Trivia/Moments - Feb. 4, 2010

TRIVIA TEST

1. ANIMAL ADJECTIVES: What is a group of dragons called?

2. TELEVISION: What was Norm’s last name in the sitcom series “Cheers”?

3. GEOGRAPHY: Lapland is a region of what country?

4. ARTS: An eisteddfod — a festival of music, literature and performing arts — is held in which country?

5. ANATOMY: Where is the retina located?

6. HISTORY: Who was known as “The Iron Chancellor”?

7. U.S. STATES: The Catskill Mountains are located in which U.S. state?

8. FOOD & DRINK: What kind of plant does the flavoring saffron come from?

9. MOVIES: Who directed the movie “The Lost Weekend”?

10. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What kind of creature does the Australian bandicoot most resemble?

Answers

1. A weyr

2. Peterson

3. Finland

4. Wales

5. The eye

6. Otto von Bismarck, Germany

7. New York

8. Crocus flower

9. Billy Wilder

10. A large rat

MOMENTS IN TIME

The History Channel

• On Feb. 20, 1792, President George Washington signs legislation creating the U.S. Postal Service. The federally funded postal services included 75 regional post offices and 2,400 miles of postal routes. The cost of sending a letter ranged from 6 cents to 12 cents.

• On Feb. 18, 1885, Mark Twain publishes his novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Twain (the pen name of Samuel Clemens) first introduced Huck Finn as the best friend of Tom Sawyer, hero of his tremendously successful novel “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” (1876).

• On Feb. 17, 1915, after encountering a severe snowstorm, the German Zeppelin L-4 crash-lands in the North Sea near the Danish coastal town of Varde. One month earlier, the huge airship had taken part in the first-ever air bombing raid on Britain.

• On Feb. 15, 1933, in Miami, Giuseppe Zangara shoots and fatally wounds Anton Cermak, the mayor of Chicago. Zangara pled guilty to the murder and died in Florida’s electric chair on March 20. Today, such a swift outcome would be practically unheard of, particularly where the death penalty is concerned.

(c) 2010 King Features Synd., Inc.