| #2985, aired 1997-07-18 | DETECTIVE STORIES: The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Mystery of Marie Roget are mentioned in the 1st paragraph of this 1845 story "The Purloined Letter" |
| #2984, aired 1997-07-17 | SCIENTISTS: In the 1740s he published "Flora Suecica" & "Fauna Suecica", 2 volumes of his observations Carolus Linnaeus |
| #2983, aired 1997-07-16 | STATE CAPITALS: It was named for Britain's last Stuart monarch, who gave the city its charter in 1708 Annapolis, Maryland |
| #2982, aired 1997-07-15 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: On his mother's side, he was a descendant of Scottish Protestant reformer John Knox James Knox Polk |
| #2981, aired 1997-07-14 | WORLD CAPITALS: The Spaniards named it for the Virgin of the Fair Winds for bringing them safely across the Atlantic Buenos Aires |
| #2980, aired 1997-07-11 | THE COLD WAR: He died November 15, 1996, having outlived his accuser by 35 years Alger Hiss (accused by Whittaker Chambers) |
| #2979, aired 1997-07-10 | SHAKESPEAREAN CHARACTERS: One of this heroine's last lines is "Poor venomous fool, be angry, and dispatch" Cleopatra |
| #2978, aired 1997-07-09 | AMERICAN AUTHORS: One of the USA's greatest novelists, he lived most of his life, from 1876 to 1916, in England Henry James |
| #2977, aired 1997-07-08 | WORD ORIGINS: This word meaning an expert commentator is derived from the Sanskrit for "learned man" Pundit |
| #2976, aired 1997-07-07 | SOUTH AMERICA: Henck Arron was prime minister of this country when it gained its independence in 1975 Suriname (formerly Dutch Guiana) |
| #2975, aired 1997-07-04 | COMPOSERS: One of this Russian's best-known works is the fiendishly difficult Piano Concerto No. 3 of 1909 Sergei Rachmaninoff |
| #2974, aired 1997-07-03 | MEDICINE: While many diseases bear doctors' names, a nerve disease is named for this victim who died in 1941 Lou Gehrig |
| #2973, aired 1997-07-02 | VICE PRESIDENTS: 1 of 2 men who served as U.S. vice president & also won a Nobel Peace Prize Charles Dawes or Theodore Roosevelt |
| #2972, aired 1997-07-01 | HISTORIC U.S. SITES: Vitascope Hall in New Orleans is said to be the first of these in the U.S. movie theater |
| #2971, aired 1997-06-30 | AUTHORS: A new theory says this author died of rabies, not alcoholism or drug abuse, October 7, 1849 Edgar Allan Poe |
| #2970, aired 1997-06-27 | RELIGIOUS LEADERS: The boyhood home of this church founder still stands on Stafford Road in Palmyra, New York Joseph Smith (founder of the Mormon Church) |
| #2969, aired 1997-06-26 | POETS: He had already published "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" when Vachel Lindsay discovered him busing tables Langston Hughes |
| #2968, aired 1997-06-25 | SOUTHERN CITIES: In the 1830s settlers gave this city its name in the hope of having the University of Mississippi placed there Oxford |
| #2967, aired 1997-06-24 | GEOGRAPHY: Name given to the parallel of latitude at 66 degrees 30' S. the Antarctic Circle |
| #2966, aired 1997-06-23 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: The Roosevelt dime made its debut the year this president was born Bill Clinton (born in 1946) |
| #2965, aired 1997-06-20 | 19th CENTURY POLITICS: These 7 events occurred between August 21 & October 15, 1858 & each lasted 3 hours the Lincoln-Douglas Debates for Senator in Illinois |
| #2964, aired 1997-06-19 | GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS: Last name of 2 brothers, one currently a cabinet secretary & one mayor of a city of several million Daley (William M. & Richard M.) |
| #2963, aired 1997-06-18 | THE PLANETS: Most of this planet's moons are named for Shakespearean characters Uranus |
| #2962, aired 1997-06-17 | 1990s AFRICA: In 1994 these 2 African countries' presidents Habyarimana & Ntaryamira died in a plane crash Rwanda & Burundi |
| #2961, aired 1997-06-16 | COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD: Before its independence, this country was known as the Netherlands East Indies Indonesia |
| #2960, aired 1997-06-13 | SPACE EXPLORATION: Now 6 billion miles from Earth, Pioneer 10 originally was launched in 1972 on a mission to this planet Jupiter |
