Funny Phobias
Literary Orphans
Biscuits
Witches, man!
Gaining Independence
Geek Pride Day!!
Potpourri
100
Xanthophobia is the fear of this color, derived from the Greek word for this color or blonde.
What is yellow?
100
In this novel by Charles Dickens, Pip and Estella are both orphans. Pip lives with his sister and her husband, Estella was adopted by the rich and eccentric Miss Havisham.
What is Great Expectations?
100
During WWII, when butter and sugar were rationed, this group stopped selling their signature cookies and instead produced calendars with photos that emphasized patriotism and good citizenship.
Who are the Girl Scouts?
100
Hecate is the Greek goddess of magic and witchcraft. She shows up in this Shakespearean play to cause trouble and chant some seriously creepy rhymes
What is the Scottish Play about the character named Macbeth?
100
On January 1, 1901, six colonies were joined together to create the Commonwealth of this Oceania nation, a self-governing Dominion in the British Empire. While the new nation was sovereign when it came to its domestic affairs, the United Kingdom maintained control over its relations with the wider world. Their full independence came to be in 1986.
What is Australia?
100
This 1931 film, based on a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson was the first horror film to win an Oscar when Frederic March won best actor for playing the two title characters.
What is Dr Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde?
100
"Chronicles Of Narnia" author C.S. Lewis credited his conversion to Christianity to this man who authored "The Silmarillion" and "The Hobbit".
Who is J.R.R. Tolkien?
200
Nomophobia is a relatively new phobia; it is characterized by feeling anxious or nervous at the thought of being without this convenience.
What is a smart phone?
200
Orphaned at age 11, when his parents died in a mountain climbing accident, this character created by Sir Ian Fleming, is a British secret service officer.
Who is James Bond?
200
This cookie (and ice cream cocktail) share a name with an insect in the same family as crickets and katydids.
What is the Grasshopper?
200
Similar to Dorothy's ruby slippers, this Wizard of Oz character is the first to depict witches with green faces to take advantage of the new technicolor technologies.
Who is The Wicked Witch of the West?
200
The US declared its independence from Britain on July 4, 1776. Britain did not recognize this declaration until 1783, when this king signed the Treaty of Paris.
Who is George III?
200
The first of these was invented in 1963 by Douglas Engelbart, a pioneering computer scientist. His invention featured a wooden shell and two metal wheels.
What is a computer mouse?
200
The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team located in Sacramento, CA, obviously. But they originated in this NY city.
What is Rochester?
300
People with omphalophobia will avoid seeing or touching this body part, even their own. They might even put a bandage over theirs to to avoid looking at it or avoid places they might commonly be seen. Like the beach.
What are belly buttons?
300
Siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert think they adopted a boy to help them on their farm on Prince Edward Island. Much to their surprise, this girl is waiting for them at the train station.
Who is Anne Shirley or Anne of Green Gables?
300
Though often mistaken for cookies due to their small size, these are baked in a distinctive shell-shaped mold with a light and airy sponge cake-like texture, with a crisp golden edge.
What are madeleines?
300
No, they didn't actually use the eyes of this amphibian in their magical potions. What looked like eyes was actually mustard seeds.
What is a newt?
300
Fueled by the ideals of the French Revolution and the desire for freedom from enslavement, a revolution led by Toussaint L'Ouverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines began in 1791. It finally gained independence from France in 1804.
What is Haiti?
300
In this Douglas Adams' novel, the answer to "the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything" is the number 42. It was calculated by a supercomputer named Deep Thought after 7.5 million years.
What is Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?
300
The mom-est mom saying in my house as a child was "God helps them that help themselves." Turns out my mom was just quoting this founding father, the first to be credited with the saying.
Who is Ben Franklin?
400
Arachibutyrophobia is not the fear of this food item all by itself, just the fear of it sticking to the roof of your mouth.
What is peanut butter?
400
This friendly, anthropomorphised bespectacled bear from "darkest Peru"—with his old hat, battered suitcase, duffel coat and love of marmalade sandwiches—was orphaned in an earthquake before being taken in by his aunt Lucy
Who is Paddington?
400
Thanks to their similar spellings, two very different cookies are often confused for each other. The macaron is a small and delicate French sandwich cookie while this is a dense cookie made with shredded coconut.
What are macaroons?
400
She is a character in an old Slavic folk legend about a witch who flies around in a magical mortar and pestle and lives in a hut on chicken legs.
Who is Baba Yaga?
400
This coastal Central American nation that shares borders with Mexico and Guatemala used to be known as British Honduras until it gained its independence in September 1981.
What is Belize?
400
"Torchwood" is an anagram of this sci-fi series that has been running for over 60 years, acting as a spin-off of the iconic British series. Our main character is an extraterrestrial time lord who has been played by 14 different actors.
What is Doctor Who?
400
This S word can mean either a unit of apothecary measurement, (20 grains) or the feeling of reluctance to do something you have moral questions about.
What is a scruple?
500
Lutraphobia is the fear of this aquatic mammal, specifically the Eurasian River variety. Sure, they're cute and they hold hands so they don't float apart at night, but don't let that fool you, these little buggers are monsters.
What are otters?
500
This is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who is raised in the jungle by wolves.
What is The Jungle Book?
500
Snickerdoodles are essentially sugar cookies dipped in cinnamon and sugar with the addition of this ingredient, a dry acidic white powder that acts as a leavening agent and adds a tangy flavor.
What is cream of tartar?
500
This is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism or ethnic religions other than Christianity or Judaism. It actually comes from the Latin word for home dweller or country person.
What is PAGAN?
500
Bulgaria declared its independence from this Empire on October 5, 1908. Its boundaries were not solidified until after WW I.
What is the Ottoman Empire?
500
Along with being the daughter of Lord Byron, this English mathematician and writer, is often regarded as the "Mother of Computer Programming." She is credited with writing the first algorithm intended to be processed by a machine, making her the first computer programmer.
Who is Ada Lovelace?
500
According to this organization, Max, Sam, Lady, Bear, and Smokey are the most popular pet names (across all animals). For dogs specifically, Luna is the most popular girl dog name and Milo is most popular boy name.
What is the ASPCA?