of Russian
immigrants. Mrs. Behrman, whose father operated New York's first doll "hospital," started making dolls in 1923. Her creations
soon became famous for their molded heads and limbs, lifelike eyes, rooted hair, and elaborate costumes. Mrs. Behrman sold
the company to several New York investors in 1988, two years before she died at age 95. But America's first doll manufacturer
has not compromised her high standard of quality and unique craftsmanship. Today, most of the company's manufacturing is still
done in Harlem, New York, and more than 500,000 dolls a year are sold.
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Which body part is the main source of spreading germs?
Our hands are recognized by medical professionals as a major source for spreading flu and cold
germs. Flu and cold germs can be spread on computer mice and keyboards, chewed pencils, telephones, pens, salad-bar tongs,
light switches, door knobs, taxi door handles, and countless other common objects. People can't avoid touching things. To
minimize infection, concentrate on keeping hands away from the mouth, nose, and eyes unless the hands are first washed with
antibacterial soap, says the Soap and Detergent Association of New York.
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Why are phone number seven digits?
The short-term memory capacity for most people is between five and nine items or digits. This
is one reason that phone numbers were kept to seven digits (not including area code).
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How long is a year, cosmically speaking?
A cosmic year is the amount of time it takes the sun to revolve around the center of the Milky
Way, about 225 million years.
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How many people does it take to set up the circus?
175 people are needed to assemble the approximate 500 tons of equipment for the Ringling Bros.
and Barnum & Bailey Circus -- the "Biggest Show on Earth."
What's the world's #1 food allergy?
More people are allergic to cow's milk than any other food.
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Do Japanese workers take a lot of vacation?
The average worker in Japan reportedly takes only half of his/her earned vacation time each year.
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What would you find at the Pentagon's libraries?
According to the U.S. Defense department, the Pentagon's many libraries support personnel in research
and completion of their work. The Army Library alone provides 300,000 publications and 1,700 periodicals in various languages.
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Where would you go to find the action?
The working section of the piano is called the action. There are about 7,500 parts here, all playing
a role in sending the hammers against the strings when keys are struck.
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The Roman emperor Commodus had all of the dwarfs, cripples, and freaks collected in the city of
Rome and had them brought to the Colosseum, where they were ordered to fight each other to the death.
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How many agents did the FBI initially employ?
The United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, began with a modest thirty-four investigators
in 1908. Later, it became the powerful force that it is today, currently employing more than 12,000 agents across the United
States.
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How many telephones are there in New York City?
There are more than 5,919,682 telephones in New York City, more phones than in the entire country
of Spain. The cables serving the New York City area have nearly 33,072,975 miles of wire.
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What are the world's largest sources of methane?
There are more than 5,919,682 telephones in New York City, more phones than in the entire country
of Spain. The cables serving the New York City area have nearly 33,072,975 miles of wire.
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How much web is in a pound?
It would take 27,000 spiders, each spinning a single web, to produce a pound of web.
The Answer Man by Andy Seamans
Andy Seamans
Answers:
1. An American Airlines DC-10 crashed after taking off from Chicago-O'Hare International
Airport with 272 victims on board and three on the ground.
2. It was the Johnstown Flood that wreaked havoc on the
people of southwestern Pennsylvania.
3. That Nashville tragedy was the head-on collision of two railroad trains.
4.
Those 102 deaths were caused by a subway car's derailment.
5. Ethan Allen was the leader of the Green Mountain Boys.
6. Judson gave us the zipper.
7. Some say TGIF stands for "Thank God it's Friday." To others, it's "Thank
goodness it's Friday." The Answer Man hates Fridays. They're too close to Mondays.
8. A pub is a bar in England, an
abbreviation for public house.
9. Walt Disney gave us "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in 1938. Thanks to Dundee,
N.Y., Answer Man-er John Seymour for sending in this question and the following.
10. The Seven Dwarfs are Doc, Happy,
Grumpy, Sneezy, Bashful, Sleepy and Dopey.
Take "The Answer Man" to work or to school. Challenge your friends for
"Bragging Rights." Send your questions and answers to: The Answer Man, Andy Seamans, Horizon House #603, 1300 Army Navy Dr.,
Arlington, VA 22202.
The Sun provides our planet with 126,000,000,000,000 horsepower of energy every day. This means
that 54,000 horsepower is delivered to every man, woman, and child on Earth in each 24-hour period.
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What is nyctitropism?
Nyctitropism is the tendency of the leaves or petals of certain plants to assume a different position
at night.
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How many medications are made from plants?
Roughly 25 percent of all prescription medicines in the United States are derived from plants,
including alkaloids from the rosy periwinkle of Madagascar. This plant has been successful in arresting childhood leukemia
and Hodgkin's disease.
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How did Miles acquire Henry's bells?
St. Miles Partridge once played dice with Henry VIII for the bells of St. Paul's church. He won,
and collected the bells.
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How do bug repellents work?
Most insect repellents used by humans work on the principle of either masking odors that might
attract insects or by creating smells that are repulsive to them.
Elizabeth Taylor was seriously considered for the lead role of Nurse Nellie Forbush in the 1958
film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical South Pacific. Taylor auditioned for composer Richard Rodgers, but she was
so nervous that her normally sweet voice turned raspy -- she lost the part to Mitzi Gaynor.