| #2959, aired 1997-06-12 | CLASSIC CINEMA: This 1946 holiday classic was based on "The Greatest Gift", a short story by Philip Van Doren Stern It's A Wonderful Life |
| #2958, aired 1997-06-11 | THE 1930s: Roosevelt's first Fireside Chat was designed to bolster the public confidence in these banks |
| #2957, aired 1997-06-10 | FASHION HISTORY: In 1849 Americans traveling to the California gold fields via boat popularized this hat the Panama hat |
| #2956, aired 1997-06-09 | AFRICA: In the 1980s the U.S.-backed FNLA & UNITA battled the Cuban-backed MPLA for control of this country Angola |
| #2955, aired 1997-06-06 | STOCK SYMBOLS: This name is the 4-letter stock symbol of Golden Bear Golf Inc., which went public in 1996 JACK (for Jack Nicklaus) |
| #2954, aired 1997-06-05 | AUTOBIOGRAPHIES: In 1791, one year after his death, part of this American's autobiography was published in Paris as "Memoires" Benjamin Franklin |
| #2953, aired 1997-06-04 | ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST: Added to the list in 1997 were the Quino Checkerspot & Laguna Mountains Skipper, types of these Butterflies |
| #2952, aired 1997-06-03 | AMERICAN BALLET: Characters in this 1942 ballet include the head wrangler & the champion roper Rodeo |
| #2951, aired 1997-06-02 | WORLD LEADERS: This world leader was the recipient of an Obie Award in 1984 Vaclav Havel |
| #2950, aired 1997-05-30 | ANGELS: Slaves rowing off South Carolina's coast often invoked the help of this patron angel of the Jews Michael |
| #2949, aired 1997-05-29 | SHAKESPEARE'S WOMEN: This heroine is murdered on the island of Cyprus, as is her waiting-woman Desdemona (from "Othello") |
| #2948, aired 1997-05-28 | AFRICAN COUNTRIES: The northernmost country in Africa, it's much smaller than the countries that border it Tunisia |
| #2947, aired 1997-05-27 | MUSICIANS: As a disc jockey in the 1940s, he was known as "The Blues Boy from Beale Street" B.B. King |
| #2946, aired 1997-05-26 | OSCAR-WINNING FILMS: This “Best Picture” of 1970 was based in part on the memoirs of General Omar Bradley Patton |
| #2945, aired 1997-05-23 | GENESIS: The final word in Genesis is the name of this country Egypt |
| #2944, aired 1997-05-22 | MONARCHS: Like his grandmother, Mary, Queen of Scots, this king was beheaded Charles I |
| #2943, aired 1997-05-21 | WORLD CAPITALS: Many homes in this city are heated by near-boiling water pumped in from hot springs at Nesjavellir Reykjavik, Iceland |
| #2942, aired 1997-05-20 | THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1963 letter from this city's jail is a historic document in the civil rights movement Birmingham, Alabama |
| #2941, aired 1997-05-19 | 18th CENTURY AMERICANS: A military post & a Tennessee city are both named for this first U.S. Secretary of War Henry Knox |
| #2940, aired 1997-05-16 | THE LAW: From Latin for "under penalty", you're under penalty if you don't obey one a subpoena |
| #2939, aired 1997-05-15 | COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES: Anchorman is an informal term used for the lowest-ranking graduating senior of this school Naval Academy |
| #2938, aired 1997-05-14 | THE ELEMENTS: More than 95% of all known compounds contain this element hydrogen (or carbon) |
| #2937, aired 1997-05-13 | CHILDREN'S BOOKS: It's the first in a trilogy of books that also includes "In the Night Kitchen" & "Outside Over There" Where the Wild Things Are |
| #2936, aired 1997-05-12 | MOVIES: The stars of this 1977 film appeared on the February 10, 1997 cover of Time Star Wars |
| #2935, aired 1997-05-09 | PAINTERS: His grandson was the cinematographer of "Barbarella" & "The Spy Who Loved Me" Pierre-Auguste Renoir |
| #2934, aired 1997-05-08 | ROYAL COUPLES: Princess Sophia of Greece gave up her right of succession to Greece's throne before marrying him in 1962 King Juan Carlos of Spain |
| #2933, aired 1997-05-07 | ANCIENT PLAYWRIGHTS: This playwright born in Colonus around 496 B.C. wrote one of his finest plays when he was 90 Sophocles ("Oedipus at Colonus") |
