Trivia People

Arc de Triomphe in Paris (Photo by Sese Ingolstadt. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons) 

On this date in 1836, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris was dedicated.

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

First, it is a memorial to those who fought and died in the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. It is also the site of France’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Second, the arch is located at the intersection of 12 avenues, including the Champs-Elysses at Place Charles de Gaulle. The junction was originally known as Place De l’Etoile or square of the star for its shape. It is near the midpoint of the Axe Historique, an axis along which several historic sites lie between the Louvre museum and the Grand Arche.

Third, the Arc de Triomphe was the largest arch of its kind when it was built at 50 meters or 164 feet tall. It was surpassed in 1938 by Mexico City’s Monumento a la Revolucion at 67 meters or 220 feet tall.

Our question: An eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier inspired what memorial in the United States?

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Photo of Terry Fox during his 1980 Marathon of Hope fundraising run across Canada. (Photo by Jeremy Gilbert via Wikimedia Commons)

Today is the 57th anniversary of the birth of Terry Fox, whose attempt to run across Canada after losing a leg to cancer made him a national hero.

Here are some things you might not know about Fox.

First, he was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and moved with his family to British Columbia at the age of 8. At age 18 he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his right leg. His leg was amputated and he underwent chemotherapy. While still undergoing treatment, Fox began playing wheelchair basketball, eventually winning three Canadian championships.

Second, he was inspired to run across Canada in an effort to raise awareness of and money for cancer research. On April 12, 1980, Fox set off from St. John’s, Newfoundland, toward Victoria, British Columbia. Early on, his effort attracted little attention. By the time he reached Montreal, he had raised more than two-hundred thousand dollars. By the time he reached Ottawa, he met with the prime minister and was given a standing ovation at a professional football game. In Toronto, more than one-hundred thousand dollars were raised in just one day.

Third, on September 1, 1980, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Fox was forced to visit a hospital after developing a severe cough and chest pains. The next day, after running more than thirty-three hundred miles, and raising one-point-seven million dollars, Fox ended his run after doctors determined his cancer had returned and spread to his lungs. By the next April, Fox’s story had inspired more than twenty-three million dollars in donations. On June 28, 1981, Terry Fox died at the age of twenty-two. A 1999 survey rated Fox as Canada’s greatest hero.

Our question: Who was prime minister of Canada when Fox made his run?

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Insulin vials (photo via Wikimedia Commons)

On this date in 1921, Canadian researchers determined that insulin regulates blood sugar, leading to treatment for diabetes.

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

First, scientists knew that the pancreas was responsible for regulating blood-sugar levels, but isolating exactly what substance did the regulation had proven difficult. Doctors Frederick Banting and J.J. R. Macleod experimented on dogs, and were able to produce a substance they called isletin, now known as insulin. Beginning on July 27, 1921 Banting, Macleod and their assistant, Charles Best, were able to keep a dog with no pancreas alive for several months by injecting it with the substance.

Second, In December 1921 Banting, Macleod and their team were able to speed up their process by using fetal calf pancreas, which allowed them to begin clinical testing. In a time when patients died within months of being diagnosed with diabetes, the first patient to be given insulin, 14-year-old Leonard Thompson, lived 13 more years.

Third, Banting and Macleod were awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize in medicine. The patent for insulin was sold to the University of Toronto for fifty cents.

Our question: Which of the following methods is not currently used to administer insulin? Injection, inhalation or by pill?

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Welcome to our first week in review.

Here’s the historical events we covered this week:

Monday: British Columbia becoming a part of Canada

Tuesday: German U-Boats shelling the coast of Massachusetts during World War I.

Wednesday: The birthday of writer/director/actor Albert Brooks

Thursday: The birthday of author Raymond Chandler

Friday: The rediscovery of Machu Picchu in 1911.

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Machu Picchu in 2003 (Photo by Jerry Daykin/Flickr via Wikimedia Commons)

On this date in 1911, an American historian found the remote ruins of the Incan city of Machu Picchu, which until that time had been unknown to the outside world.

Here are some facts you might not know about Machu Picchu.

First, it was built in the mid 15th century when the Incan Empire was at its peak. It is located in the Andes Mountains in what is now the Cusco region of Peru.

Second, it is believed that the site was built as an estate for the Emperor Pachacuti.

Third, Hiram Bingham III, who found the site with the help of local farmers and explorers, was a lecturer in South American history at Yale University. He returned the next year, clearing the site and collecting artifacts. The entirety of the April 1913 issue of National Geographic magazine was devoted to Machu Picchu. Bingham would go on to serve nine years in the United States Senate.

