Trivia People

Today marks the 134th anniversary of the shooting of U.S. President James Garfield.

Here are some things you may not have known about the assassination.

First, While Garfield was shot on July 2, he lived for 11 weeks until dying of an infection related the to gunshot. Experts have said Garfield likely would have survived if not for the poor care he received, including poking in the wound with dirty fingers and instruments.

Second: The assassin, Charles Guiteau, described himself in his trial as legally insane. He had been a member of the utopian Oneida Commune before being kicked out. After many failed business and religious ventures, he tried his hand at politics penning a speech supporting Garfield in the 1880 presidential election. He believed that his speech had won the election for Garfield and demanded an ambassadorship. Those demands were denied.

Third: After being refused his ambassadorship, Guiteau turned against Garfield and began plotting to kill him. He bought a revolver and learned to use it. He spent the month of June stalking Garfield planning when to act. He shot Garfield at the Sixth Street railway station.

Our question: What state and political party did Garfield represent?

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On this date in 1963, ZIP codes were introduced across the United States.

Here are some things you may not have known about postal codes.

First, 20 years earlier, the US Post Office introduced zone codes for large cities. Mail would be addressed with a city name, zone number and state, such as Seattle 9 Washington. This was the basis for the ZIP Code idea. The letters Z-I-P stand for Zone Improvement Plan.

Second, two-letter state abbreviations were introduced at the same time. Before 1963, states would have may abbreviations, causing delays in service. California was frequently abbreviated CA, Cal., and Calif. CA is the acceptable two-letter abbreviation.

Third, In 1983 the ZIP plus Four was introduced allowing the code to identify even more precise locations. The system was met with public resistance and is not manditory.

Our question: What state is home to the highest-numbered ZIP Code?

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Today is the 78th anniversary of the debut of the first emergency telephone number.

Here are some things you might not know about the history of emergency telephone numbers.

First, the service was originally offered in the greater London area of Great Britain. The number, 999, was selected because it is easy to remember and could be dialed on a rotary phone by a person who was visually impaired.

Second, 911 service in North America didn’t begin in earnest until 1968 and some areas didn’t have the device until the 1980s.

Third, mobile phones have made life difficult for emergency phone dispatchers. Finding a precise location is more difficult than with a landline and pocket-dialing of the emergency number has become common.

Our question: what was the first city in North America to have an emergency phone number?

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On June 29, 1956, the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act was signed into law by U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower.

Here are a few things you may not have known about the Act and the Interstate Highway system it funded.

First, Eisenhower had two inspirations for the Interstate system. The first was the 1919 Army Convoy on the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental road. The convoy averaged a little over five and a half miles per hour, and the trip took two months. The second inspiration was the German Autobahn, which Eisenhower became familiar with during World War II.

Second, the system was designed to provide ease of movement across the country by both civilians and the military. Interstates were placed near Air Force bases to help move troops in the event of a foreign invasion.

Third, the original act creating the Interstate system raised 25 billion dollars for the project. As of today, an estimated 425 billion dollars have been spent on the nearly 50,000-mile system.

Our question, U.S. Interstate system is the world’s second-longest motorway system. Which country has the longest system?

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On June 26, 1974, the first product with a UPC code was scanned by a cash register.

Here are some things you may not know about the system.

First, early ideas for methods to quickly scan items involved punch cards, bulls-eye symbols and color codes. Eventually a grocery industry group agreed on a proposal from IBM which uses the lines of varying widths we know today.

Second, the code includes a beginning and an end so that the scanner can determine which way the code is oriented. each line of the code equates to the numbers that are printed below them.

Third, the first UPC scanned was on a package of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit Gum. It was purchased by Clyde Dawson from cashier Sharon Buchanan at a Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio. The pack of gum cost 67 cents.

Our question: What does UPC stand for?

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On June 25, 1967, the first live global satellite television show was aired.

Here are a few facts you might not know about “Our World.”

First, it’s best known for its finale, which featured the Beatles premiere performance of “All You Need is Love.” Performing with the Beatles were the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and Graham Nash.

Second, the two-and-a-half hour program was the creation of the BBC’s Aubrey Singer and was produced at BBC headquarters. Each of the participating countries produced live segments that were fed back to London via satellite and then transmitted as a whole around the world.

Third, The program required the services of more than 10,000 technicians on five continents. 14 countries participated and the show was seen in 31 countries by an estimated 400 million people.

Our question: Which network represented the United States in “Our World”?

 

On June 24, 1880, “O Canada” was performed for the first time.

Here are some things you may not have known about the Canadian national anthem.

First: The lyrics were originally written in French to celebrate Saint Jean-Baptiste Day. A version in English was written in 1906, with more-popular lyrics written in 1908. The current lyrics were adopted in 1980, when the song was officially named Canada’s national anthem.

Second: Several songs vied with “O Canada” for the right to be the national anthem. “Chant National” was frequently used by Francophones, while “God Save the Queen” and “The Maple Leaf Forever” were used by English speakers.

Third, as with the American “Star Spangled Banner, “O Canada” has several additional and rarely-sung verses.

Our question: What year did Canada become completely free of entanglements with the British Parliament?

On June 23, 1926, the first SAT exam was given by the College Board.

Here are a few things you may not have known about the American college entrance exam.

First: SAT was an acronym for Scholastic Aptitude Test until 1990 when it was changed to Scholastic Assessment Test. In 1997, the College Board announced that the letters SAT no longer stand for anything.

Second: In 1926, test-takers were expected to answer 315 questions in 90 minutes. Currently the test consists of three sections taken over the course of three hours and 20 minutes.

Third: The test will revert to its 1600-point scale starting in 2016, after 10 years on a 2400-point scale.

Our question: What is the name of the SAT’s main competitor?

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Portrait of Galileo Galilei, 1636 by Justus Sustermans (via Wikimedia)

On June 22, 1633, Galileo Galilei was forced to recant his theory that the sun, and not the earth, is the center of the universe.

Here are a few facts about Galileo that you may not have known:

First, Galileo was born in 1564 in Pisa, Italy. He invented the thermometer, improved the telescope and made several advances in astronomy with the telescope, including the discovery of the four largest moons of Jupiter.

Second: While Galileo was correct that the universe does not revolve around the Earth, he was wrong about several things. First, it’s only our solar system that revolves around the sun, not the universe. Also, he disagreed with Johannes Kepler’s idea that the moon caused tidal changes on earth. He also dismissed the idea of the elliptical orbit of planets.

Third, In 1616, Galileo was ordered to stop supporting the idea of a sun-centered universe. He did so until 1632, when he published “Dialogue Concerning the Two World Systems.” After which, he was found “vehemently suspect of heresy,” and ordered to renounce his previous writings. He was sentenced to house arrest, where he remained for the rest of his life. He died in 1642 at the age of 77.

Our question, which is really more of an order: Name the four moons of Jupiter discovered by Galileo.

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Today is Father’s Day in the United States and many other countries around the world.

Here are a few facts you may not have known about the holiday.

First, it was started in 1910 by Sonora Smart Dodd in Spokane, Washington.

Second, the idea didn’t spread quickly as legislators were concerned that the holiday would become too commercialized. Eventually, those commercial interests, including makers of men’s ties and tobacco pipes helped push the holiday into the mainstream.

Third, in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson made the holiday official by proclaiming the third Sunday of June to be Father’s Day. The holiday was officially signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972.

Our question: Which came first: Father’s Day or Mother’s Day?

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