| #2932, aired 1997-05-06 | THE 7 ANCIENT WONDERS: These 2 oldest wonders were built by non-Greek civilizations Hanging Gardens of Babylon & the Pyramids of Egypt |
| #2931, aired 1997-05-05 | NOTABLE NAMES: On January 30, 1997, the 49th anniversary of his death, some of his ashes were scattered in the Ganges River Mohandas K. Gandhi |
| #2930, aired 1997-05-02 | SCIENCE HISTORY: Announced by Ole Romer in 1676, the first measurement of this was 140,000 miles per second the speed of light |
| #2929, aired 1997-05-01 | QUOTATIONS ABOUT LAWYERS: Playwright who penned the famous line, "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" William Shakespeare |
| #2928, aired 1997-04-30 | THE INSECT WORLD: The ancient Romans gave it its name, which means "hairy cat" caterpillar |
| #2927, aired 1997-04-29 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: His half-brother Lawrence served in the British navy under Admiral Edward Vernon George Washington |
| #2926, aired 1997-04-28 | MOUNTAINS: Range of mountains where Danny Kaye, Alan King & Rip Van Winkle gained fame the Catskills |
| #2925, aired 1997-04-25 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: 2 of the 5 presidents in the 20th century who were former U.S. senators (2 of) Warren Harding, Harry Truman, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson & Richard Nixon |
| #2924, aired 1997-04-24 | SPORTS: Last awarded in 1970, the Jules Rimet Cup was replaced by this trophy in 1974 The World Cup (of soccer) |
| #2923, aired 1997-04-23 | CONTEMPORARY AMERICANS: In December 1996 his reference to "Irrational Exuberance" sent stock prices plunging around the world Alan Greenspan |
| #2922, aired 1997-04-22 | TRANSPORTATION: In 1910 the "Deutschland" inaugurated commercial passenger service in one of these Zeppelin/dirigible |
| #2921, aired 1997-04-21 | COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD: It's the only country whose name is the same as an American state's Georgia |
| #2920, aired 1997-04-18 | BUSINESS & INDUSTRY: First sold in 1912, the Maine hunting shoe was his first retail product Leon Leonwood (L.L.) Bean |
| #2919, aired 1997-04-17 | THE WORLD OF MATHEMATICS: Of ancient people, only the Hindus, Babylonians & Mayans invented a symbol for this; the Mayans' is seen here: Zero |
| #2918, aired 1997-04-16 | AIRPORTS: It's the site of a presidential swearing-in & the headquarters of Southwest Airlines Love Field (in Dallas) |
| #2917, aired 1997-04-15 | NONFICTION: This reference set's 1768 first edition was published by "A Society of Gentlemen in Scotland" the Encyclopædia Britannica |
| #2916, aired 1997-04-14 | STATE CAPITALS: Like its major streets Hope, Benefit & Friendship, its name is an abstraction Providence, Rhode Island |
| #2915, aired 1997-04-11 | PLAYWRIGHTS: The hero of this playwright's Absurdist novel "Watt" works for a mysterious Mr. Knott, who never appears Samuel Beckett |
| #2914, aired 1997-04-10 | NAVAL HEROES: In a difficult situation George Dewey would ask himself, what would this man, his former commander, do? Admiral David Farragut |
| #2913, aired 1997-04-09 | WORD HISTORY: Before this word came to mean an extraterrestrial, it was used as an adjective meaning "warlike" Martian |
| #2912, aired 1997-04-08 | MYSTERY NOVELS: The first line of dialogue in this 1930 novel is spoken to secretary Effie Perine, "Yes, sweetheart?" The Maltese Falcon |
| #2911, aired 1997-04-07 | GERMAN OPERA: The swan that pulls this title character's boat is actually Elsa's enchanted brother, Gottfried Lohengrin |
| #2910, aired 1997-04-04 | ARTISTS: This artist sculpted the famous statuary group that stands in front of the town hall in Calais Auguste Rodin ("The Burghers of Calais") |
| #2909, aired 1997-04-03 | INTERNATIONAL SONGS: Bush poet A.B. Paterson, who died in 1941, wrote the words to this internationally famous song "Waltzing Matilda" |
| #2908, aired 1997-04-02 | THE CALENDAR: In the U.S. it's the latest date in November on which Thanksgiving can fall November 28 |
| #2907, aired 1997-04-01 | TRINIDADIAN AMATEUR ICHTHYOLOGISTS: This common aquarium fish was named for a Trinidadian clergyman Guppy |
