Category Archives: Facts and Trivia

Trivia’s Facts and More (3/18)

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This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

Unscramble each group of letters to form words having to do with film making.

SGITHL,   AEMRAC,   CTONIA

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

Andrew Jackson (nicknamed “Old Hickory”) served the United States as its 7th President.  His two terms in office ran from 1829-1837.

Here are some interesting facts about Andrew Jackson:

  • Born:  March 15, 1767 in South Carolina
  • Died:  June 8, 1845 in Tennessee
  • Founder of the Democratic Party
  • Occupations of lawyer and soldier

Jackson was a war hero during the War of 1812.  His leadership insured American victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.  He was elected as Tennessee’s first U.S. Representative in 1796.

Located about 10 miles outside of Nashville, Tennessee was Jackson’s estate called The Hermitage.  It served as his home from 1804 until his death in 1845.  One of its main characteristics was its Greek Revival architecture.

President Andrew Jackson portrait, front view of The Hermitage.  (courtesy of Pinterest)

 

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

LIGHTS,   CAMERA,   ACTION

Trivia’s Facts and More (3/11)

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This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

What English word contains all the vowels in alphabetical order?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

The most familiar asterism (small group of stars within a constellation) is the Big Dipper.  These seven stars are the brightest ones found in the constellation Ursa Major (Great Bear).

The Big Dipper is known by many names, including:

  • Starry Plow (England and Ireland)
  • Great Wagon or Cart (Germany)
  • Octava or Salmon Net (Finland)
  • Casserole or Saucepan (France)
  • Big Mother Bear (Russia)
  • Seven Great Wise Ones (Hindu cultures)
  • Northern Dipper (Eastern Asia)

In Canada and the northern United States, the Big Dipper is visible throughout the year.  During each season of the year, this group of stars appears to move in its location.  

  • Autumn:  Lower on the horizon, with the ladle facing upward.
  • Winter:  Resting on its handle, with the ladle above it.
  • Spring:  Higher on the horizon, with position reversed from autumn as the ladle is facing downward.
  • Summer:  Resting on ladle, with the ladle facing opposite of winter’s position.

Photos courtesy of Pinterest.

 

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

FACETIOUS

Trivia’s Facts and More (3/4)

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

Which of these does not belong in a group with the others?

(A)  Spider

(B)  Tick

(C)  Flea

(D)  Scorpion

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

One of nature’s biggest menaces in the insect world is the blood-sucking mosquito.

Here are some interesting facts about the mosquito:

  • Color:  Brown, golden-brown, or black.
  • Habitat:  Quiet bodies of water, from fluid-filled leaves to stagnant ponds.
  • Diet:  Plant nectar, honeydew, and blood.

The life cycle of a mosquito begins when a female lays eggs in water.  Larvae grow to half an inch, feeding on algae and bacteria.  They mature and emerge as hungry adults.

The female mosquito is a quick eater.  She lands on a animal (such as a human), stabs her needle-sharp proboscis into the skin, and draws out blood.  She spits back up a small bit into the wound, causing it to itch.

There are approximately 200 species of mosquitoes in the United States.  Only about 12 actually carry germs and make people sick.  Most species are more of a bother than anything else, and are labeled as nuisance mosquitoes.  

One species of mosquito may actually do more good than harm.  The Elephant Mosquito has a sapphire-blue and silver-stripped body.  It pollinates flowers at night, and its larvae feed on other dangerous species.

Mosquito ready to bite (courtesy of Pinterest).
Elephant Mosquito (courtesy of Pinterest).

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

(C)  Flea

A flea is an insect, and the other three are arachnids.

Trivia’s Facts and More (2/25)

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This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

At noon and at midnight, the long and short hands of a clock are together.  Between noon and midnight, how many times does the long hand pass the short hand?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

The black bear is the smallest of all North American bears.  However, they are probably the most well known.

Here are some interesting facts about the black bear:

  • Habitat:  woodlands and foothills along eastern and western U.S. and Canada.
  • Diet:  vegetations, berries, fish, small mammals, honey, grubs.
  • Weight:  200-600 pounds.
  • Top speed:  35 mph.
  • Average lifespan:  25 years.

