Greener Pastures
Even before she performed the final concert with the Supremes in 1970, she was recording her first solo album.
Who is Diana Ross? She and Mary Wilson, fellow former Supreme, had a spat on stage at the Motown reunion years after the Supremes had disbanded. It ended with Ross shoving Wilson, and Smokey Robinson took the stage to defuse the scene.
The popular saying “a month of Sundays” is flawed because you can have a maximum of only this number of Sundays in a month.
What is five? Months have only four or five of each day, depending on what day of the week the first of the month falls.
Born December 1, 1935, this actor-director was once married to Mia Farrow and is often quoted as saying, “Eighty percent of life is showing up.”
Who is Woody Allen? Two of his romantic partners starred in his most memorable romantic comedies: Diane Keaton in Annie Hall and Mia Farrow in Manhattan.
An oil crisis in the ’70s helped spur the development of this type of power from our closest star.
What is solar power? The first solar power plant came online in California in the 1980s.
This actress was raised as Demi Guynes and took her stage name from her first husband, whom she later divorced.
Who is Demi Moore? Moore’s full first name, Demetria, was inspired by an Italian shampoo brand.
He left his band of five family members in 1979 and struck out on his own with two consecutive hit albums, Off the Wall and Thriller, right out of the gate.
Who is Michael Jackson? The Jackson 5, as the family band was known, consisted of Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael
This bell rings inside the giant grandfather-style clock that is one of the dominating features of the London skyline.
What is Big Ben? The clock’s proper name is the Great Clock of the Elizabeth Tower.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936, Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, known by this name.
Who is Pope Francis? He lived in a two-room apartment rather than the lavish papal suite. No pope had done this in more than a century.
Short for light-emitting diodes, energy-friendly bulbs called by this abbreviation came on the market between 1962 and 1993.
What are LED bulbs? The blue LED was developed by Shuji Nakamura in 1993 and won him the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra is better known by this name, as credited in many films, including Sleepless in Seattle
Who is Meg Ryan? Ryan is the maiden name of her maternal grandmother.
In 1971, this Beatle started a band known as Wings.
Who is Paul McCartney? His wife Linda played the keyboard. The band disbanded in 1981. Its most popular album is Band on the Run, which features two Top 10 singles, including the title song.
This refers to a calendar that businesses or governments use when their calendars do not start on January 1.
What is a fiscal year? For example, the U.S. government’s calendar year runs from October 1 through September 30 of the following year.
Born December 1, 1913, she will always be remembered for her role as Peter Pan, for which she won a Tony Award.
Who is Mary Martin? She also played the role of Nellie Forbush in South Pacific.
Despite controversial origins, this paperless form of mail was invented during the 1970s and has been saving paper ever since.
What is email? Various tech innovators lay claim to its invention, and the term email gained traction in the 1980s.
This Golden Girl was born Bernice Frankel and worked in the U.S. Marine Corps Women’s Reserve before meeting her future husband, Robert Alan Aurthur.
Who is Bea Arthur? Although the pair divorced, she kept his surname (minus one letter) as her stage name.
This popular duo, consisting of Paul and Art, who each went on to successful solo careers.
Who are Simon and Garfunkel? They have since performed reunion tours together. “The Sound of Silence,” released in 1965, is the tune that catapulted their duo career.
This is the official name of the prevalent calendar in use today, particularly in the West.
What is the Gregorian calendar? In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced the calendar because the Julian calendar made it difficult to calculate when Easter should fall.
Born December 25, 1949, this actress plays the title role in the 1976 film Carrie
Who is Sissy Spacek? She also portrays Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner’s Daughter and narrates Stephen King’s blockbuster audiobook Carrie.
Organic, natural products gained popularity in the 1970s, including this staple food that is a mix of grains, nuts, and dried fruits.
What is granola? Brands like Quaker Oats, Kellogg’s, and General Mills began to commercially produce the crunchy favorite.
Audrey Perry moved to Nashville at 19 to become a singer, married Daniel Hill, and began using her middle name, becoming better known as this singer
Who is Faith Hill? Hill has a daughter named Audrey, born in 2001.
This performer was a member of the New Christy Minstrels and the First Edition before he left to pursue a solo career.
Who is Kenny Rogers? According to the bio on his website, “Rogers sold over 120 million albums worldwide, making him one of the best-selling male artists of all-time according to the RIAA, with one Diamond album, 20 Platinum albums, and 11 Gold albums.”
This ultra-precise device is so accurate that it can measure Earth’s rotation slowing down by milliseconds.
What is an atomic clock? The atomic clock uses the vibrations of cesium or rubidium atoms to measure time.
On Christmas Night 1776, George Washington crossed this river with his bedraggled army to make a surprise attack on the Hessians.
What is the Delaware River? The attack was successful because the Hessians were not in fighting condition after their Christmas feast, and they didn’t expect an attack from Patriot forces in the early hours of the morning on the day after Christmas
An innovation of the ’90s, EZVI is a cleanup technology that takes contaminants out of this important stuff for hydration.
What is water? Invented for NASA, the system is able to pull contamination out of groundwater.
This great actor, known for The Prestige and The Cider House Rules, has been known by Maurice Joseph Micklewhite (his birth name) and Michael Scott (his first stage name).
Who is Michael Caine? He changed his first stage name to avoid confusion with another thespian called Michael Scott.