| #2906, aired 1997-03-31 | SECRETARIES OF STATE: This man who died in 1994 once said, "We're eyeball to eyeball and the other fellow just blinked" Dean Rusk |
| #2905, aired 1997-03-28 | FILMS OF THE '30s: 1933 film inspired by William Burden's 1926 Dutch East Indies trip & capture of the world's largest lizard King Kong |
| #2904, aired 1997-03-27 | ANCIENT CITIES: The ancient city of Byzantium occupied the site of what is now this city Istanbul, Turkey |
| #2903, aired 1997-03-26 | 20th CENTURY LEADERS: In 1914 Jan Smuts wrote of this man's departure, "The saint has left our shores, I hope forever" Mahatma Gandhi |
| #2902, aired 1997-03-25 | WORLD CAPITALS: It's the world's northernmost national capital Reykjavik, Iceland |
| #2901, aired 1997-03-24 | SCIENCE: Not long after its development, Robert Boyle renamed the Torricellian Tube this Barometer |
| #2900, aired 1997-03-21 | INVENTORS: Before the Monitor, John Ericsson designed a screw-driven steamboat & named it for this ancient Greek Archimedes |
| #2899, aired 1997-03-20 | HISTORIC SHIPS: The state silver serving pieces in Augusta's executive mansion were salvaged from this ship U.S.S. Maine |
| #2898, aired 1997-03-19 | OSCAR WINNERS: The only person -- male or female -- to win Oscars in acting & screenwriting categories Emma Thompson |
| #2897, aired 1997-03-18 | WORLD CAPITALS: This European city is alphabetically last among the world's national capitals Zagreb, Croatia |
| #2896, aired 1997-03-17 | JOURNALISTS: Before his death in 1920, he led America's Communist Labor Party, drew up its manifesto & edited its paper John Reed |
| #2895, aired 1997-03-14 | ADVERTISING: This product's "Whole Thing" commercial is in the Clio Hall of Fame Alka-Seltzer |
| #2894, aired 1997-03-13 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: The first & last to preside over exactly 48 states William Howard Taft & Dwight Eisenhower |
| #2893, aired 1997-03-12 | THE NOBEL PRIZE: The 1996 Chemistry Prize went to the discoverers of a 60-carbon atom molecule called this Buckyball |
| #2891, aired 1997-03-10 | NOTABLE WOMEN: As staff director of the Florida House Judiciary Committee, she helped revise the state constitution Janet Reno |
| #2890, aired 1997-03-07 | ENTERTAINMENT HISTORY: Performed in England since the restoration of Charles II, shows featuring this pair often include a dog named Toby Punch & Judy |
| #2889, aired 1997-03-06 | FAMOUS WOMEN: She worked as a model, caterer, cooking columnist & food stylist before starting her own magazine in 1990 Martha Stewart |
| #2887, aired 1997-03-04 | LITERATURE: Chapter 8 of this book first published in 1900 is titled "The Deadly Poppy Field" The Wizard of Oz |
| #2886, aired 1997-03-03 | SCOTTISH INVENTORS: In 1815 he was appointed Surveyor General of Roads in Bristol, England Sir John McAdam |
| #2885, aired 1997-02-28 | FLAGS: This saint's cross appears on the provincial flag of Nova Scotia St. Andrew |
| #2884, aired 1997-02-27 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: As a senator, he shared lodgings with future vice president William Rufus Devane King James Buchanan |
| #2883, aired 1997-02-26 | HISTORIC AMERICANS: In 1788 Cyrus Griffin became its last president The Continental Congress |
| #2882, aired 1997-02-25 | FAMOUS AUTHORS: Queen Victoria called his death "a very great loss. He had... the strongest sympathy with the poorer classes" Charles Dickens |
| #2881, aired 1997-02-24 | INVENTIONS: Introduced at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris, its name comes from Latin for "one that takes you up the ladder" Escalator |
| #2880, aired 1997-02-21 | BRITISH STATESMEN: In a 1940 eulogy of this man, Churchill spoke of his "Love of peace... toil for peace... strife for peace" Neville Chamberlain |
| #2879, aired 1997-02-20 | HANDICRAFTS: Supposedly made by William the Conqueror's wife, there's a 230' long copy of it in the V&A Museum The Bayeux Tapestry |
| #2878, aired 1997-02-19 | POP MUSIC: The only person to hit the Billboard Top 40 with "The Star-Spangled Banner" Whitney Houston |
