High in
the Sky
the Sky
Your cart sways at the top of this circular ride at the amusement park.
What is a Ferris wheel?
The London Eye was the first giant Ferris wheel. As of 2023, the tallest Ferris wheel in the world is in Dubai. It is just over 820 feet tall, and it’s called the Ain Dubai, or Dubai Eye.
This Southwestern state capital shares its name with a mythical bird that rises from the ashes.
What is Phoenix?
Phoenix, Arizona, is the only state capital with more than one million people.
This country singer is best known for hits like “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and “Love Is the Foundation.”
Who is Loretta Lynn?
She won her first Grammy in 1972 for a duet with fellow country legend Conway Twitty.
This 1972 Francis Ford Coppola film based on the book by Mario Puzo tells the story of an Italian American family in the 1930s and ’40s. It stars Marlon Brando and Al Pacino.
What is The Godfather?
During filming, Marlon Brando read his lines from cue cards. He felt it made him look like he was searching for just the right words. Fun fact: You never hear the words mafia or mob in the movie.
The Beatles landed in New York City in this decade.
What is the 1960s?
On February 7, 1964, the Beatles phenomenon crossed the Atlantic Ocean. They were greeted by 100 police officers, 200 members of the press, and 4,000 screaming fans.
You’re flying high in this wicker basket propelled by propane or butane.
What is a hot-air balloon?
Propane is the most common fuel used to heat the air, which keeps the balloon afloat.
In 1883, this luxury train began running from Paris to Constantinople (now Istanbul).
What is the Orient Express?
The original Orient Express is slated to run again in 2025 using refurbished cars from the 1920s and 1930s. The train is famous for both its luxury and as the setting of Agatha Christie’s novel Murder on the Orient Express.
June Carter and Merle Kilgore co-wrote this 1963 hit, considered one of Johnny Cash’s signature songs.
What is “Ring of Fire”?
Cash and Carter would later marry in 1968.
Tommy Dorsey, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, and Lawrence Welk were all leaders of this type of musical group.
What is big band?
Though big bands are associated with the 1940s, their popularity launched during the Great Depression. So many performers were unemployed that it became easy to find 10 or more musicians to form a band. Radio was in full swing, which promoted the bands to those who could not attend in person.
Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson died in a plane crash while on tour during this decade.
What is the 1950s?
On February 3, 1959, the plane crashed in Clear Lake, Iowa. The pilot was not instrument qualified, but he took off in inclement weather. There were no survivors.
The most breathtaking views of this 278-mile-long Arizona gorge are from the air.
What is the Grand Canyon?
It’s a four-hour drive from the north side to the south side. Some of its fossils are believed to be 1.2 billion years old.
This mountain range stretches from Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, to New Mexico.
What are the Rocky Mountains, or the Rockies?
The mountains are full of precious metals, minerals, and sapphires.
Her No. 1 country hits include “Joshua,” “Jolene,” and “I Will Always Love You.”
Who is Dolly Parton?
The country superstar was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999.
He was Dean Martin’s comedic partner.
Who is Jerry Lewis?
The duo appeared together on national radio, in 16 films, and on the Colgate Comedy Hour before they split. They reunited on Lewis’ Muscular Dystrophy Telethon when Martin made an unannounced appearance arranged by Frank Sinatra.
Prince William married Kate Middleton in this decade.
What is the 2010s?
The wedding was televised live on April 29, 2011, and it was the most-viewed event of the year.
This is the tallest building in North America.
What is the CN Tower?
The CN Tower in Toronto is 1,815 feet high. The second tallest is One World Observatory (aka One World Trade Center) in New York, which stands 1,776 feet tall.
Ankara is the capital city of this country.
What is Turkey?
It is the country’s second-largest city and is also known as Angora. It was once under Persian control.
This musician’s 1975 No. 1 hit “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” is an ode to laid-back, rural life.
Who is John Denver?
Also, in 1975, Denver was named the Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year.
Brothers Larry, Daryl, and Daryl are featured in this TV sitcom.
What is Newhart?
Bob Newhart got the inspiration for the show while people-watching at hotels. He decided there were just as many crazy people in hotels as there were in his previous sitcom, The Bob Newhart Show, where he played a psychologist.
It was during this decade that Dolly the sheep was cloned.
What is the 1990s?
In Scotland in 1996, Dolly became the first cloned animal. Scientists used a mammary gland for the process, and the sheep was named for Dolly Parton. Parton said, “I never met her, but I always said there’s no such thing as ‘baaad’ publicity.”
The highest peak in North America is in this state.
What is Alaska?
The peak is Mount Denali in the Alaska Mountain Range, with an elevation of 20,310 feet. Mount Logan in the Saint Elias Mountains in Yukon, Canada, is the second-highest peak.
Indira Gandhi International Airport serves this entire metropolis in India.
What is Delhi (aka New Delhi)?
The airport opened its newest terminal in 2010 and services the most airline passengers in India.
Some of his No. 1 hits include “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Gentle on My Mind,” and “Wichita Lineman.”
Who is Glen Campbell?
Campbell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and earned a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.
These nationwide variety shows performed before live audiences across America before the advent of silent films.
What is vaudeville?
Variety shows were nothing new, but they had gained infamy due to their graft and corruption, so the name was changed to vaudeville. The classy, French-sounding name helped promote the shows. Vaudeville’s popularity began to wane during World War I, and its run ended in the 1930s.
This entire decade was focused on the possibility of a Y2K bug.
What is the 1990s?
People feared that, because early computer code expressed years in two numerals, omitting the “19” before the year would cause power, communications, and access to electronic funds to be lost. In the end, nothing happened. Life went on without a hiccup.