Category: Brain Teasers

Trivia: The Channel Tunnel connects which two countries?

Spain and Portugal
England and France
Germany and Denmark
Italy and Greece

The correct answer is England and France

So why is this answer correct? : The Channel Tunnel, nicknamed the “Chunnel,” is an underwater engineering marvel connecting England and France. The tunnel is 31.4 miles long and features the longest undersea portion (23.5 miles) of any tunnel worldwide. Approximately 60,000 passengers make the 35-minute trip through the Chunnel daily, and even the Olympic torch passed through the Chunnel on its way to London in 2012.

Trivia: Which hard-throwing righty played the most seasons of all time?

Roger Clemens
Nolan Ryan
Pedro Martinez
Don Sutton

The correct answer is Nolan Ryan

So why is this answer correct? : Nolan Ryan played a record 27 seasons, from 1966 to 1993, tying him with the legendary Cap Anson, who accomplished the same feat between 1871 and 1897. Throughout his career, Ryan played for the Mets, Angels, Astros, and Rangers, compiling a record 5,714 strikeouts. While those strikeout numbers are impressive, he also set the more notorious record for most walks allowed, with 2,795.

Trivia: In what year did the Panama Canal first open?

1506
1822
1914
1969

The correct answer is 1914

So why is this answer correct? : The groundbreaking Panama Canal opened its waterways in 1914, greatly reducing the travel time for ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The project was initially controlled by the U.S., but the canal finally transferred into the hands of the Panamanian government in 1999. The canal serves between 13,000 and 14,000 ships annually and was expanded in 2007 to accommodate modern megaships.

Trivia: Who was the first baseball commissioner?

Ford Frick
Bowie Kuhn
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
A.B. “Happy” Chandler

The correct answer is Kenesaw Mountain Landis

So why is this answer correct? : A former federal judge, Kenesaw Mountain Landis was appointed MLB commissioner in 1920 in the wake of the Black Sox scandal, in which the Chicago White Sox were believed to have been bribed to throw the 1919 World Series. Landis ruled the league with an iron fist, and none of his decisions were ever overturned. In 1944, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Trivia: The Big Dig was a major public works project in what American city?

New York, New York
Los Angeles, California
Boston, Massachusetts
Miami, Florida

The correct answer is Boston, Massachusetts

So why is this answer correct? : Designed to ease Boston’s congested traffic, the “Big Dig” took 25 years from start to finish and cost an estimated $24.3 billion, the most expensive highway project in U.S. history. The result of the Big Dig was a massive restructuring of Boston’s highway system, which in turn lowered the city’s carbon emissions by 12% upon its completion.

Trivia: Which team lost a record 134 games in 1899?

Washington Senators
Pittsburgh Pirates
Philadelphia Athletics
Cleveland Spiders

The correct answer is Cleveland Spiders

So why is this answer correct? : The Cleveland Spiders weren’t always the worst team in the league, as Hall of Famer Cy Young pitched for the squad between 1890 and 1898. Upon Young’s departure, however, the Spiders went a measly 20-134 in 1899, earning the most losses in a single season and finishing 84 games out of first place. The team was in such bad shape that they ceased to exist upon the season’s completion.

Trivia: China’s Duge Beipanjiang Bridge holds what distinction?

World’s longest bridge
World’s widest bridge
World’s shortest bridge
World’s highest bridge

The correct answer is World’s highest bridge

So why is this answer correct? : China’s Duge Beipanjiang Bridge stands a dizzying 1,854 feet above the Beipan River below, earning it the distinction of being the world’s highest bridge. Engineers were forced to raise the bridge even higher than initially intended to avoid cracking in the brittle mountain limestone, and it was finally completed in 2016. It now connects China’s Guizhou and Yunnan provinces.

Trivia: Who is the only World Series MVP to play for the losing team?

Bob Turley
Sandy Koufax
Johnny Podres
Bobby Richardson

The correct answer is Bobby Richardson

So why is this answer correct? : The 1960 World Series between the Pirates and Yankees was capped off with Bill Mazeroski’s Game 7 series-clinching homer. Despite Mazeroski’s heroics, the Yankees’ Bobby Richardson took home MVP honors, having driven in a World Series record of 12 runs. He also received a Corvette for winning MVP but traded it in for a Jeep that could better accommodate his family. Richardson remains the only losing player to win World Series MVP to this day.

Trivia: Southern France is home to which impressive structure?

Millau Viaduct
Sutong Bridge
Queensferry Crossing
Øresund Bridge

The correct answer is Millau Viaduct

So why is this answer correct? : Not to be confused with the aforementioned highest bridge, the Millau Viaduct is the world’s tallest bridge (a measurement of its actual structural height). Shooting up to 1,104 feet, the viaduct is located in Creissels, France, and spans the Tarn Valley. It’s 62 feet taller than another groundbreaking feat of French engineering, the Eiffel Tower.

Trivia: Honus Wagner signed a groundbreaking endorsement deal with what company?

Rawlings
Louisville Slugger
Easton
New Era

The correct answer is Louisville Slugger

So why is this answer correct? : In 1905, Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Honus Wagner signed an endorsement deal with J.F. Hillerich & Son, allowing them to use his facsimile signature on their Louisville Slugger baseball bats. Wagner was the first baseball player to sign an endorsement deal of this kind, and one of the first athletes in any sport to endorse a specific product. One of Wagner’s game-used bats from his playing career sold for a whopping $900,000 at auction in 2021.