| #2877, aired 1997-02-18 | THE OSCARS: 1 of only 2 movies since "It Happened One Night" to win Oscars for Best Picture, Actor, Actress & Director The Silence of the Lambs or One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest |
| #2876, aired 1997-02-17 | FAMOUS FAMILIES: Chicago's Fire Academy was built in 1960 on the site where this family once lived The O'Learys |
| #2875, aired 1997-02-14 | HISTORIC AMERICANS: He was the fourth Secretary of State, & the fourth Chief Justice John Marshall |
| #2874, aired 1997-02-13 | NOVELS: Just before its 1897 publication, its title was changed from "The Un-Dead" to this Dracula (by Bram Stoker) |
| #2873, aired 1997-02-12 | NATIVE AMERICANS: A Pennsylvania city, a canal & a Great Lake are named for this tribe The Erie |
| #2872, aired 1997-02-11 | COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD: The name of this country derives from an Iroquoian term meaning "village" or "community" Canada |
| #2871, aired 1997-02-10 | THE SOLAR SYSTEM: The 2 planets that have no moons Mercury & Venus |
| #2870, aired 1997-02-07 | HISTORIC GEOGRAPHY: The former kingdom of Saxony is now located in this country Germany |
| #2869, aired 1997-02-06 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: The last names of 8 different presidents end with this 3-letter combination Son (Jefferson, Madison, Jackson, W.H. Harrison, A. Johnson, B. Harrison, Wilson & L. Johnson) |
| #2868, aired 1997-02-05 | RULERS: In 44 B.C. he was made dictator for life, a post abolished after he died the same year Julius Caesar |
| #2867, aired 1997-02-04 | COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES: This New York univ. is named for the family whose company was the first to sell toothpaste in a tube Colgate University |
| #2866, aired 1997-02-03 | DEMOCRATS: Bill Clinton is the first Democrat since this man to be elected president twice Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
| #2865, aired 1997-01-31 | THE CABINET: 1 of 2 women who served in the cabinet for a total of 6 or more years (1 of) Elizabeth Dole & Frances Perkins |
| #2864, aired 1997-01-30 | THE NEW TESTAMENT: Called the church's first theologian, a quarter of the books in the New Testament are credited to him Paul |
| #2863, aired 1997-01-29 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: 2 of the 5 U.S. presidents who played football for their college teams (2 of) Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Ford & Reagan |
| #2862, aired 1997-01-28 | NATIONAL PARKS: Royal Palm State Park was incorporated into this national park when it was created in 1947 Everglades National Park |
| #2861, aired 1997-01-27 | POLITICIANS: His rise began when he upset Robert M. La Follette, Jr. in a 1946 Senate primary Joseph McCarthy |
| #2860, aired 1997-01-24 | U.S. CURRENCY: Of men pictured on currently printed paper money, he's the one most recently deceased Ulysses S. Grant (on the $50 bill; died in 1885) |
| #2858, aired 1997-01-22 | THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE: This country won independence from Spain in 1821 & from France in 1867 Mexico |
| #2857, aired 1997-01-21 | WORD ORIGINS: From the Latin for "year" & "turn", it's literally "the turn of a year" anniversary (annus = year & verso = turn) |
| #2856, aired 1997-01-20 | AWARDS: The London Theatre's equivalent of Broadway's Tony Awards are named for him Sir Laurence Olivier |
| #2855, aired 1997-01-17 | THE 1996 ELECTION: Nicknamed for the sport their children play, they were part of the swing vote in 1996 soccer moms |
| #2854, aired 1997-01-16 | FOREIGN FILMS: With 6, this 1981 German film holds the record for most Oscar nominations for a foreign-language film "Das Boot" ("The Boat") |
| #2853, aired 1997-01-15 | FAMOUS NAMES: Before achieving fame in Hollywood, he was a cosmetician to the Russian royal court Max Factor |
| #2852, aired 1997-01-14 | WORLD CAPITALS: The Jose Marti Monument is a 450-foot tower in the Plaza de la Revolucion in this capital Havana, Cuba |
| #2851, aired 1997-01-13 | U.S. GOVERNMENT: Full & correct title of the post held by the person seen here: Chief Justice of the United States |
