Trivia People

Louvre Museum and pyramid (Photo by Benh Lieu Song via Wikimedia Commons)

Today is the anniversary of two of the world’s great museums, the Louvre and the Smithsonian Institution.

First, the Louvre opened in Paris on this date in 1793. The building was originally constructed as a fortress in the 12th century by Phillip the Second. The museum opened one year after the fall of the French monarchy. Originally the collection included 537 paintings and 184 other works of art, three-quarters of which came from royal collections. The museum now displays 35,000 works of art and averages 15,000 visitors per day, making it the world’s most-visited museum.

Second, U.S. President James K. Polk signed legislation in 1846 to create the Smithsonian Institution, which would go on to become the world’s largest museum organization. It is named after British scientist James Smithson, who left about $500,000 to the United States to establish an institute “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” After collecting the bequest, the money was invested in bonds issued by the state of Arkansas which would eventually default. The U.S. Congress, at the urging of former president John Quincy Adams, replaced the funds with interest. The Smithsonian now consists of 19 museums and galleries and the National Zoo.

Our question, What’s the newest Smithsonian museum?

Today is also: International Biodiesel Day, Air Force Day in Argentina and in the U.S., it is national S’Mores Day. It is the birthday of former U.S. president Herbert Hoover, guitar maker Leo Fender, author Jorge Amado, and singer Ronnie Spector.

LINKS

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our website.

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com

Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.

Question 1
What kind of food was so popular at Knott's Berry Farm that people waited hours in line?

    Fried Chicken

    Berry Pie

    Raspberry Jam

    Pizza

Question 2
Where was Harry Houdini born?

    New York, USA

    Paris, France

    Montreal, Canada

    Budapest, Hungary

Question 3
In which of these big-screen adaptations of Broadway musicals did Lucille Ball star?

    "Carousel"

    "South Pacific"

    "Oklahoma!"

    "DuBarry was a Lady"

Question 4
What was Harry Houdini's first job as a performer?

    Hypnotist

    Magician

    Comedian

    Trapeze Artist

Question 5
What is the current name of the country Mata Hari moved to in order to marry a military officer?

    Laos

    Indonesia

    Thailand

    Myanmar

Question 6
What was Maurice Richard's nickname?

    Mr. Hockey

    The Great One

    The Jet

    The Rocket

Question 7
What theme park opened on Aug. 3, 1946?

    Santa Claus Land

    Dollywood

    Disneyland

    Knott's Berry Farm

Question 8
Which of these television shows was NOT produced by Desilu Productions?

    "Star Trek"

    "Man From U.N.C.L.E."

    "The Untouchables"

    "Mission: Impossible"

Question 9
Where was Mata Hari born?

    Iran

    Netherlands

    India

    Belgium

Question 10
Which team's jersey did young Roch Carrier receive by mistake in his story "The Sweater"?

    Toronto Maple Leafs

    Montreal Canadiens

    Detroit Red Wings

    New York Rangers

Take our weekly quiz at triviapeople.com/w3.

Topics this week include: Theme parks, Maurice Richard, Harry Houdini, Lucille Ball and Mata Hari.

Mata Hari, center. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Today is the anniversary of the birth of Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod, better known by her stage name of Mata Hari.

Here are some things you may not have known about the dancer and German spy during World War One.

She was born in 1876 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. At the age of 13, her father went bankrupt, throwing the family into chaos. When she was 18, she answered an advertisement from an army captain stationed in the Dutch East Indies seeking a wife. She moved to what is now Indonesia to marry the captain and give birth to two children.

While there, MacLeod studied the local customs and joined a dance company. She moved back to Europe leaving her surviving child and her violent, alcoholic husband behind. In 1905, going by the name Mata Hari, which means eye of the sky or sun, she began working as an exotic dancer and portraying herself as a princess of Java.

In the course of her career, MacLeod became involved with high-ranking military, political and diplomatic officials. She was arrested by British authorities, where she said she was working as a spy for France. An intercepted German message implied she was also working for the Germans. In 1917, she was charged with causing the deaths of at least 50,000 soldiers and was executed by firing squad.

In the 1970s, unsealed German documents proved that Mata Hari was working for them.

Our question: Who played Mara Hari in the 1931 fiilm?

LINKS

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our website.

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com

Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.

American comedian Lucille Ball was born on this date in 1911.

Here are some things you may not have known about the star of “I Love Lucy.”

