MR’s De-Evolution Quiz – HistoGeography…..
Running a few minutes late on getting this Posted due to an emergency water line repair I had to make at my Sister-in-Laws, but, all is now in the dry…… So-o-o, Same-o, Same-o….. Points are “Relative”, but, usually one for one (More or Less, + or -, depending on MR’s mood at the time)….. A little History and Geography this time…..
1. What did Betsy Ross have to do with the American Flag?
2. When did “The Star-Spangled Banner“ become the national anthem? This one has an interesting background every American should know.
3. How many islands are part of the Hawaiian Islands?
4. Where is the largest Chinese settlement outside the Orient?
5. Where is the Pole of Inaccessibility?
6. How did the piggy bank get its name?
7. What’s the smallest country on Earth?
8. Which U.S. state is known as the Land of Steady Habits?
The Clock is running…….
January 18th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
1. I think she sewed the first one (but didn’t design it).
2. I believe the song was written long before it became the national anthem, which I think was in the 1800’s (how’s that for precision?)
3. 9?
4. The “Orient”? The Orient historically meant the middle east, and more recently Asia. I’m guessing you must mean outside of Asia? And what do you mean by settlement? Just the place (city? country?) with the largest Chinese population outside of Asia? Not sure what exactly you’re looking for here, but if I had to venture I guess I’d say the United Arab Emirates.
5. I don’t know, it’s not reachable 😉
6. Is this a trick question? They were banks shaped like pigs.
7. Antigua?
8. No idea on this — Kansas?
January 18th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
5. Magnetic monopole
January 18th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
3. I don’t know, but it has to be a lot more than 9.
5. Point Nemo?
7. The Vatican City?
January 19th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
4 San Francisco.
January 19th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Can we use Wikipedia? I have the answer for piggy bank but will not post until you decide…..Oh Grand Poo Bah.
January 19th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
7. Monaco. I think Vatican nailed it though.
5. Pole of inaccessibility! Right! Won’t even comment cause everyone is thinking it.
January 19th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
2. When: during/after the civil war? The melody is based on some British song, but I can’t remember which one.
3. 15
4. Brazil or New York?
January 21st, 2008 at 8:40 am
I wasn’t expecting this many comments over the week-end, or, I would have checked the blog….. Busy over the week-end chopping up tree remains from the ice storm in December….. Let me review them and get back to everyone in the next few hours…… I will say there are some right on – some close – and some WAG’s……
January 21st, 2008 at 10:19 am
Let’s hit ’em one question at a time…..
1. TTop gets One (1) Point for knowing she didn’t design it. It was designed by Francis Hopkinson, a naval flag designer, who was never reimbursed for his services by the U.S. Government. Although we’ve all been taught that she sewed the first flag, my source states there is no record of Betsy Ross’s commission to do so. That takes care of #1.
2. I’m giving TTop a Half (1/2) Point for pointing out that it was written in the 1800’s, Over a hundred years (hint) before Congress adopted the four-stanza song as the national anthem. Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics in 1814. I’m giving a Half (1/2) Point to Jek for knowing the melody was British. Here’s the good part – The melody is from an eighteenth-century drinking song called “To Anacreon in Heaven” by British composer John Stafford Smith. (Anacreon was a Greek lyric poet [563-478 B.C.] associated with love and wine.) Our National Anthem is a drinking song!….
3. I’m giving Zook a Half (1/2) Point for stating that there are a lot more than 9 islands (Add a hundred and then some – hint). There are eight (8) main islands – Hawaii, Kahoolawe, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau. The islands are spread over 1,500 square miles.
4. Anon gets the One (1) Point. San Francisco’s Chinatown district. It covers only about 12 square blocks.
5. I’ll cover this one in a separate comment.
6. The reason banks are shaped like pigs is what I’m acually looking for. Anon, I thought we were not going to use Wikipedia.
7. Zook hit it on the head and gets the One (1) Point. It is Vatican City, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome. At 0.16 square mile, it is less than half the size of the next smallest country, Monaco (0.4 square mile). Vatican City became an independent country in 1929. Its 750 inhabitants are ruled by the Pope and a committee of three Cardinals.
