What unusual medieval feature helped keep fish fresh?
A. Ice cellar
B. Running-water tank
C. Stone cistern
Fact: The friary’s kitchen had a running-water stone tank that kept live fish until they were ready to be cooked.
Correct Answer: Running-water tank
What is the largest number that can be represented by a single standard Roman numeral?
500
1,000
5,000
10,000
Fact: In the standard Roman numeral system, M represents 1,000, making it the largest value represented by a single Roman numeral symbol. The seven basic symbols are I for 1, V for 5, X for 10, L for 50, C for 100, D for 500, and M for 1,000. Larger numbers can be written by combining these symbols, such as MM for 2,000 or MMM for 3,000. Although extended Roman numeral systems developed ways to represent much larger values, including placing a bar over a symbol to multiply its value by 1,000, M remains the largest single symbol in the standard system.
Correct Answer: 1,000
What is the official color of the White House?
Washington Snow
Whisper White
Macaroon Cream
Ivory Pearl
Fact: It is estimated that 570 gallons of white paint are used to keep the White House its proper color. The paint used is made by Duron and named “Whisper White.” The Duron “Whisper White” paint is made in Germany, and is meant to help preserve aging buildings by allowing moisture to escape from underneath while protecting the structure from the elements. In 2019, the entire exterior was given a fresh coat of paint at $150 per gallon, so to freshen the outside of the building cost $85,000, according to the White House Historical Association.
Correct Answer: Whisper White
Which formation in Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah is nicknamed ‘Alien Throne’?
A. A mesa
B. A butte
C. A hoodoo
Fact: The ‘Alien Throne’ is a hoodoo, a tall thin spire of rock topped by a larger stone, shaped by natural erosion.
Correct Answer: A hoodoo
What does the Navajo name Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah translate to?
A. Stone water
B. Gray salt
C. Sacred earth
Fact: The name Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah comes from the Navajo term ‘áshįįh łibá,’ which means ‘gray salt’ in English.
Correct Answer: Gray salt
Which dinosaur was first found at Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah?
A. Triceratops
B. Styracosaurus
C. Pentaceratops
Fact: Charles Hazelius Sternberg discovered the first remains of Pentaceratops fenestratus here, a large horned dinosaur.
Correct Answer: Pentaceratops
Which classic American novel features the dedication, “Once again to Zelda”?
The Great Gatsby
The Catcher in the Rye
The Grapes of Wrath
Of Mice and Men
Fact: F. Scott Fitzgerald dedicated his 1925 masterpiece The Great Gatsby with the words, “Once again to Zelda,” referring to his wife, Zelda Fitzgerald. Their glamorous but turbulent marriage became intertwined with Fitzgerald’s life and writing, and Zelda served as an inspiration for several of his fictional characters. Published during the Jazz Age, The Great Gatsby depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway’s interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire obsessed with reuniting with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.
Correct Answer: The Great Gatsby
Who won the Pulitzer prize for his book “Angela’s Ashes”?
Frank McCourt
Sinclair Lewis
John Updike
Richard Powers
Fact: Frank McCourt won the Pulitzer prize for his autobiography, Angela’s Ashes, a best selling memoir named after his mother about his childhood experiences growing up in the slums of pre-war Limerick, Ireland. It also includes his struggles with poverty and his father’s alcoholism. The book was published in 1996, rose to the top of the best-seller lists and stayed there for more than two years, selling four million copies in hardback. The next year, it won the Pulitzer Prize for biography and the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Correct Answer: Frank McCourt
After finally settling for “Snoopy”, Charles Schultz originally wanted his famous beagle to be called what?
Sam
Scout
Sniffy
Slappy
Fact: Snoopy was one of Charles Schulz’s earliest Peanuts characters, appearing for the first time on October 4, 1950, just two days after the comic strip’s debut. Schulz loosely based Snoopy on a black-and-white dog he had as a teenager. The cartoonist originally planned to call his cartoon dog Sniffy, but shortly before the comic strip launched Schulz was passing a newsstand and noticed a comic magazine featuring a dog with the same name. Finding himself in need of a new name, Schulz remembered his mother’s suggestion that the family should name their next dog “Snoopy.”
Correct Answer: Sniffy
Which country music legend once lent his name to a popular chain of restaurants?
Johnny Cash
Willie Nelson
Kenny Rogers
Waylon Jennings
Fact: Kenny Rogers lent his name to Kenny Rogers Roasters, a restaurant chain founded in 1991 that specialized in wood-fired rotisserie chicken. The chain expanded rapidly throughout the 1990s, opening hundreds of locations worldwide and became part of pop culture when it was featured in a memorable episode of Seinfeld. Despite its early success, the chain eventually closed all of its U.S. locations. Kenny Rogers Roasters lived on internationally, however, finding lasting popularity in Southeast Asia, particularly in Malaysia and the Philippines.
Correct Answer: Kenny Rogers