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Why did NBC's globe spin backwards?
For many years, the globe on the "NBC Nightly News" spun in the wrong direction. On January 2,
1984, NBC finally set the world spinning back in the proper direction.
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What's so special about the Battle of Britain tie?
A highly coveted necktie is the Battle of Britain tie, which was designed by and is still sold
at Gieves and Hawkes. Only British airmen who fought in the battle are entitled to wear this dark blue tie, which bears the
rose of England and a tiny outline of the British Isles woven on it in gold. The company will only sell one after receiving
proof of identity.
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How many Legos are there?
Since the Lego Group began manufacturing blocks in 1949, more than 189 billion pieces in 2,000
different shapes have been produced. This is enough for about 30 Lego pieces for every living person on Earth.
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What sort of clothing did the pharaohs wear?
The pharaohs of ancient Egypt wore garments made with thin threads of beaten gold. Some fabrics
had up to 500 gold threads per one inch of cloth.
Since its first appearance in 1912, Oreo
Chocolate Sandwich Cookies have reigned supreme as being the number one selling cookie in America. The basic design of the
cookie has not changed for more than 50 years. Today's version is a neat 1 3/4 inches across - that's one, two or three bites,
depending on how big your bite is!
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Are
more crimes committed in the summer?
Temperature and crime are correlated.
Many more crimes are committed in the hot summer months than in the cold winter months.
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How
much Barley goes into Guinness?
A full seven percent of the entire Irish
barley crop goes to the production of Guinness Beer.
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What's
Wilton's unusual industry?
In Wilton, Maine, there is a cannery
that imports and cans only dandelion greens.
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What's
the difference between a rummage and a jumble?
In the United States, sales of used household merchandise
are called "rummage sales;" in Britain, they're called "jumble sales."
Diminutive actor Felix Silla played the hirsute role
of Cousin Itt on the bizarre 1960s sitcom The Addams Family. Years later, he was Twiki on television's Buck Rogers in the
25th Century and also was one of the countless Ewoks in Return of the Jedi.
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Why does a cow
have a magnetic stomach?
Cows have four stomachs. Often, when a calf is born,
the farmer will make it swallow a magnet. This is to attract the various nails, staples, bits of wire, and so on, that the
cow may ingest while grazing. This odd hunger is known as "hardware disease."
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How fast will
a Hot Wheels car go?
In 1966, Elliot Handler, one of the co-founders of
Mattel, Inc. and part of the Barbie doll empire, was the inventor of Hot Wheels. Handler experimented with axles and rotating
wheels being attached to tiny model cars. The innovative gravity-powered car he developed had special low-friction styrene
wheels. Hot Wheels have been clocked at speeds of up to 300 miles per hour.
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Where was Broughton
buried?
Jack Broughton was one of the most revered boxing figures
in England. He was buried at Westminster Abbey, the burial place of British nobility, although Broughton was not a member
of English royalty.
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How long does
a crocodile live?
The Nile crocodile averages about 45 years in the wild,
and may live up to 80 years in captivity.
Andrew Carnegie donated about $330 million to libraries,
research projects, and world peace endeavors.
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How large was
Ross's telescope?
In 1845, the third Earl of Ross, a wealthy amateur
astronomer, built the world's largest telescope on his Ireland estate. The earl's reflecting telescope had a 72-inch metal
mirror, and was suspended between two ivy-covered stone walls.
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Which is the
oldest horse?
Today's oldest form of horse is the Przewalski, or
Mongolian Wild Horse. Survivors of this breed were discovered in the Gobi Desert in 1881.
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Is junk food
bad for squirrels?
City squirrels will eat just about anything, and often,
it's the junk food that people offer them that they prefer, like Cracker Jack peanuts. Many naturalists have concluded that
a peanut diet is harmful to squirrels: it seems to result in a weakening of eyesight and a thinning of the animal's pelt.
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How much does
your head weigh?
An adult human head weighs about 12 pounds (5.4kg),
or the same as a light bowling ball.
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Hungry for knowledge? Try out this week's interactive
trivia quizzes, all about recipes and food from around the world. If you consider yourself a food expert, or just want to
try out some new recipes, subscribe to the Recipes bundle for a variety of free recipes every day of the week.
The following are
sample questions and links to the quizzes:
Summer oysters are less tasty because the oysters may
be spawning. Spawning oysters are usually less sweet and sometimes have a milky appearance that makes them less appetizing.
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How were the
first braces constructed?
The first "braces" were constructed by Pierre Fauchard
in 1728. Fauchard's "braces" consisted of a flat strip of metal, which was connected to teeth by pieces of thread.
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Who invented
water beds?
In 1832 the Scottish surgeon Neil Arnott devised water
beds as a way of improving patients' comfort.
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How many races
did Eddie lose?
Eddie Arcaro, one of the greatest jockeys in horse
race history, rode 250 losers before he won his first race. Ultimately, Arcaro won 4,779 races -- including five Derby winners,
six in the Preakness, and six in the Belmont Stakes, on such famous horses as Whirlaway, Citation, and Kelso.
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Could you park
a truck on a flagpole?
The ball on top of a flagpole is called a "truck."