| #2850, aired 1997-01-10 | EXPLORERS: Books by this man include "North West Passage" (1908) & "The South Pole" (1912) Roald Amundsen |
| #2849, aired 1997-01-09 | CANADIAN PROVINCES: The Micmac Indians called it Abegweit, which means "cradled on the waves" Prince Edward Island |
| #2848, aired 1997-01-08 | ANCIENT HISTORY: Man with whom Cleopatra had the most children Mark Antony |
| #2847, aired 1997-01-07 | WORLD LEADERS: His brother Jonathan lost his life in 1976 leading the raid on Entebbe Benjamin Netanyahu (prime minister of Israel) |
| #2846, aired 1997-01-06 | CLASSICAL LITERATURE: 4 single biographies & 23 pairs of biographies make up this classical work "Plutarch's Lives" |
| #2845, aired 1997-01-03 | THE WESTERN U.S.: This state capital rose from the ruins of a Hohokam Indian settlement Phoenix, Arizona |
| #2844, aired 1997-01-02 | WORD ORIGINS: This word is from the Old English for "the farmer who lives near you" Neighbor |
| #2843, aired 1997-01-01 | AUTHORS: In 1996, 7 years after giving up law, he returned to a Mississippi courtroom & won a case for an old client John Grisham |
| #2842, aired 1996-12-31 | THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION: Arrested twice at the 1968 convention for demonstrating, he was a delegate to the 1996 convention Tom Hayden |
| #2841, aired 1996-12-30 | THE 1500s: In 1520 he wrote Pope Leo X, "Let no person imagine that I will recant" Martin Luther |
| #2840, aired 1996-12-27 | BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: Benjamin Franklin was born in this city in 1706 Boston |
| #2839, aired 1996-12-26 | ASSASSINS: The knife he used to stab Major Henry Rathbone is in a Washington, D.C. museum John Wilkes Booth |
| #2838, aired 1996-12-25 | OSCAR NOMINEES: Billy Wilder & this actor-director are tied for the most Best Original Screenplay nominations: 12 apiece Woody Allen |
| #2837, aired 1996-12-24 | WOMEN IN SCIENCE: This British scientist titled her 1984 autobiography "Disclosing The Past" Mary Leakey |
| #2836, aired 1996-12-23 | BUSINESS & INDUSTRY: "America's Favorite Food", a book about this company, contains 12 pages of Andy Warhol's art Campbell Soup Company |
| #2835, aired 1996-12-20 | REPUBLICANS: 2 of the 3 Republicans elected vice president twice (2 of) Spiro Agnew, George (H.W.) Bush & Richard Nixon |
| #2834, aired 1996-12-19 | POLITICAL PHRASES: Ike defined this as "All of the usable surface. The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters." Middle-of-the-road |
| #2833, aired 1996-12-18 | EUROPEAN CAPITALS: This city was named for a Byzantine church Sofia, Bulgaria |
| #2832, aired 1996-12-17 | ASIA: It's the largest landlocked country in the world Mongolia |
| #2831, aired 1996-12-16 | BRAND NAMES: Common household product named for a 19th century surgical pioneer Listerine (named for Sir Joseph Lister) |
| #2830, aired 1996-12-13 | FAMOUS AMERICANS: His love of music led him to found a school of music at the University of Rochester, N.Y. George Eastman (The Eastman School of Music) |
| #2829, aired 1996-12-12 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: The 2 men whose presidencies each began & ended during one calendar year William Henry Harrison (1841) & James Garfield (1881) |
| #2828, aired 1996-12-11 | HOLIDAYS & OBSERVANCES: AT&T says more collect calls are made on this holiday than on any other day of the year Father's Day |
| #2827, aired 1996-12-10 | COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD: With 930 million people, it's the world's second-most populous country & its most populous democracy India |
| #2826, aired 1996-12-09 | AMERICAN HISTORY: Some attribute these 1692 proceedings to the psychotic effects of ergot poisoning The Salem Witch Trials |
| #2825, aired 1996-12-06 | BRITISH NOVELS: This 1895 novel is subtitled "An Invention" The Time Machine |
| #2824, aired 1996-12-05 | SOUTH AMERICA: In area, it's the largest country in South America entirely north of the Equator Venezuela |
