Category Archives: Facts and Trivia

Trivia’s Facts and More (9/17)

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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

You are competing in a linear race and overtake the runner in second place.  In which position are you now?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

One of North America’s most-enduring animals is the coyote.  Living throughout much of the continent, these adaptive mammals no longer have any primary predators.  Their range has grown steadily over the years, and their population is likely at an all-time high.

The wily coyote will howl at the moon, much like a wolf.  It possesses a bushy tail, very similar to a fox.  Because of these characteristics, coyotes are sometimes mistaken for a wolf or a fox.

Feasting on a diet of rodents, rabbits, birds, reptiles, frogs, small animals, and even deer, the coyote is usually blessed with an abundance of available food.  Fortunately in the world of animation, Wile E. Coyote is still chasing the cunning Roadrunner.

Coyote roaming during wintertime (note the bushy, fox-like tail). (courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

Second place.  You overtook the second runner and took his place, therefore you are not in second.

Trivia’s Facts and More (9/10)

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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

Suppose a bird is standing in a closed box that is resting on a scale.  When the bird flies in the box, does the scale read the same, more, or less than when the bird is resting?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

As one of the smaller states in the American Union, Maryland’s geography features contrast between the eastern Chesapeake and Atlantic shores and the western Appalachian Mountains.

Here are some quick facts about the Old Line State:

  • Capital City:  Annapolis (home of the United States Naval Academy)
  • Bird:  Baltimore oriole (nickname of Baltimore’s major league baseball team)
  • Motto:  Fatti Maschii, Parole Femine (Strong Deeds, Gentle Words)

The State House, which is located in Annapolis, was occupied in 1799.  It is the oldest such building in the United States.  One note of history is that the building served briefly as the nation’s capitol from November 26, 1783 to August 23, 1784.

Maryland’s State House. (courtesy of Pinterest.)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

When the bird flies, it pushes down on the air, which pushes down on the scale.  The scale reads the same.

Trivia’s Facts and More (9/3)

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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 four people in a line.  Sarah is between Barry and Mary.  Mary is in front of two other people, and John is directly in front of Mary.  Who is first in line, second, third, and fourth?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

The American space program is looking toward future manned flights to the moon after nearly 50 years since the last NASA mission.  

Many people can recall when the first time human steps touched the lunar surface.  On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 was launched with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins aboard.

Days later, Armstrong and Aldrin landed the lunar module, named “Eagle,” on the moon’s surface.  The landing did not go quite according to plan, but the two astronauts made manual adjustments as they descended.

Both of the moon walkers left footprints on the lunar surface.  These will remain visible indefinitely because of the moon’s lack of wind.  

Astronauts Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin prepare to board Apollo 11 and make history. (courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

From first to last:  John, Mary, Sarah, Barry,  Hint:  Look at the statement that gives the most direct information.  It is the last statement:  “John is directly in front of Mary.”

Trivia’s Facts and More (8/27)

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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 day follows the day before yesterday if two days from now will be Sunday?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

Massachusetts’ own John Adams followed Virginian George Washington as President of the United States in 1797.  Despite being a one-term President, he served his country with distinction.

Because of his commitment to establishing and strengthening the country’s navy, Adams is sometimes referred to as the “Father of the Navy.”  He was the first President to live in the new Executive Mansion, later called the White House.  He was also the father of the sixth American President, John Quincy Adams.

His loving relationship with his wife, Abigail, has been well-researched from the many letters shared between the two of them.  Over 1,000 of these letters have been preserved.  Together, they witnessed many historical events in the formation of their young nation.

Adams death occurred on July 4, 1826, on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.  His political rival, chief writer of the Declaration, and America’s third President, Thomas Jefferson, also died on the same day.

Gilbert Stuart’s official portrait of President Adams. (courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

Thursday.  The key is to realize that “now” must be Friday.

Trivia’s Facts and More (8/20)

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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 can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, and has a bed but never sleeps?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

Many Americans know some facts about the first President of the United States, George Washington.  Here are a few to note.

Before becoming a soldier and military leader, he spent some of his younger years as a surveyor.  He was home schooled on the family plantation in Westmoreland County in the Colony of Virginia.  This was quite common for youth growing up in many of the southern colonies.

Here are some lesser known facts about “The Father of His Country.”  Prior to being elected President, Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention which crafted the iconic American Constitution, which is still used to this day.

Few people can remember which political party he was affiliated with during his time as President.  Washington was the only President to never be tied to a specific political party.

In his farewell address at the end of his second term in office, President Washington expressed his disdain for political parties.  He felt that the young country should function without them.  His words from this speech spoke with the following vision:

“[The spirit of party] serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration.  It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection.”

