Humble Beginnings
What the L?
Water Creatures
A Game of Chess
June, June
100

$100) This company that sells Barbie dolls began by selling wooden frames from a garage.  

Answer: What is Mattel? In addition to the Barbie line and dollhouses, Mattel also sells the Fisher-Price line, Hot Wheels, and other toys.

100

A baby sheep  

Answer: What is a lamb? Lamb is the meat of a sheep up to one year of age. The meat of a sheep older than one year is mutton. Lamb has a milder flavor than mutton.

100

This is an eight-armed marine animal.  

Answer: What is octopus? Octopi die shortly after their offspring are born.

100

The game’s object is to capture this chess piece from your opponent.  

Answer: What is the king? The king is a weak piece in the early phases of the game

100

This holiday falls on the third Sunday in June in the U.S. and Canada.  

Answer: What is Father’s Day? In 1972, Father’s Day was recognized as a U.S. holiday. Fun fact: In Australia, it is celebrated on the first Sunday of September.

200

A multi-billion-dollar business that runs “the happiest place on Earth,” this company began life as a cartoon.  

Answer: What is the Walt Disney Company? Walt Disney leveraged the money from selling his cartoon Alice’s Wonderland to build his first studio. In that studio, Mickey Mouse came to life.

200

The title of a lord’s wife  

Answer: What is lady? Lords and ladies are British nobility belonging to the “landed gentry,” otherwise known as landowners. You might have read about it in Victorian novels. They don’t work but reap the rewards from those who work on land they own, either on the estates or in the towns where they own land and businesses.

200

Fish use these to breathe.  

Answer: What are gills? Most fish have four gills on each side of their body.

200

Each player begins with eight of these pieces on the board.  

Answer: What are pawns? They are often the piece each side moves to open the game

200

The year’s longest day is called this.  

Answer: What is (summer) solstice? The earliest sunrise of the year typically occurs a few days before the solstice, and the latest sunset typically occurs a few days after the solstice.

300

This famous chewing gum company’s owner started by selling baking powder and soap.  

Answer: What is Wrigley’s? William Wrigley Jr. gave away sticks of gum to his customers. They grew more popular than his products, so he switched gears and built a chewing gum empire.

300

A light purple and flowering bush  

Answer: What is lilac? Lilacs are hardy, and some varieties can survive in temperatures as cold as –60 degrees Fahrenheit.

300

This is a mythical half-human, half-animal sea creature.  

Answer: What is mermaid, merman, or merfolk? In Greek mythology, Triton was a demigod and the “merman messenger of the sea.”

300

This one-word move ends the game. A

Answer: What is checkmate? The king is under attack with no moves to save him.

300

If you were born in early June, you were born under this astrological sign.  

Answer: What is Gemini? Those born late in the month were born under the sign of Cancer.

400

Two teachers and a writer founded this now-famous coffeehouse at Seattle Pike Place Market. They sold beans, not brewed coffee, and they sold their company to a former employee—Howard Schultz.  

Answer: What is Starbucks? The three founders went to school together at the University of San Francisco.

400

E. B. White’s mouse character’s last name  

Answer: What is Little? Two of E. B. White’s popular children’s books are Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web.

400

This is the common name for edible crustaceans.  

Answer: What is shellfish? Mollusks, oysters, and scallops all belong to the shellfish category

400

This is the term for attacking the king without capturing him. 

 

Answer: What is check? Novices announce “Check!” but it’s considered rude for skilled chess players to announce it

400

The name June comes from this calendar.  

Answer: What is the Julian, or Roman, calendar? It comes from the Latin word Iunius (pronounced JU-nee-us) and from the Roman goddess Juno. The month initially had 29 days before Julius Caesar added a day.

500

his poultry franchise was one of the first fast-food outlets to go international, but it began as “a roadside stop in Utah during the Depression,” according to Inc. magazine.  

Answer: What is KFC or Kentucky Fried Chicken? The Colonel started by trading his services for a place to sell his chicken.

500

A small, two-edged surgical instrument and the name of a prestigious British journal  

Answer: What is lancet? A lancet is used for small incisions. The Lancet is a peer-reviewed medical journal.

500

Only the males of these sea creatures give birth and raise their young.  

Answer: What are seahorses? The seahorse is the only male animal to birth and raise its own young.

500

These pieces can be promoted by moving them to the end of the opponent’s side of the board.  

Answer: What are pawns? They can be promoted into rooks, bishops, knights, and queens.

500

June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” came from this musical.  

Answer: What is Carousel? The 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical was adapted for the big screen in 1956. It stars Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones.