#8346, aired 2021-03-01 | GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS: In "Histoire des Navigations aux Terres Australes" Charles de Brosses coined this term for the many islands of the region Polynesia |
#8345, aired 2021-02-26 | EARLY U.S. HISTORY: Elbridge Gerry, Charles Pinckney & John Marshall were the diplomats in this 1797 incident that led to a quasi-war with France the XYZ Affair |
#8344, aired 2021-02-25 | LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES: Losing its ocean access in 1993, this African Union member is the most populous landlocked nation, with 110 million people Ethiopia |
#8343, aired 2021-02-24 | BUSINESS HISTORY: David McConnell's cosmetics & perfume co. was rebranded in 1939 with this name, honoring the home of his favorite playwright Avon |
#8342, aired 2021-02-23 | MOVIE DIRECTORS: Along with his writing partner, this director is the only person to win screenwriting Oscars for both a film & its sequel Francis Ford Coppola |
#8341, aired 2021-02-22 | MUSIC: Just 24 notes, this piece is nicknamed "Butterfield's Lullaby" for the U.S. Army general who arranged it "Taps" |
#8340, aired 2021-02-19 | WORLD SURNAMES: In 2019, for the first time, this nation allowed for non-gendered last names with the suffix -bur Iceland |
#8339, aired 2021-02-18 | 19th CENTURY PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS: The first campaign of this man, who at 36 was the youngest major party nominee ever, was supported by the silver mining industry William Jennings Bryan |
#8338, aired 2021-02-17 | WINTER SPORTS: The specific skill that gave this sport its name was eliminated from international competition after the 1990 World Championships figure skating |
#8337, aired 2021-02-16 | GEOGRAPHIC NAMESAKES: In 1857 the former Surveyor-General of India objected to giving his name to this landmark as "the natives could not pronounce" it Mount Everest |
#8336, aired 2021-02-15 | PLAYWRIGHTS: This late writer has had 10 plays on Broadway, most of them set in Pittsburgh like "Jitney", which premiered in 2017 August Wilson |
#8335, aired 2021-02-12 | ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHERS: Asked to describe this 4th century B.C. member of the Cynics, Plato called him "a Socrates gone mad" Diogenes |
#8334, aired 2021-02-11 | THE OSCARS: The first time an individual won 4 awards at a single ceremony was in 1954, when his wins included Best 2-Reel Short Subject Walt Disney |
#8333, aired 2021-02-10 | HISTORIC NAMESAKES: This aircraft was named for the second president of the Weimar Republic Hindenburg |
#8332, aired 2021-02-09 | THE 50 STATES: While it has only 31 miles of coastline on the Atlantic, its shoreline is almost 3,200 miles thanks to a large estuary & its tributaries Maryland |
#8331, aired 2021-02-08 | WORLD LITERATURE: In a classic novel from 1866, the murders of 2 women take place in this city St. Petersburg |
#8330, aired 2021-02-05 | POPES & HISTORY: Late 16th century Pope Sixtus V regarded this invasion force as a crusade & promised indulgences to all who participated the Spanish Armada |
#8329, aired 2021-02-04 | CABLE NETWORKS: In March 1979 Tip O'Neill & then-Representative Al Gore were the first politicians to speak on this new cable channel C-SPAN |
#8328, aired 2021-02-03 | EUROPEAN ROYALTY: In 1653 King Louis XIV performed as this Greco-Roman god in the ballet "de la Nuit" Apollo |
#8327, aired 2021-02-02 | WRITERS FOR CHILDREN: The Dartmouth Alumni Magazine gave "rejoice" as a rhyme for the correct pronunciation of his name Dr. Seuss |
#8326, aired 2021-02-01 | SCIENCE WORDS: This word used to denote an irreversible dispersion of energy was coined in the 1860s to sound a bit like "energy" entropy |
#8325, aired 2021-01-29 | BRITISH ARMY HISTORY: The Army's longest continuous campaign, 1969-2007, began in this Northern Ireland city known by either of 2 different names Londonderry/Derry |