In 1796, Gilbert Stuart painted this life-size portrait of President Washington. (courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

A river.

Trivia’s Facts and More (8/13)

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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

Complete the analogy:  MUSIC is to VIOLIN as . . .

(a) NOTES is to COMPOSER   (b) SOUND is to MUSICAL INSTRUMENT   (c) DRAWING is to CRAYON   (d) FURNITURE is to CARPENTRY TOOLS   (e) SYMPHONY is to PIANO

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

The state of South Dakota was granted statehood on November 2, 1889.  Many people are familiar with its most famous landmark, Mount Rushmore.  Who are the four presidents depicted there, and what order are they arranged?  Answers to follow.

Fewer people have probably heard of the Corn Palace in Mitchell.  If one travels on Interstate 90 between Rapid City and Sioux Falls, the journey will go through Mitchell.  The exterior of the building is decorated with native corn, grain, and grasses arranged into large murals.  

The four Presidents found on Mount Rushmore in the following order are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

Here is the Corn Palace in all of its glory. The theme and murals change annually. The upper portion above the entrance has not been finished when this photo was taken. (courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

“D”

Put MUSIC and VIOLIN in a sentence relating the two words.  Music is played on a violin by someone who knows how to play it; just as furniture is created by carpentry tools by a person who knows how to use them.  NOTE:  Anyone can draw with a crayon, and a symphony is not played with a piano, but with an orchestra.

Trivia’s Facts and More (8/6)

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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

An explorer found a silver coin marked 7 B.C.  He was told it was a forgery.  Why?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

The state of Wyoming is often referred to as the Cowboy State.  The capital city is Cheyenne, which is located just north of the Colorado state line. 

Admitted to the Union on July 10, 1890, Wyoming later adopted a motto of “Equal Rights.”  There is significance in this state motto as exemplified by these three facts:

  • The Wyoming Territory gave women the right to vote in 1869, which is well ahead of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote in both state and federal elections.
  • Nellie Tayloe Ross was elected governor of the state in 1925.  She was the first woman governor in the United States.
  • One of Wyoming’s nicknames is “Equality State.”
Wyoming Governor Nellie Tayloe Ross. (Photo courtesy of Pinterest.)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

The label B.C. only could have come into usage after 0 B.C.  Therefore, the coin could not have been minted in 7 B.C.

Trivia’s Facts and More (7/30)

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This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing.  Please note that the format has changed, and you are encouraged to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

The opposite of the word PRECURSORY means:

(a) flamboyant  (b) succeeding  (c) cautious  (d) simple  (e) not planned

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

Many readers have tasted Little Debbie bakery treats.  Some of these may have included:  Nutty Buddy, Zebra Cakes, and Swiss Roll. 

Here’s a curious question:  Where did the name “Little Debra” come from?

Founder O. D. McKee began the business in 1934.  Somehow the struggling enterprise survived the Great Depression.  In 1960, O. D. and his wife, Ruth, began selling their snack cakes with a change in the packaging.  The new image featured a smiling face of a real “Little Debbie.”  Sales began to climb to the business’ highest levels.

“Little Debbie” is Debbie McKee-Fowler, the Executive Vice President of McKee Foods, the makers of Little Debbie bakery products.  

Photo courtesy of Pinterest.

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

(B) PRE means before, CURS means to run.  So PRECURSORY means to run (or go) before.  The opposite is running or going after or “succeeding.”

Trivia’s Facts and More (7/23)

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This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing.  Please note that the format has changed, and you are encouraged to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

Make one word from these jumbled letters:

o    r    e    n    o    d    w

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

The bobcat is the most abundant and wide-ranging wildcat in the United States.  Its name is derived from its stumpy (bobbed) tail.  Being primarily a nocturnal animal, males may roam up to 20 miles in a night.

Believe it or not, the alma mater of Big Sky Buckeye is Montana State University where the prized “Bobcat” is the school’s mascot.

Photo courtesy of Pinterest.

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

one word

Curious Trivial Facts (7/9)

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This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing.  We can all appreciate some of the lesser known facts from around the world.

The term “paparazzi” comes from Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita.”  In the film, Marcello Mastroianni writes a gossip column, and Walter Santesso plays his coworker, a tabloid photographer whose name is Paparazzo.

Albert Einstein’s facial characteristics inspired the look of three popular film characters:  E.T. had Einstein’s eyes, Yoda had his forehead, and Emmett Brown in “Back to the Future” had his hair.

These facts have been discovered in I NEVER KNEW THAT by David Hoffman (2009).