# 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:** 30
**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 22, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/581 "2007-11-22T16:04:42Z")
Famous American explorers… 1. This black Arctic explorer is now thought to have sown some wild oats among the native population. 2. This man carried a distinctive flag with an American eagle clutching a peace pipe in its talons; he later ran for President. 3. Jefferson genuinely believed that Lewis and Clark might see this long-extinct animal during their Western explorations. 4. This one-armed Civil War veteran explored the Grand Canyon. 5. This former President nearly died of fever while exploring the South American river that now bears his name. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/582 "2007-11-22T18:44:51Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] 315. Jefferson genuinely believed that Lewis and Clark might see this long-extinct animal during their Western explorations. [/QUOTE] 1. I have to guess mammoth. The dark horse candidate would be the Giant Sloth, but on balance I’m still going with mammoth. ---
**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 23, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/583 "2007-11-23T01:12:30Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] 315. I have to guess mammoth. The dark horse candidate would be the Giant Sloth, but on balance I’m still going with mammoth. [/QUOTE] Correct! Stephen Ambrose tells the story in his book about the L&C expedition. Leading naturalists of the day thought that mammoth might still roam the West in the early 1800s. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/584 "2007-11-23T23:28:40Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Famous American explorers… 1. This black Arctic explorer is now thought to have sown some wild oats among the native population. 2. This man carried a distinctive flag with an American eagle clutching a peace pipe in its talons; he later ran for President. 3. This former President nearly died of fever while exploring the South American river that now bears his name. [/QUOTE] 4. Matthew Henson 5. John Fremont. 6. Theodore Roosevelt. ---
**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 24, 2007, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/585 "2007-11-24T00:49:26Z")
[QUOTE=Governor Quinn] 313. Matthew Henson 1. John Fremont. 2. Theodore Roosevelt. [/QUOTE] Entirely correctamundo. Let’s take to the skies… 1. U.S. pilots in this type of warplane shot down Adm. Yamamoto’s transport plane during WW2. 2. The U-2 spy plane was secretly developed in this facility, named after a comic-strip place. 3. The Wright Brothers gave their first plane this simple name. 4. Despite lobbying by the Nixon Administration, the U.S. Senate killed funding for this American challenger to the Anglo-French Concorde project. 5. This rocket type lifted the Apollo missions off the launchpad. ---
**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 24, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/586 "2007-11-24T01:01:00Z")
1. The Wright Brothers gave their first plane this simple name. **Flyer** 2. Despite lobbying by the Nixon Administration, the U.S. Senate killed funding for this American challenger to the Anglo-French Concorde project. **SST** 3. This rocket type lifted the Apollo missions off the launchpad. **Saturn V** 4. Who was JFK’s White House chief of staff? **Ted Sorenson**?? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/587 "2007-11-24T01:01:59Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Entirely correctamundo. Let’s take to the skies… 1. U.S. pilots in this type of warplane shot down Adm. Yamamoto’s transport plane during WW2. 2. The U-2 spy plane was secretly developed in this facility, named after a comic-strip place. 3. The Wright Brothers gave their first plane this simple name. 4. Despite lobbying by the Nixon Administration, the U.S. Senate killed funding for this American challenger to the Anglo-French Concorde project. 5. This rocket type lifted the Apollo missions off the launchpad. [/QUOTE] Darn! On #317, I was betting on President Joe Orinoco. 1. Spitfire? 2. Saturn V. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/588 "2007-11-24T03:16:26Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] 318. U.S. pilots in this type of warplane shot down Adm. Yamamoto’s transport plane during WW2. 319. The U-2 spy plane was secretly developed in this facility, named after a comic-strip place. [/QUOTE] 1. P-38 Lightnings. In a meticulously planned assassination mission. 2. The Skunkworks. (I thought that the name referred more to the team that made the plans, not the actual facility.) ---
**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 25, 2007, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/589 "2007-11-25T02:01:59Z")
[QUOTE=5 time champ] 320. The Wright Brothers gave their first plane this simple name. **Flyer** 1. Despite lobbying by the Nixon Administration, the U.S. Senate killed funding for this American challenger to the Anglo-French Concorde project. **SST** 2. This rocket type lifted the Apollo missions off the launchpad. **Saturn V** 3. Who was JFK’s White House chief of staff? **Ted Sorenson**?? [/QUOTE] All correct, except 309. ---
