# U.S. History trivia quiz **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 26, 2007, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091 "2007-10-26T12:09:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/441 "2007-11-07T10:05:21Z")
Now that I think about it, there are at least 2 more, although TTBOMR the death/launch dates were very close. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/442 "2007-11-07T10:07:51Z")
TTBOMR? That one’s got me stumped. (Which are the other two you’re thinking of?) ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/443 "2007-11-07T12:24:32Z")
[QUOTE=Indistinguishable] 223. Pittsburgh 224. The Andy Warhol Museum [/QUOTE] Correct ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/444 "2007-11-07T15:26:26Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] TTBOMR? That one’s got me stumped. (Which are the other two you’re thinking of?) [/QUOTE] The USS _Ronald Reagan_ and _George H.W. Bush_. The next supercarrier, the USS _Gerald R. Ford_, was named just after he died, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/445 "2007-11-07T15:32:24Z")
Time for some computer history… 1. IBM once popularized workplace signs with a single word on them. What was that word? 2. This female naval officer was an early computer pioneer, reached the rank of rear admiral, and had a destroyer named after her. 3. Apple Computer’s mailing address in Cupertino, Calif. is what programming joke? 4. This American company makes extremely expensive, sophisticated supercomputers which are considered by some to be works of art in their own right. 5. Apple’s first major TV ad invoked which dystopic novel? ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/446 "2007-11-07T15:37:03Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Time for some computer history… 1. IBM once popularized workplace signs with a single word on them. What was that word? 2. This female naval officer was an early computer pioneer, reached the rank of rear admiral, and had a destroyer named after her. 3. Apple Computer’s mailing address in Cupertino, Calif. is what programming joke? 4. This American company makes extremely expensive, sophisticated supercomputers which are considered by some to be works of art in their own right. 5. Apple’s first major TV ad invoked which dystopic novel? [/QUOTE] \*\*Think Grace Ada 1 Infinite Loop CRAY 1984\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/447 "2007-11-07T15:39:40Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] 225. IBM once popularized workplace signs with a single word on them. What was that word? 226. This female naval officer was an early computer pioneer, reached the rank of rear admiral, and had a destroyer named after her. 227. Apple Computer’s mailing address in Cupertino, Calif. is what programming joke? 228. This American company makes extremely expensive, sophisticated supercomputers which are considered by some to be works of art in their own right. 229. Apple’s first major TV ad invoked which dystopic novel? [/QUOTE] 225. “Think” 226. Grace Hopper 228. Cray 229. _1984_ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/448 "2007-11-07T16:02:26Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] 1. “Think” 2. Grace Hopper 3. Cray 4. _1984_ [/QUOTE] All correct. **5 time champ** is correct as to 1 Infinite Loop. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/449 "2007-11-07T17:48:37Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] 226. This female naval officer was an early computer pioneer, reached the rank of rear admiral, and had a destroyer named after her. [/QUOTE] Had? The USS _Hopper_ is still in commission. I thought that the proposed name for the USS _Ronald Reagan_ wasn’t selected until after he’d passed away. (And I had managed to avoid noticing that there was going to be a USS George H. W. Bush.) I owe the thread a few more questions… Let’s see. 1. What was the name of the radioactive “health” drink that caused a scandal which provided some of the impetus to get the original legislation forming the FDA passed? 2. True or false: The USDA allows a certain amount of vermin to be found in food marketed to the US public. 3. How did Audubon create his famous paintings of American birds? (FWIW, I had to cheat to make sure I was spelling his name correctly.) 4. What famous disaster occured because of the actions taken by an association intending to improve the local environment? ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/450 "2007-11-07T20:02:21Z")
1. True or false: The USDA allows a certain amount of vermin to be found in food marketed to the US public. Yup. 1. How did Audubon create his famous paintings of American birds? (FWIW, I had to cheat to make sure I was spelling his name correctly.) He shot them. He shot them dead. 1. What famous disaster occured because of the actions taken by an association intending to improve the local environment? I can think of several involving the importation of non-native species of animals and plants, but I doubt that is what you are looking for. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/451 "2007-11-07T20:12:11Z")
