The Colonies
Founding Mothers & Fathers
Famous American Firsts
American Entrepreneurs
Who said that?
The Baby Boom
Happenings of the 2000s
Items in the Smithsonian's American History Museum
100
Maine was originally part of this colony, until it separated and became its own state in 1820.
What is Massachusetts Bay Colony?
100
In March 1776, this future first lady wrote "Remember the ladies" in a letter to her husband. She urged him to grant women better legal protections and representation, warning of a potential rebellion if their voices continued to be ignored.
Who is Abigail Adams?
100
On October 8, 1945, Raytheon patented the first microwave cooking oven. This was the first thing microwaved on purpose.
What is popcorn?
100
Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler revolutionized the toy industry when she invented this toy in 1959 and named it after her daughter.
What is the Barbie Doll?
100
"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country." 1961
Who is JFK?
100
in 1953 and priced at 98 cents, the first of these was packed in a segmented aluminum tray and featured sliced turkey, cornbread stuffing, peas, and sweet potatoes.
What are TV dinners?
100
On Dec. 18, 2019, this man became just the third U.S. president to be impeached. A whistleblower revealed that in July, he asked Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the business dealings of his rival's son.
Who is Donald Trump?
100
John Birks Gillespie, nicknamed this, was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, known for his bebop style and puffy cheeks. He donated his bent trumpet in 1986.
What is Dizzy?
200
St. Augustine, in this Spanish colony, is the first successful and oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the United States.
What is Florida?
200
Frenemies till the end, this man was the divorce lawyer for Maria Reynolds, whose affair with Alexander Hamilton likely stopped him from pursuing further public office.
Who is Aaron Burr?
200
Moses Fleetwood Walker, of the Toledo Blue Stockings, was actually the first Black man to play more than one game in Major League Baseball, not this man who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers 63 years later.
Who is Jackie Robinson?
200
This business magnate founded his film company in 1937 with their first animated feature film. The theme park empire opened in 1955.
Who is Walt Disney?
200
"I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people." 1932
Who is FDR?
200
Though really just a specialized hybrid breed of brine shrimp, you could get this novelty pet from ads in comic books
What are Sea Monkeys?
200
A month-long series of legal battles led to the highly controversial 5–4 U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding the 2000 presidential election and these two candidates.
Who are GW Bush and Al Gore?
200
The original and lizard-y version of this puppet, created out of Jim Henson's mother's coat and a pair of ping pong balls joined the Smithsonian in Aug. 2010.
Who is Kermit The Frog?
300
This American penal colony was mainly established for those who owed debts to the Crown of England.
What is Georgia?
300
This silversmithing founding father's great great great granddaughter invented the Fluffernutter (though at the time, she called it The Liberty Sandwich).
Who is Paul Revere?
300
Dave Kunst of Waseca, MN completed this feat on October 5, 1974; it took four years (minus that time he recovered from being shot by ruffians) and 21 pairs of shoes to complete the 14,500-mile journey.
What is "becoming the first person circumnavigate the globe on foot?"
300
Richard and Maurice McDonald put their name on the hamburger restaurant but this successful businessman made it a household name.
Who is Ray Kroc?
300
"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." 1942
Who is Harry Truman?
300
Plop plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief this effervescent medicine was for relieving indigestion.
What is Alka Seltzer?
300
In January 2002, this newspaper dropped a bombshell report outlining patterns of abuse of minors by priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, which led to discussions around similar abuse claims in Roman Catholic Archdioceses around the world.
What is the Boston Globe?
400
This colony was founded as a haven for the Society of Friends, a group who faced persecution in England due to their religious beliefs.
What is Pennsylvania?
400
Edward Rutledge, a Federalist of Charleston, SC holds this distinction among the signatories of the Declaration of Independence.
What is he was the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence?
He was 26. Ben Franklin, the oldest, was 70.
400
Born in New York, this American was the first woman to swim across the English Channel in 1926.
Who is Gertrude Ederle?
400
These two entrepreneurs sold computers, electronics and printers. The order of their names on their products was decided by a coin toss.
Who are Hewlett and Packard?
400
“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” 2009
Who is Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
400
William A Mitchell was a food scientist/inventor who created Cool-Whip, Pop Rocks, Jell-O and this astronaut approved orange drink.
What is Tang?
400
After leaving his job with the NSA, this computer security consultant met secretly with journalists to reveal the first of a series of secrets about government surveillance operations in the U.S. and Europe.
Who is Edward Snowden?
500
A group of eight English nobles wanted to set up this colony based on life in the middle ages.
What is Carolina?
500
Known as the "Conscience of the American Revolution," this playwright and pamphleteer used her pen to publicize the Patriot cause, and was one of the first women to publish a comprehensive history of the Revolution.
Who is Mercy Otis Warren?
500
in 1989, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen became the first Hispanic woman elected to congress, serving as a representative from this state.
What is Florida?
500
Born Sarah Breedlove, she took on the name of Madam CJ Walker upon marrying her third husband. She became America's first female, self-made millionaire selling these products.
What are cosmetics and hair care for Black women?
500
“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right in America.” 1993
Who is Bill Clinton?
500
This avian-inspired hairstyling technique was popularized by Farrah Fawcett, beginning in 1974.
What is Feathering?
500
On April 20, 2010, this British Petroleum (BP) oil rig exploded, killing 11 men and dumping nearly 5 million barrels of oil—the equivalent of over 200 million gallons—into the Gulf of Mexico, causing, to date, the largest marine oil spill in history.
What is Deepwater Horizon?
500
In 1956, she became the first Black player to win a Grand Slam event (the French Open). In 1957 and 1958, she won both Wimbledon and the US Nationals. Her 1957 uniform was donated to the Smithsonian in 1988.
Who is Althea Gibson?