Trivia
The Adventures of Mo – Geography Trivia Questions
Chapters # 1 – 10
Chapter 1 - Alaska
Question:
Which state’s motto is: “North to the Future”?
Answer:
Alaska.
Question:
The eastern part of this state shares a 1,538-mile border with Canada. What is the name of this state?
Answer:
Alaska.
Question:
Alaska is only 55 miles apart from another country, separated by a body of water called the Bering Strait. What is the name of this country?
Answer:
Russia.
Question:
In 1867, the United States purchased this territory (now a state) from Russia for $7.2 million. What’s the name of this state?
Answer:
Alaska.
Question:
An annual race in this country commemorates the transport of life-saving medicine to children suffering from diphtheria in 1925. What’s the name of this race?
Answer:
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Children in Nome, Alaska were infected with diphtheria. Drivers and their sled dogs delivered medicine from a city called Nenana, which was approximately 700 miles away from Nome.
Chapter 2 - Washington
In which state can you visit Elliott Bay?
Answer:
Washington.
Question:
What state (in the Lower 48 states) had the largest volcanic eruption in more than 100 years? Do you also know the name of this volcano?
Answer:
Washington. The name of the volcano is Mount St. Helens.
Question:
What is the only state in the country named after a US president?
Answer:
Washington, which is named after George Washington, the nation’s first president.
Question:
What was the first major American city to elect a female mayor?
Answer:
Seattle, Washington. Bertha Knight Landes held the office from 1926 to 1928.
Question:
Frank Ryman took one of the first published photos of a UFO in 1947. In what city was the photo taken?
Answer:
Frank Ryman’s picture of a flying saucer was taken from his front yard in Seattle, Washington.
Chapter 3 - New Mexico
Question:
More than 1,000 years ago, Anasazi Indians lived in this state. What does Anasazi mean?
Answer:
Ancient People, New Mexico.
Question:
Four states are part of the Four Corners Monuments, the only place in the country where you can be in four states at once. Can you name these four states?
Answer:
Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Question:
What is the city of Roswell, New Mexico most famous for?
Answer:
An alleged UFO crash in 1947. (Many believe aliens were still inside the spaceship when it crashed). The International UFO Museum and Research Center is also located in Roswell.
Question:
What is the country’s hot air balloon capital?
Answer:
Albuquerque. Every October, over 500 hot air balloons are on display.
Question:
The city of Hot Springs, New Mexico changed its name to a popular game show that was on both the radio and TV in the 1940s and 1950s. What is the current name of the city?
Answer:
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. At the time, the producer and emcee of the game show was seeking a town that would change its name to that of the show. Hot Springs was chosen among the handful that applied.
Chapter 4 - Idaho
Question:
More than 100 years ago, people moved from Europe to California to mine gold. When they couldn’t find any, they moved here and became sheepherders. What’s the name of this state?
Answer:
Idaho.
Question:
Why did people known as the Basques come to California more than 100 years ago?
Answer:
To mine gold.
Question:
In which state can you find a city named Ketchum?
Answer:
Idaho.
Chapter 5 - Arizona
What is the name of the place that asks visitors to be quiet because scientists are sleeping?
Answer:
Kitt Peak National Observatory.
Question:
What state is bordered by these five states: California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico?
Answer:
Arizona.
Question:
About 50,000 years ago, a very large asteroid crashed into this US state, creating a gigantic crater or hole in the ground. What is the name of this state and crater?
Answer:
Meteor Crater is located east of Flagstaff, Arizona.
Question:
What is the name of the famous national park in Arizona that’s bigger than the entire state of Rhode Island?
Answer:
Grand Canyon National Park, which became an official United States National Park in 1919.
Question:
What is the sunniest state in the country?
Answer:
Arizona. It has more sunny days than Florida and Hawaii.
Question:
The world-famous London Bridge was bought by an American tycoon. The bridge was moved brick-by-brick to a desert town he founded in hopes of attracting visitors. What is the town’s name?
Answer:
Lake Havasu, Arizona.
Chapter 6 - Montana
Question:
Elvis is the name of a 77 million year-old dinosaur. Where does he live?
Answer:
Montana.
Question:
Which state has one of the world’s largest collections of dinosaur fossils?
Answer:
Montana.
Question:
Which state elected the first woman to Congress?
Answer:
Montana. Jeanette Rankin served from 1917-1919 and again from 1941-1943.
Question:
Where was the largest snowflake ever observed?
Answer:
Montana.
Chapter 7 - Wyoming
Question:
What was the first state to grant women the right to vote?
