GEOGRAPHY
Which of the following countries in southeast Asia - traditionally known as Siam - is a constitutional monarchy and has a population of over 70 million people? This country is famous for kickboxing and is one of the longstanding allies of the United States in the region.
a.) Cambodia
b.) Vietnam
c.) Indonesia
d.) Burma
e.) Thailand
e.) Thailand
In which of the following countries do scientists believe the horse was first domesticated?
a.) Australia
b.) Brazil
c.) Kazakhstan
d.) Spain
e.) Egypt
c.) Kazakhstan
Scientists believe that the ancient Botai people in northern Kazakhstan domesticated the horse almost six thousand years ago. The skeletal remains of the horse were found in the steppes of the Ural mountains in central Asia.
In which 1994 film starring Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, and James Woods does a woman entice a bomb expert she's involved with into destroying the mafia family that killed her parents?
a.) Demolition Man
b.) Assassins
c.) Get Carter
d.) Over The Top
e.) The Specialist
e.) The Specialist
Which fashion designer has a logo featuring a polo player on horseback with a stick held high?
a.) Paco Rabane
b.) Ralph Lauren
c.) Tommy Hilfiger
d.) Hugo Boss
e.) Karl Lagerfeld
b.) Ralph Lauren
What is the name of the bread and wine given to Catholic worshipers during mass?
a.) Sacristy
b.) Eucharist
c.) Liturgy
d.) Confirmation
e.) Anointment
b.) Eucharist
In geography, what is an isthmus?
a.) A long extended peninsula
b.) A narrow strip of land connecting two larger masses of land
c.) A deep sea trench
d.) A mountain under the surface of the sea
e.) A small river separating two land masses
b.) A narrow strip of land connecting two larger masses of land
What is the botanical name for the male reproductive organ in flowering plants?
a.) Sepal
b.) Calyx
c.) Frond
d.) Stamen
e.) Pistil
d.) Stamen
For which 2003 blockbuster movie did Renée Zellweger win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar?
a.) Bridget Jones's Diary
b.) Cinderella Man
c.) Shark Tale
d.) Jerry Maguire
e.) Cold Mountain
e.) Cold Mountain
American race car driver Louis Chevrolet and former General Motors boss William C. Durant founded Chevrolet in 1911. Where did they get Chevrolet's cross-like logo from?
a.) From the cover of a bible edition for children
b.) From a stained-glass window in a cathedral
c.) From a hotel wallpaper
d.) From the Chevrolet family's coat of arms
e.) From a tablecloth sold in a department store
c.) From a hotel wallpaper
Ironically, racer Louis Chevrolet hated the car that bore his name at first! Co-founder Walter Durant first saw the cross as part of the pattern on the wallpaper in the hotel room where he stayed once.
With a geographical range stretching from northern Mexico to the Andes Mountains, which fearsome venomous pit viper is frequently responsible for the most snakebite deaths every year in Central America?
a.) Coral Snake (a.k.a. Coralillo)
b.) Fer de Lance (a.k.a. Terciopelo)
c.) Eyelash Viper (a.k.a. Bocaracá)
d.) Mexican Moccasin (a.k.a. Cantil)
e.) Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (a.k.a. Cascabel Diamante)
b.) Fer de Lance (a.k.a. Terciopelo)
Which Central American tax haven used to be a British colony that was formerly known as "British Honduras"?
a.) Belize
b.) Costa Rica
c.) Panama
d.) Nicaragua
e.) El Salvador
a.) Belize
Which of the following gases is usually mixed with oxygen in scuba diving tanks for breathing?
a.) Hydrogen
b.) Helium
c.) Carbon Dioxide
d.) Nitrogen
e.) Methane
b.) Helium
The 2002 movie Road to Perdition stars Tom Hanks as Michael Sullivan, the main enforcer of Chicago mob boss John Rooney (played by Paul Newman).
Which actor plays Rooney's son - Connor - who steals money from his father's outfit and orders a hit on Sullivan to prevent him from finding this out?
a.) Edward Norton
b.) Daniel Craig
c.) Johnny Depp
d.) Kevin Spacey
e.) Jude Law
b.) Daniel Craig
In 1896, where did Henry J. Heinz - the founder of the famous food company - get his "57 Varieties" slogan from?
a.) 1857 was the year of his birth
b.) A shoe ad he saw while riding a New York train
c.) A sports jersey
d.) He was 57 years old in 1896
e.) A fortune teller
Heinz was riding a New York elevated railway in the late 1800s when he spied a shoemaker's ad claiming "We sell 21 styles of shoes" and decided he could use such a campaign for his products. He chose the number 57 because "5" was his lucky number and "7" was that of his wife. So he put both numbers together and "57" has been on Heinz products ever since.
