Stage Names
This “Candle in the Wind” singer was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight.
Who is Sir Elton John? His stage name is a tribute to members of the band Bluesology.
This comedy duo gave us “Who’s on First?”
Who are Abbott and Costello? They began working together in New York’s Eltinge Theater, and they were one of radio’s most popular acts.
On April 12, 1981, this organization launched its first space shuttle mission.
What is NASA? The first Space Transportation System carried astronaut John Young and navy test pilot Robert Crippen.
This planet is so big that more than 1,000 Earths would be able to fit inside of it.
What is Jupiter?
In February 1994, the American Society of Civil Engineers declared this California landmark one of the Seven Wonders of the United States.
What is the Golden Gate Bridge? Other “Wonders” designated that year were the Hoover Dam and the Kennedy Space Center.
Their free concert in Hyde Park on the night of September 18, 1976, included the hits “Keep Yourself Alive” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
What is Queen? An estimated 200,000 people turned out to enjoy the 80-minute concert.
This Ghost and Sister Act actress was born Caryn Elaine Johnson.
Who is Whoopi Goldberg? She has said her first name is a nod to the whoopee cushion.
His Christmas specials and USO tours brought comic relief to the U.S. military in war zones.
Who is Bob Hope? He also performed on radio’s The Pepsodent Show as well as on TV and film.
Introduced to the tech world in 1982, this would quickly gain popularity and become the preferred alternative to floppy disks.
What is the CD or CD-ROM? CDs had a larger storage capacity (680 megabytes) than floppy disks (1.4 megabytes).
This country's King Fahd airport covers 300 square miles, more than all of Bahrain, which has 3 airports of its own.
What is Saudi Arabia?
In October 1992, this system was proclaimed to be complete with the opening of I-70 in Colorado.
What is the Interstate Highway System? The longest interstate highway is I-90, which runs 3,000 miles from Seattle to Boston.
In 1972, David Bowie began touring the UK as this alter ego, accompanied by his backup band, the Spiders from Mars.
Who is Ziggy Stardust? The tour and album are considered the musician’s great breakthrough.
This basketballer was born Earvin Johnson Jr.
Who is Magic Johnson? He earned his nickname in high school for his seemingly magical sports prowess.
This jazz musician was also known as “Satchmo” and “Pops.”
Who is Louis Armstrong? His greatest hits include “What a Wonderful World” and “Hello, Dolly!”
Handheld communicators from the Star Trek universe are often credited with inspiring this ’80s invention.
What is the mobile phone (or cell phone)? Digital cell phones came into being with early models like the Motorola DynaTAC, which weighed over a kilogram.
Dedicated in 80 A.D., it covered 5 acres, was 4 stories high & originally sat 50,000 spectators.
What is The Colosseum?
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a 17.6-mile bridge and tunnel complex located in this U.S. state.
What is Virginia? Construction of the bridge-tunnel was completed in 1964 and has been recognized by the ASCE as an “Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement.”
On April 21, 1990, fans in this nation rocked out with Paul McCartney in Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, breaking the world attendance record in the process.
What is Brazil? The record-setting show was almost canceled due to rain and flooding, but McCartney reportedly insisted the rains would stop—and he was right!
Born Eric Marlon Bishop, he took his stage name from a comedian and star of Sanford and Son.
Who is Jamie Foxx? Inspired by comic Redd Foxx, he took on an androgynous stage name while doing stand-up comedy.
The Adventures of [this detective] series was based on a real-life detective, and the character was first created for The Maltese Falcon.
Who is Sam Spade? The show was The Adventures of Sam Spade, and it aired from 1946–1951.
In 1981, the F-117 Nighthawk was introduced by Lockheed; it was this type of radar-resistant craft.
What is an airplane? With its first flight on June 18, the F-117 became the world’s first stealth aircraft and changed military history.
Cawker City, Kansas, claims the world's biggest ball of this 5-letter item, which measures around 8 million feet.
What is (sisal) twine?
After an older bridge partially collapsed in 1980, this structure was built over Tampa Bay in 1987 and stretches over six kilometers.
What is the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge? The new structure was named after Bob Graham, a former governor and U.S. senator from Florida.
It wasn’t just an album title. For their 1980 tour, this band insisted on creating an actual brick “wall” on stage and playing from behind it.
What is Pink Floyd? The tour to promote their album The Wall included complex logistics of building a wall in front of the band as they played.
Frances Ethel Gumm was credited under a different name when she starred in a movie about a young girl who escaped Kansas with her dog Toto.
Who is Judy Garland?
This president’s fireside chats were a series of nighttime radio speeches.
Who is President Franklin D. Roosevelt? Roosevelt was the first president to use radio instead of newspaper for mass communication with the American people. FDR was a brilliant communicator who used the fireside chats to persuade his audience.
In 1985, Dr. Alec J. Jeffreys successfully verified a suspect's innocence by utilizing this new forensic tool.
What is DNA fingerprinting?
The world's largest building by volume is this company's 472 million-cubic-foot factory in Everett, Washington.
What is Boeing?
In 1990, Congress passed an act recognizing that this route had “become a symbol of the American people’s heritage of travel and their legacy of seeking a better life.”
What is Route 66? The act called for a study of the route by the National Park Service, including options for preserving the historic roadway.
On September 10, 1970, this blues artist played at Cook County Jail with songs like “Worry, Worry” and “The Thrill Is Gone.”
Who is B. B. King? The performance inspired King to co-found the Foundation for the Advancement of Inmate Rehabilitation and Recreation.
Film director of such works as Malcolm X and Do the Right Thing, he was born Shelton Jackson Lee.
Who is Spike Lee? He began studying film while a student at Morehouse College.
This show, originally named The Detective, opens with “Who knows what lurks in the hearts of men?”
What is The Shadow? After the opening question, the narrator answers, “The Shadow knows.” It was one of the most popular radio shows of its time, and people still quote these opening lines.
This 1981 invention, abbreviated STM, can be used to view high-resolution images at the atomic scale.
What is the scanning tunneling microscope? Inventors Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer were awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on the microscope.
This statue, considered to be the world's biggest statue, is 4 times bigger than than the Statue to Liberty.
What is the Statue of Unity?
The Statue of Unity is the world's tallest statue, with a height of 597 feet. It is located near Kevadia in the state of Gujarat, India.
In 1977, the New River Gorge Bridge was completed in this state; at the time it set records as the world’s longest single-span arch bridge.
What is West Virginia? It is featured on the West Virginia state quarter due to its significance.
Just in time for Halloween, this Ozzy Osbourne-fronted heavy metal band played their first U.S. show on October 30, 1970.
What is Black Sabbath? Although known for heavy metal and rock, the band started out playing blues music and was originally called Earth.