| #5975, aired 2010-07-30 | THE 9 MUSES: In a Balanchine ballet, Apollo, god of music, has a favorite muse, this one Terpsichore |
| #5974, aired 2010-07-29 | THE SUPER BOWL: As of 2010 it's the only current NFC team that has never played in the Super Bowl the Detroit Lions |
| #5973, aired 2010-07-28 | RELIGION: An aid to the faithful since the 13th century, one standard version has parts arranged in groups of 1, 3 or 10 the rosary |
| #5972, aired 2010-07-27 | MONARCHIES: 1 of the 2 largely German-speaking monarchies in the world; they're about 250 miles apart (1 of) Liechtenstein & Luxembourg |
| #5971, aired 2010-07-26 | LITERARY BRAWLS: At Key West in 1936, Wallace Stevens broke his hand punching this man, who responded by knocking Stevens down Ernest Hemingway |
| #5970, aired 2010-07-23 | PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS: In the "World Almanac" list of notable third party candidates, 1 of the 2 for whom the main issue was "states' rights" (1 of) Governor George Wallace & Strom Thurmond |
| #5969, aired 2010-07-22 | SCIENCE HISTORY: This concept dates to a 1783 paper by John Michell, who theorized about a body with the sun's density & 500 times its diameter a black hole |
| #5968, aired 2010-07-21 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: Excluding honorary degrees, he's the only president to have degrees from both Harvard & Yale George W. Bush |
| #5967, aired 2010-07-20 | LEGENDARY PUBLIC SERVANTS: In 1929 he became a special agent with the Treasury Department's Prohibition Bureau, Chicago Division Eliot Ness |
| #5966, aired 2010-07-19 | MEN OF PARIS: When the body of this man who died in 1870 was moved in 2002, a cloth with the motto "Un pour tous, tous pour un" was used Alexandre Dumas |
| #5965, aired 2010-07-16 | NO. 1 POP HITS: A 1987 remake of this 1959 hit was the first song with all Spanish lyrics to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 "La Bamba" |
| #5964, aired 2010-07-15 | FAMOUS TEXTS: Tradition says the author of this work was the sage Vatsyayana; surprisingly, he was celibate the Kama Sutra |
| #5963, aired 2010-07-14 | HISTORIC LASTS: In the "thanks a lot, fellas" department, Mongolia was the last country to join this group--August 9, 1945 the Allies |
| #5962, aired 2010-07-13 | AMERICAN NOVELISTS: An advocate of capitalism, in 1982 she was laid out beside a 6-foot dollar sign made of flowers Ayn Rand |
| #5961, aired 2010-07-12 | ACTORS: With 5 each, these 2 men have the most acting Oscar nominations among African-American performers Morgan Freeman & Denzel Washington |
| #5960, aired 2010-07-09 | BOOKS FOR KIDS: In Wonderland, Alice comes upon a mad tea-party attended by the Hatter, March Hare, & this creature, who's asleep the dormouse |
| #5959, aired 2010-07-08 | U.S. GOVERNMENT FIRSTS: The first of these was authorized in 1790, "providing for the enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States" a census |
| #5958, aired 2010-07-07 | GEOGRAPHY: 2 of the 4 U.S. states that border Mexico (2 of) Texas, New Mexico, Arizona & California |
| #5957, aired 2010-07-06 | HISTORIC WOMEN: She was born in Virginia around 1596 & died in Kent, England in 1617 Pocahontas |
| #5956, aired 2010-07-05 | THE ANIMAL WORLD: Born in Brisbane in 1999, Euca & Lyptus are the world's first confirmed identical twins of this animal koala |
| #5955, aired 2010-07-02 | 5-LETTER LITERARY TERMS: The "History" by Herodotus has been called the earliest surviving European work of this form, from Latin for "straightforward" prose |
| #5954, aired 2010-07-01 | MONARCHS: Cairo's Al-Rifai mosque is the resting place of 2 Egyptian kings & of a 20th century ruler of this Mideast country Iran |
| #5953, aired 2010-06-30 | RUSSIAN COMPOSERS: His first name means "moderate"; sadly, immoderate drinking helped kill him in 1881 at age 42, but not on Bald Mountain Modest Mussorgsky |
| #5952, aired 2010-06-29 | PHYSICS: Discovered in the early 20th century, these 2 particles, 1 with a positive charge, the other a packet of energy, differ by a letter a proton & a photon |
| #5951, aired 2010-06-28 | BOTANICAL ETYMOLOGY: This plant's name may have come from its use by Italian Renaissance women to dilate pupils, which, they felt, augmented beauty belladonna |
| #5950, aired 2010-06-25 | LITERATURE & MUSIC: The band called "They Might Be Giants" ultimately gets its name from a phrase said by this title hero in a 1605 work Don Quixote |
| #5949, aired 2010-06-24 | NATIONAL PARKS: When it became a national park in 1919, it got this name used by the locals because it seemed like heaven on Earth Zion National Park |
| #5948, aired 2010-06-23 | HISTORIC DATES: The signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919 took place exactly 5 years after the related death of this man Archduke Franz Ferdinand |