Answer:
Wyoming.
Question:
Native Americans in the United States often host ceremonies that involve feasting, singing and dancing. What are these ceremonies called?
Answer:
Powwows.
Question:
Which state had the first female governor?
Answer:
Wyoming. Nellie Tayloe Ross, who was the wife of Governor William Bradford Ross, finished her husband’s term from 1925 to 1927 after he died. She served as the 14th governor of the state, and to this day, served as the only female governor in Wyoming’s history.
Question:
Which state has 32 named islands within its borders?
Answer:
Wyoming.
Question:
Which state has a dirt landing strip reserved for Jovians (aliens from Jupiter)?
Answer:
Wyoming. It’s called The Greater Green River Intergalactic Spaceport.
Question:
Which state has the smallest population?
Answer:
Wyoming.
Chapter 8 - Oregon
Question:
There’s a big river that flows through the city of Bend, Oregon. What is its name?
Answer:
Deschutes River.
Question:
Portland is a city in Oregon. Portland’s name was decided with a coin toss. Had the coin landed on the other side, what would the city have been called?
Answer:
Boston.
Question:
Boo! What state has more ghost towns than any other state?
Answer:
Oregon.
Question:
Which state celebrates its birthday on Valentine’s Day (February 14th)?
Answer:
Oregon.
Chapter 9 - Utah
The country’s first cyber-security center was built here. It’s code-named Bumblehive. What state is it in?
Answer:
Utah.
Question:
What is the name of the islands off the southern coast of Florida?
Answer:
Florida Keys.
Question:
What state capital is three words long?
Answer:
Salt Lake city, Utah.
Question:
What state has the youngest population?
Answer:
Utah. Roughly 29 percent of its residents are under the age of 18.
Question:
How did the town Levan, Utah get its name?
Answer:
According to local lore, the town got its name because it sits in the center (or belly button) of the state. (Levan spelled backward is navel.)
Question:
What city in Utah is nicknamed “Little Hollywood”?
Answer:
The city of Kanab. Since 1924, more than 100 movies and many TV series, mostly westerns, have been filmed there.
Chapter 10 - Minnesota
Mo and Finchy spend nearly two days traveling from Utah to another state. This state has a pair of cities known as the “Twin Cities, one of which is named Saint Paul. What state are they visiting?
Answer:
Minnesota.
Question:
Which one of the five Great Lakes does Minnesota border?
Answer:
Lake Superior.
Question:
What state has the largest mall in the county?
Answer:
Minnesota. The Mall of America, which is the size of 78 football fields, features 500+ stores, an amusement park, a roller coaster, and an aquarium.
Question:
Why is the Los Angeles professional basketball team named the Los Angeles Lakers?
Answer:
The team was originally from Minnesota – the land of 10,000 lakes!
Question:
What is the official state dog of Minnesota?
Answer:
Labrador Retriever, probably because they love water.
Question:
Except for Alaska, which state is the northernmost state in this country?
Answer:
Minnesota
Chapters # 11 – 20
Chapter 11 - Texas
Helium Centennial Time Columns is a time capsule stuffed with information about how people lived in 1968. One of the items is a passbook for a bank account opened in 1968. How much money was put into the account?
Answer:
$10
Question:
What is the second biggest state in the country?
Answer:
Texas. Alaska is the largest US state.
Question:
What US city is considered the helium capital of the world?
Answer:
Amarillo, Texas, which is the home of America’s National Helium Reserve.
Question:
Which state was the first state to declare Juneteenth a federal holiday that celebrates freedom for enslaved people?
Answer:
Texas.
Question:
Which US state produces the most wool?
Answer:
Texas.
Question:
In what county and state is the small town called Earth?
Answer:
Lamb County, Texas.
Question:
Where is the largest ranch in the country?
Answer:
Texas. King Ranch in the city of Kingsville covers 825,000 acres, which is more land than the state of Rhode Island.
Question:
What famous battle took place in Texas in 1836?
Answer:
The Alamo, which took place near the city of San Antonio. Texans fought for their independence from Mexico but were defeated.
Chapter 12 - Nevada
Which state is one of the world’s leading producers of gold and the second largest producer of silver?
Answer:
Nevada
Question:
Which state is home to the majority of the country’s wild horse populations?
Answer:
Nevada
Question:
Which was the first state to ratify (approve) the 15th amendment of the US Constitution, which meant that anyone could vote, no matter what their race was?
Answer:
Nevada
Question:
Which state produced the first hardhats?
Answer:
Nevada. They were invented in 1933 specifically for the Hoover Dam workers.