#8324, aired 2021-01-28 | 20th CENTURY AUTHORS: In a 1959 article he wrote, "People began to call themselves beatniks, beats... bugniks &... I was called the 'avatar' of all this" Jack Kerouac |
#8323, aired 2021-01-27 | THE WILD WEST: These 2 legends both known for buckskin clothes & long, flowing hair met violent ends 38 days apart, in Montana & South Dakota (George Armstrong) Custer & (Wild Bill) Hickok |
#8322, aired 2021-01-26 | POP MUSIC: First released as a single in 1982, this song was re-released & charted again 17 years later & 17 years after that "1999" |
#8321, aired 2021-01-25 | WORLD GEOGRAPHY: Of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, these 2 on opposite sides of it are the smallest & largest in area Algeria & Monaco |
#8320, aired 2021-01-22 | STATUES: Statues honoring this man who was killed in 1779 can be found in Waimea, Kauai & in Whitby, England (Captain) Cook |
#8319, aired 2021-01-21 | BRITISH WRITERS: When Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days in 1926, this British fellow writer tried to find her with the help of a spiritual medium Arthur Conan Doyle |
#8318, aired 2021-01-20 | THE WESTERN U.S.: About 100 miles apart, they were made state capitals 10 years apart in 1854 & 1864 & both grew rapidly due to precious metals Sacramento & Carson City |
#8317, aired 2021-01-19 | THE BUSINESS OF TRAVEL: Adjusted for inflation, the nightly rate this company put in its name in 1962 is now $51 Motel 6 |
#8316, aired 2021-01-18 | MOVIE SETTINGS: In 2017 this New York City luxury store opened its first cafe, with truffle eggs, waffles & croissants on the menu Tiffany & Co. (Tiffany's) |
#8315, aired 2021-01-15 | QUEEN ELIZABETH II: Of the last 12 sitting U.S. presidents, the only one Elizabeth never met; she had her youngest child 3 months into his presidency Lyndon Johnson |
#8314, aired 2021-01-14 | CHILDREN'S BOOKS: This 1969 book was first printed in Japan because no U.S. company would then make a book with so many holes in the pages The Very Hungry Caterpillar |
#8313, aired 2021-01-13 | WORLD GEOGRAPHY: The Oyapock River forms part of Brazil's 400-mile border with the territory of this European country France |
#8312, aired 2021-01-12 | FAMOUS ANIMALS: When she first came to the world's attention in 1957, she was dubbed "Muttnik" by U.S. journalists Laika |
#8311, aired 2021-01-11 | 1960s SONGS: The name of this title song from a 1964 movie can be translated from Spanish as "Long Live The Meadows" "Viva Las Vegas" |
#8310, aired 2021-01-08 | WOMEN & SCIENCE: Dr. Margaret Todd gave science this word for different forms of one basic substance; it's from the Greek for "equal" & "place" isotope |
#8309, aired 2021-01-07 | MUSICALS: 4 songs from this 1968 musical made the Billboard Top 10, including one with an astrological theme that was No. 1 for 6 weeks Hair |
#8308, aired 2021-01-06 | BLOCKBUSTER MOVIES: Released in 2017, this movie is the highest-grossing film in the U.S. that's set during World War I Wonder Woman |
#8307, aired 2021-01-05 | STATE NAME ORIGINS: The names of these 2 states honor a king & his father, who was executed in 1649 North & South Carolina |
#8306, aired 2021-01-04 | LITERARY CHARACTERS OF THE 1600s: When the title character tells him that a great adventure may win him an island he can govern, he leaves his family Sancho Panza |
#8305, aired 2020-12-18 | INNOVATIONS: This company takes credit for inventing modern gift wrap, dating to its sale of fancy decorated envelope linings at Christmas in 1917 Hallmark |
#8304, aired 2020-12-17 | PLAY CHARACTERS: This title character says, "Who find my visage's center ornament a thing to jest at--it is my wont... to let him taste my steel" Cyrano de Bergerac |