| #5947, aired 2010-06-22 | BILLBOARD HOT 100 HISTORY: Besides Frank & Nancy Sinatra, they're the only other father & daughter who each had No. 1 solo hits Pat & Debby Boone |
| #5946, aired 2010-06-21 | AFTER THE PRESIDENCY: One of the 2 presidents to return to elected jobs in U.S. federal government after their final terms (1 of) John Quincy Adams or Andrew Johnson |
| #5945, aired 2010-06-18 | SPORTS VENUES: Built in 1914 & named for the club's owner in 1926, it's the oldest National League ballpark still in use Wrigley Field |
| #5944, aired 2010-06-17 | AMERICANA: Made for only 19 years, it sold for $825 in 1908 & $360 in 1927 the Model T |
| #5943, aired 2010-06-16 | MODERN MATERIALS: Introduced in the '70s to replace steel belting on high-speed tires, it's called stronger than steel & lighter than nylon Kevlar |
| #5942, aired 2010-06-15 | THE 50 STATES: It's the only 2-word state name in which neither word appears in the name of any other state Rhode Island |
| #5941, aired 2010-06-14 | MOONS & MYTHOLOGY: This planet is named for a Roman god; its only moons are named for the sons of his Greek counterpart Mars |
| #5940, aired 2010-06-11 | FLAGS & BANNERS: This 15th century person said, "I had a banner of which the field was sprinkled with lilies"; written on top: "Jhesus Maria" Joan of Arc |
| #5939, aired 2010-06-10 | SHORT STORIES: In an 1842 tale he wrote, "Down--still unceasingly--still inevitably down!... I shrunk convulsively at its every sweep" Edgar Allan Poe |
| #5938, aired 2010-06-09 | ARTISTS: She's seen wearing a rebozo in her 1937 "Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky" Frida Kahlo |
| #5937, aired 2010-06-08 | U.S. MILITARY HISTORY: This general commanded the first official American force to fight on the European continent John Pershing |
| #5936, aired 2010-06-07 | METEOROLOGY: Low- & high-pressure systems & tropical moisture set the stage for a 1991 nor'easter nicknamed these 2 words "Perfect Storm" |
| #5935, aired 2010-06-04 | AMERICAN POLITICIANS: Frank Sinatra came out of retirement to sing their praises: "They're both unique... the Quaker & the Greek" Richard Nixon & Spiro Agnew |
| #5934, aired 2010-06-03 | FILM HISTORY: Written by Thomas Dixon, 1916's film "The Fall of a Nation" is considered the first of these ever made a sequel |
| #5933, aired 2010-06-02 | HISTORICAL PHRASES: Before it meant a space between opposing armies, it referred to an execution site outside the walls of London no man's land |
| #5932, aired 2010-06-01 | THE U.S. MILITARY: This corps' motto is "Building strong" the Army Corps of Engineers |
| #5931, aired 2010-05-31 | ENGLISH POETS: Translator Edward Fitzgerald wrote that her 1861 "death is rather a relief to me... no more Aurora Leighs, thank God" Elizabeth Barrett Browning |
| #5930, aired 2010-05-28 | AWARDS & HONORS: A trophy named for this author is awarded to anyone who breaks the record for sailing a yacht around the world Jules Verne |
| #5929, aired 2010-05-27 | COLONIAL AFRICA: In 1945 Africa had only 4 independent countries; these 2 started with the same first letter Egypt & Ethiopia |
| #5928, aired 2010-05-26 | PEDIATRICS: In 1943 Drs. Leo Kanner & Hans Asperger each used this word for the then-unnamed disorder they were studying autism |
| #5927, aired 2010-05-25 | FAMILIAR PHRASES: This 3-word phrase originated with a signal sent by General Sherman; today it means to be in charge temporarily hold the fort |
| #5926, aired 2010-05-24 | AMERICAN CITIES: 6 of the top 10 U.S. cities in population are found in these 2 states California & Texas |
| #5925, aired 2010-05-21 | FROM NOVEL TO FILM: First published in 1880 & made into a film in 1907, 1925 & 1959, it was the first work of fiction blessed by a pope Ben-Hur |
| #5924, aired 2010-05-20 | AFRICAN CAPITALS: This West Central African capital grew out of a settlement that France established for freed slaves in 1849 Libreville |
| #5923, aired 2010-05-19 | OPERA: The aria "Pour mon ame" by Donizetti includes 9 of these; a few tenors have earned the nickname "King of" them high Cs |
| #5922, aired 2010-05-18 | ROMAN EMPERORS: In 59 A.D. Agrippina wrote to this man, her son, "Tell me why I should plot against your life?"--she was killed anyway Nero |
| #5921, aired 2010-05-17 | 20th CENTURY THINKERS: Refusing to imprison this man for demonstrating during the 1960s, de Gaulle said, "One does not arrest Voltaire" Jean-Paul Sartre |
| #5920, aired 2010-05-14 | THE 50 STATES: It's the only state from which rainwater flows to the Pacific, the Atlantic & Hudson Bay Montana |
| #5919, aired 2010-05-13 | BUSY PRESIDENTS: He had previously been a U.S. senator, minister to France, England & Spain, Secretary of War, Secretary of State & Governor of Virginia James Monroe |
| #5918, aired 2010-05-12 | 18th CENTURY SCOTSMEN: A relative of this inventor described him as a boy staring at the tea kettle for an hour watching it boil James Watt |
