Years in American History
The first Black president was inaugurated
What is 2009?
Thomas Jefferson’s first VP, he later shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a New Jersey duel
Who is Aaron Burr?
This long-running reality singing competition one forced fans to choose between Ruben and Clay
What is American Idol?
Ames, Keokuk, Sioux City
What is Iowa?
Two Ohio bicycle makers’ 1906 patent wasn’t really for getting this off the ground — it was for ‘wing warping,’ a system of twisting the wingtips to control roll.
What is the airplane?
Legend says restaurateur Robert Cobb threw this together from leftovers late one night at Hollywood’s Brown Derby
What is the Cobb salad?
Pearl Harbor was bombed
What is 1941?
She is the only woman ever elected Vice President
Who is Kamala Harris?
This Golden Age comic book once featured its hero on the cover punching Adolf Hitler in the face
Who is Captain America?
Carlsbad, Elephant Butte, Truth or Consequences
What is New Mexico?
In 1879, Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park team produced the first long-lasting, commercially practical version of this.
What is the light bulb?
The Anchor Bar in this western New York city claims to have invented its namesake spicy chicken wings in 1964.
What is Buffalo?
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas
What is 1963?
This man holds the distinction of the only person to ever hold the Presidency despite never having been on any elected presidential ticket
Who is Gerald Ford?
This 1988 romantic comedy features Eddie Murphy as an African king in New York City
What is Coming to America?
Bakersfield, Modesto, Nevada City
What is California?
Elisha Otis’s 1853 safety device kept this from plummeting if the cable snapped — the breakthrough that made skyscrapers practical.
What is the elevator?
Stacked with corned beef, Swiss, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing on rye, this sandwich may have been born at a 1920s Omaha poker game.
What is a Reuben sandwich?
The Constitution took effect as supreme law of the land
What is 1789?
This guy served as Vice President for only 31 days before answering a higher calling
Who is John Tyler?
This eight-and-a half-minute rock classic describes a famous plane crash as “the day the music died”
What is American Pie?
Pearl City, Hilo, Captain Cook
What is Hawaii?
Raytheon’s Percy Spencer patented this kitchen appliance in 1945 after a radar tube melted a candy bar in his pocket.
What is the microwave oven?
This Tuskegee scientist developed hundreds of peanut uses and is popularly — but incorrectly — credited with inventing peanut butter.
Who is George Washington Carver?
The Gettysburg Address was delivered
What is 1863?
He served as Vice President to James Buchanan and later led a division of the Confederate Army against US troops
Who is John Breckinridge?
This 1991 postmodern novel from Bret Easton Ellis stars Patrick Bateman as a man who loves business cards and might be a serial killer
What is American Psycho?
Eau Claire, Steven’s Point, Oshkosh
What is Wisconsin?
This U.S. Department of Defense system became fully operational in 1995 with a constellation of 24 satellites. It’s so precise that engineers must correct for Einstein’s theories of relativity.
What is GPS?
Ruth Wakefield’s inn lent its name to this Nestlé brand still printed on bags of the most important ingredient of chocolate chip cookies
What is Toll House?