State Facts
This is the smallest state by area
What is Rhode Island?
You can reach the Atlantic Ocean from anywhere in the state in roughly 30 minutes
To be frozen in fear is to be "caught like" this unfortunate creature "in headlights"
What is a deer?
Deer are crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dawn and dusk. Because of this, their eyes have evolved to let in as much light as possible with fully dilated pupils. Sudden, intense headlights essentially "flash-blind" them
North, fishing, telephone
What is Pole?
Since all lines of longitude converge at 90° North, the pole technically spans all time zones. Visitors typically use whatever time zone is most convenient.
This planet is recognizable for its prominent ring system.
What is Saturn?
The rings aren't solid; they are composed of billions of pieces of water ice, dust, and rock, ranging from tiny grains to massive, skyscraper-sized chunks
Commonly abbreviated as "etc", "et cetera" means this
What is "and so on..." or "and the rest..."?
The phrase consists of et (meaning "and") and cetera (meaning "the other things" or "the rest").
On April 14th 1912, this luxury liner struck an ice berg in the north Atlantic, and sank in the early morning hours of April 15th
What is the Titanic?
The ship's chief baker, Charles Joughin, treaded water for two hours in freezing sub-zero temperatures before being rescued. He claimed that the copious amounts of whiskey he had consumed before the ship sank kept his body warm enough to survive.
This state's capital, Dover, is one of the oldest continuously occupied settlements in America.
What is Delaware?
Despite being the state capital, Dover is one of only four U.S. state capitals not served by an Interstate highway.
A metaphor for the benefits of being an early riser says that they "get the worm"
What is the early bird?
The phrase first appeared in written English in 1605 in a book of proverbs by William Camden.
Spy, looking, stained
What is Glass?
During the Middle Ages, most people couldn't read. Elaborate stained-glass windows were designed to illustrate Bible stories and teach religious lessons to the illiterate
This author created the characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
Who is Mark Twain?
Twain was born when Halley's Comet appeared in 1835 and famously predicted he would "go out with it". He did exactly that, passing away exactly one day after the comet returned in 1910
The U.S. Marine Corps slogan is "Semper Fi", short for "Semper Fidelis", meaning this.
What is "Always Loyal" or Always Faithful
Before Semper Fidelis became the official standard in the late 19th century, the Corps used other, unofficial slogans including "To the Shores of Tripoli," "Fortitudine" (Latin for with courage), and "By Sea and by Land". The official motto of the U.S. Coast Guard is Semper Paratus, which is Latin for "Always Ready"
This remains of this ship still exist as a memorial of attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
What is the U.S.S. Arizona?
The memorial spans across the sunken battleship without actually touching the wreckage. The site is an active U.S. Navy grave, and even today, surviving veterans who were aboard the Arizona on the day of the attack can choose to have their remains placed with their fallen comrades deep inside the ship.
This is the only state that begins with two vowels
What is Iowa?
Hogs outnumber humans in Iowa by about 4 to 1, as the state produces more pork(and corn) than anywhere else in the nation.
A metaphor for an obvious issue everyone avoids discussing invokes an animal from the African savannah
What is the elephant in the room?
The earliest known "elephant" ancestor of this idiom appeared in the 1814 short story The Inquisitive Man by Russian writer Ivan Krylov. It tells the story of a man who visits a museum and notices all sorts of tiny insects but completely fails to notice the massive elephant sitting there.
birthday, graduation, dinner
What is Party?
The iconic cap toss has a surprisingly recent origin. It started in 1912 at the U.S. Naval Academy when midshipmen were given new officer hats and no longer needed their old ones, tossing them skyward in celebration
This iconic bell is inside a clock tower stands beside the Houses of Parliament in London.
What is Big Ben?
Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell inside London’s Elizabeth Tower. You can tell when Parliament is in session by checking if the Ayrton Light at the very top of the tower is illuminated.
A phrase found of most U.S. currency, E pluribus unum means this
What is "From Many One" or "Out of many, one"
While it is the motto on the Great Seal and appears on most U.S. currency, it was never actually the official U.S. motto. "In God We Trust" took that title in 1956.
This ore freighter sank during a bad storm on Lake Superior in 1975, inspiring a song by Gordon Lightfoot.
What is the Edmund Fitzgerald?
The ship was caught in one of the notoriously violent late-fall storms on Lake Superior, with hurricane-force winds and waves estimated to reach up to 35 to 60 feet high. The last communication from Captain Ernest M. McSorley came at 7:10 PM on November 10. When another ship (the Arthur M. Anderson) asked how the Fitzgerald was doing, McSorley replied, "We are holding our own." Just moments later, she vanished from radar without ever sending a distress signal. All 29 crew members were lost, and no bodies were ever recovered
Despite this nickname for Minnesota, it actually boasts many more than 10,000
What is The Land of 10,000 Lakes?
Only four out of Minnesota's 87 counties have no natural lakes at all: Mower, Olmsted, Pipestone, and Rock.