First, despite claiming several times to have been born in Montana, Lucille Ball was born in Jamestown, New York. Her father was a telephone lineman who moved around the country for his job. Her father died when she was four years old. She said a bird that flew through the house that day caused a lifelong phobia of birds.

Second, Ball’s early efforts to make it in show business weren’t successful until she moved to Hollywood in 1933. She became known as “Queen of the B’s” for her many appearances in B movies. She would go on to star in the big-screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical “DuBarry was a Lady” in 1943.

Third, in 1951, “I Love Lucy” debuted on CBS. The show was a critical success and pioneered many technologies still used in television production today. “I Love Lucy” was the first show with a live-audience to be shot on film; it was the first to use a multiple camera setup; it was the first show to be shown in reruns, the first to feature a pregnant woman and it was the first show to use flashbacks in a clip show. After 181 episodes, the show went off the air on May 6, 1957, as the top-rated show.

Fourth, Ball’s Desilu Studios would go on to produce several popular television shows, including “Star Trek”, “Mission: Impossible” and “The Untouchables.” Lucille Ball would go on to star in several successful television projects, including “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy.” She died in 1989 of an aortic diffusion. She was 77.

Our question: Besides “I Love Lucy,” name one of the other two American TV shows to have been rated number one in their final season.

LINKS

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our website.

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com

Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.

Harry Houdini prepares for his submerged crate stunt in 1912. (Photo by Bain News Service via U.S. Library of Congress and Wikimedia Commons)

On this date in 1926, escape artist Harry Houdini performed what might have been his greatest feat, surviving 90 minutes in a sealed coffin submerged in a swimming pool.

Here are a few things you may not have known about Houdini.

First, Houdini was born Erick Weisz on March 24, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary. In 1878, his family moved to Appleton, Wisconsin, where his father served as a Rabbi. At nine-years-old, Houdini mad his performing debut as a trapeze artist. He began his magic career with card tricks, before eventually moving on to escape acts.

Second, by 1900 Houdini was a top vaudeville act and toured Europe, where he became known as the “Handcuff King” for his ability to escape the shackles. In 1908 Houdini changed his act from escaping handcuffs to escaping a locked and water-filled milk can. As part of the act, he asked the audience to hold their breath while he was locked in the can to build tension. Other escapes included the “Water Torture Cell,” the “Overboard Box” and the buried-alive coffin stunts.

Third, part of his reason for performing the buried-alive stunts were to disprove others who said they used supernatural powers to survive. Houdini made it his mission to debunk psychics, mediums and spiritualists. Harry Houdini died of peritonitis as a result of a ruptured appendix on Halloween 1926 in Detroit, Michigan.

Our question: What author broke off his friendship with Houdini because of a disagreement over whether spiritualism was real?

LINKS

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our website.

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com

Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.

A scene from “The Sweater,” a film adaptation of Roch Carrier’s “The Hockey Sweater.”

Today is the 94th anniversary of the birth of hockey hall of famer Maurice Richard.

Here are a few things you may not have known about the player they called The Rocket.

First, Richard was born in Montreal and went on to play 18 years for the Montreal Canadiens. He was the first player to score 50 goals in a season and the first to score 500 goals in a career.

Second, he was a cultural icon among the people of Quebec. His suspension in 1955 triggered what was called the Richard Riot which has been seen as a sign of rising tensions between the Anglophone and Francophone communities in the province.

Third, Richard is featured prominently in Canadian author Roch Carrier’s “The Hockey Sweater,” a tale of a young fan of the Canadiens who is ostracized after his mother forces him to wear a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey that was sent instead of the Richard jersey she had ordered. The book was made into an animated short, and a line from the book is featured on the Canadian five-dollar bill.

Fourth, Richard died of cancer in 2000 at the age of 78 in Montreal.

Our question: Who was the first to break Richard’s record of 50 goals in a season?

LINKS

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our website.

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com

Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.

Santa Claus Land Railroad in Santa Claus, Ind. (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

On August 3, 1946, the first theme park, Santa Claus Land, opened in Santa Claus, Indiana.

Here are some things you may not know about theme parks.

First, there’s a difference between an amusement park and a theme park. Theme parks are amusement parks built around a particular theme. Santa Claus Land was built by Louis J. Koch after visiting the Indiana town which was not capitalizing on its namesake. The park, obviously, had a Christmas theme, with Santa Claus available year-round. Later the park would change its name to Holiday World and have other areas based on other holidays.

