Previous Challenges, their answers and winners:
February 26, 2010:
Name the only two countries south of the equator that have ever won medals at the Olympic Winter Games.
Answer: To be announced in next week's newsletter.
Winner: To be announced in next week's newsletter.
February 12, 2010:
Which US State produces the most roses?
Answer: California
Winner: Saundra Smith, of Alexandria, MN
February 5, 2010:
Which NFL Football Team has won the most Super Bowls?
Answer: Pittsburgh, with 6 Super Bowl titles.
Winner: Dennis Kinsey, of Pleasant Lake, IN
December 10, 2009:
The largest iceberg ever recorded worldwide was 207 miles long and 62 miles wide. Where was it found?
Answer: In the Antartic, off the Ross Ice Shelf.
Winner: Eleanor Landers, of Wilmington, MA
November 24, 2009:
Which U.S. Car Manufacturer posted its first quarterly profits in 4 years?
Answer: Ford, with a net income of $997 million for the third quarter of 2009.
Winner: Ben Samson, of Cedarhurst, NY
October 26, 2009:
Which U.S. state receives the least amount of average rainfall each year?
Answer: Nevada, on average gets the least amount of precipitation.
Winner: Rick Williamson, of Warsaw, IN
August 14, 2009:
What is the smallest National Park in the United States National Park System?
Answer: Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial
Winner: Sylvia E. Gruber, of Mineola, NY
July 3, 2009:
Three American Presidents died on the Fourth of July. Can you name 2 of them?
Answer: John Adams (July 4, 1826); Thomas Jefferson (July 4, 1826); James Monroe (July 4, 1831)
Winner: Mary Buswell, of Haverhill, MA
May 14, 2009:
What is the name and breed of the First Dog?
Answer: Bo, A Portuguese Water Dog
Winner: Juanita Smallwood, of New Castle, DE
April 24, 2009:
What is the United States National Tree?
Answer: The Oak Tree
Winner: John Kijek, of Kingston, PA
April 10, 2009:
According to US News and World Report, what US city is the most affordable place to retire?
Answer: Binghamton, NY
Winner: Sonia Loigman, of Philadelphia, PA
March 28, 2009:
As a percentage of US Households, what was the most watched US TV program?
Answer: The Ed Sullivan Show: Elvis Presley's first appearance with 82.6% of households.
Winner: Shirley Younger, of Bala Cynwyd, PA
March 18, 2009:
What is the most visited web site on the Internet?
Answer: Google. Next in Line: 2. Yahoo; 3. Facebook; 4. YouTube; 5. MySpace
Winner: Charlie Patrick, of Rushsylvania, OH
February 26, 2009:
What famous inventor's father invented modern day plywood?
Answer: Alfred Nobel
Winner: Joseph Fritz, of Cicero, NY
February 18, 2009:
Which US President held both the office of Vice-President the office of President while never having been elected to either?
Answer: Gerald Ford
Winner: Joe Cronin, of Salt Lake City, UT
February 9, 2009:
What is the Greek word for Cupid, God of Love?
Answer: Eros
Winner: John Gill, of Riverside, CA
January 30, 2009:
Goundhog Day: Where does Punxsutawney Phil make his yearly prediction?
Answer: Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
Winner: Dorothy Clark, of Baltimore, MD
January 22, 2009:
Which US President gave the shortest inaugural speech?
Answer: George Washington in his second inaugural speech in 1793.
Winner: Ellie Moore, of Schenectady, NY
January 15, 2009:
Which US Presidential Inauguration had the largest attendance?
Answer: Lyndon B. Johnson with 1.2 million people in attendance.
Winner: Charles Patrick, of Rushsylvania, OH
December 10, 2008:
Of the big three US automakers, which company is not publically traded?
Answer: Chrysler
Winner: Irvin Cooperman, of Memphis, TN
November 20, 2008:
The first Thanksgiving football game was started in 1934 by which team?
Answer: Detroit Lions. It was their first year in Detroit after a local radio executive, George A. Richards, had purchased the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans and moved the team to Detroit.
Winner: Michael Holota, of Redford, MI
November 11, 2008:
Where does the Vice President of the United States live while in office?
Answer: In July 1974 Congress designated a house on the southeast
corner of 34th Street and Massachusetts Avenue in Washington DC where the
vice president of the United States would live. Located on the grounds
of the United States Naval Observatory, the house was built in 1893
for the Superintendent of the Observatory.
Winner: Dick Tineo, of Brooklyn, NY
October 28, 2008:
In the past 100 years, the decision in which state has predicted the presidential outcome most frequently?
