Category: Brain Teasers

Trivia: Which classic arcade game was the best-selling of all time?

Pac-Man
Asteroids
Space Invaders
Ms. Pac-Man

The correct answer is Pac-Man

So why is this answer correct? : Outselling its nearest rival, Space Invaders, by 40,000, Namco’s Pac-Man moved over 400,000 cabinets after its 1980 release, gobbling up over $3.5 billion in quarters. Just how bad was Pac-Man fever? A song titled “Pac-Man Fever” made it to number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the book “Mastering Pac-Man” was a New York Times Bestseller.

On August 16, 2023, the U.S. Air Force announced it had awarded $235 million to which aviation start-up company to help it build a prototype of a jet with a blended-wing body?

Blackhawk Aerospace
Joby Aviation
JetZero
Airspace Link
AirMap

The correct answer is JetZero

On August 18, 2023, it was confirmed that which two countries had received approval from the U.S. to deliver long-sought F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine?

France and the United Kingdom
Netherlands and Denmark
Poland and Hungary
Italy and Spain
South Korea and Japan

The correct answer is Netherlands and Denmark

This week, divers recovered the engine from a Tuskegee Airman’s P-39 –which had crashed in a World War II training accident — from which Great Lake?

Lake Superior
Lake Huron
Lake Michigan
Lake Erie
Lake Ontario

The correct answer is Lake Huron

Trivia: Which of these states was NOT once represented by Senator James Shields?

Illinois
Minnesota
Missouri
Nevada

The correct answer is Nevada

So why is this answer correct? : James Shields is the only U.S. senator to have served three states: Illinois from 1849 to 1855, Minnesota from 1858 to 1859, and Missouri in 1879. Shields also served as a state legislator and a judge on the Illinois Supreme Court and fought as a brigadier general in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.

Trivia: Congress decided the winner of which presidential election?

1800
1876
1912
1960

The correct answer is 1876

So why is this answer correct? : The presidential election of 1876 was a bitter contest between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden, resulting in 20 disputed electoral votes across four states. Congress formed an electoral commission of five senators, five representatives, and five Supreme Court justices to determine a winner. Ultimately, this commission awarded all 20 electoral votes to Hayes, giving him a victory over Tilden by 185 to 184.

Trivia: Who was the oldest individual ever to serve in the Senate?

John Dingell
Daniel Inouye
Chuck Grassley
Strom Thurmond

The correct answer is Strom Thurmond

So why is this answer correct? : Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina was the oldest person to serve in Congress, turning 100 years old just one month before his retirement in January 2003. On the flip side, John H. Eaton, a senator from Tennessee, became the youngest U.S. Senator after being sworn in at just 28 years and 5 months old in 1818.

Trivia: Which President served in the House after leaving the presidency?

John Quincy Adams
William Henry Harrison
Ulysses S. Grant
William Howard Taft

The correct answer is John Quincy Adams

So why is this answer correct? : After serving as the sixth U.S. President from 1825 to 1829, John Quincy Adams continued his political work as a member of the House of Representatives. Adams served the people of Massachusetts’ 8th, 11th, and 12th districts from 1831 until his death in 1848.

Trivia: Opposing parties of Congress compete each year in what sport?

Kickball
Basketball
Softball
Baseball

The correct answer is Baseball

So why is this answer correct? : In 1909, the first Congressional Baseball Game was organized by Pennsylvania Representative John Tener, who spent time as a professional baseball player before being elected to Congress. The game was held intermittently until the mid-1940s, due to interruptions from the Great Depression and World War II, but has been played regularly every year since 1962.

Trivia: What is the second-highest-ranking Senate position?

Majority leader
Chair of policy
President pro tempore
Majority whip

The correct answer is President pro tempore

So why is this answer correct? : A major duty of the president pro tempore is presiding over the Senate in case the Vice President — the chamber’s highest-ranking officer — cannot attend. In addition to filling in for the VP, the president pro tempore makes appointments to various national commissions and advisory boards, among other duties. Since the mid-20th century, the role has gone to the majority party’s most senior member.