Question:
Only two capital cities in the US border another state. Can you name them?
Answer:
Carson City, Nevada and Trenton, New Jersey.
Chapter 13 - Wisconsin
Question:
Practically all the natural lakes in this state resulted from glaciers. Can you name the state?
Answer:
Wisconsin.
Question:
What city is the rope jumping capital of the world?
Answer:
Bloomers, Wisconsin
Question:
Only a few rivers in the US flow north. One of them is in Wisconsin. What’s the river’s name?
Answer:
The Fox River
Question:
What state is nicknamed America’s Dairyland?
Answer:
Wisconsin
Chapter 14 - North Dakota
Question:
Why is North Dakota’s Enchanted Highway famous?
Answer:
This 32-mile stretch of two-lane highway showcases the world’s largest sculptures made out of scrap metal.
Question:
What state is the country’s top producer of honey?
Answer:
North Dakota
Question:
What’s the name of the lake in North Dakota that has more shoreline than the California Pacific Coast?
Answer:
Lake Sakakawea
Chapter 15 - South Dakota
Mt Rushmore National Monument took 14 years to complete. The faces of four US presidents are carved into the side of a mountain. Who are they?
Answer:
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.
Question:
South Dakota is bordered by six states. Can you name them?
Answer:
North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana.
Question:
What state is the geographical center of the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii)?
Answer:
South Dakota.
Question:
Located in the Black Hills near Mount Rushmore is the Crazy Horse Memorial. Who was Crazy Horse? Why was he famous?
Answer:
Crazy Horse, who was born in South Dakota, became a Lakota Indian war chief in the 1800s. He tried to preserve the Lakota way of life by fighting against the United States Government, which allowed white American Settlers to take over Native American territory.
Question:
What National Park is nicknamed the playground of dinosaurs? What state is it in?
Answer:
Badlands National Park in South Dakota. It’s among the best places on Earth to see animal fossils.
Chapter 16 - Colorado
Question:
Where is the tallest sand dune in the country?
Answer:
Colorado. Actually, Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Monument. The 700-foot sand peaks were formed by ocean waters and wind more than one million years ago!
Question:
In what state can you find one of the world’s largest preserved sets of dinosaur tracks?
Answer:
Colorado, at Picketwire Canyon. The dino prints extend for more than 1,300 steps across one quarter of a mile.
Question:
Which state has the highest paved road in the country?
Answer:
Colorado. The road goes to the top of Mount Evans, which is 14,238 feet high!
Question:
Which county in the US had the most tornadoes between 1950 and 2022?
Answer:
Weld County, Colorado Between 1950 and 2022, it experienced 293 tornadoes. Guess who’s in second place? Harris County, Texas with nearly 50 fewer twisters.
Chapter 17 - California
Question:
In the 1800s, dozens of shipwrecks happened between Alaska and these US islands. What’s the name of these islands?
Answer:
Farallon Islands or Devil’s Teeth, California.
Question:
What state experiences over 100,000 earthquakes per year? In fact, some say it’s even over 500,000 a year.
Answer:
California.
Question:
In which state was the Internet created?
Answer:
California.
Question:
Death Valley is the hottest and driest desert in North America. Where is it located?
Answer:
California.
Question:
More movies have been filmed in this state than in any other. What’s the state’s name?
Answer:
California.
Chapter 18 - Hawaii
Question:
There are only two states in this country that don’t border any other states. One of them is Alaska. What is the other state?
Answer:
Hawaii.
Question:
How many letters does the Hawaiian alphabet have?
Answer:
Twelve. Every syllable and every word ends with a vowel.
Question:
What was the first US state to outlaw plastic bags?
Answer:
Hawaii.
Chapter 19 - Nebraska
Question:
Every state in this country (except one) has two Houses or chambers in its legislature–a House of Representatives and a Senate. Which state has a single chamber?
Answer:
Nebraska. It’s called a Unicameral legislature. Its members are known as senators.
Question:
In which state was the 911 emergency communications developed and tested?
Answer:
Nebraska.
Question:
Which state has more miles of river than any other state?
Answer:
Nebraska.
Chapter 20 - Ohio
Question:
Which state is nicknamed the “Mother of Presidents?”
Answer:
Ohio.
Question:
The first person orbited the Earth in 1962. He was from Ohio. What was his name?
Answer:
John Glenn.
Question:
The first person walked on the moon in 1969. He was from Ohio. What was his name?
Answer:
Neil Armstrong.
Question:
Who invented the electric light bulb? He was from Ohio.
Answer:
Thomas Edison.
