Fireworks
Even today, the vast majority of the world's consumer and professional fireworks are manufactured and exported from which Asian country, where they were originally invented?
China
On which desert mountain did Moses receive the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments directly from God?
Mount Sinai
In which Pennsylvania city did the Founding Fathers meet to debate, draft, and ultimately adopt the Declaration of Independence?
Philadelphia
What town in Norway is the original Joraanstad farmstead now located?
Nora
Following a historic initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX, who officially became the world’s very first dollar trillionaire?
Elon Musk
What is the only even prime number?
2
From which parent do biological males inherit their X chromosome?
Mother
Invented by James Watt in the 18th century to compare steam engines to draft animals, what standard unit of measurement is universally used to calculate an engine's rate of doing work?
Horsepower
Which global entertainment company is famously the single largest consumer of fireworks in the world, putting on massive synchronized displays above its fairy-tale castles nearly 365 nights a year?
The Walt Disney Company (Disney Parks)
How many people were on Noah's boat?
8 people
Who was the President of the Continental Congress who famously signed the Declaration of Independence so large that King George III wouldn't need his glasses to read it?
John Hancock
What relation does Jake have to Rose?
Half first cousin
Launched in April 2026, what is the name of NASA’s historic lunar mission that sent astronauts around the Moon for the first time since 1972, setting a new record for the furthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth?
Artemis II
How many degrees are there in a straight line?
180
Which planet in our solar system is known for having a giant, centuries-old storm called the "Great Red Spot"?
Jupiter
The vast majority of modern automotive internal combustion engines operate on a specific cycle that repeats four distinct piston movements. What are the four operational steps (or strokes) in a standard four-stroke engine cycle?
Intake, Compression, Power, and Exhaust
In the opening scene of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which famous characters brings a cart full of magical fireworks to Hobbiton for Bilbo Baggins' birthday party?
Gandalf
After escaping slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses, for how many total years did the Israelites wander the desert wilderness before reaching the Promised Land?
40 years
This coming November 11, 2026, will mark the exact 100th anniversary of the opening of America's most famous, nostalgic highway—stretching from Chicago to Santa Monica. What is the name of this historic "Mother Road"?
Route 66
Which couple did Katie and Levi randomly sit next to at the State Girls B Basketball Tournament in Minot?
Steve and Ardis Joraanstad
n July 2026, director Christopher Nolan released his highly anticipated cinematic epic The Odyssey, starring an ensemble cast including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, and Zendaya. What classic, ancient Greek epic poem is this movie based on?
The Oddysey
If a recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of sugar, but you only have a teaspoon available, how many teaspoons do you need to measure out?
In the animal kingdom, what unique distinction do marsupials (like kangaroos, koalas, and opossums) have regarding offspring?
They carry and nurture their underdeveloped young in a pouch
Before electronic fuel injection became the standard in the late 1980s and 1990s, what mechanical device sat on top of the intake manifold to mix air and fuel together before drawing it into the cylinders?
A carbuerator
Unlike bottle rockets that shoot into the sky, what is the common name for the cone-shaped fireworks that sit firmly on the driveway and shoot a wide, steady fountain of colorful sparks up to 10 feet in the air?
Fountains
Samson was given supernatural physical strength by God, under the vow that he would never cut his hair. Which Philistine woman was bribed to discover his secret and ordered a servant to cut his hair while he slept?
Delilah
During World War II, the U.S. military successfully sent completely unbreakable secret communications in the Pacific theater by using a code entirely based on the complex, unwritten native language of which American Indian tribe?
Navajo
What relation did Ellen (b. 1844) have to Lars?
Making headlines for standing its ground against military pressure, which prominent AI safety and research company rejected a request from the Pentagon to loosen safety safeguards on its flagship language model, "Claude"?
Anthropic
In Roman numerals, what number does the letter D represent?
Table salt is a chemical compound made up of which two raw, highly reactive elements on the periodic table?
Sodium and Chlorine
In 1940, with World War II looming, the U.S. military tasked automakers with creating a lightweight, rugged, four-wheel-drive reconnaissance vehicle in just 49 days. The resulting military machine was so successful that its name became an official post-war brand. What vehicle was it?
The Jeep (Originally produced by Willys-Overland and Ford).
Parents often give them to small toddlers thinking they are completely safe, but standard handheld sparklers burn at a staggering temperature of nearly 2,000°F. To put that in perspective, that is hot enough to melt what common household metal?
Gold
In the Book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar throws three faithful young Hebrew men into a roaring, overheated furnace because they refuse to bow down to a golden idol. Name at least two of these three men.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
Before Washington, D.C., was built, what major northeastern city served as the very first official capital of the United States under the new Constitution?
New York City
Everine and Lars were married in what year?
Breaking a historic drought, which underdog college football team defeated the Miami Hurricanes 27–21 in January to secure the very first national championship title in their school's history?
