Saints
Famous Duels
Lip-Puckering Foods
Branches of Science
Fads
Women Who Sing Good
100
The feast of this 3rd Century Roman saint is commemorated on February 14. He advocated for persecuted Christians and he is the patron saint of lovers, people with epilepsy, and beekeepers.
Who is Valentine?
100
The duel so well known they made a musical about it - this treasury secretary faced off with this Vice President in Weehawken, New Jersey (everything is legal in New Jersey) at dawn on July 11, 1804.
100
This sour liquid is similar to wine (its name coming from the old French for Sour Wine) except where wine is fermented with yeast, this is fermented with bacteria. Pairs well with olive oil in salad dressing.
What is vinegar?
100
This A word is the study of sound. Its a branch of physics that deals with waves and vibrations.
What is acoustics?
100
Gary Dahl introduced this pet to the world in 1975. He sold them for $4 each, which included a box, straw bedding and a 32-page training manual. "Shake hands" was nearly impossible to teach, but sit, stay and roll over were pretty easy to accomplish.
What is a Pet Rock?
100
Ellen Naomi Cohen would prefer you not call her Mama. But when she made her way on the scene as the alto voice of the Mamas and the Papas, the name kinda stuck. No, she did not die by choking on a ham sandwich.
Who is Cass Elliot?
200
St Erasmus, sometimes known as this saint associated with an electrical phenomenon around the masts of ships, is the patron saint of sailors, navigators and sea sickness. Also other stomach ailments and childbirth.
Who is St Elmo?
200
In Book 1, Chapter 17 of Samuel of the NIV (New International Version) Bible, young David, a shepherd with no armor, who faced this fearsome giant armed only with a sling and his unwavering trust in God.
Who is Goliath?
200
This is a fermented cabbage commonly used in German cuisine and we know it by its German name, but it did not actually originate in Germany. So good on a bratwurst or hot dog.
What is sauerkraut?
200
This B word is the study of the motion of projectiles and can be divided into 3 categories: internal, external and terminal. Its a favorite topic of crime dramas, when trying to match a gun to its bullet.
What is ballistics?
200
This dance trend from a song by Madonna, named after a magazine and borrowed from Drag Ball culture in NYC, involves stopping and striking a pose when the urge strikes you.
200
As part of an eponymous duet with her brother Richard, this singer and drummer had a 3 octave alto range which is displayed in songs like Close To You and We've Only Just Begun. She died due to complications of anorexia in 1983.
300
This saint, of Padua, is who you pray to in hopes of finding a missing things. His statues are usually holding the baby Jesus.
Who is St Anthony?
300
in 1566, Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe dueled with his third cousin Manerup Parsberg over who was the more superior mathematician. Mathematical superiority was never established and Brahe lost this facial feature in the fight.
What is his nose?
He wore a brass prosthetic most of his life, breaking out the gold and silver ones for special occasions.
300
Botanically, this long crunchy stalk is a vegetable, and quite sour. But if you bake it into a pie with strawberries, the sweet will overpower the sour to make a popular summer dessert.
What is rhubarb?
300
This S word is a combination of earth science and physics that studies earthquakes and uses the Richter scale to determine the strength of the quake.
What is Seismology?
300
Why must some fads come back around? Business in the front, party in the back . . . this hairstyle shares its name with a fish and was made famous by David Bowie in the 70s and Billy Ray Cyrus in the 90s. Its back with a vengeance.
What is a mullet?
300
Big Mama Thornton originally released this song in 1953, three years before Elvis Presley made it a hit in 1956.
What is Hound Dog?
400
This saint is the patron of all travelers, which is why drivers of all kind wear his medal, as well as people going on holiday, moving, or making big life changes.
Who is Christopher?
400
In the Alexander Dumas novel of the same name, D'Artangnan committed himself to dueling Athos, Porthos and Aramis in the same day.
400
Sour Patch Kids and other similar candies start out with a punch of super-sour, until you get to the soft part underneath. That sour taste is achieved by coating the candy with acids, most commonly this type of acid that occurs naturally in lemons, limes and grapefruits.
What is citric acid?
400
Both Dactylography and Dermatoglyphics study these things that you carry around all day. Everyone has their own unique set and you'd do well not to leave them at a crime scene.
What are fingerprints?
400
Polynesians had been doing this for centuries, but when lightweight boards became affordable in the late 1950s, everyone could grab one and hang ten. By the early 1960s, the fad had really caught a wave, and movies Beach Blanket Bingo and songs by the Beach Boys helped popularize the sport.
What is Surfing?
400
You may know here best by this stage name, but did you know that Anna Mae Bullock taught Mick Jagger to dance when she toured with the Rolling Stones? Her career spanned from her duets with husband Ike in the 50s to her solo career resurgence in the 80s.
Who is Tina Turner?
500
On this saint's day, which is July 15, if it does rain
Full forty days, it will remain
On this saint's day, if it be fair
For forty days, t’will rain no mair.”
Who is St Swithin?
Readers Digest version - St Swithin was the bishop of Winchester from 852 to 862 and, after his death, he requested burial in the churchyard so that passers-by could step over his grave, and that it might be exposed to the elements.
However, his tomb was moved inside on July 15, 971, and shortly afterwards a huge storm hit, which people took as a sign of the saint’s displeasure at his wishes being ignored.
500
In February 1870, this famed modernist painter challenged his friend and art critic Louis Edmond Duranty over an unfavorable review — reportedly accosting Duranty at the Café Guerbois in Paris and slapping him in the face. Here is is famous portrait of Emil Zola.
Who is Edouard Manet?
500
In my humble opinion, the very best dessert involves mixing the juice of this South Florida based fruit with sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks.
What are Key Limes?
500
Entomology is the study of insects. Lepidopterology is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and these flitting winged insects.
What are butterflies?
500
When doing this dance, you had to go under a stick in a single file by bending your knees and back, and by moving under as it was slowly lowered by two people. It was often accompanied with a 1962 song by Chubby Checker. No, not the Twist.
What is the limbo?
500
This performer celebrated her 78th birthday yesterday and said "all girl singers have to curtsy to Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holliday" for paving the way. In her case, that meant genres and decades with hits like Blue Bayou, a Spanish language album and Don't Know Much, her duet with Aaron Neville.
Who is Linda Rondstadt?