Question:
In 1903, two brothers from Ohio flew the world’s first motor-operated airplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. What were their names?
Answer:
Orville and Wilber Wright.
Chapters # 21 – 30
Chapter 21 - Indiana
Question:
Where did the country’s first train robbery happen?
Answer:
The first US train robbery happened in in Indiana in 1866. A gang known as the Reno Brothers made off with $13,000, which is worth more than $240,000 today.
Question:
In what state is the city of Santa Claus located?
Answer:
Indiana. The city receives over a half million letters and requests at Christmas time.
Question:
Where was the first professional baseball game played?
Answer:
Fort Wayne, Indiana on May 4, 1871.
Chapter 22 - Illinois
Question:
In what Illinois city was one of the worst fire disasters in this country?
Answer:
Chicago. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 started with a small fire in a barn in south Chicago. Most of the buildings in those days were made of wood and once the fire got going, it was tough to stop. Over 20,000 buildings were completely destroyed.
Question:
What’s the name of the river in Illinois that flows backward? Here’s a hint: The river is also dyed green on St. Patrick’s Day.
Answer:
Chicago River. Around the year 1900, Chicago was a growing city with many manufacturing plants. These plants dumped pollutants and raw sewage into the river, which began to flow into Chicago’s drinking water. City officials feared that disease would spread so they permanently reversed the river’s flow.
Question:
The world’s tallest man was from Alton, Illinois. He was born in 1918 and grew to be eight feet and 11 inches tall. What was his name?
Answer:
Robert Wadlow.
Chapter 23 - Kansas
Where is the geodetic center of North America located?
Answer:
Kansas. That’s the point from which the size and shape of Earth can be determined.
Question:
What famous pilot was born in Kansas?
Answer:
Amelia Earhart. She made history in 1932 when she crossed the Atlantic alone and again when she made the first solo flight from California to Hawaii in 1935. But in 1937, Earhart and her plane disappeared when she tried to fly around the world.
Question:
Which famous American explorers traveled through Kansas on their way out west to map out the territory?
Answer:
Lewis and Clark.
Question:
During the 1930s, Kansas was hit by a massive drought and a series of dust storms. What were they called?
Answer:
The Dust Bowl. These severe dust storms greatly damaged the land and crops of the American and Canadian prairies.
Question:
What US state is the most centrally located of the Lower 48 (or contiguous) states?
Answer:
Kansas. It lies halfway between Canada and Mexico.
Question:
Which three states have the most tornadoes in the US?
Answer:
Texas has the most tornadoes, followed by Kansas and Oklahoma.
Question:
The biggest crop in Kansas is wheat. Name one common food that contains wheat.
Answer:
Here are three foods that most people eat every day: bread, pasta, and pastry.
Chapter 24 - Oklahoma
What state capitol has an oil well underneath it?
Answer:
Oklahoma
Question:
What’s the only US state that produces iodine?
Answer:
Oklahoma. Iodine is an important mineral your body needs but doesn’t make on its own
Question:
What type of natural resource was discovered in this state that made many people rich?
Answer:
Oil. The first oil was discovered in 1850.
Question:
What US state has the only capitol building with an oil well underneath it?
Answer:
Oklahoma.
Question:
What state has the most lakes created by dams?
Answer:
Oklahoma has the largest number – more than 200 lakes, all man-made.
Question:
Cimarron County in Oklahoma is the only county in the US that borders four states. What are the names of these four states?
Answer:
Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas.
Chapter 25 - Missouri
Question:
Which state’s first two capitols were destroyed by fire?
Answer:
Missouri. The present Capitol is the third building in Jefferson City.
Question:
What state has more than 6,000 caves?
Answer:
Missouri. It’s nicknamed the Cave State.
Question:
The Pony Express delivered mail between California and this state. Can you name the state?
Answer:
Missouri
Chapter 26 - Iowa
Question:
Which state had the first female lawyer?
Answer:
Iowa. In 1869, Arabella Mansfield became this country’s first female lawyer. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that women should be allowed to practice law.
Question:
Which state had the most men sign up to fight in the Civil War?
Answer:
Iowa. Out of a population of 600,000, over 76,000 signed up.
Question:
In what state is Sabula- a miniature island city-located?
Answer:
Iowa. Approximately 500 people live there.
Question:
In what state was the first electronic digital computer built?
Answer:
Iowa. Researchers at Iowa State University built it.
Chapter 27 - Michigan
What was the first state to add to its Constitution to establish and support public libraries?
Answer:
Michigan. In 1835, the Michigan Constitution recognized libraries as an integral part of the state’s educational system.