#8303, aired 2020-12-16 | ROYALTY: In 1521 this monarch published the theological treatise "Defense of the Seven Sacraments" Henry VIII |
#8302, aired 2020-12-15 | MAGAZINES: This magazine had the same person on its cover since its founding 20 years ago until it chose Breonna Taylor as its September 2020 cover O, The Oprah Magazine (O) |
#8301, aired 2020-12-14 | FAMOUS PLACES: Opened in 1973, it includes the Joan Sutherland Theatre, named for the singer, & the Utzon Room, named for the architect the Sydney Opera House |
#8300, aired 2020-12-11 | BROADWAY REVIVALS: Ads for the 2020 revival of this musical said, "Something's coming. Something good"; a new movie version is also coming West Side Story |
#8299, aired 2020-12-10 | EUROPEAN GEOGRAPHY: Once a residence of rulers of Austria, this city on the Danube less than 20 miles from Vienna became a national capital in 1993 Bratislava |
#8298, aired 2020-12-09 | AMERICAN LIT: A book by him says, "From the forest came the call…distinct and definite as never before--a long-drawn howl" Jack London |
#8297, aired 2020-12-08 | THE ANCIENT WORLD: He got to propose his own sentence & joked that since he was actually a benefactor of the state, he should get free meals! Socrates |
#8296, aired 2020-12-07 | FANTASTIC BEASTS: Symbols of strength in the Bible include behemoth & this horned creature, perhaps an extinct wild ox, which the King James Version mentions 9 times a unicorn |
#8295, aired 2020-12-04 | ISLAND NATIONS: What's now this nation resisted naval sieges by the Berbers in 1429, the Ottomans in 1565 & Axis WWII air assaults Malta |
#8294, aired 2020-12-03 | 19th CENTURY AMERICANS: In 1858 these 2 men faced each other in Alton, Freeport, Galesburg & 4 other nearby towns Lincoln & Douglas |
#8293, aired 2020-12-02 | NOVEL CHARACTERS: This character from an 1851 novel "was intent on an audacious, immitigable, and supernatural revenge" Captain Ahab |
#8292, aired 2020-12-01 | AVIATORS: Roland Garros, for whom the French Open stadium is named, gained fame with the 460-mile 1st solo flight across this body of water the Mediterranean Sea |
#8291, aired 2020-11-30 | COMEDY MOVIES: In the original script for this 1975 film, the title object was finally found in London's Harrods department store Monty Python and the Holy Grail |
#8290, aired 2020-11-27 | WORLD GEOGRAPHY: Of the 6 mainland African countries through which the equator passes, this landlocked nation is last alphabetically Uganda |
#8289, aired 2020-11-26 | RELIGIOUS WORDS: This sacred syllable is sometimes said to be composed of sounds representing Vishnu, Shiva & Brahma om |
#8288, aired 2020-11-25 | SINGER/ACTRESSES: This California-born woman won a Best Leading Actress Academy Award in 1988, when she had 2 Top 20 hit songs Cher |
#8287, aired 2020-11-24 | HISTORIC DOCUMENTS: One of the liberties listed in this: "No man shall be forced to perform more service for a knight's 'fee'... than is due from it" the Magna Carta |
#8286, aired 2020-11-23 | SECRETARIES OF STATE: Dirk Stikker, Dutch foreign minister 1948-1952, wrote, "Churchill's words won the war"; this American's "words won the peace" (George) Marshall |
#8285, aired 2020-11-20 | MUSICAL THEATER: The word "Practical" was dropped from the title of this hit musical not long before it premiered in 1981 on London's West End Cats |
#8284, aired 2020-11-19 | DOG BREEDS: Alpendog was a proposed name for this dog breed St. Bernard |
#8283, aired 2020-11-18 | COUNTRY NAME ORIGINS: This island country was named for a 16th century Spanish king whose name comes from the Greek for "lover of horses" the Philippines |
#8282, aired 2020-11-17 | FRENCH LITERATURE: An 1862 novel says this character "would have arrested his own father... and would have denounced his mother" Javert |
#8281, aired 2020-11-16 | 18th CENTURY AMERICANS: One eulogizer of this man noted, he "was able to restrain thunderbolts & tyrants" Benjamin Franklin |