| #5917, aired 2010-05-11 | WORDS IN THE BIBLE: In Genesis 2:24 these 2 words are what a man shall do to his parents & then to his wife; add a letter to 1 to get the other leave & cleave |
| #5916, aired 2010-05-10 | ENGLISH LITERARY HISTORY: Immediately before the Caroline era came this one, also from the monarch's Latin name Jacobean |
| #5915, aired 2010-05-07 | MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES: In 1949 this kingdom dropped the word "Trans" from the beginning of its name Jordan |
| #5914, aired 2010-05-06 | AMERICAN LITERATURE: A contemporary review of this 1851 novel said, "Who would have looked for... poetry in blubber?" Moby-Dick |
| #5913, aired 2010-05-05 | MOVIE HISTORY: During the making of this classic, sets from "King Kong" & "The Garden of Allah" were intentionally burned down Gone with the Wind |
| #5912, aired 2010-05-04 | OFFICIAL STATE SONGS: In 1953 it became the only state whose official song was written for a Broadway musical Oklahoma |
| #5911, aired 2010-05-03 | U.S.A.: Chocolate Avenue & Cocoa Avenue are 2 of the main thoroughfares in this town that was established in 1903 Hershey, Pennsylvania |
| #5910, aired 2010-04-30 | TOYS: Original sets of this toy that was first sold in 1918 included plans for building Uncle Tom's Cabin Lincoln Logs |
| #5909, aired 2010-04-29 | POETS ON POETS: Coleridge said this poet will "not be remembered at all, except as a wicked lord who... pretended to be ten times more wicked than he was" Lord Byron |
| #5908, aired 2010-04-28 | SCIENCE HISTORY: In August 1971 on the Moon's surface, an astronaut repeated a famous experiment & declared that this man "was correct" Galileo |
| #5907, aired 2010-04-27 | CANADIAN HISTORY: A river is named for this man born in Scotland in 1764, the first European known to have crossed Canada Alexander Mackenzie |
| #5906, aired 2010-04-26 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: He's the only president sworn in on a Catholic missal; it wasn't his Lyndon Baines Johnson |
| #5905, aired 2010-04-23 | WORDS FROM THE FRENCH: The first known use of this word in the U.S. was in an obituary for wealthy banker Pierre Lorillard in 1843 millionaire |
| #5904, aired 2010-04-22 | TELECOMMUNICATIONS TERMINOLOGY: In 1992 New York got the first one: 917 an overlay area code |
| #5903, aired 2010-04-21 | SAINTHOOD: In 2009 this man who died on Molokai in 1889 became Hawaii's first saint Father Damien |
| #5902, aired 2010-04-20 | THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY: Joining such pop culture icons as Dorothy's ruby slippers, this was donated to the museum by Jerry Seinfeld in 2004 the puffy shirt |
| #5901, aired 2010-04-19 | WORLD WAR II: On June 5, 1944 FDR said of the capture of this city, "One up and two to go" Rome |
| #5900, aired 2010-04-16 | ACTORS: In 1970 he became the first professional actor to be named a lord Laurence Olivier |
| #5899, aired 2010-04-15 | BEATLES SONGS: The title of this Beatles song is a Yoruba phrase that means "life goes on" "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" |
| #5898, aired 2010-04-14 | POLITICALLY CORRECT POP CULTURE: The violence goes on, but in 2006 Time Warner TV removed depictions of this activity from old "Tom and Jerry" cartoons smoking |
| #5897, aired 2010-04-13 | BRAND LOGOS: Its original logo, designed in 1976, showed Isaac Newton sitting under a tree Apple Computer |
| #5896, aired 2010-04-12 | NEW SPORTS: In 2008, Middlebury College in Vermont won its 2nd straight championship in this sport introduced in a 1997 novel Quidditch |
| #5895, aired 2010-04-09 | 19th CENTURY BRITISH LITERATURE: In chapter 10, "The whole mystery of the handkerchiefs, and the watches, and the jewels... rushed upon" this title boy's "mind" Oliver Twist |
| #5894, aired 2010-04-08 | PORTRAIT SUBJECTS: One of Goya's few portraits of a foreigner was of this Englishman painted in 1812 the Duke of Wellington |
| #5893, aired 2010-04-07 | CELEBRITY NAMES: This Oscar winner who had his own WB sitcom took his last name as a tribute to an earlier comic & sitcom star Jamie Foxx |
| #5892, aired 2010-04-06 | THE ANIMAL KINGDOM: The coelacanth & the ivory-billed woodpecker are sometimes referred to as this biblical man "species" Lazarus |
| #5891, aired 2010-04-05 | FASHION HISTORY: It was unveiled July 5, 1946, at Paris' Piscine Molitor & created a scandal the bikini |
| #5890, aired 2010-04-02 | THE MIDDLE AGES: Some say the Dark Ages began when Byzantine Emperor Justinian closed this city's school of philosophy in 529 A.D. Athens |
| #5889, aired 2010-04-01 | LITERARY INFLUENCES: A 1919 Shaw play subtitled "A Fantasia in the Russian Manner..." is an homage to this playwright who died in 1904 Anton Chekhov |