In a standard deck of 52 playing cards, what is the exact probability (expressed as a fraction or percentage) of drawing any Red Ace?
1/26
Why do emergency sirens sound higher-pitched as an ambulance speeds toward you, and suddenly drop to a lower pitch as it drives away? What is this scientific phenomenon called?
Doppler Effect
When talking about engine cylinder heads, the acronym OHV stands for "Overhead Valve" (pushrod engines). What do the common modern performance acronyms SOHC and DOHC stand for?
Single Overhead Cam and Double Overhead Cam
According to data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), roughly how many thousands of people end up in the emergency room every single year due to fireworks injuries?
15,000
One of the most famous miracles in the Gospels is Jesus feeding a massive crowd of 5,000 people who came to hear him preach. With what specific, meager amount of food did this miracle begin?
Five loaves of bread and two fish
When the United States celebrated its Bicentennial (200th birthday) in 1976, it had 50 states. How many states did the nation have when it celebrated its Centennial (100th birthday) in 1876?
38 states (Colorado became the 38th state on August 1, 1876, earning it the nickname "The Centennial State")
Lars brother Ole emigrated to the US around the same time. His family maintains their own line of Joraanstad descendants and reunions, boasting a former Olympic curler. What county did they settle in?
Divide County
In January 2026, who made national headlines by being officially sworn in as the brand-new mayor of New York City?
Zohran Mamdani
A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
Light from the Sun doesn't reach Earth instantly. Traveling at 186,000 miles per second, approximately how long does it take a photon of light to travel from the Sun to Earth? (Give your answer to the nearest minute).
8 Minutes
Commissioned in the 1930s as a mass-produced "people's car" for Germany, which air-cooled, rear-engine vehicle went on to become the longest-running and most-produced single-platform automobile design in world history?
The Volkswagen Beetle (Type 1)
Some fireworks don't just flash; they produce a deafening, concussive "salute" bang that you can feel in your chest. To get this massive sound without relying on standard, slow-burning gunpowder, manufacturers use a highly explosive mixture of a fine metal fuel (like aluminum) and a powerful oxidizer. What is this specific explosive mixture called?
Flash powder
The Old Testament tells the story of Methuselah, a patriarch who holds the ultimate biblical record for longevity by living to the ripe old age of 969. How was Methuselah related to Noah, the builder of the ark?
He was Noah's grandfather (Methuselah was the father of Lamech, who was the father of Noah).
In an incredible twist of history, exactly 50 years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was adopted (July 4, 1826), two of its most famous contributors and former U.S. Presidents died within hours of each other. Who were they?
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams
What rank was Grandpa Ken discharged from the Army?
n April 2026, the NCAA March Madness tournament wrapped up with an explosive finale. Which historic college team defeated the UConn Huskies 69–63 to claim the men's national championship title?
Michigan Wolverines
Named after a Swiss mathematician, what letter is used to represent the base of natural logarithms, approximately equal to 2.718?
e (Euler's number)
If you are lost in the woods and need to find north using a tree, how can this be done?
Ring growth is larger on the South side (sun-facing) which would help you find North
Long before modern electric vehicle companies took over the market, electric cars were actually incredibly popular at the turn of the 20th century. In fact, in the year 1900, roughly what percentage of all cars on American roads were powered entirely by electricity? (Accept any guess within 10%).
Around 38% (Steam cars made up about 40%, while gasoline cars were a distant third at just 22%!).
While John Adams famously predicted Americans would celebrate independence with bonfires and illuminations, the U.S. government eventually made it official. In what year did the first official, federally sanctioned 4th of July fireworks display take place in Philadelphia?
1777
The shortest verse in the English translation of the Bible is famously just two words long: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). At whose deathbed or tomb was Jesus standing when this occurred?
The tomb of Lazarus
Roosevelt did not win the presidency in his first election; he was thrust into the White House at just 42 years old (making him the youngest president in history). What tragic event in September 1901 caused him to take office?
The assassination of President William McKinley (Roosevelt was his Vice President)
What does the Norwegian Stromme af Naade phrase mean?
Streams of Grace
In early 2026, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made headlines by completely rewriting its childhood immunization guidelines. For the first time in decades, they universally recommended a sharp reduction in the number of standard childhood shots. They dropped the total number from 17 down to how many?
11
A music venue adds rows of seats in a predictable pattern.
Row 1 has 10 seats.
Row 2 has 12 seats.
Row 3 has 14 seats.
Row 4 has 16 seats.
The Question: What is the rule or formula to find the number of seats in Row $n$, and how many seats are in Row 50?
What is the specific name of the imaginary boundary surrounding a black hole from which nothing—not even light—can escape?
The Event Horizon
In a standard American V8 engine, the cylinders are numbered 1 through 8. While different manufacturers have variations, what is the legendary, most common classic firing order used by General Motors for its traditional small-block Chevy engines
1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2