#8280, aired 2020-11-13 | U.S. MONUMENTS: More than 100 years after it was first proposed, this monument was dedicated by President Chester Arthur the Washington Monument |
#8279, aired 2020-11-12 | WORLD FLAGS: Both Wales & Bhutan have flags bearing one of these mythical creatures a dragon |
#8278, aired 2020-11-11 | HISTORY OF MEDICINE: 2020 marks the 55th birthday of the first piece of equipment dedicated to this process, now used for regular screenings mammogram |
#8277, aired 2020-11-10 | HISTORY IN THE MOVIES: Vehicles in "2001: A Space Odyssey" featured this airline's logo, but the company went bankrupt in 1991 Pan Am |
#8276, aired 2020-11-09 | WORD ORIGINS: This word for a type of building or institution comes from Greek for a place sacred to a mythical group of 9 museum |
#8275, aired 2020-11-06 | FAIRY TALE CHARACTERS: In French, this fairy tale character is La Petite Poucette, in Spanish, Pulgarcita & in English, this Thumbelina |
#8274, aired 2020-11-05 | FOREIGN WORDS IN ENGLISH: The first use of this Spanish term in English was by Wellington referring to partisans in the Peninsular Wars guerrillas |
#8273, aired 2020-11-04 | COUNTRY NAMES: 5 U.N. member countries have one-syllable names: Chad, Laos & these 3 in Europe Spain, France & Greece |
#8272, aired 2020-11-03 | AFRICA: After the removal of the dictator, in 2011 3 broad colored stripes & 2 white symbols were restored to this country's flag Libya |
#8271, aired 2020-11-02 | POLITICAL SPEECHES: At the 2004 DNC, Barack Obama used a fairly new metaphor, saying, "Pundits... slice & dice our country into" these 2 types of states red & blue |
#8270, aired 2020-10-30 | PHRASES OF THE 1950s: A 1954 book review said of this colorful 2-word term, also applied to the post-WWI era, "the underlying hysteria lives on" Red Scare |
#8269, aired 2020-10-29 | LEAD SINGERS: The New York Times said this late Brit's multi-octave range & operatic quality made "even paeans to bicycle riding sound emotional" Freddie Mercury |
#8268, aired 2020-10-28 | AWARDS & HONOREES: He used his 1983 Pritzker Prize money on a scholarship fund for Chinese students to study their profession in the United States I.M. Pei |
#8267, aired 2020-10-27 | THE 13 COLONIES: Pride in the document under which this future state was governed from 1639 to 1662 led to its official state nickname Connecticut |
#8266, aired 2020-10-26 | ANCIENT TEXTS: Developed in the 18th century B.C. & named for a ruler, it aimed to "settle all disputes & heal all injuries" the Code of Hammurabi |
#8265, aired 2020-10-23 | 19th CENTURY SUPREME COURT CASES: Part of the dissent in this 1896 landmark case read, "In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law" Plessy v. Ferguson |
#8264, aired 2020-10-22 | 20th CENTURY ART: In occupied Paris, a German officer asked Picasso if he had done this masterpiece; he replied, "No, you did" Guernica |
#8263, aired 2020-10-21 | SCREENWRITERS: This once-blacklisted screenwriter of "Spartacus" got a posthumous credit & an Oscar for a 1953 film Dalton Trumbo |
#8262, aired 2020-10-20 | CLASSICAL MUSIC: Part of this famous 12-minute opening piece is called "March of the Swiss Soldiers" "William Tell Overture" |
#8261, aired 2020-10-19 | PHRASES FROM LITERATURE: This 2-word phrase in "The Arabian Nights" may have come from an herb bearing seed pods that burst when ripe "Open, Sesame!" |
#8260, aired 2020-10-16 | 20th CENTURY AMERICAN MUSIC: The composer of this 1944 ballet piece said it "concerned a pioneer celebration... around a newly built farmhouse in the... hills" Appalachian Spring |
#8259, aired 2020-10-15 | PSYCHOLOGICAL TERMS: Physician "Cannonball Mike" Friedman defined this behavioral type & admitted the term applied to himself Type A personality |
