Tag Archives: brain teaser

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

Trivia’s Facts and More (1/7)

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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

If a doctor gives you three pills, telling you to take one very half hour, how many minutes will pass from taking the first pill to the last pill?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

The Cornhusker State of Nebraska entered the American Union on March 1, 1867.  Following the end of the American Civil War, the Nebraska Territory was the first one granted admission to statehood.

While the city of Omaha has been the most populated one in the state, Lincoln has been the capital city.  According to the 2022 U.S. Census, Omaha’s population stood at 486,051 while Lincoln’s was 291,082.

Here are a few interesting facts about Nebraska:

  • State Bird:  Western meadowlark
  • State Flower:  Goldenrod
  • State Motto:  Equality Before the Law

Chimney Rock, located in northwestern Nebraska at Deadwood Gulch, was one of the most noted landmarks on the Oregon Trail.  The Nebraska Legislature has been the only one in the United States to use a single house chamber (unicameral).  The original nickname for the state was the “Tree Planter’s State.”

Left: Chimney Rock. Right: The football Cornhuskers’ Memorial Stadium on the University of Nebraska campus. (Courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

60 minutes.

Trivia’s Facts and More (12/31)

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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

Put these statements in the right order.

(A) A woman tries on a dress.

(B) A woman buys a hat.

(C) A man buys a dress.

(D) A woman returns a dress to a store.

(E) A man gives his wife a present.

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

Once a month, a special post will be published with something related to the given month.  With the start of a new year just around the corner, it seems appropriate to look at a New Year’s tradition of many Americans.

A traditional southern dish is prepared by many families.  It is called “Hoppin’ John,” and is eaten in the southern United States on New Year’s Day.  The dish dates back to the 1800s, and the main ingredients are black-eyes peas (cow peas), rice, and pork (usually ham or bacon).  Additional sides may include collard greens and corn bread.

By preparing and eating this dish, one hopes to experience luck in the year to come.  Some families may eat the dish on New Year’s Eve while most will enjoy it on New Year’s Day.  

Some of the ingredients of “Hoppin’ John” carry symbolic importance.

  • Black-eyed peas:  represent coins
  • Collard greens:  represent greenbacks (dollars) or cash
  • Corn bread:  represents gold
  • Pork:  recalls cheap cuts of meat provided to enslaved people

One customary act is to eat all but three of the black-eyed peas on one’s plate.  This will promise a trio of benefits:  luck, wealth, and romance.

Courtesy of Pinterest.

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

C, E, A, D, B

Trivia’s Facts and More (12/24)

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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

The 22nd and 24th U.S. President had the same parents, but they were not brothers.  How could this be?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

Today’s post features six of my favorite Christmas movies.  They will be listed in chronological order from the oldest to the most recent.  If you feel like sharing your favorite Christmas movie, please leave a comment for other readers to see.  Merry Christmas!

“It’s a Wonderful Life”  (1946)

Starring:  James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore

An angel was summoned to save George Bailey, a frustrated businessman.  The director was Frank Capra, and this film was one of his favorites.  The screenplay was based upon a short story, “The Greatest Gift.”

“Miracle on 34th Street”  (1947)

Starring:  Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O’Hara, John Payne

The setting was New York City, and Macy’s Department Store became the center of much of the film’s story.  A very young Natalie Wood played the six year-old daughter.  Of course, Santa stole the show in the end.  

“Holiday Affair”  (1949)

Starring:  Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey

This romantic-comedy followed the life of a young widow and her son as she must choose between her “boring” attorney and a down on his luck vagabond.  The screenplay was based upon the story, “Christmas Gift.”

“White Christmas”  (1954)

Starring:  Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen

A successful song and dance duo assisted two sisters in saving a failing Vermont Inn as Christmas approaches without any snow on the ground.  Bing Crosby sang the classic Irving Berlin song of “White Christmas” as the film’s finale, but he had previously sung the song in two other films:  “Holiday Inn” (1942) and “Blue Skies” (1946).

“A Charlie Brown Christmas”  (1965)

This made for TV movie was the first attempt of cartoonist George Schulz to bring his characters to life on the silver screen.  Most of the children’s voices were those of real children.  

“The Christmas Card”  (2006)

Starring:  Ed Asner, John Newton, Alice Evans, Lois Nettleton

This modern-day Hallmark movie brought an American soldier to a small town, guided by an inspirational Christmas card.  The movie was filmed on location in Nevada City, California and Park City, Utah.  

Below are single images from each film (courtesy of Pinterest).  Starting from the left and going clockwise:  Donna Reed and Jimmy Stewart, Edmund Gwenn and Natalie Wood, Janet Leigh and Robert Mitchum, Bing Crosby joined by Rosemary Clooney with Vera-Ellen and Danny Kaye, the Peanuts cast, and John Newton and Ed Asner.

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

They were the same man–Grover Cleveland, the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms.