Critically Thinking About Our 250th Anniversary - 3
I thought that I would recognize this special week by posting a few articles relating to our 250th Anniversary. The prior one was from the inimitable Sharyl Attkisson. She called it “My American Trivia Quiz”. Part 2 had just the questions, but this one (Part 3) has the answers as well. Enjoy!—————————————————————————
Test your red, white, and blue knowledge with this fun mix of easy, medium-challenge, and patriotic questions. Take it to the barbecue! Answers follow.
The Questions and Answers —
1. How many stars are on the current American flag?
Answer: 50 – One for each state.
2. What is the national bird of the United States?
Answer: The bald eagle.
3. Which city was the Declaration of Independence signed in?
Answer: Philadelphia.
4. How many original colonies were there?
Answer: 13.
5. What does the motto “E pluribus unum” mean?
Answer: Out of many, one.
6. Who was the first President of the United States?
Answer: George Washington.
7. What is the smallest state by land area?
Answer: Rhode Island.
8. Which state is known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”?
Answer: Minnesota.
9. What year was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
Answer: 1776.
10. Who wrote most of the Declaration of Independence?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson.
11. In which state would you find Mount Rushmore?
Answer: South Dakota.
12. What are the colors of the U.S. flag officially called?
Answer: Old Glory Red, White, and Blue (or simply red, white, and blue).
13. Who gifted the Statue of Liberty to the U.S.?
Answer: France.
14. What is the capital of the United States?
Answer: Washington, D.C.
15. Which president appears on the $5 bill?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln.
16. What is the longest river in the United States?
Answer: The Missouri River (it edges out the Mississippi when measured end-to-end).
17. Which amendment abolished slavery?
Answer: The 13th Amendment.
18. What is the nickname of New York City?
Answer: The Big Apple.
19. Who was the only U.S. president to serve more than two terms?
Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt.
20. In what year did the U.S. purchase Alaska from Russia?
Answer: 1867.
21. What sport is known as America’s pastime?
Answer: Baseball.
22. Which state was the first to ratify the Constitution?
Answer: Delaware.
23. What is the tallest mountain in the contiguous U.S.?
Answer: Mount Whitney (in California).
24. Which president is on Mount Rushmore along with Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln?
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt.
25. What famous document was signed on July 4, 1776?
Answer: The Declaration of Independence.
26. Which U.S. state is the only one that can be typed with one row of a QWERTY keyboard?
Answer: Alaska.
27. What is the national anthem of the United States?
Answer: The Star-Spangled Banner.
28. Which city is home to the Liberty Bell?
Answer: Philadelphia.
29. Who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic (an American icon)?
Answer: Amelia Earhart.
30. What American battle do most historians consider to be among the top five (5) most important battles in the history of the World?
Answer: Saratoga (Revolutionary War: 1777).
31. Which fast food item is often called America’s national dish?
Answer: The hamburger.
32. In which state is the Grand Canyon located?
Answer: Arizona.
33. Who invented the light bulb (U.S. inventor)?
Answer: Thomas Edison.
34. What is the largest park in the continental U.S.?
Answer: The Adirondack Park.
35. Which state has produced the most U.S. presidents?
Answer: Virginia (home to eight presidents).
36. What year did the first Moon landing occur with American astronauts?
Answer: 1969 (Apollo 11).
37. Which amendment guarantees freedom of speech?
Answer: The First Amendment.
38. What is the largest state by land area?
Answer: Alaska.
39. Who was the first African American president?
Answer: Barack Obama.
40. What famous bridge connects San Francisco to Marin County?
Answer: The Golden Gate Bridge.
41. Which holiday is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November?
Answer: Thanksgiving.
42. What is the name of the U.S. space agency?
Answer: NASA.
43. Which baseball team is famously associated with Babe Ruth?
Answer: New York Yankees.
44. What is the official flower of the United States?
Answer: The rose.
45. Which president delivered the Gettysburg Address?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln.
46. What do historians consider to be the most important US sporting event (all sports) in the last 100 years?
Answer: US hockey team defeating Russians in the 1980 Olympics
47. Which singer is known as the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”?
Answer: Elvis Presley.
48. What is the name of the famous Philadelphia sandwich with thinly sliced beef and cheese?
Answer: The cheesesteak (Philly cheesesteak).
49. Which national park was the first established in the U.S.?
Answer: Yellowstone National Park.
50. What does the bald eagle hold in its talons on the Great Seal of the United States? Answer: An olive branch (peace) and arrows (war).
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In 1970, I was in Philadelphia with my five year old daughter...and we went to see the Liberty Bell. I think she even touched it. We also visited Boston and went to see Plymouth Rock, then drove north to Canada and stayed in the Frontenac Hotel in Quebec. My daughter got the traveling bug and has spent a lifetime traveling worldwide. As for me, I like to keep my feet on the ground...and have driven all over the United States. I have driven across the USA five times by myself...and five other times with family members.
I lived 2 decades at 42 Peck Slip built in 1873 with the Brooklyn Bridge & East River my view , and the Paris Cafe downstairs , named I'm sure for marketing purposes , when the French gifted the Statue of Liberty .