Question:
What state is the only one in the country bordered by four of the five Great Lakes?
Answer:
Michigan
Question:
How many flags have flown over Michigan?
Answer:
Four: France, England, Spain, and the United States.
Question:
Which US city was the first to issue phone numbers?
Answer:
Detroit, Michigan
Question:
Which state has more miles of freshwater shoreline than any other state in the country?
Answer:
Michigan (about 3,000 miles).
Question:
Which state was the first to guarantee every child with a free high school education?
Answer:
Michigan
Question:
Which US state is the only one with a floating post office?
Answer:
Michigan. Located on the Detroit River, the J.W. Westcott II is the only boat in the world that delivers mail to crew members stationed on ships throughout the river.
Question:
Which state is the only one in the country split into two pieces or landmasses?
Answer:
Michigan (Upper and Lower Peninsulas)
Chapter 28 - Kentucky
Question:
Which state had four different governors between December 1899 and February 1900?
Answer:
Kentucky
Question:
Which was the first southern state in the country to pass a civil rights law?
Answer:
Kentucky
Question:
Which US state has rivers on three sides of its borders?
Answer:
Kentucky. Ohio River to the north, Mississippi to the west, and the Big Sandy and Tug Fork Rivers to the east.
Question:
Which state is nicknamed the Bluegrass state and why?
Answer:
Kentucky. Bluegrass is actually green, but it produces bluish purple buds in the spring. So when looking at a large field of bluegrass, it has a bluish appearance.
Question:
In what state is Country Music Highway?
Answer:
Kentucky
Chapter 29 - Maine
What city (and in what state) is the first one in the country to greet the morning sun?
Answer:
Eastport, Maine
Question:
What state grows the most blueberries?
Answer:
Maine
Question:
Where was the first women’s basketball game played?
Answer:
Maine (In 1908, at Aroostook State Normal School, now called the University of Maine at Presque Isle).
Question:
What is the only US state that has one syllable?
Answer:
Maine
Question:
What public library allows its residents to check out gardening tools and an ukulele?
Answer:
Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, Maine.
Chapter 30 - Massachusetts
Question:
In what city and state did America’s first post office open?
Answer:
Boston, Massachusetts, in 1639.
Question:
In what state did the Salem witchcraft trials take place?
Answer:
Massachusetts
Question:
Where were chocolate cookies invented?
Answer:
Massachusetts (So was Boston cream pie).
Question:
Where was basketball invented?
Answer:
Springfield, Massachusetts
Chapters # 31 – 40
Chapter 31 - New York
Question:
Where did the first pizzeria open (city and state?)
Answer:
New York City (in 1905). It was called Lombardi’s Pizza.
Question:
The Statute of Liberty is in New York. What do the seven spikes in her crown represent?
Answer:
The seven oceans and continents of the world.
Question:
In 1884, what did city officials do to demonstrate the stability of the newly built Brooklyn Bridge in New York?
Answer:
They marched 21 elephants and 17 camels marched across the bridge.
Question:
In 1975, someone bought a private island in the East River in New York. How much did they pay?
Answer:
$10
Question:
What library owns and stores locks of hair from famous people who lived in the 1800s?
Answer:
New York Public Library
Chapter 32 - Vermont
What was the first higher education institution to admit women?
Answer:
University of Vermont in 1871
Question:
What is the smallest landlocked state in the country (without any coastlines)?
Answer:
Vermont
Question:
Billboard advertising is illegal in four states. Name them.
Answer:
Vermont, Hawaii, Maine, and Alaska
Question:
A farmer called the Snowflake Man took photos of more than 5,000 snowflakes and realized no two are alike. Where was he from?
Answer:
Vermont
Chapter 33 - New Hampshire
In what state were the first potato crops in this country planted?
Answer:
New Hampshire, in a town called Londonderry. Potatoes were introduced in 1791 by Scottish-Irish immigrants who had brought the vegetables with them across the Atlantic.
Question:
There are six states in New England. Can you name at least three?
Answer:
The six states are New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
Question:
The first American to travel into space was born in Derry, New Hampshire. In 1961, his flight lasted just 15 minutes and 22 seconds. In 1971, he was the fifth person to walk on the moon. Do you know his name?
Answer:
Alan Shepard.
Question:
One of the windiest places on earth is in New Hampshire. Do you know where?
Answer:
Mount Washington, New Hampshire. The Mount Washington Observatory, at the top of the 6,289-foot peak, recorded a wind speed of 231 miles per hour on April 12, 1934. That’s comparable to winds in F4 tornadoes or Category 5 hurricanes.
