Weather Idioms
Which type of weather never strikes twice?
Answer: Lightning.
Tell that to the Empire State Building, which gets struck around 25 times a year.
Which type of bird is large, spooky and typically hoots?
Answer: Owls
Some owls make other sounds, such as bloodcurdling shrieks, cackles, hoots, caws, and gurgles.
Which vegetable's name sounds like it would be a hen's contribution to the meal?
Answer: Eggplant
Small eggplants look like large, egg-shaped produce. Botanically, the eggplant is a fruit
What is the typical number of petals on a shamrock?
Answer: Three
It’s the national flower of Ireland, and you’ll see it everywhere on St. Patrick’s Day because everyone is Irish on March 17
Which word is missing from this Beatles' hit: "Here Comes the ___"
Answer: Sun
Winter is usually extremely gloomy in England, but in 2019, the sun popped out in February, and temperatures soared. They called it “fool’s spring.”
When going after a seemingly impossible dream, one is said to be chasing which weather phenomenon?
Answer: A Rainbow
The chance of catching a literal rainbow on any given day approaches zero. Successful entrepreneurs, such as Fred Smith of FedEx fame, often chase metaphorical rainbows. His company is the result of a paper at Yale University, which earned him a C. He later gambled the last $5,000 in the company coffers to buy fuel for the company’s airplanes.
Answer: President Abraham Lincoln
Mary Todd Lincoln was a tragic figure. Her mother passed away when she was a young child. Her husband was assassinated, and she lost three of her four children.
Which French pastries are oblong, filled with a cream or custard filling, and topped with chocolate?
Answer: Eclairs
Which element, also known as CO2, is blamed for causing climate change?
Answer: Carbon dioxide
Plants don’t “breathe” the same way we do, but they do exchange the gases carbon dioxide and oxygen with the atmosphere.
The Egyptians built the Great Sphinx so that it points directly at which celestial body on the first day of Spring?
Answer: the Sun
The sun sets on this half-man, half-lion’s shoulders twice a year during the spring and fall equinox
Which kind of spell is one said to be in when experiencing an unsuccessful period?
Answer: Dry
A dry spell might be caused by a drought of ideas.
Which airline booked reservations for the first flight to the moon?
Answer: Pan Am
They booked 90,000 reservations, but the flight never happened. Today, SpaceX and others are pioneering space tourism travel.
When a person flees his country to live in another country, he is said to live in which state?
Answer: Exile
It’s a common occurrence among heads of state who are considered enemies by their political opponents and fear for their lives.
What is the main substance found in household dust?
Answer: Dead skin cells
Researchers have found that people shed around 200 million dead skin cells every hour.
What is the Latin word for Spring?
Answer: Vernal
The spring equinox is also called the vernal equinox
When people are extremely angry, they are said to have a face like which weather phenomenon?
Answer: Thunder
The phrase “a face like thunder” is thought to date to the late 18th century.
Which comedy duo gave us "Who's on First?"
Answer: Abbott and Costello
They began working together in New York’s Eltinge Theater, and they were one of radio’s most popular acts
Which title of British nobility is the equivalent of a French count?
Answer: Earl
It’s the oldest British title of nobility
How many sides does the Rubik's cube have?
Answer: Six
The world record for solving the Rubik’s Cube is 3.13 seconds.
Which Roman god is the month of March named for?
Answer: Mars
When a car flies by you on the highway, which type of lightning might you might say that it’s moving like?
Answer: Greased
Greased lightning also refers to strong alcohol.
Which president's fireside chats were a series of nighttime radio speeches?
Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Roosevelt was the first president to use radio instead of newspaper for mass communication with the American people. FDR was a brilliant communicator who used the fireside chats to persuade his audience.
What is the name for pottery made of clay?
Answer: Earthenware
The clay is hardened by firing it in a kiln between 900–1,110°F. Stoneware and porcelain are fired at higher temperatures.
How many states were in the United States before Alaska joined the Union in 1959?
Answer: 48.
Alaska gained statehood on January 3, 1959. Hawaii was the 50th state, admitted to the Union seven months later, on August 21, 1959.
What is the first month of Spring in the Southern Hemisphere?
Answer: September.