Our question, Hiram Bingham is cited as a possible inspiration for what movie character?

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Raymond Chandler in a promotional photo. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

Today is the 127th anniversary of the birth of American writer Raymond Chandler.

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

First, He published his first short story in 1933 at age 45 after losing his job as an oil company executive. He released his first novel, “The Big Sleep” in 1939.

Second, his main protagonist, Philip Marlowe, reigns with Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade as the kings of hardboiled private detectives. Both characters were played on screen by Humphrey Bogart.

Third, Chandler wrote or co-wrote the screenplays for “The Blue Dahlia,” “Double Indemnity” and “Strangers on a Train.” He earned two Academy Award nominations.

Our question, who was the director, and co-writer with Chandler, of “Double Indemnity”?

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Albert Brooks speaks at the premier of “Drive” at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 10, 2011 in Toronto. (Photo by Melissa [email protected] from New York, USA via Wikimedia)

Today is the 68th birthday of American writer, comedian, actor and director Albert Brooks.

Here are some things you may not have known about him.

First, he was born Albert Lawrence Einstein in Beverly Hills, California to radio comedian Harry Einstein and singer Thelma Leeds. His brother, Bob Einstein, is better known as his character “Super Dave Osborne.” He adopted the name “Albert Brooks” as a stage name after embarking on a career in comedy. His appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” helped catapult him into the mainstream.

Second, he quit doing stand-up in the mid-1970s to focus on filmmaking. He played a fictionalized version of himself in his first film, 1979’s “Real Life.” The film was a satire of PBS’ “An American Family” documentary and also predicted the later rise of reality television.

Third, Brooks hit his stride in the 1980s and 1990s with films such as “Modern Romance,” “Lost in America” and “Defending Your Life,” all of which he wrote, directed and starred in. In 2003, Brooks provided the voice for Marlin, the father of Nemo in Pixar’s “Finding Nemo.”

Our question: For what film did Albert Brooks earn an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor?

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A 1914 photograph of German submarine U9. (Photo via Wikimedia)

On July 21, 1918, the only German attack on U.S. soil during World War One occurred.

Here are a few facts about the attack on Orleans, Massachusetts and other attacks on the American mainland.

First, German submarine U-156 fired on a tug boat and barges from about three miles off the coast of Cape Cod, with some shells landing on the shore. The Americans responded with dive-bombers dropping loads of TNT. The submarine headed north, where it attacked other American and Canadian ships. It was the first foreign shelling on the American mainland since the Siege of Fort Texas during the Mexican-American war in 1846.

Second, the U.S. mainland would come under enemy fire again during World War Two when Japanese submarines shelled Fort Stevens near the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon and Ellwood, California, near Santa Barbara.

Third, the Japanese also attempted to cause forest fires in the U.S. by using incendiary bombs and other bombs carried by balloons. Six people died when a child tampered with a balloon bomb found near Bly, Oregon, on May 5, 1945, they were the only Americans killed in the continental United States as a direct result of enemy action.

Our question: Who directed the movie “1941” which was a comedy loosely based on the shelling of Ellwood, California?

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On this date in 1871, British Columbia became the sixth province of Canada

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

First, As with most western development in the late 1800s, gold was at the center of whether British Columbia would join Canada. A gold rush and subsequent bust meant the colony was deep in debt. After some flirtations with joining the United States, B.C. convinced Canada to assume its debt and build a railroad to Vancouver.

Second, the capital of British Columbia, Victoria, is located on Vancouver Island, while the province’s largest city, Vancouver, is located on the mainland.

Third, Vancouver is home to the third largest motion picture and television industry in North America behind Los Angeles and New York.

Our question, English is the most commonly spoken language in British Columbia, what is second?

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Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., in 2013 (Photo by Tuxyso / Wikimedia Commons)

Today is the 60th anniversary of the opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

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

First, Walt Disney originally wanted to build a small theme park near his Burbank, California, studios, but the project soon became too large for the eight-acre plot. He bought 160 acres in Orange County and began construction in July 1954.

Second, The park was at first jointly owned by Walt Disney, Walt Disney Productions, Western Publishing and the ABC television network. The relationship between Disney and ABC eventually resulted in Disney buying the network in the 1990s.

Third, the park cost $17 million and took one year and one day to construct. The opening was covered live on ABC, hosted by Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings and Ronald Reagan.

Our question: Disneyland originally consisted of five lands, Main Street USA, Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. Three lands have been added since, which was first?

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