**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 25, 2007, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/590 "2007-11-25T02:04:56Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] 318. P-38 Lightnings. In a meticulously planned assassination mission. 1. The Skunkworks. (I thought that the name referred more to the team that made the plans, not the actual facility.) [/QUOTE] Right as to both (although I thought it _was_ the facility). ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/591 "2007-11-25T02:12:36Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Right as to both (although I thought it _was_ the facility). [/QUOTE] You may well be right. I can’t say I know well enough one way or the other. Now that I’ve answered the question, I am free to go running off to read up on it. Oh, shucks. _Quelle dommage_. ---
**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 25, 2007, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/592 "2007-11-25T04:58:21Z")
Of church and state… 1. This Founding Father coined the phrase re: a “wall of separation between church and state.” 2. This denomination featured in several key Supreme Court cases about the mandatory recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools, and the distribution of religious literature in public. 3. The Vatican did not have a papal _nuncio_ (ambassador) accredited to the United States until the administration of this President. 4. This is the only widely-practiced religion today which was established in the U.S. 5. In 1790, President Washington sent a letter praising the religious tolerance of the new republic to a Jewish congregation in this American city. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/593 "2007-11-25T05:03:16Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] 324. This denomination featured in several key Supreme Court cases about the mandatory recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools, and the distribution of religious literature in public. 325. The Vatican did not have a papal _nuncio_ (ambassador) accredited to the United States until the administration of this President. 326. This is the only widely-practiced religion today which was established in the U.S. [/QUOTE] 1. Jehovah’s Witnesses 2. JFK? 3. Mormonism. (Juuuust down the road in Palmyra, NY.) ---
**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 25, 2007, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/594 "2007-11-25T05:17:45Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] 324. Jehovah’s Witnesses 1. JFK? 2. Mormonism. (Juuuust down the road in Palmyra, NY.) [/QUOTE] 3. Correct. 4. No. (Given the times and his own religious affiliation, I don’t think he would have dared). 5. Correct. ---
**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 25, 2007, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/595 "2007-11-25T05:26:08Z")
1. This Founding Father coined the phrase re: a “wall of separation between church and state.” **Thomas Jefferson** 2. The Vatican did not have a papal nuncio (ambassador) accredited to the United States until the administration of this President. **Nixon ??** 3. In 1790, President Washington sent a letter praising the religious tolerance of the new republic to a Jewish congregation in this American city. **Newport, RI** ---
**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 25, 2007, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/596 "2007-11-25T14:37:12Z")
[QUOTE=5 time champ] 323. This Founding Father coined the phrase re: a “wall of separation between church and state.” **Thomas Jefferson** 1. The Vatican did not have a papal nuncio (ambassador) accredited to the United States until the administration of this President. **Nixon ??** 2. In 1790, President Washington sent a letter praising the religious tolerance of the new republic to a Jewish congregation in this American city. **Newport, RI** [/QUOTE] 3. Correct. 4. Incorrect. 5. Correct. A great letter, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/597 "2007-11-25T14:47:45Z")
1. The Vatican did not have a papal nuncio (ambassador) accredited to the United States until the administration of this President. I’m going to go with the obvious. **Kennedy** ---
**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 25, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/598 "2007-11-25T22:01:43Z")
[QUOTE=Zakalwe] 325. The Vatican did not have a papal nuncio (ambassador) accredited to the United States until the administration of this President. I’m going to go with the obvious. **Kennedy** [/QUOTE] Incorrect. See post 594. Let’s turn to historic civilian ships… 1. Robert Fulton’s first small steam-powered ship was named this. 2. Melville was inspired by the loss of this actual whaling vessel in writing about the fate of the whale-rammed _Pequod_ in _Moby Dick_. 3. The fine wooden recreational boats of this American manufacturer were recently honored on U.S. postage stamps. 4. This was the last great postwar ocean liner built in the U.S. 5. This was the only American-built nuclear-powered cargo ship. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/599 "2007-11-25T23:37:48Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] 1. This was the last great postwar ocean liner built in the U.S. [/QUOTE] The _United States_, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/600 "2007-11-25T23:37:54Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] 329. Melville was inspired by the loss of this actual whaling vessel in writing about the fate of the whale-rammed _Pequod_ in _Moby Dick_. [/QUOTE] That would be the _Essex_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091.md?page=29) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091.md?page=31)