TRIVIA 1
Known for holding the largest city on the East Coast?
A. New Jersey
B. New York
C. New Hampshire
B. New York
Mormon settlers originally wanted to name Utah “Deseret,” a word from the Book of Mormon that means what?
A. dove
B. rattlesnake
C. honeybee
C. honeybee
The industrious honeybee, working tirelessly for its group and not for itself, is an important symbol for the Mormon religion and the state of Utah.
Among the inventions Idaho claims as its own is the ski chairlift, which debuted in which of these resort areas?
A. Sugarloaf
B. Telluride
C. Sun Valley
C. Sun Valley
The Union Pacific Railroad built up Sun Valley as a ski destination in 1936 to promote the use of its passenger trains.
Nevada comes from a Spanish word that means which of the following?
A. “gambling”
B. “snow-clad”
C. “silver”
B. “snow-clad”
Nevada’s snowy name comes from the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains along its western border.
Wisconsin restaurants are legally prohibited from serving which of the following unless specifically requested?
A. margarine
B. high-fructose corn syrup
C. almond milk
A. margarine
Wisconsin is serious about its dairy. From 1895 to 1967, to help the local butter manufacturers, the sale of colored margarine (which is naturally an unappetizing white color) was banned in Wisconsin
This state is known for its maple syrup.
A. Vermont
B. Wyoming
C. Montana
A. Vermont
As a nod to its Pennsylvania roots, the label of which of these products is shaped like a keystone?
A. Coca-Cola
B. Doritos tortilla chips
C. Heinz ketchup
C. Heinz ketchup
The H.J. Heinz Company was founded in 1869 in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, originally selling horseradish. They added tomato ketchup (“catsup”) to the lineup in 1876.
Although it doesn’t grow there naturally, which of these spicy nicknames applies to the people of Connecticut?
A. Cinna-men
B. Cilan-bros
C. Nutmeggers
C. Nutmeggers
The origin of Connecticut’s unofficial nickname the “Nutmeg State” is disputed. One theory is crafty Connecticut nutmeg sellers would sometimes pass off fake wooden nutmegs onto their unsuspecting customers.
Just four years after basketball was created in nearby Springfield, Massachusetts, William G. Morgan developed which sport at the Holyoke YMCA in 1895?
A. pickleball
B. volleyball
C. table tennis
B. volleyball
William G. Morgan developed volleyball (originally called mintonette) for older gentlemen who found basketball too strenuous. The Volleyball Hall of Fame is located in Holyoke.
Borrowing from a song title, one of the bridges in Leland, Mississippi, was named “Rainbow Connection” to honor what person?
A. Dolly Parton
B. Jimmy Buffett
C. Jim Henson
C. Jim Henson
The song “Rainbow Connection” was featured in the 1979 film The Muppet Movie. Jim Henson would spend many days of his youth looking at the plants and animals along the creek where the Rainbow Connection Bridge stands.
Hershey Chocolate is made here.
A. Michigan
B. Massachusetts
C. Pennsylvania
C. Pennsylvania
Originally a statement by an American Revolutionary War general, which of these is New Hampshire’s motto?
A. “All for Our Country”
B. “I Have Not Yet Begun to Fight”
C. “Live Free or Die”
C. “Live Free or Die”
General John Stark of Londonderry, New Hampshire, fought at the Battles of Bunker Hill, Bennington, and Saratoga. Stark declined an invitation to an anniversary celebration of the Battle of Bennington but sent a toast: “Live free or die; death is not the worst of evils.”
Until it became its own state in 1820, the area that is now Maine was a part of what other state?
A. New Hampshire
B. Connecticut
C. Massachusetts
C. Massachusetts
During the War of 1812, Massachusetts was unable or unwilling to defend the coastal region of what is today Maine from British raids.
Michigan was awarded its Upper Peninsula after conceding its claim on what town?
A. Chicago
B. Milwaukee
C. Toledo
C. Toledo
Because of an inaccurate land survey, both Ohio and Michigan laid claim to land that included Toledo (a planned terminus of the Erie Canal) in the early 1800s.
Which of these conflicts took place in what is now Montana?
A. Wounded Knee Massacre
B. Battle of the Alamo
C. Battle of the Little Bighorn
C. Battle of the Little Bighorn
During the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull led Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors against U.S. troops led by George Custer.
This state is known for its crab cakes.
A. New Orleans
B. Virginia
C. Maryland
C. Maryland
Nestled between the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, southern Illinois has what nickname?
A. Little Japan
B. Little Netherlands
C. Little Egypt
C. Little Egypt
Southern Illinois is said to resemble the fertile Nile River delta, and on its southernmost tip is the aptly named city of Cairo. In 1951 Southern Illinois University adopted as its mascot the Saluki, a breed of dog that appeared in the artwork of ancient Egyptian tombs.
New Mexico is the only state with an official question: “Red or Green?” What does this question refer to?
A. teas
B. tomatoes
C. Chile peppers
C. Chile peppers
Which of these colonists founded Rhode Island after being banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony?
A. Roger Williams
B. William Penn
C. Myles Standish
A. Roger Williams
Roger Williams was driven from the Massachusetts Bay Colony because of his unorthodox views on religion.
In 1886 Georgia pharmacist John Pemberton created which of the following?
A. Coca-Cola
B. lemonade
C. Pepto-Bismol
A. Coca-Cola
Atlanta has been home to Coca-Cola for more than 130 years. During its first year, sales of the beverage averaged nine drinks a day.
Maryland lawyer Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” after witnessing which fort successfully defend Baltimore from the British?
A. Fort Independence
B. Fort McHenry
C. Fort Ticonderoga
B. Fort McHenry
Nearly six times the height of the heads on Mount Rushmore, a 563-foot-tall likeness of what Native American is currently being carved in South Dakota?
A. Powhatan
B. Crazy Horse
C. Sitting Bull
B. Crazy Horse
Born near present-day Rapid City, South Dakota, Crazy Horse was a Lakota war leader opposed to the westward expansion of European American settlers. When completed, the sculpture is planned to be 563 feet tall and 641 feet wide.
North Dakota is nicknamed the Roughrider State because which U.S. president ran a cattle ranch there?
A. George Washington
B. Ronald Reagan
C. Theodore Roosevelt
C. Theodore Roosevelt
Before he was the leader of the Roughriders and the 26th U.S. president, Teddy Roosevelt was a sickly city-dweller from New York. At the age of 24 he traveled to North Dakota to hunt bison and to eventually start his own cattle operation.
Kansas is sometimes called the “Jayhawker State.” Which of the following describes a jayhawker?
A. an antislavery fighter
B. a bird that eats sunflowers
C. a hardworking farmer
A. an antislavery fighter
Jayhawks are fictional birds reputed to be highly aggressive. In the 1850s a deadly conflict called Bleeding Kansas saw abolitionist and proslavery forces repeatedly clash over whether the territory would be a free state.
Which of the following is the official state neckwear of Arizona?
A. bolo tie
B. neckerchief
C. infinity scarf
A. bolo tie
Often seen replacing cloth neckties in Southwestern formal wear, the bolo tie is a braided leather cord slipped through an ornamental clasp.