From the forests of New Mexico comes a real story about a very famous black bear.

During the spring of 1950, an intense forest fire burned hundreds of acres in the Capitan Mountains.  Exhausted firefighters found a young bear cub, who had taken refuge in a tree.  He was badly burned, but alive.  Moved by his bravery, the firefighters named him Smokey (later to become Smokey Bear).  

Later, Smokey Bear was transferred to the National Zoo in Washington, DC, where he  remained a living symbol for wildfire prevention.  Upon his death in 1976, his remains were transported back to New Mexico for burial.

Left:  A vet cares of Smokey Bear’s wounds from the fire.  Right:  Smokey Bear appears with his namesake poster about preventing forest fires.  (courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

Only 11 times.

The long hand passes the short hand at 12:00 noon, and between the times of 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. (a total of 11 times).  Note that the long hand does not pass the short hand between 11 p.m. and 12 a.m. (it just meets the short hand at 12 a.m.).

Trivia’s Facts and More (2/18)

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This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

Which Montana town’s name is best represented by Morse Code for the letter “I”?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

The state of Montana is blessed with a litany of small towns with unique names.  One town was named for the “pair of dots” design of an area rancher’s cattle brand.  

Here are some interesting facts about this small town in the Treasure State:

  • Population of 26 (2020 Census).
  • Located along the Musselshell River in the central region of the state.
  • The town’s property was donated by an area rancher, George R. Wilson.
  • The town was founded in 1900.

In an interesting and related note, one other Montana community is named for a rancher’s cattle brand.  The town of Circle, which is located in the northeastern region between the communities of Glendive and Wolf Point, is named after the circle-shaped brand of an area ranch.

Main Street view of this mystery town (courtesy of Pinterest).

 

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

Two Dot

This is also the name of this mystery town in Montana.  Rancher George R. Wilson, who donated the land for the town from his vast land holdings, also went by the name of Two Dot Wilson.

Trivia’s Facts and More (2/11)

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This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

Which of the following fractions is smallest?

(A)   11/20    (B)   5/6    (C)   5/7    (D)   2/3    (E)   3/4

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

The American state of Kansas was admitted to the Union on January 29, 1861.  Its capital city is Topeka (population of 125,963).  

Here are some interesting facts about America’s 34th state:

  • Nickname:  Sunflower State.
  • Motto:  Ad Astra Per Aspera (To the Stars Through Difficulties).
  • The first woman mayor in the U.S. was Susanna Madora Salter, when she was elected mayor of Argonia in 1887.
  • Born in Atchison, Amelia Earhart, who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Located in Wichita, the largest city of Kansas, is the birthplace of Pizza Hut.  Two brothers started their small pizza business near the campus of Wichita State University in 1958.  Wichita State University students Dan and Frank Carney were the entrepreneurs of this new enterprise.  Today, their historic restaurant still stands, has been updated, and now serves as a museum.

Left:  Mayor Susanna Madora Salter.  Right:  Original Pizza Hut in Wichita.  (courtesy of Pinterest)

 

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

(A)   11/20

This is the fraction closest to 1/2.  The rest are further from and greater than 1/2.

Trivia’s Facts and More (2/4)

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This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

There are tree mistake in this sentence.  

What are they?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) served as the sixth American President from 1825-1829.  He grew up in the colony and later state of Massachusetts.

Here are some interesting facts about John Quincy Adams:

  • Member of Democratic-Republican Party (today’s Democratic Party).
  • Attended Harvard College.
  • Son of John Adams, second American President.
  • As President Monroe’s Secretary of State, he was the primary writer of the Monroe Doctrine.
  • First President to be photographed (1848).

Nicknamed “Old Man Eloquent,” Adams served in Congress for 18 years following his single term as President.  He has been the only President to return to Congress following a Presidency.  As a member of the House of Representatives, he switched political parties to the Anti-Masonic and later the Whig.

(Courtesy of Pinterest).

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

(1)  tree should be three

(2)  mistake should be mistakes

(3)  There are not three mistakes, only two, so stating there are three is a mistake.

