1 Who ruled England when the Colonies established independence?

2 How many people were estimated to be living in the Colonies when they gained independence?

3 Which city hosted the first official Independence Day celebration on July 4, 1777?

4 When was the first 4th of July celebration held at the White House?

5 How many times does the Liberty Bell ring on each Independence Day?

6 What is the location of the nation’s oldest 4th of July parade?

7 What was the first state to declare the 4th of July a state holiday?

8 What year was the 4th of July declared a national holiday?

9 Which three U.S. presidents died on the 4th of July?

10 On the flip side, which president was born on the 4th of July?

So, how did you do?

Answers:

King George III

2.5 million

Philadelphia

July 4, 1801, when Thomas Jefferson was president

13 times

Bristol, Rhode Island

Massachusetts

1870

John Adams (July 4, 1826), Thomas Jefferson (July 4, 1826) and James Monroe (July 4, 1831)

Calvin Coolidge (July 4, 1872)

Until next month…stay sharp!

What color are flamingos when they’re born?

What animal is known for having 32 brains?

Which animals have rectangular pupils?

What do you call the underside of a horse’s hoof?

What percentage of their lives do cats spend sleeping?

What’s the primary food source for koalas?

What item do toucans toss back and forth using their beaks during their mating ritual?

Which animal can distinguish the greatest variety of smells?

What possession do otters hold onto?

Which sea creature can be broken into five pieces and still survive?

What’s the main way cats show they trust someone?

What animal can only eat when its head is upside down?

How do honeybees communicate to one another that they’ve found the best pollen?

Where are the only two places in the world where lions live in the wild?

Which aquatic animal is the most poisonous in the world?

So, how did you do?

ANSWERS

White-gray

Leech

Many hoofed animals, including goats, sheep, deer, antelope, horses and cattle

The frog

60% to 80%

Eucalyptus leaves

A piece of fruit

African elephant

A rock

Sea star (aka starfish)

By headbutting

Flamingo

By dancing

Africa and India

Pufferfish

Until next month…stay sharp!

What is the main reason frogs croak?

Where are a cricket’s ears located

What is the only insect that can turn its head 180 degrees?

What’s the loudest insect in the world?

How many flowers do honey bees have to visit to produce one pound of honey?

What animals have teeth that never stop growing?

What sea creatures have the ability to clone themselves?

What color is a hippo’s sweat?

Which crustacean can growl when intimidating its enemies?

Which animal in a pride does the majority of the hunting?

Which animal is known to plant thousands of trees across the world?

Which animal is known for spending 80% of its day sleeping?

What shape do the tails of mating dragonflies make?

How many facial expressions can a horse make?

What animal squirts blood from its eyes as a defensive mechanism?

So, how did you do?

ANSWERS

To attract a mate

On the tibia of its forelegs

Praying mantis

The African cicada

Two million

Rabbits and rodents (mice, voles, squirrels, chipmunks, hamsters, guinea pigs, gophers, muskrats, beavers and porcupines)

Jellyfish

Red-orange

Ghost crab

The lioness

Squirrel

Koala bear

A heart

17

Horned lizard

Until next month…stay sharp!

In which Irish city will you find the Blarney Stone?

What is the term for a young Irish woman or girl?

In an Irish wedding, a bride dressed in blue symbolizes what?

Often referred to as a “Fisherman’s sweater,” this Irish sweater is typically off-white and water-resistant.

True or false: Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland was Irish.

What’s the tagline for the breakfast cereal Lucky Charms?

What Irish phrase means “Ireland Forever?”

What are the three colors of the Irish flag?

What three pieces of equipment are necessary to play the Irish sport of hurling?

According to folklore, what’s a leprechaun’s occupation?

What do the three leaves of a shamrock represent according to Irish tradition?

True or false: The first known St. Patrick’s Day parade occurred in Ireland.

Why is St. Patrick’s Day celebrated on March 17?

What North American waterway did the Irish immigrants help build?

True or False:St. Patrick was known to wear the color green.

So, how did you do?

Answers:

Cork

Colleen

Purity

Aran

False. St. Patrick was said to have been born in Britain.

“They’re magically delicious.”

