Category 1: Summer Blockbusters
This 1975 Steven Spielberg classic about a man-eating great white shark practically invented the term "summer blockbuster."
Jaws
This smoky, slow-cooked culinary style has four major distinct American regions: Memphis, Texas, Kansas City, and the Carolinas.
Barbecue (BBQ)
This legendary California rock band dominated the 1960s with sunny, harmony-heavy anthems like "Surfin' U.S.A." and "California Girls."
The Beach Boys
This massive, multi-sport event features track, field, and swimming, and is held every four years during the summer season.
The Summer Olympic Games
Memorial Day was originally established to honor the fallen soldiers of this specific 19th-century American conflict.
The Civil War
Tom Cruise took to the skies over Memorial Day weekend in 2022, breaking box office records with this high-flying sequel.
Top Gun: Maverick
Due to its bright yellow color and sharp flavor, this classic ballpark condiment is the most common topping found on American hot dogs
Mustard
This mandatory beach bag item uses an "SPF" rating to measure protection. What does SPF stand for?
Sun Protection Factor
Straddling the border of California and Nevada, this stunning, massive freshwater alpine lake is a premier destination for summer boating and winter skiing.
Lake Tahoe
Before it was officially renamed Memorial Day by federal law, the holiday was widely known by this "floral" name.
Decoration Day
Will Smith fights off an alien invasion in this 1996 summer smash hit whose title matches a July holiday.
Independence Day
This chemical compound, found heavily in chili peppers, is what actually triggers the pain receptors on your tongue and makes spicy food feel "hot."
Capsaicin
Located in Brooklyn, New York, this historic beachfront neighborhood is famous for its wooden boardwalk, its iconic Cyclone roller coaster, and an annual hot dog eating contest.
Coney Island
Known for its towering granite cliffs like El Capitan and Half Dome, this California national park is a bucket-list destination for hikers and climbers.
Yosemite National Park
This bright red flower is the official international symbol of remembrance worn by millions on Memorial Day weekend.
The Poppy
Though set during a brutal winter, this 2013 Disney animated phenomenon became the highest-grossing movie of its release year.
Frozen
Before becoming a staple on burgers, this sweet red condiment was widely sold in the 1830s as a medicinal pill to treat indigestion.
Ketchup
This vibrant, neon-lit neon strip in Florida is world-famous for its Art Deco architecture, dynamic nightlife, and scenic ocean views.
South Beach (Miami Beach)
This high-speed American motorsport tradition is held annually on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, requiring drivers to complete 200 laps around an oval track.
The Indianapolis 500 (Indy 500)
This massive Virginia military cemetery serves as the final resting place for over 400,000 service members and features the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Arlington National Cemeter
This 1993 dinosaur epic held the record for the highest-grossing summer movie of all time until Titanic sailed past it.
Jurassic Park
Named after a German city, this classic backyard side dish is traditionally served warm with bacon and vinegar in its southern style, or cold with mayo in its northern style.
Potato Salad
Invented in California in the 1940s, this tropical cocktail's name translates to "excellent" or "out of this world" in Tahitian, and features rum, Curaçao, and orgeat syrup.
Mai Tai
This spectacular deep-water slot canyon hike in Utah’s Zion National Park requires adventurers to wade upstream through the Virgin River.
The Narrows
By act of Congress, Americans are asked to pause for a National Moment of Remembrance at this exact local time on Memorial Day.
3:00 PM
This 1989 sequel starring Harrison Ford and Sean Connery holds the record as the first film to make over $10 million on its opening day, premiering over Memorial Day weekend.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
This specific chemical reaction occurs when amino acids and reducing sugars react under high heat, giving grilled steaks and charred burgers their distinct savory flavor.
The Maillard Reaction
This mid-Atlantic resort town features a world-famous 3-mile wooden boardwalk built in 1902 and is known as the "White Marlin Capital of the World."
Ocean City, Maryland
Established in 1872 and sitting atop a volcanic hotspot, this park is officially recognized as the world's very first National Park
Yellowstone National Park
In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson officially declared this small town in New York as the birthplace of Memorial Day.
Waterloo, New York
Christopher Nolan’s 2008 masterpiece The Dark Knight was filmed primarily in this real-world American city, standing in for Gotham.
Chicago
By law, to be legally classified as this specific type of American whiskey, the spirit's mash bill must consist of at least 51% corn
Bourbon
This specific subgenre of R&B and reggae-infused pop features smooth, laid-back rhythms, warm-weather lyrics, and acoustic elements popularized by island artists in the mid-2020s.
Island R&B
This majestic mountain range stretching from Pennsylvania down to Georgia features a scenic, ridge-line highway called Skyline Drive.
The Blue Ridge Mountains
On Memorial Day, the United States flag is strictly flown at half-staff until this specific time of day, before being raised to full-staff until sunset.
Noon (12:00 PM)
In the 1984 summer smash Ghostbusters, this giant, sweet-toothed mascot is chosen as the destructor form of Gozer.
The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
Though widely associated with summer cookouts, the modern charcoal briquette was actually popularized and mass-produced in the 1920s by this famous automotive tycoon using wood scraps from his car factory
Henry Ford
This specific type of chewy, sweet treat was created by accident in Atlantic City in the 1880s after a storm flooded a candy shop with ocean water.
Saltwater Taffy
This classic summer toy, originally called the "Pluto Platter," was inspired by pie tins thrown by college students and was rebranded by Wham-O in 1957 under this famous name.
Frisbee
This 1968 piece of federal legislation officially moved Memorial Day from its traditional fixed date of May 30th to the last Monday in May to create a three-day weekend.
The Uniform Monday Holiday Act
This 2015 apocalyptic action film starring Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy dominated the summer conversation and won 6 Academy Awards
Mad Max: Fury Road
This specific type of wood is prized in Texas BBQ for giving brisket an incredibly intense, distinct, and heavy smoky flavor profile.
Mesquite
This massive, continuous stretch of sand in Virginia holds the official Guinness World Record for the world's longest pleasure beach
Virginia Beach
This remote, southernmost island city in Florida marks the literal end of U.S. Route 1 and sits just 90 miles from Cuba.
Key West
This famous, somber military bugle call features 24 notes and is traditionally performed at military funerals and Memorial Day ceremonies.
Taps
In the 1993 coming-of-age classic The Sandlot, this is the actual first and last name of the local baseball legend known as "The Jet."
Benny Rodriguez (Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez)
Botanically speaking, the watermelon belongs to this specific plant family, making it a close relative to cucumbers, pumpkins, and squash.
Cucurbitaceae (or the Gourd family)
The iconic beach fashion item, the bikini, was named in 1946 by its French inventor after a Pacific Ocean atoll that was famous for what historic event?
Atomic bomb testing
This is the most visited National Park in the entire United States, pulling in over 12 million visitors annually along the border of North Carolina and Tennessee.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
This Union General and Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic was the man who issued General Order No. 11 in 1868, officially designating May 30th as Decoration Day.
General John A. Logan