Answer: Missouri
Winner: Arlene Fagga, of Bristol, VT
October 17, 2008:
Which US University or College has the largest endowment?
Answer: Harvard, with over $36 million as of 2007.
Winner: Teresa Foley, of Turtle Creek, PA
October 8, 2008:
Which US State consumed the most gasoline last year?
Answer: California, averaging 8.0234 million gallons per day.
Winner: Lucy Young, of Smithtown, NY
September 9, 2008:
What is the largest building (square footage) in the United States?
Answer: The Palazzo, a new casino resort in Las Vegas, NV at 6.9 million sq ft. The Pentagon, the former largest building in the US, is 6.6 million sq ft.
Winner: Mary Smith, of Oklahoma City, OK
August 29, 2008:
Denver is known as the Mile High City, so what is the highest State Capital, in elevation, in the United States?
Answer: Santa Fe, NM at approximately 7,000 feet
Winner: Janice Frederickson, of Aurora, CO
August 15, 2008:
Who was the oldest athlete ever to participate in an Olympic event?
Answer: Oscar Swahn was 72 years old when he competed in the 1920 Olympic games and he won a silver medal in shooting.
Winner: Robert Hicks, of Colcord, OK
August 8, 2008:
Which country is first in line during the Olympics’ Opening Ceremony's Parade of Nations?
Answer: Greece
Winner: Roberta Giller, of Williamsville, NY
July 25, 2008:
What do the seven rays on the Statute of Liberty's crown represent?
Answer: The seven seas and continents of the world.
Winner: Deanna Jagusak, of Cranford NJ
July 9, 2008:
Which US city had the largest fireworks display this July 4, 2008?
Answer: New York City, NY
Winner: Fred Sieber, of Rogers, AZ
June 24, 2008:
What body of water was recently designated the fifth ocean by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)?
Answer: In 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization created the fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - from the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean completely surrounds Antarctica.
Winner: Janice Danielsen, of Long Beach, CA
June 4, 2008:
What chemical element, found in the periodic table, is the most abundant element in the universe?
Answer: Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the known universe and makes up about 90% of the universe by weight.
Winner: Dianne Ervin, of Dracut, MA
May 21, 2008:
What is the oldest park in the National Park System?
Answer: Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is technically America's first national park, but Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas was initially created by an act of the United States Congress on April 20, 1832, and the area was made a national park on March 4, 1921. We accepted both answers.
Winner: Jewel Hannah, of Birmingham, AL
May 7, 2008:
What is the highest officially recorded number of children born to one mother?
Answer: 69. To the first wife of Feodor Vassilyev (1707-1782) of Shuya, Russia.
Winner: Lou Goutman, of Commerce Township, MI
April 25, 2008:
According to the US Census Bureau, what is the smallest city by population in the United States? (Hint: Looking for a city not a town.)
Answer: We accepted a couple of answers for this one. Maza, North Dakota had a population of 5 in 2000 and Tenney, Minnesota had a population of 5 in 2006. Hove Mobile Park, North Dakota had a population of 2 in 2000, but the city government of Hove Mobile Park was dissolved in 2002. Many submitted New Amsterdam, IN with a population of 1, but according to the US Census, New Amsterdam is a town, not a city.
Winner: David Ockene, of Mount Vernon, NY
April 18, 2008:
What is the 4th largest city by population in the United States?
Answer: Houston, TX
Winner: Nancy Matzen, of Hudsonville MI
April 11, 2008:
Where is the oldest remaining schoolhouse in the United States?
Answer: Staten Island, NY in 1696.
Winner: Jasmine Melzer, of Brooklyn, NY
April 2, 2008:
In what city did the first "recorded" baseball contest take place?
Answer: Hoboken, New Jersey in 1846.
Winner: Patti Sauvinet, of Espanola, NM
March 21, 2008:
How is the date for Easter Sunday determined in the United States?
Answer: It is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.
Winner: Melanie Hansen, of Littleton, CO
March 14, 2008:
What is the newest National Park in the United States?
Answer: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Established in 2004.
Winner: Pat Douglas, of Williamsburg, PA
February 29, 2008:
Which US state has the most ski areas?
Answer: New York
Winner: Carol Rashleger, of New York City, NY
February 13, 2008:
What US state produces about 75% of the total flowers produced in the United States?
Answer: California
Winner: Barbara Lockyer, of Jacksonville, FL
February 6, 2008:
What is the foggiest place in the entire United States?
Answer: Cape Disappointment, Washington
Winner: Debra Smith, of Melvindale, MI
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