Erin go bragh

Green, white and orange.

A hurley (stick), sliotar (ball) and helmet.

Shoemaker

The Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)

False. The first recorded parade took place in St. Augustine, Florida.

It marks the day St. Patrick died in 461 A.D.

The Erie Canal

False. In renderings, the saint was often pictured in blue, otherwise known as “St. Patrick’s blue.”

Until next month…stay sharp!

In the Victorian era, mean-spirited Valentine’s Day cards were called “___ Valentines.”

From where was the oldest-known Valentine’s Day message sent?

Who invented the first Valentine’s Day candy box?

On average, how many marriage proposals are there on every Valentine’s Day?

What brain chemical is known as the “cuddle” or “love hormone”?

How many people typically buy Valentines for their pets?

What state produces most of America’s red roses?

Women purchase what percentage of all Valentines sold?

What major invention was patented on Valentine’s Day?

What is the Guinness World Record for the longest marriage ever recorded?

What do yellow roses symbolize?

What insanely popular website debuted on Valentine’s Day in 2005?

Why did women and girls eat bizarre foods on Valentine’s Day in medieval times?

What fruit was once known as a “love apple” for its alleged aphrodisiac properties?

So, how did you do?

Answers:

Vinegar

Prison

Richard Cadbury

220,000

Oxytocin

9 million

California

85 percent

The telephone

86 years, 290 days

Friendship

YouTube

To dream about their future spouses

Tomatoes

Until next month…stay sharp!

Question: What is the main reason frogs croak?

Question: Where are a cricket’s ears located?

Question: What is the only insect that can turn its head 180 degrees?

Question: What’s the loudest insect in the world?

Question: How many flowers do honey bees have to visit to produce one pound of honey?

Question: What animals have teeth that never stop growing?

Question: What sea creatures have the ability to clone themselves?

Question: What color is a hippo’s sweat?

Question: Which crustacean can growl when intimidating its enemies?

Question: Which animal in a pride does the majority of the hunting?

Question: Which animal is known to plant thousands of trees across the world?

Question: Which animal is known for spending 80% of its day sleeping?

Question: What shape do the tails of mating dragonflies make

Question: How many facial expressions can a horse make?

Question: What animal squirts blood from its eyes as a defensive mechanism?

How did you do?

ANSWERS:

To attract a mate

On the tibia of its forelegs

 Praying mantis

The African cicada

Two million

Rabbits and rodents (mice, voles, squirrels, chipmunks, hamsters, guinea pigs, gophers, muskrats, beavers and porcupines)

Jellyfish

Red-orange

Ghost crab

The lioness

Squirrel

Koala bear

A heart

17

Horned lizard

Till next time…stay sharp!

In what year did the ball-lowering celebration in Times Square first take place?

How much confetti drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve?

In what country is it a tradition to jump off a chair at midnight on New Year’s Eve to avoid having bad luck in the new year?

Which city drops a giant chocolate kiss at midnight on New Year’s Eve?

On which day do many people give up on their New Year’s resolutions?

What are the triangles on the Times Square ball made of?

In Italy, what color underwear do people wear on New Year’s Eve to bring good luck and love?

Which city drops a giant peach instead of a ball to ring in the new year?

In Greece, what object is baked into a New Year’s cake to bring good luck?

In Spain, what fruit do people eat 12 of when midnight strikes?

 In what two years did the Times Square ball not drop?

After Russians write down their New Year’s wish on a piece of paper, what do they do with it?

How did you do?

ANSWERS:

1907

More than 1 ton

Denmark

Hershey, PA

The second Friday in January, informally known as Quitters Day

Waterford crystals

Red

Atlanta Georgia

A coin

 12 Grapes

1942 and 1943 because of World War II light restrictions

Burn it

Till next time…stay sharp!

1. How many turkeys do Americans eat on Thanksgiving?
2. What animal was President Coolidge gifted with to enjoy for Thanksgiving?
3. How many pumpkin pies are consumed at the feast?

4. From 2005 to 2009, pardoned turkeys went where?
5. What is turkducken?
6. How many calls does the Butterball Hotline answer a year typically?
7. Where was the first Turkey Trot held?

