March Fun Facts
March Madness refers to this sport.
What is (NCAA) college basketball? The tournament features single-elimination games between 68 college teams, leading up to the championship. By the time the games get down to the final four, the tournament usually has lived up to its name.
These are installed in homes to alert owners to fire.
What are smoke alarms? All 50 states require smoke alarms in new installations.
When people first fall in love, they feel like they are on this cloud.
What is cloud nine? Cloud nine denotes a feeling of euphoria.
Popular throughout the decades, red rover is played by two teams chanting “Red rover, red rover, let [player’s name]” do this.
What is “come over”? Global versions include the Chinese game called “forcing the city gates.”
By what term were the rulers of ancient Egypt known?
Pharaohs. The term is derived from the Egyptian per ‘aa, which means “great estate.”
March 1 begins this meteorological season.
What is spring? Meteorological seasons are based on temperature rather than the position of the sun. The vernal equinox is when we celebrate the beginning of astronomical spring, which occurs on or around March 20.
In 1973, the first communication from this device was completed.
What is cell phone? The cell phone of 1970 bore no resemblance to today’s cell phone. They were called “brick phones” because they were as large as a brick and similar in design.
This is where Batman fought crime.
What is Gotham City? Batman started fighting crime in Gotham City in the fourth
This circular playground favorite was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play in 1999, though its Hawaiian inspiration is much older. Answer: What is a Hula-Hoop?
The toy’s creators were inspired by bamboo hoops used in Australia and by the Hawaiian hula dance.
Archaeologist Howard Carter and his team discovered the tomb of which pharaoh in 1922?
King Tut. It was the most intact pharaoh’s tomb discovered and took a decade to catalog fully.
The first day of Lent is also known as this.
What is Ash Wednesday? Lent lasts for 40 days leading up to Easter and represents the 40 days Jesus fasted and prayed in the desert before beginning his public ministry.
In the 1970s, McDonald’s introduced this jolly menu item that is still going strong today.
What is the Happy Meal? The original packaging resembled a cereal box with games, comics, and jokes on it.
This is the fictional palace of King Arthur.
What is Camelot? The term was applied to the Kennedy presidency by Jackie Kennedy in a Life magazine interview after John’s assassination.
These colorful items, long used by the military, became part of gym glass curriculum in the 1980s and are a playground favorite for games.
What are parachutes? Sebastien Lenormand is generally credited with invention of the parachute in 1783, but Da Vinci had sketched the concept centuries earlier.
In the 1963 film Cleopatra, who stars in the title role?
Elizabeth Taylor. The budget for her costumes was over $190,000.
This public holiday is celebrated on March 17 in the United States, particularly so in Boston and New York City.
What is St. Patrick’s Day? St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. He was not Irish; he was born in Britain.
In 1979, Sony released this device for playing cassette tapes.
What is the Walkman? At last, we had a personal and portable device for playing favorite tunes.
This fictional perfect place is located high in the Tibetan mountains and is one of the settings in James Hilton’s Lost Horizons.
What is Shangri-La? It’s a fictional utopia where people live for hundreds of years.
During the 1960s and ’70s, this playground toy was popular among girls for games like double Dutch.
What is jump rope (skipping rope)?
What marsh plant did the ancient Egyptians use to create paper and other materials like rope?
Papyrus. In the Late period, this was one of their principal exports.
In the northern hemisphere, March is the best spring month to view these magnificent light displays in the sky.
What are the northern lights (or aurora borealis)? They appear as wide bands of blue, green, red, and purple lights across the sky.
This was the first kind of computer disc.
What is floppy? The first floppy disc was eight inches in diameter. Today, computers use internal hard drives, external drives, or the cloud for backups.
This mythological Norse location is the palace home of fallen warriors.
What is Valhalla? Legend tells that the warriors will live at Valhalla until Ragnarök, or Doomsday, when they will fight once more alongside the Norse god Odin.
Versions of this traffic light–inspired game include statues, fairy footsteps, and grandmother’s footsteps.
What is red light, green light? In 2022, the largest game of red light, green light was played between 1,415 people at the University of California, Irvine.
Sobek was an Egyptian deity associated with what carnivorous, river-dwelling reptile?
The crocodile. Neferusobek was the first female pharaoh in Egypt, and her name translates to “beautiful crocodile.”