Category: Brain Teasers

Trivia: Congress falls under which governmental branch?

Executive
Judicial
Legislative
None of the above

The correct answer is Legislative

So why is this answer correct? : The U.S. government breaks down into three branches — executive, judicial, and legislative — and Congress falls under the legislative branch. As legislative bodies, the Senate and House draft laws, confirm federal nominees, and authorize declarations of war, among other duties essential to the country’s system of checks and balances.

Trivia: Who was the first female Speaker of the House?

Condoleezza Rice
Janet Reno
Nancy Pelosi
Sarah Palin

The correct answer is Nancy Pelosi

So why is this answer correct? : On January 4, 2007, current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the first woman to be handed the coveted gavel. The Speaker is second in the presidential succession line after the Vice President. Before Kamala Harris was elected Vice President in the 2020 election, Pelosi was the closest a woman had ever been to the presidential seat. Pelosi recently began serving her fourth term as Speaker on January 3, 2021.

Trivia: Who is called upon to vote in order to break a tie in the Senate?

President
Vice President
Speaker of the House
Press Secretary

The correct answer is Vice President

So why is this answer correct? : The Vice President, who also holds the title of President of the Senate, is only allowed a vote in Senate affairs if there is a tie, according to Article I of the Constitution. This is an important rule because it happens fairly frequently. Since 1789, the Vice President has had to vote in 291 tie-breakers. Since Kamala Harris took her position as Vice President in 2021, she has had to vote in over 20 tie-breakers.

Trivia: Which of these cities has NOT served as the U.S. capital?

Washington, D.C.
Boston
New York City
Philadelphia

The correct answer is Boston

So why is this answer correct? : New York City served as the U.S. capital from 1785 until 1790, when legislation established national land near the Potomac River that would eventually become Washington, D.C. The first Congress, which began in 1789, met at Federal Hall on Wall Street in lower Manhattan. Philadelphia served as the interim capital between 1790 and 1800, when the seat of Congress moved to Washington.

On August 18, 1940, the Luftwaffe launched massive raids on RAF targets in southern England, destroying 68 British aircraft in an event dubbed with what moniker?

The Reckoning
The Full Catastrophe
The Hardest Day
The Dog’s Dinner
The Longest Day

The correct answer is The Hardest Day

The Civil War Battle of Globe Tavern — in which Union forces successfully destroyed a strategic section of the Weldon Railroad — began on August 18, 1864, in which state?

Virginia
Georgia
North Carolina
Tennessee
Alabama

The correct answer is Virginia

France’s victory over the Germans at the Battle of Gravelotte — one of the bloodiest engagements of the Franco-Prussian War — occurred on August 18th of what year?

1572
1686
1789
1870
1903

The correct answer is 1870

On December 23, 1783, George Washington resigned his commission as commander in chief of the Continental Army at what location?

West Point, New York
Annapolis, Maryland
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Concord, Massachusetts
Saratoga Springs, New York

The correct answer is Annapolis, Maryland

What fraternal organization formed by Continental Army officers in 1783 was criticized — at the time — as an attempt to impose a hereditary aristocracy on the American republic?

Knights of Pythias
Sons of the Liberty
Military Order of the Carabao
Order of the Star Spangled Banner
Society of the Cincinnati

The correct answer is Society of the Cincinnati

What was the 1783 plot against the Confederation Congress by Continental Army officers — angry over post-war pensions — that was defused by a personal plea from George Washington?

Babington Plot
Burr Conspiracy
Gunpowder Plot‎
Newburgh Conspiracy
Atterbury Plot

The correct answer is Newburgh Conspiracy