| #2823, aired 1996-12-04 | BASEBALL: The best American League lefthanded pitcher 1916-18, he was moved to left field in 1919 Babe Ruth |
| #2822, aired 1996-12-03 | U.S. CITY NAME ORIGINS: Jagged rocks at this Florida city's narrow inlet suggested its name, from Spanish for "rat's mouth" Boca Raton |
| #2821, aired 1996-12-02 | NUMBER, PLEASE: Number of lines in the Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem that begins, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways" 14 |
| #2820, aired 1996-11-29 | U.S. CITIES: Designed locally & cast in Japan, a peace & friendship bell was dedicated in this Tennessee city in 1996 Oak Ridge |
| #2819, aired 1996-11-28 | ENGLISH ROYALTY: Since the Norman Conquest, this royal house has supplied the most rulers, beginning with Henry II Plantagenet |
| #2818, aired 1996-11-27 | RIVERS: It was once believed that this river "originated in the Mountains of the Moon" the Nile |
| #2817, aired 1996-11-26 | SHORT STORIES: Set on Christmas Eve, it begins "One dollar and 87 cents. That was all. And 60 cents of it was in pennies." "The Gift of the Magi" |
| #2816, aired 1996-11-25 | NOTORIOUS: A corrections museum in Trenton, New Jersey contains the chair in which he was executed in 1936 Bruno Richard Hauptmann |
| #2815, aired 1996-11-22 | TELEVISION HISTORY: Set in the 1870s, it ran from 1955 to 1975 Gunsmoke |
| #2814, aired 1996-11-21 | TEXTBOOKS: Dr. Henry Van Dyke Carter provided 363 drawings for this work first published in 1858 Gray's Anatomy |
| #2813, aired 1996-11-20 | THE MIDWEST: Of the 4 states that border Lake Michigan, the one whose name is not derived from a Native American word Indiana |
| #2812, aired 1996-11-19 | PATRON SAINTS: He's the patron saint of the home town of Shakespeare's shrew St. Anthony of Padua |
| #2811, aired 1996-11-18 | VICE PRESIDENTS: He was the first Republican vice president Hannibal Hamlin |
| #2810, aired 1996-11-15 | PUBLISHING FIRSTS: In 1908 Ernest Henry Shackleton printed the first book on this continent Antarctica |
| #2809, aired 1996-11-14 | HISTORIC NAMES: In a 1935 poem this leader wrote, "The Red Army fears not the trials of the Long March" Mao Tse-tung |
| #2808, aired 1996-11-13 | GREAT ARTISTS: His first important commission in Amsterdam was to paint that city's guild of surgeons Rembrandt |
| #2807, aired 1996-11-12 | AMERICAN HISTORY: Lincoln said it was "the central act of my administration & the greatest event of the 19th century" the Emancipation Proclamation |
| #2806, aired 1996-11-11 | FRENCH NOVELISTS: Ideas in his novels that have come true include space travel, television & the submarine Jules Verne |
| #2805, aired 1996-11-08 | AIRPLANES: This Dutch company whose founder made the Red Baron's triplane went bankrupt in 1996 Fokker |
| #2804, aired 1996-11-07 | WORD ORIGINS: From Spanish Arabic for "the calendar", this type of book often contains astronomical data almanac |
| #2803, aired 1996-11-06 | EUROPEAN COUNTRIES: In 1996 it formed a commonwealth with Sao Tome & Principe, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau & Brazil Portugal |
| #2802, aired 1996-11-05 | AMERICAN ARTISTS: Among his paintings are "The Fog Warning", "Eight Bells" & "Undertow" Winslow Homer |
| #2801, aired 1996-11-04 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: He was the last president born in the 19th century Dwight David Eisenhower (1890) |
| #2800, aired 1996-11-01 | AMERICANA: When formed in 1798, it consisted of 32 drummers & fifers United States Marine Band |
| #2798, aired 1996-10-30 | AMERICAN AUTHORS: His only full-length play, "The Fifth Column", is set in besieged Madrid Ernest Hemingway |
| #2797, aired 1996-10-29 | THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION: This advisor is the son & grandson of Greek Orthodox priests George Stephanopoulos |
| #2791, aired 1996-10-21 | FAMOUS FAMILIES: Family who lived by the motto "Life is on the wire. The rest is just waiting." the ("Flying") Wallendas |
| #2788, aired 1996-10-16 | 1960s AMERICANS: As a fugitive from the law, he assumed the identity of Barry Freed, an ecological crusader Abbie Hoffman |