Trivia’s Facts and More (1/28)

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This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

Rearranging the letters MEANYRG would give you the name of:

(A)  an animal

(B)  a state

(C)  a city

(D)  an ocean

(E)  a country

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

On April 9, 1959, Americans met NASA’s original seven astronauts.  Selected from a group of 32, all seven had served as military test pilots.  They would take America’s fortunes forward with Project Mercury, the nation’s first attempts at manned space flight.

Here is a brief biographical sketch of each astronaut:

  • Alan Shepherd (1923-1998), native of New Hampshire.  On May 5, 1961, he became the first American astronaut to complete a sub-orbital flight.
  • Virgil (Gus) Grissom (1926-1967), native of Indiana.  On July 21, 1961, he completed another sub-orbital flight.
  • John Glenn (1921-2016), native of Ohio.  On February 20, 1962, he successfully orbited three times around Earth.
  • Scott Carpenter (1925-2013), native of Colorado.  On February 24, 1962, he successfully orbited Earth for five hours.
  • Walter (Wally) Schirra (1923-2007), native of New Jersey.  On October 3, 1962, he completed six orbits in nine hours of flight along with completing a scientific mission.
  • Gordon Cooper (1927-2004), native of Oklahoma.  On May 15, 1963, he completed the final and longest Project Mercury mission with a duration of 34 hours spent in space. 
  • Donald (Deke) Slayton (1924-1993), native of Wisconsin.  He was grounded due to a medical condition, but he would be cleared to complete a mission in the 1970s.

Of the seven original astronauts, only Shepherd, Schirra, Grissom, and Cooper would carry out missions in the two-man Gemini flights or three-man Apollo flights.

Grissom would lose his life aboard Apollo 1 in 1967 during a training exercise accident in Florida.  Glenn would later be tapped to fly on the Space Shuttle in 1998 aboard Discovery.

(Courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

(E)  a country

MEANYRG can spell GERMANY.

Trivia’s Facts and More (1/21)

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This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

Using the root meanings, define the word MANUMIT.

(A)  to manufacture

(B)  to be masculine

(C)  to set free

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

One of nature’s most annoying insects is the stink bug.  Known to emit a smell that may resemble moist, mildewed laundry or stinky socks, these insects are quite active from springtime into autumn.

Here are a few interesting facts about the stink bug:

  • Color:  bright green, brown to gray, shiny blue-black, or red.
  • Habitat:  crop fields, orchards, and meadows.
  • Diet:  plant juices and sap.

The life cycle of the stink bug starts with a mature female who will usually lay eggs on the undersurface of foliage before winter arrives.  The eggs hatch in the spring.  Then the wingless nymphs grow into adults after several molts.

The stink bug is blessed with natural defenses.  Their awful smell discourages birds and other predators from snacking on them.  They come in many colors, which may offer the benefit of being well-camouflaged to match the color of a green leaf or even brown tree bark.

(Courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

C

The root word MAN means hand.  The root MIT means send.  MANUMIT means “to send” by “hand”–or set free.

Trivia’s Facts and More (1/14)

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This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

What letter would come next in this sequence?

O,  T,  T,  F,  F,  S,  S,  E,  ___

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

North America is blessed to be home to the second fastest animal in the world.  Second only to Africa’s cheetah, the pronghorn has the ability to reach a speed of 60 miles per hour.

Combining outstanding vision with its extraordinary speed, the pronghorn manages to avoid predators most of the time.  Both males and females have horns.  The male’s horns will grow to a length of 10-12 inches while the female’s remain as small bumps on top of her head.

Here are a few interesting facts about the pronghorn:

  • Able to survive at least a week without water
  • Habitat:  grasslands and deserts
  • Diet:  grass, low shrubs
  • Lifespan:  6-10 years
  • Able to leap up to 15 feet

As herbivores, the pronghorn digests its food twice as it eats, swallows, and then regurgitates the food from its stomach.  The animal then chews up the smaller pieces as cud, which allows for greater absorption of the food’s nutrition. 

The prairies of Montana, the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Nebraska provide the largest year-round range for the pronghorn in the United States.  They will frequently migrate up to 150 miles as they move back and forth between summer and winter feeding grounds.

Left: A young pronghorn buck. Right: Map of pronghorn year-round range in the United States. (Courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

N — for Nine