Chapter 34 - Pennsylvania
Question:
The last time the Liberty Bell rang was more than 150 years ago. What musical note did the bell strike when it rang?
Answer:
E-flat
Question:
Four US states call themselves a Commonwealth instead of a state. (In this country, there is no difference between states and commonwealths. A commonwealth is an old English word that means a government in which its citizens have a say in its politics and laws.) Can you name any of these four commonwealths?
Answer:
Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Kentucky and Virginia.
Question:
What historic event took place in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania?
Answer:
It was the site of one of the most important and bloodiest battles during the Civil War. The battle was a turning point in the war that eventually led to Union victory against the Confederacy.
Question:
Which one of the original 13 colonies is not bordered by the Atlantic Ocean?
Answer:
Pennsylvania.
Question:
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is known worldwide for celebrating what US holiday each year?
Answer:
Groundhog’s Day. Thousands of people come to see Punxsutawney Phil, the world-famous weather-forecasting groundhog.
Chapter 35 - Connecticut
One of this state’s nicknames is the “Provision State” because during the American Revolution, it sent many supplies to the Continental Army. What is this state’s name?
Answer:
Connecticut.
Question:
Two US states do not have any county governments. Can you name one or both states?
Answer:
Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Question:
Which state was the first one to set a speed limit for cars?
Answer:
Connecticut. In 1901, the state set a 12 miles per hour (mph) speed limit for cars on city roads and 15 mph on country roads.
Question:
What state has the shortest motto?
Answer:
Rhode Island. Its state motto is only one word – Hope.
Chapter 36 - Rhode Island
Every summer, 550 glass floats or balls (made by a local artist) are hidden on this island. If you find one, you get to keep it! What is the name of this island?
Answer:
Block Island, Rhode Island.
Question:
What is the smallest state in the country?
Answer:
Rhode Island.
Question:
In 2020, the residents of this state voted to shorten their state’s name to Rhode Island. What was the state’s official name before then?
Answer:
The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. It was shortened because the word “plantations” reminded people of slavery.
Question:
What state has more shipwrecks per square mile than any other state?
Answer:
Rhode Island.
Question:
An extremely rare rock is only found in Rhode Island. What’s the name of this rock?
Answer:
Cumberlandite, which is a heavy black or brown rock with white markings. Since it has high amounts of iron, a magnet can easily stick to it.
Chapter 38 - Delaware
Question:
Delaware’s official state nickname is “First State” because it was the first of the 13 original colonies to ratify or sign the US Constitution in 1787. But who nicknamed it?
Answer:
Mrs. Anabelle O’Malley’s first grade class at Mt. Pleasant Elementary School in Wilmington, Delaware requested the nickname.
Question:
The Dryptosauride became Delaware’s official dinosaur. How did this happen?
Answer:
The students at Shue-Medill Middle School in Newark, Delaware drafted a bill (House Bill 390) requesting it.
Question:
Peach pie is the official dessert of Delaware. Do you know why?
Answer:
During part of the nineteenth century, Delaware produced the most peaches in the country. (State lawmakers adopted this dessert based on the request of fifth and sixth grade students at St. John’s Lutheran school in Dover, Delaware.)
Question:
What state has the fewest counties?
Answer:
Delaware. It only has three counties – New Castle, Kent and Sussex.
Question:
How many miles is Delaware at its thinnest point?
Answer:
Nine miles across.
Chapter 37 - New Jersey
A museum in this state displayed a table made out of 14,000 jellybeans. What’s the name of this museum?
Answer:
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! NJ.
Question:
What’s the most crowded or densely populated US state?
Answer:
New Jersey. It averages roughly 1,195.5 people for every square mile.
Question:
What was the name of the famous German Airship that flew across the ocean in 1937 to Lakehurst, New Jersey and burst into flames before landing?
Answer:
Hindenburg.
Question:
Monopoly is one of the world’s most popular board games. The street names in the game are named after real streets in what city?
Answer:
Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Chapter 39 - Maryland
Question:
What’s the name of the largest Bay or estuary in the country (a semi-enclosed body of water) that also contains a mix of both saltwater and freshwater?
Answer:
The Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.
Question:
More than 300 wild ponies live on this 37-mile barrier island, which sits along the coasts of both Maryland and Virginia. What is the island’s name?
Answer:
Assateague Island.
Question:
What state has a town named Boring and another one called Accident?
Answer:
Maryland.
Question:
What was the name of the thirteen-year-old boy from Baltimore, Maryland who was the first American to ride in a hot-air balloon?
