[QUOTE=Random]
524. Speaker Dennis Hastert had this nickname, a relic of his earlier career.
Coach. (He was a wrestling coach, I believe at the h.s. level.)
[/QUOTE]
Correct.
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki]
Hmm.. a few more disasters:
- This steamer disaster was the most deadly nautical disaster in US history.
…
[/QUOTE]
The Sultana, destroyed in what was probably a boiler explosion while carrying 2,000+ recently-freed Union POWs, including survivors of the notorious Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, home in April 1865. It happened around the same time as Lincoln’s assassination, which pushed it out of the headlines. A worse disaster in terms of lives lost than the Titanic’s tragic sinking.
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
The Sultana, destroyed in what was probably a boiler explosion while carrying 2,000+ recently-freed Union POWs, including survivors of the notorious Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, home in April 1865. It happened around the same time as Lincoln’s assassination, which pushed it out of the headlines. A worse disaster in terms of lives lost than the Titanic’s tragic sinking.
[/QUOTE]
Correct.
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki]
Hmm.. a few more disasters:
- The USS Akron and USS Macon were both lost, within a few years of each other, in very similar circumstances. Why is the death toll so much higher for the Akron’s loss?
[/quote]
The Akron went down over the Atlantic during a severe squall; the Macon went down in the Pacific during good weather due to structural failure in the frame, and parts remained floating.
As someone already noted, they were rigid airships (not blimps; to refer to them as ‘blimps’ is like calling an aircraft carrier a rowboat). For what it may be worth, the US Navy contracted with (a) Goodyear, IIRC, to build the Shenandoah [ZR-1], (b) the British [IIRC Air Force] to build the ZR-2, known as the R-38 while under construction in Britain, and (c) Luftschiffbau Zeppelin to build the Los Angeles [ZR-3], as pair of German war reparations. The ZR-2 crashed in England prior to delivery to the US; the Los Angeles operated without serious mishap from 1922 until the Hindenburg crash in 1937, after which it remained in commission but never flew again, finally being decommissioned and dismantled in 1940. (The Akron and Macon were ZR-4 and -5 respectively.)
Okay, I glanced over at one of my bookshelves for inspiration (don’t worry, I didn’t actually open any books), and came up with a few more:
-
One last disaster question, to round out the category (which has already covered war, pestilence, earthquakes, fires and floods): A repeated challenge that Great Plains settlers faced in the 1800’s is completely unknown in the western hemisphere today, although farmers in parts of Africa and Asia still must deal with it. Part of the natural world, this problem just fortuitously disappeared here, though no deliberate action of the part of humans. Bonus question: Recent scholarship has suggested a cause for this disappearance. What is it?
-
This American author was perhaps the preeminent thinker on the importance and use of navies.
-
We obviously have some naval historians in this thread, so I’ll try to provide more of a challenge in the next couple questions. First, what American admiral would have commanded at the battle of Midway, but for a chance event, and what was that event?
-
This U.S. carrier suffered a catastrophic explosion and fire in Boston harbor in the early 1950’s, killing many?
-
Who later served as the chief of staff for the admiral described in 542? (Hint: a descendant of his is prominent in politics today.)
[QUOTE=Polycarp]
The Akron went down over the Atlantic during a severe squall; the Macon went down in the Pacific during good weather due to structural failure in the frame, and parts remained floating.
[/quote]
The actual cause of loss for both the Akron and Macon was operator error, by over stressing the frame, and causing it to break, lose buoyancy, and crash into the water. That’s the similarity I’d been thinking of. Both airships left an amount of flotsam in the waters, after they sank. But the biggest single factor in the difference between the death tolls was that the Akron had no flotation devices (rafts, life vests, or belts) aboard, in a weight-saving measure. Macon, which went down some two years later, had them aboard, and lost only two men - one who jumped in a panic during the airship’s fall to ground, and another who swam back into the sinking wreck to retrieve some possessions.
[QUOTE=Random]
…
540. One last disaster question, to round out the category (which has already covered war, pestilence, earthquakes, fires and floods): A repeated challenge that Great Plains settlers faced in the 1800’s is completely unknown in the western hemisphere today, although farmers in parts of Africa and Asia still must deal with it. Part of the natural world, this problem just fortuitously disappeared here, though no deliberate action of the part of humans. Bonus question: Recent scholarship has suggested a cause for this disappearance. What is it?
-
This American author was perhaps the preeminent thinker on the importance and use of navies.
-
We obviously have some naval historians in this thread, so I’ll try to provide more of a challenge in the next couple questions. First, what American admiral would have commanded at the battle of Midway, but for a chance event, and what was that event?
… -
Who later served as the chief of staff for the admiral described in 542? (Hint: a descendant of his is prominent in politics today.)
[/QUOTE] -
Locusts?
-
Alfred Thayer Mahan.
-
Adm. William Halsey (a relative, through marriage, of mine). He had a very bad skin rash at the time, which some of his aides thought was psychosomatic, and had to be hospitalized.