[QUOTE=Random] 231. True or false: The USDA allows a certain amount of vermin to be found in food marketed to the US public. Yup. 1. How did Audubon create his famous paintings of American birds? (FWIW, I had to cheat to make sure I was spelling his name correctly.) He shot them. He shot them dead. [/quote] Yup for these two. Audubon also usually ate his specimens after he’d finished painting them. As someone with a larger than normal smart-ass quotient, I enjoy talking to Audubon Society supporters about the man. 😉 Less well-known is that Audubon also did a series of paintings about the mammals of North America, but they were far less successful - in part because he couldn’t pose the specimens in a like-like manner. > [@](#): > > 1. What famous disaster occured because of the actions taken by an association intending to improve the local environment? > > I can think of several involving the importation of non-native species of animals and plants, but I doubt that is what you are looking for. Good point, though the truly disasterous non-native introductions really seem to be a staple of Austrailia. I can think of many nuisance species that have been introduced to North America, but none that rise to the level of disaster, in my mind. (Note: I’m talking specifically about deliberate introductions - not inadvertant piggybacking, such as zebra mussels, maple borers, or Dutch Elm Disease.) The disaster I’m referring to happened on a single day, and is known in capital letters by many people as a single incident - not a continuing problem. It killed, I believe over 1000 people, and certainly hundreds. I may well be low-balling my estimate of the death toll - but per the OP I’m not checking sources to verify anything, and I don’t want to overstate it. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/452 "2007-11-07T20:18:56Z")
Missed the edit window: I’m deliberately not using the word “environmentalist” because the disaster predates the modern definition of that term. And many environmentalists would have doubts about the “environmental consciousness” of the group I’m thinking about. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/453 "2007-11-07T20:29:56Z")
Oh, bother! I thought this was still in preview, and AOL had hiccoughed again. Dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/454 "2007-11-07T20:41:56Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] TTBOMR? That one’s got me stumped. [/QUOTE] To the best of my recollection ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/455 "2007-11-07T20:48:58Z")
1. What famous disaster occured because of the actions taken by an association intending to improve the local environment? **Johnston, PA Flood, the damn dam was built for recreational purposes supposedly.** ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/456 "2007-11-07T20:58:41Z")
[QUOTE=5 time champ] 233. What famous disaster occured because of the actions taken by an association intending to improve the local environment? **Johnston, PA Flood, the damn dam was built for recreational purposes supposedly.** [/QUOTE] Yes. It was owned by a hunting club. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/457 "2007-11-08T00:14:44Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Had? The USS _Hopper_ is still in commission… [/QUOTE] Yes. I simply meant that the naming took place in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/458 "2007-11-08T22:04:23Z")
1. What is the _exact_ title of the top official of the U.S. Supreme Court? 2. Who is the U.S. Government’s top lawyer before the Supreme Court? 3. Only one man has headed both the Federal executive and judicial branches (obviously not simultaneously). Who? 4. There are how many Federal judicial districts (such as the Northern District of Ohio) in the country? 5. Who is the top Federal prosecutor in each district? ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/459 "2007-11-08T22:10:10Z")
1. What is the exact title of the top official of the U.S. Supreme Court? **Chief Justice of the United States** 2. Who is the U.S. Government’s top lawyer before the Supreme Court? **Solicitor General** 3. Only one man has headed both the Federal executive and judicial branches (obviously not simultaneously). Who? **William Howard Taft** 4. There are how many Federal judicial districts (such as the Northern District of Ohio) in the country? **93?** 5. Who is the top Federal prosecutor in each district? **United States Attorney** ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/460 "2007-11-08T22:11:03Z")
1. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States? 2. The Attorney General? (ETA: I had a hunch on Taft but was too meek to post it. Really. And I see this Attorney General vs. Solicitor General thing will haunt me.) (ETA: And I see I was wrong on 234. as well. Oh, but if only I could take back this post…) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091.md?page=24)