| #5888, aired 2010-03-31 | INTO AFRICA: James Bruce taught himself Arabic & Amharic to prepare for his 1768 journey upriver in search of this spot the source of the Nile |
| #5887, aired 2010-03-30 | NAVAL HEROES: When he was killed in battle in 1805, he was wearing a uniform coat with sewn-on replicas of his 4 orders of chivalry Admiral Nelson |
| #5886, aired 2010-03-29 | 19th CENTURY LITERATURE: In an 1877 novel Mrs. Gordon initially suggests the name Ebony for this title character Black Beauty |
| #5885, aired 2010-03-26 | PHRASE ORIGINS: In 1945 George Orwell coined this 2-word phrase for "an epoch as horribly stable as the slave empires of antiquity" cold war |
| #5884, aired 2010-03-25 | U.S. TOURISM: You can reach this town's convention & visitors bureau by calling 1-TOMANDHUCK Hannibal, Missouri |
| #5883, aired 2010-03-24 | ANIMATED MOVIES: The answer to the title of this Oscar winner is Judge Doom Who Framed Roger Rabbit |
| #5882, aired 2010-03-23 | THE 50 STATES: Benjamin Harrison had the admission orders shuffled, so no one knows which of these 2 states was 39th & which was 40th North & South Dakota |
| #5881, aired 2010-03-22 | SHAKESPEARE TITLES: It's not one of the Bard's better-known comedy titles, but has the distinction of containing the most apostrophes Love's Labour's Lost |
| #5880, aired 2010-03-19 | 1940s MUSIC HISTORY: While writing for Billboard, legendary producer Jerry Wexler coined this phrase to replace "race music" rhythm & blues |
| #5879, aired 2010-03-18 | AUTHORS: In 1890 he witnessed a mild cyclone in Aberdeen, South Dakota, fodder for his most famous novel L. Frank Baum |
| #5878, aired 2010-03-17 | LEGENDARY WOMEN: In various tales, she is abducted by Melwas, Meleagant & Mordred Guinevere |
| #5877, aired 2010-03-16 | FAMOUS AMERICANS: About him F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, "In the spring of '27, something bright and alien flashed across the sky..." Charles Lindbergh |
| #5876, aired 2010-03-15 | RELIGION: In 1875 she wrote, "Jesus of Nazareth was the most scientific man that ever trod the globe" Mary Baker Eddy |
| #5875, aired 2010-03-12 | FILM LEGENDS: His only competitive Oscar win was for Best Score in 1973 for a 1952 film in which he had starred as a washed-up comic Charlie Chaplin |
| #5874, aired 2010-03-11 | THE NUCLEAR AGE: This country has 104 nuclear reactors, more than any other country the United States |
| #5873, aired 2010-03-10 | U.S. PLACES IN LITERATURE: This fishing port is the setting for Kipling's "Captains Courageous" & the wreck of the Hesperus was nearby Gloucester, Massachusetts |
| #5872, aired 2010-03-09 | THE INTERNET: Words regularly censored out of Chinese blogs include minzhu, which means this, from the Greek for "people" democracy |
| #5871, aired 2010-03-08 | WORLD TRAVEL: If you want to visit this country, you can fly into Sunan International Airport or... or not visit this country North Korea |
| #5870, aired 2010-03-05 | PLAYS: Dialogue from this play: "He didn't say for sure he'd come." "And if he doesn't come?" "We'll come back tomorrow" Waiting for Godot |
| #5869, aired 2010-03-04 | SENATE COMMITTEES: 1-word name of the committee that sets the spending priorities that the Finance & Appropriation committees carry out budget |
| #5868, aired 2010-03-03 | BRITISH HISTORY: Dying in 2009 at age 113, British WWI vet Henry Allingham was the last original surviving member of this group, formed 1918 the Royal Air Force |
| #5867, aired 2010-03-02 | FOOD TRADITIONS: Since the 1100s Dunmow, England has rewarded newlyweds who go a year & a day without arguing by letting them "bring home" this the bacon |
| #5866, aired 2010-03-01 | NOTORIOUS: Often described as a redhead, this accused killer called her hair light brown on her 1890 passport application Lizzie Borden |
| #5865, aired 2010-02-26 | LANDMARKS: Begun in 1174, it was finally stabilized in May 2008, after more than 700 years of slow movement the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
| #5864, aired 2010-02-25 | SCIENTIFIC MNEMONICS: "Kings play chess on finely grained sand" is a mnemonic device used to help remember a system devised by this scientist Carolus Linnaeus |
| #5863, aired 2010-02-24 | THE ACADEMY AWARDS: He was nominated for 8 Best Actor Oscars, including one for a 1961 film; his only win came for its 1986 sequel Paul Newman |
| #5862, aired 2010-02-23 | MONARCHS: In 2001 Bulgaria elected as prime minister its former child monarch, the only person now living to have held this royal title czar |
| #5861, aired 2010-02-22 | KINGS & LITERATURE: Though called "the most hapless of monarchs", this king is in the title of Shakespeare's only trilogy Henry VI |
| #5860, aired 2010-02-19 | ARTISTS: In 1882 he wrote, "Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony, and music inside me" Vincent van Gogh |