8. How long was the first Thanksgiving?
9. Which Thanksgiving staple was invented by a soup company?
10. Which state raises the most turkeys?
11. Originally what happened to the Macy’s Day Parade balloons?
    

 12. What is the most popular Thanksgiving destination?

How did you do?

ANSWERS:

1. 46 million
2. Vinnie Joyce from Nitta Yuma, Mississippi, sent President Coolidge a live raccoon to serve for Thanksgiving dinner. But instead of putting it on the menu, Coolidge adopted the raccoon as a family pet and named it Rebecca!

3. 50 million (estimated).
4. They were sent to Walt Disney World or Disneyland. Why, you ask? To serve as the honorary grand marshals of Disney’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, of course.
5. A turducken is a deboned chicken placed inside a deboned duck, placed inside a deboned turkey. It’s a lot of poultry! Chef Paul Prudhomme is believed to have invented the dish and served it at his New Orleans restaurant, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen.

6. Each year, Butterball’s experts take over 100,000 calls about turkey preparation during November and December.
7. The first Turkey Trot was established in 1896 in Buffalo, New York. A mere six runners showed up to participate. Since then, the race has become decidedly more popular, with more than a million participants showing up for Turkey Trots across the nation.
8. The first Thanksgiving feast took place in 1621, and it was more than just a single meal. It was a celebration that lasted three days.
9. Green bean casserole.

10. Minnesota
11. They were released. In 1927, after Felix the Cat floated down the streets of New York as the first-ever parade balloon, there wasn’t any protocol in place for deflating them. So once the parade was over, the balloons were simply let go. This strategy proved to be ineffective, as most of the balloons popped right after being released.
12. Orlando, Florida

Till next time…stay sharp!

Walter Matthau’s birthday is this month (born October 7, 1920 and died July 1, 2000), so I thought we’d make Grumpy Old Men are trivia focus this month.

What kind of fish are Max and John trying to catch throughout the film?

What town and state was the movie based in?

Who buys Chuck’s bait shop?

What is Mama Ragetti’s first name?

When Jacob and Melanie discuss wedding plans, where does Jacob suggest as a location for the wedding reception?

What is the name of Allie’s guinea pig?

What does John find under the cushion when he tries to go to sleep on Max’s couch?

What is Max’s son’s name?

What does Max do to John while John is playing the lottery?

Who played the role of Jacob?

What does Max call his fishing pole?

What was John’s profession before he retired?

What is John’s cat’s name?

What does Max feed his dog?

What is the name of the fish that both John and Max want to catch?

How did you do?

ANSWERS:

Catfish

Wabasha, MN

Maria Ragetti

Francesca

Slippery’s Tavern

Sparky

A sandwich

Jacob

He keeps changing the channel

Kevin Pollak

The Green Hornet

History teacher

Slick

Hormel Chili

Catfish Hunter

Till next time…stay sharp!

46. Question: How many species of sea urchin are there?

47. Question: What is a group of camels called?

48. Question: Which aquatic mammal has the most extended lifespan?

49. Question: Which bird is considered the fastest?

50. Question: How many heart chambers does a cockroach have?

51. Question: What animal lays the largest egg?

52. Question: What is thought to be the oldest breed of dog?

53. Question: How many species of ants exist on Earth?

54. Question: What does a male penguin often gift its female counterpart to win her over?

55. Question: Why are flamingos pink?

56. Question: What color is a giraffe’s tongue?

57. Question: What animal has stripes on its skin as well as its fur?

58. Question: How do sea otters keep from drifting apart while they sleep?

59. Question: What kind of turtle can’t retract into its shell?

60. Question: What does a snake use to taste and smell?

How did you do?

ANSWERS:

46. 950

47: A caravan

48. Bowhead whale

49: Peregrine falcon

50: 13

51: An ostrich

52: Greenland sled dog

53: 12,000+

54: A pebble

55: Their diet is rich in algae, shrimp and crustaceans

56: Purple, black or blue, with a pink base

57: Tiger

58: They hold hands

59: Sea turtle

60: The roof of its mouth

Till next time…stay sharp!