Which of these occupations has the highest mortality rate per 1000 workers?
a.) Electrical Power-Line Worker
b.) Astronaut
c.) Hydroplane Driver
d.) High Wire Circus Performer
e.) Lumberjack
b.) Astronaut
30 deaths per 1000 workers.
The Ozark Mountains cover a significant portion of which two US states?
a.) Missouri and Arkansas
b.) Kentucky and Tennessee
c.) West Virginia and Pennsylvania
d.) Mississippi and Alabama
e.) North Carolina and South Carolina
a.) Missouri and Arkansas
Which object converts sound energy into electrical energy?
a.) Radio
b.) Microphone
c.) Bell
d.) Loudspeaker
e.) Television
b.) Microphone
Microphones convert sound waves into electrical voltages that are eventually converted back into sound waves through speakers.
What 1994 movie based on a thriller by John Grisham - starring Tommy Lee Jones and Susan Sarandon - tells the story of a young boy who witnesses the suicide of a mafia lawyer who gives him vital information about a politician's murder? As both the mob and the FBI try to track the boy down, he enlists the services of an attorney who is a recovering alcoholic to defend him in court.
a.) The Client
b.) The Firm
c.) A Time To Kill
d.) Runaway Jury
e.) Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil
a.) The Client
Taco Bell is an American fast-food chain that sells "Americanized" versions of Mexican food. The "taco" part is obvious, but why is there a "bell" in the name?
a.) Bell is the founder's name
b.) The first store was a converted church with a bell tower
c.) The company's headquarters were located on Bell Street
d.) Customers would ring a bell to order food
e.) The word "bell" was a corruption of the French word "belle" meaning "beautiful"
a.) Bell is the founder's name
Taco Bell was founded by Glen Bell (1923-2010) in 1962. He sold the chain to Pepsi Co. in 1978.
Which of the following authors wrote the satirical book Animal Farm about a group of animals on a farm who revolt, overthrow the farmer, and take over the running of the farm for themselves?
However, despite their initial attempts at creating an equal society, corruption and power ultimately lead to the creation of a regime as oppressive as the one they overthrew.
a.) Fyodor Dostoevsky
b.) George Orwell
c.) Ernest Hemingway
d.) Charles Dickens
e.) Mark Twain
b.) George Orwell
The capital city of the Incan Civilization, which once thrived high in the South American Andes, was called...?
a.) Machu Picchu
b.) Huascar
c.) Nazca
d.) Cuzco
e.) Tlaxcala
d.) Cuzco
Also known as the elbow bone, which of the following bones is located in the forearm?
a.) Ulna
b.) Tibia
c.) Femur
d.) Scapula
e.) Coccyx
a.) Ulna
Which 1997 science fiction movie starring Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, and Uma Thurman depicts a future society driven by eugenics (gene selection) in which a genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior man who has been handicapped in an accident to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.
a.) Galaxy Quest
b.) Johnny Mnemonic
c.) eXistenZ
d.) Gattaca
e.) 12 Monkeys
d.) Gattaca
Sharp Corporation is a Japanese electronics manufacturer named after one of the company's first products. What product was Sharp named after?
a.) Stainless steel knives
b.) Hypodermic needles
c.) Swords for military officers
d.) An "ever-sharp" pencil
e.) Industrial saw
d.) An "ever-sharp" pencil
Sharp's founder Tokuji Hayakawa (1894-1981) invented the "Ever-Sharp" mechanical pencil in 1915. After a 1923 earthquake destroyed the mechanical pencil factory, the company relocated and started manufacturing consumer electronics.
Who was the first US president to have his inauguration televised?
a.) John F. Kennedy
b.) Harry S. Truman
c.) Dwight D. Eisenhower
d.) Lyndon B. Johnson
e.) Franklin Delano Roosevelt
b.) Harry S. Truman
It was 38 degrees on a sunny and windy day on January 20, 1949 when ten million viewers saw for the first time a president being sworn in. Rabbi Samuel Thurman lead the prayer and Frederick Vinson, Chief Justice, swore in Harry Truman on the East Portico of the Capitol Building. Truman wore a morning coat, striped trousers, and a top hat.