| #5859, aired 2010-02-18 | ENTREPRENEURS: When he passed away in December 1980, flags in Kentucky flew at half-staff for 4 days Colonel Sanders |
| #5858, aired 2010-02-17 | RELIGIOUS WORDS: Surprisingly, this word appears only twice in the New Testament, once in Acts & once in the First Epistle of Peter Christian |
| #5857, aired 2010-02-16 | THE AFI's 50 GREATEST FILM HEROES: Of the 50 on the list, the only character that wasn't portrayed by a human Lassie |
| #5856, aired 2010-02-15 | WASHINGTON, D.C.: Some of the sculptures outside the entrance of this building depict Moses, Confucius, Solon & William Howard Taft the Supreme Court building |
| #5855, aired 2010-02-12 | BIBLICAL KINGS: These 2 men first meet in 1 Samuel 16 when one becomes aware of the musical talent of the other David & Saul |
| #5854, aired 2010-02-11 | COLLEGE HISTORY: The Pittsburgh university named for Andrew Carnegie is the USA's first to offer a degree in this musical instrument the bagpipes |
| #5853, aired 2010-02-10 | AMERICAN HEROES: He said, "I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way" John Paul Jones |
| #5852, aired 2010-02-09 | ASTRONOMY: With a mass of 4.31 millions Suns, Sagittarius A* is thought to be a supermassive one of these in the Milky Way's center black hole |
| #5851, aired 2010-02-08 | RANKS & TITLES: Owain Glyndwr, who died circa 1416, was the last native of his country to claim this title Prince of Wales |
| #5850, aired 2010-02-05 | RECENT BOOKS: In a lecture called "Storia Senza Storia" (Story Without History), an Italian cardinal rebutted claims in this 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code |
| #5849, aired 2010-02-04 | 20th CENTURY PEOPLE: The July 1, 1946 cover of Time magazine depicted him with the caption, "All matter is speed and flame" Albert Einstein |
| #5848, aired 2010-02-03 | OLYMPIC VENUES: At above 7,000 feet, this Western Hemisphere city had the highest altitude ever of a Summer Olympics host city Mexico City |
| #5847, aired 2010-02-02 | FAMOUS AMERICANS: At his death in 1790, he left 200-year trust funds to the cities of Boston & Philadelphia Benjamin Franklin |
| #5846, aired 2010-02-01 | MEDICINE: The genes of this organism were discovered to be 2 parts pig, 1 part human & 1 part bird H1N1 (or swine flu) |
| #5845, aired 2010-01-29 | PRO SPORTS: The official address of the Atlanta Braves is No. 755 on the drive named for this man Hank Aaron |
| #5844, aired 2010-01-28 | 19th CENTURY ARTISTS: This Frenchman once said, "I will astonish Paris with an apple"--here are a few of them Paul Cézanne |
| #5843, aired 2010-01-27 | THE 1960s: In 1962 the people of Perth, Australia saluted this American by turning their lights on & off at the same time John Glenn |
| #5842, aired 2010-01-26 | 19th CENTURY LITERATURE: Chapter II of this novel says, "My eyes were not to be deceived. I was indeed awake and among the Carpathians" Dracula |
| #5841, aired 2010-01-25 | SPORTS CITIES: It's the only city whose teams won the Super Bowl & the Stanley Cup in the same calendar year Pittsburgh |
| #5840, aired 2010-01-22 | THE CABINET: Created by the Continental Congress in 1775, this officer joined the Cabinet in 1829 but was removed from it in 1971 the Postmaster General |
| #5839, aired 2010-01-21 | COMIC STRIP CHARACTERS: Created in 1950, he finally hit a home run on March 30, 1993 Charlie Brown |
| #5838, aired 2010-01-20 | CITIES IN ENGLAND: The Roman name for this city was Aquae Sulis Bath |
| #5837, aired 2010-01-19 | U.S. STATE NAMES: It's the only 1-word U.S. state that contains the entire name, in order, of another state Arkansas |
| #5836, aired 2010-01-18 | EARLY MAN: A theory of the origin & spread of humankind is called this, also the title of an Oscar-winning movie of the 1980s Out of Africa |
| #5835, aired 2010-01-15 | BUSINESS: On April 17, 1973 this company began operations with the launch of 14 small aircraft from Memphis International Airport Federal Express |
| #5834, aired 2010-01-14 | COLONISTS: Among the 6 children of this colonist were Mary, Freeborn, Mercy & Providence Roger Williams |
| #5833, aired 2010-01-13 | RECORD OF THE YEAR GRAMMY WINNERS: This song's recording session occurred right after the 1985 American Music Awards & lasted all night long "We Are The World" |
| #5832, aired 2010-01-12 | FAMOUS WOMEN: Halls of fame into which she's been inducted include the California, National Women's, National Aviation & U.S. Astronaut Sally Ride |
| #5831, aired 2010-01-11 | THE PARTS OF SPEECH: Of the traditional 8 parts of speech, it's the only one that doesn't end in the same 4 letters as 1 of the other parts of speech adjective |
| #5830, aired 2010-01-08 | AUTHORS: In "Comics Review" in 1965, "I was a Teenage Grave Robber" was his first published work; he's still going strong Stephen King |