-
John McCain, grandfather of the current presidential candidate. There’s still a destroyer named after him.
I’ll go ahead and answer the questions which I posed awhile ago that are still unanswered.
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
…
118. At its opening, the lights of the Empire State Building were ceremonially turned on remotely by what individual?
…
135. The most famous portrait of [Chief Justice] John Jay has him in robes of these two colors.
…
184. Those who supported the Continental Congress in the mid-to-late 1770s were called patriots or _____?
…
188. In the 1870s, reform-minded Republicans fed up with the Grant Administration’s cronyism and corruption were called _____?
Middle names:
203. Hay, McKinley’s Secretary of State
-
Stanton, Lincoln’s Secretary of War
-
Rehnquist, the Chief Justice
… -
The U.S. Naval Academy wasn’t established until the year ____; before that, midshipmen were trained entirely at sea.
-
The Air Force Academy’s mascot is this animal.
-
The plane which, in various incarnations, flew 24/7/365 throughout the Cold War to conduct the U.S. retaliatory response to any overwhelming first strike, was codenamed __________ ________.
… -
Besides protecting the President and other VIPs, what are the Secret Service’s two other major responsibilities? (Anti-counterfeiting was one correct answer already given; what’s the other?)
… -
How many proposed constitutional amendments have been introduced in Congress? (A correct round number will be accepted).
-
What first name did the first two soldiers buried in Arlington National Cemetery share?
-
What were George Washington’s last words?
-
Who was JFK’s White House chief of staff? (Incorrect answers already given: Kenneth O’Donnell and Ted Sorenson).
… -
The Vatican did not have a papal nuncio (ambassador) accredited to the United States until the administration of this President. (Incorrect guesses: JFK and Nixon).
-
Which President, by executive order, first standardized the arrangement of stars and stripes on the U.S. flag?
-
Other than stars, what did the original pre-Civil War “Old Glory” have in its blue canton?
… -
How many official “national” flags did the Confederate Congress approve between 1861-65?
-
Lincoln appointed this key supporter and Illinois state judge to the Supreme Court.
… -
This iron-willed and highly effective governor of a midwestern state secretly sent the GOP minority of his state legislature out of town to deny the Copperhead Democratic majority a quorum. He then ruled the state as a virtual dictator to the end of the Civil War.
-
This moderate Republican shaved three times a day due to his heavy beard growth, and served as both governor of his large state and as one of its U.S. senators. (Two hints: He shared a last name with a President, and briefly considered a run for the White House himself).
-
Bearer of a famous name, he headed the Pullman Co. at the time of its controversial strike.
… -
This was William McKinley’s best-known slogan.
-
Despite some scandals in his past, Edwin Edwards ran again for governor of Louisiana against former Klan official David Duke, and won. What rhyming slogan did Edwards’s supporters popularize? (Incorrect guess: “Vote for the crook; it’s important,” which doesn’t rhyme).
-
President Lincoln himself came under Confederate fire during Jubal Early’s attack against this fortification guarding Washington, D.C.
…
What is the significance of this date in American history? -
March 9, 1862
…
[/QUOTE] -
FDR
-
Black and red
-
Whigs
-
Mugwumps
-
John Milton Hay
-
Edwin McMasters Stanton
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William Hubbs Rehnquist
-
1846
-
Falcon
-
Looking Glass
-
Investigating Internet crime
-
More than ten thousand!
-
William
-
“'Tis well.”
-
Trick question: JFK had no White House chief of staff.
-
Reagan (in 1985, IIRC).
-
Taft, in 1912.
-
The owner of the original Old Glory was a merchant captain. His flag had a small sewn anchor in addition to the stars.
-
Three.
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David Davis. Lincoln had “ridden circuit” with him in Illinois for many years, and the two became good friends and mutual admirers. Davis was instrumental in securing the nomination for Lincoln at the GOP 1860 convention in Chicago.
-
Oliver Morton of Indiana, the only state governor honored with a monument at Vicksburg due to his strong and effective support of his state’s troops in the field.
-
Pete Wilson of California.
-
Robert Todd Lincoln.
-
“The Full Dinner Pail.”
-
“Better a lizard than a wizard.”
-
Fort Stevens, on the NW edge of Washington, D.C. The fort still stands, although the neighborhood has changed out of all recognition.
-
The first battle between ironclads, the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia, at Hampton Roads, Va.
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
540. Locusts?
541. Alfred Thayer Mahan.
542. Adm. William Halsey (a relative, through marriage, of mine). He had a very bad skin rash at the time, which some of his aides thought was psychosomatic, and had to be hospitalized.
544. John McCain, grandfather of the current presidential candidate. There’s still a destroyer named after him.
[/QUOTE]
Yup.
What’s the suggested cause for locusts’ disappearance here, Random?
The U.S. Senate.