Originally referring to a rare animal whose wool couldn't be dyed, this term now means a disreputable or unconventional family member.
What is a Black Sheep?
The idiom comes from the recessive gene that creates black wool in sheep. Historically, black wool was considered a headache for farmers because it couldn't be dyed different colors, making it less valuable.
Video, Ticker, Scotch
What is Tape?
Ticker tape was a narrow ribbon of paper used in early telegraph machines to continuously print real-time stock quotes. Invented in 1867, it revolutionized global finance by replacing periodic summaries with immediate data, earning its name from the rhythmic "tick-tick-tick" noise the printing machines made.
Arachnophobia is the fear of this.
What are spiders?
Approximately 3% to 6% of the global population experiences arachnophobia, however some studies suggest this range can be as high as 10-15%.
Most commonly used in the fields of law, politics, and business "quid pro quo" means this.
What is "something for something" or "one thing for another."
The phrase is deeply ingrained in global diplomacy and politics, serving as a frequent point of contention in political scandals, such as the Teapot Dome scandal of the 1920s
The S.S. Minnow departed Honolulu for what was supposed to be a three hour tour but got was thrown off course in a bad storm, leaving its passengers stranded on a deserted island on this 1960s TV show.
What is Gilligan's Island?
Producers actually used four separate boats to depict the Minnow during the show's run. The boat destroyed for the stranded scene in the opening credits was a real boat wrecked exclusively for the show.
This is 49th state to be added to the United States.
What is Alaska?
Because the 180th meridian cuts through the state, Alaska is simultaneously the westernmost, northernmost, and easternmost state in the U.S.
This phrase refers to an early warning sign of danger, originating from birds once used to detect toxic gases.
What is a Canary in the Coal Mine?
Canaries were deployed in British coal mines starting in 1896 to detect odorless, deadly gases like carbon monoxide. Because of their rapid breathing and unique respiratory systems, these little birds became vital, life-saving early warning systems for miners before being officially phased out in 1986
coffee, dining, pool
What is Table?
The world's largest pool hall during the 1920s boom was a massive 7-story health spa in Detroit called The Recreation. It boasted a mind-boggling 103 pool tables alongside 88 bowling lanes. [1, 2]
This is the hardest natural substance on Earth, and also a girl's best friend
What are diamonds?
Beyond jewelry, about 80% of all diamonds are used in industrial tools due to their durability.
Most frequently appearing in contexts like philosophy, politics, advertising, "ad nauseum" means this.
What is "to the point of nauseousness"
In debate, ad nauseam refers to a tactic (also called argumentum ad nauseam) where someone tries to "win" a debate simply by repeating their point over and over, wearing out the opponent.
In 1789, a mutiny on this ship would inspire 1962 film starring Trevor Howard as Captain William Bligh, and Marlon Brando as lead mutineer Christian Fletcher
What is the HMS Bounty?
After taking over, Fletcher Christian and some of the mutineers eventually settled on the remote, then-uncharted Pitcairn Island. Eight days after arriving, they burned the Bounty to the waterline so that no passing British ships would discover their hideout. The Bounty still lies just below the water in the aptly named Bounty Bay on Pitcairn Island.
The highest surface temperature ever recorded in the United States, and even the world, was in this state
What is California?
Death Valley reached a scorching 134°F in 1913, officially tying for the highest recorded air temperature on Earth.
This name for a sham legal proceeding invokes an Australian Animal
What is a Kangaroo Court?
There is a longstanding debate on why it's named after the animal. Some etymologists suggest it refers to the court's tendency to "leap" to rapid conclusions, ignoring fair trial procedures. Another theory claims the name arose simply because the word "kangaroo" sounded comically absurd to 19th-century pioneers
wrist, pocket, stop
What is Watch?
The first portable timekeepers were invented in the early 16th century by German locksmith Peter Henlein. Nicknamed "Nuremberg Eggs," these early watches were spherical or oval, completely made of iron or brass, and were worn on chains around the neck because pockets weren't standard on clothing yet.
There are only two people are on our paper currencies who weren't Presidents, name one of them
Who are Alexander Hamilton or Benjamin Franklin?
Hamilton's portrait is unique because it is the only one in current circulation that faces to the left. Hamilton is also the only person depicted on U.S. paper money who was born outside of the continental United States or British America (he was born in the West Indies)
John Wilkes Booth shouted the phrase "sic semper tyrannis', meaning this, after he shot President Lincoln.
What is "thus always to tyrants"?
It has been the official state motto of Virginia since 1776. Because Booth was born in Maryland but was a die-hard Confederate sympathizer aligned with Virginia's State Motto, he used the phrase to try to frame the assassination as an act of resistance
On February 15, 1898, an explosion sank this U.S. warship, named for the U.S. State, in Havana harbor, leading to the Spanish-American War.
What is the U.S.S. Maine?
While the initial U.S. Navy investigation blamed a Spanish mine, a 1974 review and subsequent dive teams revealed the explosion was likely triggered internally by a fire in the ship's coal bunkers