#8258, aired 2020-10-14 | MOVIE APPEARANCES: Not an actor, this man who died in 2018 appeared briefly in some 40 mainly action films with a combined $30 billion worldwide gross Stan Lee |
#8257, aired 2020-10-13 | LITERARY PRONOUNS: Thanks to a horror film, this novel returned to the bestseller lists in 2017, some 30 years after reaching No. 1 It |
#8256, aired 2020-10-12 | WORLD LICENSE PLATES: Around 2010 the state license plate for Michoacan, Mexico featured these insects (monarch) butterflies |
#8255, aired 2020-10-09 | BOOKS OF THE 1950s: A special edition of this 1953 novel came with an asbestos binding Fahrenheit 451 |
#8254, aired 2020-10-08 | THE AMERICAS: Home to more than 20 million people & 3 different official languages, this island is about 600 miles from the continental U.S. Hispaniola (Hispañola) |
#8253, aired 2020-10-07 | WHO SAID IT IN THE BIBLE?: He tells his son not to worry about the lamb for the burnt offering--God will provide it Abraham |
#8252, aired 2020-10-06 | GEOGRAPHY FUN: It's the largest country in area that begins & ends with the same letter Australia |
#8251, aired 2020-10-05 | FAMOUS AMERICANS: Will Smith & Lennox Lewis were pallbearers at this man's 2016 funeral Muhammad Ali |
#8250, aired 2020-10-02 | ARCHITECTURE: Begun in the 1170s on former marshland, it has been called a "perfect imperfection" & a "legendary mistake" the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
#8249, aired 2020-10-01 | LITERARY TERMS: In medieval times it was a long tale of a hero like Gisli or Njall; today it means any story of epic length saga |
#8248, aired 2020-09-30 | HISTORIC FIGURES: In a 1912 telegram to his wife, he said, "Am feeling fine. Have bullet in chest, but...talked for hour and half after being shot" Teddy Roosevelt |
#8247, aired 2020-09-29 | THE GREAT LAKES: An 1855 poem gives us this Native American name for the 1 Great Lake not known to us today by a Native American word or a tribe's name Gitche Gumee |
#8246, aired 2020-09-28 | ON THE OLD MAP: On the U.N. website's map of the world in 1945, these 2 initials of a member state appear 13 times on continental Africa U.K. |
#8245, aired 2020-09-25 | HIGHEST-PAID ATHLETES: On Forbes' 2020 list of the 100 highest-paid athletes, at age 50 this active individual sportsman is the oldest Phil Mickelson |
#8244, aired 2020-09-24 | ASTRONOMY: Discovered in 1967, the 1st of these stars was dubbed LGM-1--the perceived signal was jokingly thought to be from little green men pulsars |
#8243, aired 2020-09-23 | AMERICAN AUTHORS: Reluctant to write what became her most famous novel, she said, "Never liked girls or knew many, except my sisters" (Louisa May) Alcott |
#8242, aired 2020-09-22 | DIPLOMACY: The book "The Eagle & the Elephant" is about the relationship between the U.S. & this Asian country beginning in 1833 Thailand (Siam) |
#8241, aired 2020-09-21 | PIONEERING EDUCATORS: Before going into education, she graduated from the University of Rome in 1896 & was named assistant doctor at its psych clinic (Maria) Montessori |
#8240, aired 2020-09-18 | ENGLISH POETS: An 1816 poem by him says, "That with music loud and long, I would build that dome in air, That sunny dome!" Coleridge |
#8239, aired 2020-09-17 | 20th CENTURY ARTISTS: "Los Tres Grandes" were José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros & him Diego Rivera |
#8238, aired 2020-09-16 | 19th CENTURY AMERICANS: Obituaries called this man who died in 1820 a celebrated colonel, the first settler in Kentucky & a man who delighted in perils & battle Daniel Boone |
#8237, aired 2020-09-15 | THE MUSIC BIZ: In 2019, at a 60th anniversary event in Detroit, this producer announced his retirement saying he had "come full circle" Berry Gordy |
#8236, aired 2020-09-14 | FAMOUS BUILDINGS: This Rome building with a name from the Greek was described by Michelangelo as coming from "angelic and not human design" the Pantheon |