- According to the Constitution, this officeholder is automatically President of the Senate.
- In the absence of that individual, who is entitled to preside over the Senate?
- How is that person (from question 546) customarily designated?
- In the 19th century, which individual who held the post from question 546 came closest to becoming President of the United States, and how?
- When Bill Clinton was on trial in the Senate in 1999 after being impeached by the House, commemorative pens were presented to every senator. What was wrong with the pens?
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
- According to the Constitution, this officeholder is automatically President of the Senate.
[/quote]
The Vice President
president pro tempre
Shoot I know how, but not who.
-
According to the Constitution, this officeholder is automatically President of the Senate.
Vice President of the United States -
In the absence of that individual, who is entitled to preside over the Senate?
President Pro Tem of the Senate -
How is that person (from question 546) customarily designated?
Most senior member of the majority party of the Senate -
In the 19th century, which individual who held the post from question 546 came closest to becoming President of the United States, and how?
Good question- there must have been an extended period of time during the Tyler, Filllmore or Arthur Administrations when the Speaker of the House was either vacant or the Speaker was a naturalized citizen thus ineligible to be President -
When Bill Clinton was on trial in the Senate in 1999 after being impeached by the House, commemorative pens were presented to every senator. What was wrong with the pens?
The pens referred to the Senate’s impeachment, rather than trial. ??
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
What’s the suggested cause for locusts’ disappearance here, Random?
[/QUOTE]
Apparently, similar to the monarch butterfly, despite being widespread in geographic terms for most of their existence (including breeding in those widespread areas), the locust periodically retreated to a fairly localized area. In the spirit of this thread, I am avoiding consulting sources, so I may be off in details, but IIRC, it was certain mountain river valleys in California. Once those became intensively farmed and irrigated, the locust life cycle was irreparably disrupted.
[QUOTE=5 time champ]
545. According to the Constitution, this officeholder is automatically President of the Senate.
Vice President of the United States
-
In the absence of that individual, who is entitled to preside over the Senate?
President Pro Tem of the Senate -
How is that person (from question 546) customarily designated?
Most senior member of the majority party of the Senate -
In the 19th century, which individual who held the post from question 546 came closest to becoming President of the United States, and how?
Good question- there must have been an extended period of time during the Tyler, Filllmore or Arthur Administrations when the Speaker of the House was either vacant or the Speaker was a naturalized citizen thus ineligible to be President -
When Bill Clinton was on trial in the Senate in 1999 after being impeached by the House, commemorative pens were presented to every senator. What was wrong with the pens?
The pens referred to the Senate’s impeachment, rather than trial. ??
[/QUOTE] -
Correct.
-
Correct.
-
Correct.
-
Not quite. Actually, the President pro tempore of the Senate was ahead of the Speaker of the House in the statutory order of succession for many years. Which particular President pro tem came closest to taking up occupancy in the White House? A hint: he almost helped make it happen himself.
-
Incorrect.
[QUOTE=Random]
Apparently, similar to the monarch butterfly, despite being widespread in geographic terms for most of their existence (including breeding in those widespread areas), the locust periodically retreated to a fairly localized area. In the spirit of this thread, I am avoiding consulting sources, so I may be off in details, but IIRC, it was certain mountain river valleys in California. Once those became intensively farmed and irrigated, the locust life cycle was irreparably disrupted.
[/QUOTE]
Never heard about that - thanks!
[QUOTE=kidchameleon]
Shoot I know how, but not who.
[/QUOTE]
Me, too.
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
548. Not quite. Actually, the President pro tempore of the Senate was ahead of the Speaker of the House in the statutory order of succession for many years. Which particular President pro tem came closest to taking up occupancy in the White House? A hint: he almost helped make it happen himself.
[/QUOTE]
Benjamin Wade was President pro tempore of the Senate during the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. There was no incumbent VP (since Johnson had just succeeded Lincoln), and if the Senate, including Wade’s vote, voted Johnson guilty, Wade would (in a small way) made himself President of the United States.
[QUOTE=Enterprise]
Benjamin Wade was President pro tempore of the Senate during the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. There was no incumbent VP (since Johnson had just succeeded Lincoln), and if the Senate, including Wade’s vote, voted Johnson guilty, Wade would (in a small way) made himself President of the United States.
[/QUOTE]
Exactly. “Bluff Ben” Wade, a Radical Republican from Ohio, who neglected to recuse himself from the 1868 Senate vote that would have made him President. Johnson was acquitted by a single vote.
More on American flags.
- According to Barbara Tuchman, a fort of what nation first recognized the U.S. flag, leading to a diplomatic complaint by the British?
- The First Navy Jack featured what animal?
- Before 9-11, what was the only ship entitled to regularly fly the First Navy Jack?
- Union regimental colors during the Civil War were usually what color?
- Only one state has a flag with a green field. What is it?
- Correct.
If the remaining questions are not answered by New Year’s Eve, I will post the answers.