Answer:
Edward Warren. The year was 1784.
Chapter 40 - West Virginia
Question:
The shape of one US state looks like a leaping frog. What’s the state’s name?
Answer:
West Virginia. The frog is leaping downward to the left and its nose is in the southwestern corner.
Question:
Which is the only US state that has two panhandles? (A panhandle is a narrow strip of land that sticks out from a larger area, such as a state. Think of the handle on a frying pan.)
Answer:
West Virginia.
Question:
The towns of Shanghai, Calcutta and Paw Paw are located in what state?
Answer:
West Virginia.
Chapters # 41 – 45
Chapter 41 - Virginia
Question:
Eight US Presidents were born in this state. What is the state’s name?
Answer:
Virginia.
Question:
This state is called Home of the Internet and also Silicon Valley of the East. About 75 percent of the world’s internet traffic goes through data centers in just one of the state’s counties. What’s the name of the county and/or state?
Answer:
Loudon County, Virginia.
Question:
Virginia has had three capital cities. Can you name at least one?
Answer:
Jamestown, Williamsburg, and now Richmond.
Question:
More Civil War battles were fought in this state than any other. Can you name the state?
Answer:
Virginia. More than 120 battles were fought here.
Question:
Thomas Jefferson, the third US President, designed his own home, a plantation called Monticello. What state is it located in?
Answer:
Virginia.
Question:
What’s the name of the state where peanuts were first grown?
Answer:
Virginia.
Chapter 42 - North Carolina
Question:
Blackbeard was one of the most infamous pirates that ever lived. In the later years of his life, he called this state his home. What’s the name of the state?
Answer:
North Carolina.
Question:
North Carolina has three capes, which are large pieces of land that stick out into the sea from the coast. What are their names?
Answer:
Cape Hatteras, Cape Lookout, and Cape Fear.
Question
Three major research-based universities in North Carolina (Duke, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University) meet in a triangular shape. What is this area nicknamed?
Answer:
The Research Triangle.
Question:
In 1893, Caleb Davis Bradham from North Carolina created a drink to aid digestion, which was known as Brad’s Drink. What is his drink called today?
Answer:
Pepsi.
Question:
Emeralds naturally occur in this state. They’re the official state stone. What is the name of this state?
Answer:
North Carolina.
Chapter 43 - South Carolina
Question:
What animals live on Morgan Island? There are thousands of them! And people aren’t allowed to visit.
Answer:
Monkeys.
Question:
The first shots fired during the Civil War were by Confederate troops. Their target was Fort Sumter. Where is Fort Sumter?
Answer:
It’s in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.
Question:
This state’s popular dish is called Frogmore stew. (No frogs in this dish!) What’s the name of this state?
Answer:
South Carolina.
Question:
One of the small trees on Edisto Island is rather famous. People decorate its branches with all sorts of stuff, ranging from a US flag to flip flops. In which state is this island?
Answer:
South Carolina.
Question:
What state has towns named Coward, Due West and Ninety Six?
Answer:
South Carolina.
Chapter 44 - Tennessee
What state is nicknamed the Volunteer State?
Answer:
Tennessee. Read the state’s blog on Mo’s website to find out why!
Question:
Only two US states border eight states. Can you name them?
Answer:
Tennessee and Missouri.
Question:
Name the US city that’s known as the country music capitol of the world. What state is it in?
Answer:
Nashville, Tennessee
Question:
Where is the world’s tallest treehouse?
Answer:
Crossville, Tennessee. The treehouse is about 100 feet tall and 10,000 square feet.
Question:
Which state has more than 10,000 caves, more than any other state in the country?
Answer:
Tennessee.
Chapter 45 - Louisiana
Question:
What city (and in what state) is the home of a Vampire Association?
Answer:
New Orleans, Louisiana. The local group is called the New Orleans Vampire Association.
Question:
This state has lost 2,000 square miles of land since the 1930s. By 2050, scientists predict that its biggest city may be underwater. Can you name this city and state?
Answer:
New Orleans, Louisiana.
Question:
This state is divided into 64 parishes. (Parishes are like counties.) What’s the name of this state?
Answer:
Louisiana.
Question:
What is the name of the city where cemeteries are above ground?
Answer:
New Orleans (Louisiana). The city is built on wet, swampy land, so the water table is high. That means if you dig just a few feet, you’ll hit water. Graves become soggy and caskets could float away during floods.
Question:
In the 18th century, the British drove Cajuns – Roman Catholic French Canadians – out of their home, which is now Novia Scotia, a Canadian province. Most of their descendants now live in this state. What is its name?