Second, Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, began as a fruit stand, and later added fried chicken dinners, which became so popular people would wait hours for a seat. Walter Knott built a ghost town attraction to entertain the people waiting in line. The park was fenced in and admission was charged for the first time in 1968.

Third, Dollywood, a theme park owned by country music entertainer Dolly Parton, began in 1961 as Rebel Railroad, a train ride with a Civil War theme. Parton bought the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, park in 1986 and renamed it. Since then, the park has doubled in size and welcomes more than 3 million guests a year.

Our question: Where did the first Ferris wheel debut?

LINKS

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our website.

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com

Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.

This week’s week-in-review quiz

Question 1
The Arc de Triomphe is located at a square named after which person?

    Franklin D. Roosevelt

    Napoleon Bonaparte

    Charles de Gaulle

    Louis XIV

Question 2
At what age does Medicare coverage begin?

    55

    60

    65

    70

Question 3
What was the original daily alcohol ration in the Royal Navy?

    One pint of whiskey

    One pint of mead

    One pint of wine

    One gallon of beer

Question 4
What city's triumphal arch surpassed the Arc de Triomphe in height?

    Moscow, Russia

    St. Louis, USA

    Rome, Italy

    Mexico City, Mexico

Question 5
What animal did the original insulin experiments use?

    A rabbit

    A cat

    A dog

    A rat

Question 6
How much money had Terry Fox's marathon raised by April 1981?

    $10 million

    $23 million

    $138 million

    $4.3 million

Question 7
Which U.S. president or presidential candidate DID NOT press for national healthcare at some point?

    Theodore Roosevelt

    William Howard Taft

    Harry S Truman

    Franklin D. Roosevelt

Question 8
Where did Terry Fox's attempted run across Canada end?

    Thunder Bay, Ontario

    Medicine Hat, Alberta

    Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

    Brandon, Manitoba

Question 9
Which navy was the last to eliminate its daily rum ration?

    New Zealand

    United Kingdom

    Australia

    United States

Question 10
What did the discoverers of insulin originally call it?

    Bantinite

    Insulinium

    Isletin

    Pancreanium

LINKS

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our website.

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com

Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.

Rum Ration Aboard HMS King George V, 1940 Below deck, a line of seamen queue to collect the daily rum ration for their mess. Each man is holding a jug or bucket. The rum is being issued from a large barrel with ‘THE KING – GOD BLESS HIM’ on it. Royal Marines issue the rum with measuring jugs while a Royal Navy Petty Officer and Sub-Lieutenant observe. (Photo by Lt. SJ Beadell/Royal Navy via Wikimedia Commons)

July 31 marks the 45th anniversary of the end of the daily rum ration in the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.

Here are a few facts about what was known as the daily tot.

First, the ration was originally one gallon of beer per day. Eventually it was changed to pint of wine or half a pint of locally available spirits, with rum became the preferred spirit. Admiral Edward Vernon began the practice of watering down the rum and adding lemon or lime to prevent scurvy.

Second, efforts were made to end the daily ration in 1850 and 1881 before finally being successful in 1970. Instead of rum, sailors were allowed to buy two pints of beer a day.

Third, the United States was the first navy to end its daily rum ration in 1862. The New Zealand Navy was the last to eliminate the daily tot in 1990.

Our question: What was the origin of the term “grog” for watered-down rum?

LINKS

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our website.

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com

Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.

U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965, which created Medicare and Medicaid, into law on July 30, 1965 in Independence, Mo. Former President Harry S. Truman, right, looks on. (Photo courtesy U.S. National Archives)

50 years ago today, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Social Security Act of 1965 into law.

Here are a few things you may not know about the act.

First, it established Medicare and Medicaid, the first public health insurance programs in the United States. Medicare covers seniors age 65 and older, while Medicaid covers the poor.

Second, Theodore Roosevelt originally proposed national health insurance as part of his third-party run for the presidency in 1912. Other plans were proposed by organized labor. The American Medical Association was one of the primary opponents of the plan.

Third, several other administrations, including Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman pushed for some sort of national health coverage. FDR removed health coverage from his Social Security proposal to help pass it. Truman included it in his “Fair Deal” program, which was unsuccessful. The 1965 act was signed in Independence, Missouri, with former president Truman in attendence.

Our question: What country was the first to introduce universal healthcare?

LINKS

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our website.

Also, if you’re enjoying the show, please consider supporting it through Patreon.com

Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.