| #5829, aired 2010-01-07 | TV HISTORY: When this animated TV show premiered, it was sponsored by One-A-Day vitamins & Winston cigarettes The Flintstones |
| #5828, aired 2010-01-06 | COUNTRY MUSIC LEGENDS: Before he was found dead January 1, 1953, the last single he released was "I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive" Hank Williams |
| #5827, aired 2010-01-05 | ART HISTORY: Unique quality of "First Communion of Anemic Young Girls in the Snow", shown at the 1883 Arts Incoherents exhibit it was all white |
| #5826, aired 2010-01-04 | AUTHORS' QUOTATIONS: "I had no idea of originating an American flapper... I simply took girls whom I knew very well" & "used them for my heroines" F. Scott Fitzgerald |
| #5825, aired 2010-01-01 | ROSE BOWL HISTORY: The only time the game wasn't held in Calif. was 1942, when it was in N.C., amidst fears of another event like this one Pearl Harbor |
| #5824, aired 2009-12-31 | ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS: 2nd only to Walt Disney's 59, this composer's 45 nominations include the "The Towering Inferno" & "Saving Private Ryan" John Williams |
| #5823, aired 2009-12-30 | THE CONSTITUTION: Just 37 words, it's in the article on the executive branch & is the only part of the Constitution that is in quote marks the Presidential Oath of Office |
| #5822, aired 2009-12-29 | AMERICAN MUSIC: The brilliance of Anne Brown, a soprano, changed the title of a 1935 opera that was to be called simply this one name Porgy |
| #5821, aired 2009-12-28 | AMERICAN HISTORY: On April 14, 1865 Abraham Lincoln authorized this govt. agency; its main job then was to protect against counterfeiting the Secret Service |
| #5820, aired 2009-12-25 | CLASSICAL MUSIC: A chorus in this 1741 work says, "King of kings and Lord of lords and He shall reign forever and ever" Handel's Messiah |
| #5819, aired 2009-12-24 | SPORTSWOMEN: Referring to a 1999 incident, her autobiography is titled "It's Not About the Bra" Brandi Chastain |
| #5818, aired 2009-12-23 | -ISMS: This term for an economic system first appeared in English in Thackeray's "The Newcomes", about the rise of a family capitalism |
| #5817, aired 2009-12-22 | FLAGS: In a policy begun in 2002 as a symbol of the War on Terrorism, U.S. Navy ships fly the 18th c. flag with this 4-word motto Dont tread on me |
| #5816, aired 2009-12-21 | 20th CENTURY WEDDINGS: Her 1956 wedding attracted more than 1,500 news reporters to a country with just 20,000 citizens at the time Grace Kelly |
| #5815, aired 2009-12-18 | HEALTH & FITNESS: Dr. Kenneth Cooper added "S" to a medical adjective to coin this word for the kind of exercise he advocated in a 1968 book aerobics |
| #5814, aired 2009-12-17 | FADS: It was inspired by a piece of Australian physical education equipment & 100 million were sold worldwide in 1958 the hula hoop |
| #5813, aired 2009-12-16 | 1970s BESTSELLERS: The preface to this novel says its title is a trademark phrase of General Mills, used on a cereal product Breakfast of Champions |
| #5812, aired 2009-12-15 | NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS: This bird is known for its size (5 feet tall), its call (carries 2 miles) & its rarity; in 1941 there were only 21 in the wild the whooping crane |
| #5811, aired 2009-12-14 | SPACE NEWS: In 2009 NASA named the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill for this man Stephen Colbert |
| #5810, aired 2009-12-11 | OPEC: This African nation of 150 million is the only member of OPEC that's also a member of the British Commonwealth Nigeria |
| #5809, aired 2009-12-10 | 1989 NO. 1 HITS: The Billboard Book of No. 1 Hits says this song brought mail from history teachers who hailed it as an educational aid "We Didn't Start The Fire" (by Billy Joel) |
| #5808, aired 2009-12-09 | HISTORIC AMERICANS: His collection of books suffered disastrous fires at the home called Shadwell in 1770 & at the Library of Congress in 1851 Thomas Jefferson |
| #5807, aired 2009-12-08 | LITERATURE OF THE 1800s: This character said, "I will live in the past, the present, and the future. The spirits of all three shall strive within me" Ebenezer Scrooge |
| #5806, aired 2009-12-07 | TOYS: In 1963 sculptor Phil Kraczkowski was paid $600 to design this Hasbro toy's original head G.I. Joe |
| #5805, aired 2009-12-04 | THE 13th CENTURY: In 1298 this explorer created his "Description of the World" Marco Polo |
| #5804, aired 2009-12-03 | SHAKESPEARE'S WOMEN: The name of this royal daughter from a tragedy is from a word meaning "little king" Regan (from King Lear) |
| #5803, aired 2009-12-02 | PHRASE ORIGINS: Used in 1947's "U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey", this 2-word term became widely used again in NYC on 9/11/01 ground zero |