Answer:
More than 40,000 Cajuns live in Louisiana
Chapters # 46 – 50
Chapter 46 - Arkansas
Question:
This state is the only one in the country whose name contains the name of another state. What is this state’s name?
Answer:
Arkansas. Its name includes the name of Kansas, which is another state.
Question:
In 1932, Arkansas voters elected the first woman to the US Senate. What was her name?
Answer:
Hattie Caraway.
Question:
What is the name of the only US state where people can actively mine diamonds?
Answer:
Arkansas. People can mind diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park.
Question:
What is the name of the city that sits on the border between Arkansas and Texas?
Answer:
The city of Texarkana.
Question:
What state produces nearly every US crop except citrus fruits?
Answer:
Arkansas.
Question:
What are people from Arkansas typically called?
Answer:
Arkansans or other times, Arkansawyers.
Chapter 47 - Mississippi
Question:
What state has the longest name out of all 50 states and is typically the hardest to spell?
Answer:
Mississippi. It has 11 letters in its name and is spelled with just four different letters.
Question:
The largest cranes in North America live in Mississippi. What are they called?
Answer:
Sandhill Cranes. They’re 44 inches tall and their wingspan is eight feet!
Question:
In what state is this country’s largest rocket testing site?
Answer:
Mississippi. It’s called the John C. Stennis Space Center. Since 1961, it has tested rockets that went to the moon and those that will carry humans even farther.
Question:
Mississippi has six barrier islands off the Gulf Coast. Can you name just one island?
Answer:
Ship Island, Deer Island, Horn Island, Cat Island, Petis Bois and Round Island. Another was called Caprice, but it vanished under water in 1930!
Chapter 48 - Alabama
Question:
Is the Moon’s surface gravity as powerful as Earth’s surface gravity? (Gravity is the force that keeps everyone and everything on the ground.)
Answer:
No, the Moon has six times LESS gravity than the Earth, i.e. the Moon’s surface gravity is 1/6th as powerful as the Earth’s surface gravity.
Question:
What is the second smallest planet in our solar system?
Answer:
Mercury is the smallest, followed by Mars, which also has two moons.
Question:
What is the fastest spinning planet in our solar system?
Answer:
Jupiter, which has 67 moons.
Question:
How many humans will be allowed to ride in the first spaceship to Mars?
Answer:
Four humans. Every two years, a new crew of four astronauts would arrive, enabling the previous crew to return to Earth.
Question:
At space camp, kids train like astronauts for six days. The world’s largest space museum is also in the same city. What’s the city’s name? What state is it in?
Answer:
Huntsville, Alabama. The museum’s name is the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.
Question:
What was the first state to celebrate Veteran’s Day, which honors military veterans?
Answer:
Alabama in 1947.
Question:
In what state did the Civil Rights movement in this country start?
Answer:
It began in Alabama in the 1950s. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white male passenger. Likewise, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., was a pastor of a local church who started directing nonviolent protests. He became a famous human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Chapter 49 - Georgia
Four types of sharks live in the largest aquarium in the world. They include sand tiger sharks, great hammerhead sharks, tiger sharks and silvertip sharks. Where is this aquarium?
Answer:
The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, which houses more than 100,000 sea creatures.
Question:
Are sand tiger sharks the most dangerous type of shark in the ocean?
Answer:
Sand tiger sharks look ferocious, but they are docile or non-aggressive. They have a mouthful of sharp teeth that protrude in all directions, even when their mouths are shut. They typically attack humans only when bothered.
Question:
Which was the first US state to lower the voting age from 21 to 18?
Answer:
Georgia.
Question:
What made Georgia Female College (now Wesleyan College) famous back in 1836?
Answer:
It was the first college on the planet to award college degrees to women.
Question:
What crop grows more in Georgia than in any other state in the country?
Answer:
Peanuts.
Question:
There are over 50 streets in Atlanta, the state’s capital city, that share the same name. What Is it?
Answer:
Peachtree. Georgia is nicknamed the Peach State since it’s the third largest producer of peaches in the country, after California and South Carolina.
Chapter 50 - Florida
Question:
What is the flattest state in the country?
Answer:
Florida.
Question:
The southern tip of Florida is about 90 miles away from another country. What is this country’s name?
Answer:
Cuba.
Question:
What famous national park is in the southern part of Florida that covers 1.5 million acres of swamp marshland?
Answer:
Everglades National Park.
Question:
What is the name of the group or chain of about 1700 tiny islands off Florida’s southern tip?
Answer:
The Florida keys.
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