8. It is not Kansas.
January 21st, 2008 at 10:59 am
#8: Connecticut
January 21st, 2008 at 12:10 pm
According to Wikipedia the “Piggy” in Piggy banks refers to the type of clay originally used to make the banks.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:35 am
Izard picks up One (1) Point for #8 – Connecticut….. Anon, as I mentioned in Comment No. 9, I thought we were NOT going to use Wikipedia and/or other internet based search engines….. This was left over from when you were Quizmaster, but, since you have and answered the “Piggy” question, I’ll put it to a vote:
All participants that want restrictions on answer retrival vote “Yep” – Opposed vote “No Way”….
Anon, I’m going to go ahead and give you only a Half (1/2) Point for #6 for using Wikipedia this time….. Here’s the answer I have – In the Middle Ages, people stored money in a “pygg jar,” made of a clay called pygg. By the eighteenth century in England, the name and shape of the receptacle had evolved to “pig bank” – and from there to piggy bank.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:47 am
On #5, I’m going to award HuskySooner One (1) Point and Zook Two Points (2)…. It was a complicated question…. Here is the answer: It is the point on the continent of Antarctica farthest in all directions from the seas that surround it. The site lies on the Polar Plateau and is occupied by a Soviet meteorological research station. The term “Pole of Inaccessibility” is also sometimes used to describe the point in the Arctic Ocean equidistant from the surrounding landmasses, about 400 miles from the North Pole…..
Tommorow (or sooner if I have time), I’ll figure out if there are any unanswered questions and give hints and points update…..
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:54 am
MR, Wait. A misunderstanding. I thought your piggy bank answer involved shape, not material. I just threw in Wikidedia stuff. No need for generous half point or vote.
January 22nd, 2008 at 11:05 am
I just threw in my magnetic monopole answer to amuse Jek.
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Anon – The shape evolved from the name of the material, which was the answer you so unwittingly gave….. I’ve already awarded you the half point, so, you’re stuck with it….. If there are no responses to voting on Internet usage, I’ll make a ruling on it before the next quiz…..
HuskySooner – Shows you just how much I know about such things…. Sounded good to me…. I’m letting you keep the point to amuse Jek further, and, to see if he protests….. I guess I should give myself a couple of negative points….. It’s all in fun anyway…..
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:40 pm
I say no internet searches — it needs to be based on your existing knowledge. Otherwise we’re just quizzing who can look it up the quickest.
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I accept TTop’s considered opinion. I’m not worthy.
January 23rd, 2008 at 6:28 am
The High Council of MR Central has been in session all night pondering the Internet search ruling and have still not reached a final decision….. My vote’s leaning toward a “Yep” (No Searches) as expressed by other MR Community members in Comments 17 and 18…. I will force a Ruling out of the High Council before the next Quiz….
Looks as if we’re stuck on numbers for #2 – Date SSB adopted, and #3 – Amount of Islands….. I know exact dates and amounts are hard without using some kind of reference…. I’ll try to avoid these in the future if the ruling is against Internet searches….. Hints on both #2 & #3 have been given….. I will give more hints at 1700 hrs CST today if needed…..
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:49 am
I’ll vote for no searches. I’ve had to crack open books that have done nothing but collect dust for several years to find wrong answers for some of these. Makes it more interesting.
#3: I’ll take a guess. 9 + a hundred + then some = 125ish (I may need to calibrate my ‘then some’ a little)
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I”m going to award Izard One (1) Point for #3 – His 125ish is within 7 of the correct answer of 132….. Close enough…..
On The SSB, let’s say it’s in the 30ish range – The century can be figured out from the prior hint….. That narrows it down so much, it’s now worth only a half point and must be exact…..
Results of all this tomorrow sometime……
January 24th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Looks like no one wants to WAG #2….. The Star-Spangled Banner was adopted by Congress in 1931…… End of Quiz….. Point totals tomorrow…..
January 25th, 2008 at 6:30 am
Zook took top honors for this quiz – The totals went as follows:
Zook – Three and a Half (3 1/2) Points
Izard – Two (2) Points
TTop – One and a Half (1 1/2) Points
Anon – One and a Half (1 1/2) Points
HuskySooner – One (1) Point
Jek – One Half (1/2) Point
Running totals and new Quiz announcement coming soon…..