| #5802, aired 2009-12-01 | POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY: The subtitle of this influential 1762 treatise is "Principes du droit politique" ("Principles of Political Right") The Social Contract (by Jean-Jacques Rousseau) |
| #5801, aired 2009-11-30 | POLITICAL NONFICTION: This book begins, "June 17, 1972. Nine o'clock Saturday morning" All the President's Men |
| #5800, aired 2009-11-27 | PLANET EARTH: Despite its name, this ocean current outdoes any river; at maximum flow off the Carolinas, its flow is 3,500 times the Mississippi's the Gulf Stream |
| #5799, aired 2009-11-26 | ENGINEERING FEATS: In 1937 its chief engineer wrote a poem about it, mentioning its "titan piers" & the "Redwood Empire" to the north the Golden Gate Bridge |
| #5798, aired 2009-11-25 | POSTAL ABBREVIATIONS: A state since the 1700s but not in the original 13, it ends with its own 2-letter postal abbreviation Kentucky |
| #5797, aired 2009-11-24 | COMPOSERS: In 1928, the 100th anniversary of his death, a $10,000 prize was offered for the completion of his 8th Symphony (Franz) Schubert |
| #5796, aired 2009-11-23 | ODD TITLES: Gilbert & Sullivan's "Mikado", not Milne, gave us this hyphenated title for a pompous functionary grand poo-bah |
| #5795, aired 2009-11-20 | PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: He was the last sitting president to run for re-election & finish third in the Electoral College William Howard Taft |
| #5794, aired 2009-11-19 | FILM DIRECTORS: His work of the 1930s & '40s is so associated with sentimentality that his name is often combined with "corn" Frank Capra |
| #5793, aired 2009-11-18 | THE 18th CENTURY: If the Earl of Chesterfield hadn't gotten England to adopt this, he'd have died March 13 instead of March 24, 1773 the Gregorian Calendar |
| #5792, aired 2009-11-17 | MOVIES & DANCE: Derived from other traditional dances & still popular today, the syrtaki was created for this 1964 movie Zorba the Greek |
| #5791, aired 2009-11-16 | CLASSIC SONGS FROM MOVIES: 6-word title of the song that says, "For the house fell on her head & the coroner pronounced her dead" "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" |
| #5790, aired 2009-11-13 | HISTORIC SPEECHES: He said, "We look forward to a world founded upon" freedom of speech, of worship, from want & from fear Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
| #5789, aired 2009-11-12 | 19th CENTURY NOVELISTS: She wrote that "happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance" Jane Austen |
| #5788, aired 2009-11-11 | THE WORLD AFTER WWII: This peninsula was divided when Japan surrendered to the U.S. below the 38th parallel & to the Soviet Union north of it the Korean Peninsula |
| #5787, aired 2009-11-10 | ARCHITECTURE: De Maupassant, Zola & Dumas fils were among those signing a petition decrying it as "a gigantic... factory chimney" the Eiffel Tower |
| #5786, aired 2009-11-09 | THE OLD TESTAMENT: This man was given the armor, helmet & sword of the first king of Israel, but refused to use them David |
| #5785, aired 2009-11-06 | STATE CAPITALS: It's the only 3-word state capital Salt Lake City |
| #5784, aired 2009-11-05 | THE PLANETS: It's the densest of the planets in our solar system & the only one not named for a deity Earth |
| #5783, aired 2009-11-04 | LONDON LANDMARKS: A statue of him stands outside the London Underground Baker Street station Sherlock Holmes |
| #5782, aired 2009-11-03 | NUMBERS & LETTERS: It's the world's most common number system & second-most common alphabet Arabic |
| #5781, aired 2009-11-02 | HISTORIC AMERICANS: On July 11, 1804 he gasped to his doctor, "This is a mortal wound"; he died the next day Alexander Hamilton |
| #5780, aired 2009-10-30 | PRESIDENTIAL NAMES: He's the only president whose first & last names contain the same pair of double letters Millard Fillmore |
| #5779, aired 2009-10-29 | THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR DRAMA: 1 of the 2 1-word plays, winners in 2001 & 2005, which both became movies; if you have one, you want the other (1 of) Proof & Doubt |
| #5778, aired 2009-10-28 | OLYMPIC CITIES: It's the only U.S. state capital to have hosted the Summer Olympics Atlanta, Georgia |
| #5777, aired 2009-10-27 | LANDMARKS: Operation Felix, a planned 1941 Nazi action to seize this territory, was never carried out because Spain wouldn't go along Gibraltar |
| #5776, aired 2009-10-26 | GODDESSES: Hera sent a gadfly to torment this 2-letter goddess, who later escaped to Egypt across a sea since named for her Io |
| #5775, aired 2009-10-23 | COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD: This Asian nation is the only nation with the same name as its capital & the island on which it's located Singapore |
| #5774, aired 2009-10-22 | U.S. SCIENCE CITIES: This California city has the honor of being the only one in the U.S. to have an element named for it Berkeley |