| #2787, aired 1996-10-15 | SPORTS STARS: In June 1996 he came in second in the race for mayor of Bucharest Ilie Năstase |
| #2786, aired 1996-10-14 | NAMES IN THE NEWS: In June 1996 Rev. Njongonkulu Ndungane was named his successor Desmond Tutu |
| #2785, aired 1996-10-11 | ART: He said he painted one of his masterpieces with his "beard turned up to heaven" Michelangelo |
| #2784, aired 1996-10-10 | U.S. STATES: This state was named by Captain John Mason, former governor of Portsmouth, England New Hampshire |
| #2783, aired 1996-10-09 | TRAVEL & TOURISM: On a weekend package, Northwest Airlines flies Londoners to Bloomington, Minn. to visit this the Mall of America |
| #2782, aired 1996-10-08 | AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES: French Catholic missionaries led by Father Edward F. Sorin founded this university in 1842 Notre Dame |
| #2781, aired 1996-10-07 | HISTORIC BOOKS: It was written in 1924 in the fortress of Landsberg am Lech Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler |
| #2780, aired 1996-10-04 | 15th CENTURY MEN: In 1482 he told the Duke of Milan that he could "make armored wagons to carry artillery" Leonardo da Vinci |
| #2779, aired 1996-10-03 | 19th CENTURY AUTHORS: He rejected offers to run for Congress & Mayor of New York & to be Van Buren's Secretary of the Navy Washington Irving |
| #2778, aired 1996-10-02 | ACTOR-DIRECTORS: This 1990 winner is the most recent to win the Best Director Oscar for his directorial debut Kevin Costner |
| #2777, aired 1996-10-01 | PRESIDENTS: The only 2 consecutive U.S. presidents with the same first name James Madison & James Monroe |
| #2776, aired 1996-09-30 | GREEK MYTHOLOGICAL GROUPS: 2 groups, 1 of 9 & 1 of 3, that include a member named Thalia The Muses and the Graces |
| #2775, aired 1996-09-27 | STATESMEN: His "The Menace of Darwinism" & "The Bible and Its Enemies" were published in the 1920s William Jennings Bryan |
| #2771, aired 1996-09-23 | FACTS & FIGURES: An estimated 925 million of these were exchanged in 1996; the No. 1 recipients by far were teachers Valentine's Day cards |
| #2770, aired 1996-09-20 | SENATORS: Former man in space & future man in space both elected to the Senate in 1974 John Glenn & Jake Garn |
| #2769, aired 1996-09-19 | FILM DIRECTORS: This actor-writer-director born in 1963 was named for a Burt Reynolds TV character Quentin Tarantino |
| #2767, aired 1996-09-17 | PHOTOGRAPHERS: In 1851 this American won a medal for daguerreotypes at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London Mathew Brady |
| #2766, aired 1996-09-16 | POTENT POTABLES: This famous cocktail was created at the Raffles Hotel in 1915 a Singapore Sling |
| #2765, aired 1996-09-13 | AMERICAN FICTIONAL CHARACTERS: An 1850 edition put the 5 novels about this variously-named character in the chronological order of his life Natty Bumppo (or Hawkeye or Deerslayer) |
| #2764, aired 1996-09-12 | 1996: On June 11, 1996 the U.S. Senate voted to name a balcony in his honor Bob Dole |
| #2763, aired 1996-09-11 | THE USA: This structure is the greatest single source of water power in the U.S. the Grand Coulee Dam |
| #2762, aired 1996-09-10 | RELIGION: On Dec. 19, 1894 2 books were formally ordained as the impersonal pastor of this denomination Christian Scientist |
| #2761, aired 1996-09-09 | AMERICANA: The canceled check for this purchase, in the amount of $7.2 million, is on display at the National Archives the Alaska Purchase |
| #2760, aired 1996-09-06 | CANADA: The flag & the coat of arms of this Canadian province feature a setting sun British Columbia |
| #2759, aired 1996-09-05 | TELEVISION HISTORY: On 1/19/96 in real life & fictionally on CBS, Marlee Matlin gave birth, duplicating this woman's 1/19/53 feat Lucille Ball |
| #2758, aired 1996-09-04 | BUSINESS & INDUSTRY: A 60-foot steel likeness of a transistor stands at its Holmdel, N.J. office Bell Labs |
| #2757, aired 1996-09-03 | POETS: In 1879 the children of Cambridge, Massachusetts gave him an armchair made of chestnut wood Longfellow |
| #2756, aired 1996-09-02 | PLAYS: The preface to this 1913 play was entitled "A Professor of Phonetics" Pygmalion |