| #5773, aired 2009-10-21 | AMERICAN THINKERS: He told George Washington he hoped "the Rights of Man may become as universal as your benevolence can wish" Thomas Paine |
| #5772, aired 2009-10-20 | MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: In the early 18th c. Sylvius Leopold Weiss wrote works for these 2 instruments whose names rhyme the flute & the lute |
| #5771, aired 2009-10-19 | NOTABLE WOMEN: When Galveston was devastated by a hurricane in 1900, she traveled 1,500 miles to head up the relief effort Clara Barton |
| #5770, aired 2009-10-16 | SCIENTIFIC FIRSTS: The first object in our solar system discovered by telescope was not a planet but one of these a moon |
| #5769, aired 2009-10-15 | BIBLICAL NAMES: Trees with biblical names include the Joshua tree & the world's oldest tree, a 4,700-year-old pine named for him Methuselah |
| #5768, aired 2009-10-14 | POETS: In a 1921 letter this American-born poet had "a long poem in mind... which I am wishful to finish", & he did at 433 lines T.S. Eliot |
| #5767, aired 2009-10-13 | AFRICAN GEOGRAPHY: It's a landlocked nation in Western Africa & its name is "locked" within the name of a nation on Africa's east coast Mali (in Somalia) |
| #5766, aired 2009-10-12 | ANNIVERSARIES & FAREWELLS: In 2009 it celebrated its 40th anniversary with a farewell tour of the British Isles, where it was built; today, it's in Dubai the Queen Elizabeth 2 |
| #5765, aired 2009-10-09 | THE U.S. SENATE: This man, only the third man to serve his state in the U.S. Senate, left the body in 2009 Ted Stevens |
| #5764, aired 2009-10-08 | ASTRONOMY: Sir William Herschel coined this word in 1802 writing, "They resemble small stars so much..." asteroid |
| #5763, aired 2009-10-07 | AMERICAN HISTORY: He was the only member of the Warren Commission who would later face would-be assassins himself Gerald Ford |
| #5762, aired 2009-10-06 | BIOGRAPHY SUBJECTS: One critic called Peter Martin's book about him "the best biography of the greatest biographer in the English language" James Boswell |
| #5761, aired 2009-10-05 | LANDMARKS: Its creator said its parts represent our nation's founding, expansion, development & preservation Mount Rushmore |
| #5760, aired 2009-10-02 | EMMY WINNERS: These 2 men with 16 total career Emmys appeared in series with Mary Tyler Moore, one playing a TV host, one a TV producer Ed Asner & Carl Reiner |
| #5759, aired 2009-10-01 | GEOGRAPHIC NAMES: For 200 years, much of this large current country was known as "Rupert's Land", in honor of a cousin of Charles II Canada |
| #5758, aired 2009-09-30 | HISTORIC HEADLINES: On Sept. 30, 2008 Daily Variety reprised this 5-word headline from Oct. 30, 1929 Wall Street Lays An Egg |
| #5757, aired 2009-09-29 | MUSIC HALLS OF FAME: 2 of the 4 Country Music Hall of Fame acts who are also in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as performers (2 of) Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee & The Everly Brothers |
| #5756, aired 2009-09-28 | OLD NAMES IN THE NEWS: After running pyramid schemes & spending time in federal prison, he was deported back to Italy in 1934 Carlo Ponzi |
| #5755, aired 2009-09-25 | ANIMALS: Because of the requirements in pumping blood to its brain, it has the highest blood pressure of any living animal the giraffe |
| #5754, aired 2009-09-24 | FROM PAGE TO SCREEN: A 13-page document typed on April 18, 1945 with the names of 801 men inspired a 1982 book & this 1993 film Schindler's List |
| #5753, aired 2009-09-23 | 17th CENTURY BRITISH HISTORY: The lantern with which he planned to initiate his most famous act is in the possession of England's Ashmolean Museum Guy Fawkes |
| #5752, aired 2009-09-22 | WORD HISTORY: Once a type of Roman arena, in the 18th century this 6-letter word gained its current meaning as a type of entertainment circus |
| #5751, aired 2009-09-21 | THE INTERNET: In a registered website domain name, it's the only mark allowed that isn't a letter, number or the dot a dash |
| #5750, aired 2009-09-18 | BRITISH AUTHORS: Though known for writing nonsense verse, he gave Queen Victoria drawing lessons & Tennyson wrote a poem to him Edward Lear |
| #5749, aired 2009-09-17 | FAMOUS ACTORS: Ironically, he lost the leading role in the 1960 play "The Best Man" because he didn't look presidential Ronald Reagan |
| #5748, aired 2009-09-16 | 20th CENTURY WOMEN: She won gold at the 1928, 1932 & 1936 Winter Olympics & also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Sonja Henie |
| #5747, aired 2009-09-15 | PRESIDENTIAL ANCESTORS: His first ancestor to come to America, a maternal forebear, was a Huguenot, Philippe de la Noye, in 1621 Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
| #5746, aired 2009-09-14 | WORD ORIGINS: This skilled army job may have been named for a bird because soldiers tested their rifle accuracy by shooting them a sniper |
