Author: Evelyn Beresford

Step 1 : Introduction to the question “Which character appears in the upper right corner during the opening credits of the Brady Bunch?” On this day in 1969, television audiences heard the soon-to-be-famous opening lyrics “Here’s the story of a lovely lady. Who was bringing up three very lovely girls…” as The Brady Bunch aired for the very first time. The cast of The Brady Bunch appears in the opening title sequence in which video head shots are arranged in a three-by-three grid, with each cast member appearing to look at the other cast members. Greg Brady, played by Barry Williams appears…

Step 1 : Introduction to the question “In 2018, internet users were split over whether a mysterious sound was either “Yanny” or what?” …”Yanny or Laurel” is an auditory illusion of a re-recording of a vocabulary word plus added background sounds, also mixed into the recording, which became popular in May 2018. In the brief audio recording, 53% of over 500,000 people answered on a Twitter poll that they heard a man saying the original word “Laurel”, while 47% reported hearing a voice saying the name “Yanny”. Analysis of the sound frequencies has confirmed that both sets of sounds are present in…

Step 1 : Introduction to the question “Which fictional character does NOT have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?” On his 50th anniversary in 1978, Mickey Mouse became the first animated character to be honored on the Walk of Fame. Bugs Bunny received his star several years later, in 1985. Some other noteworthy fictional characters with stars include: Kermit the Frog, Donald Duck, Tinker Bell, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Shrek, and The Simpsons. In 2004, Godzilla became the first monster to receive a star in 2004. In 1960 the canine characters of Strongheart and Lassie received their stars, followed…

Step 1 : Introduction to the question “The average lightning bolt is about 5 miles long and how wide?” …Lightning is a giant discharge of electricity accompanied by a brilliant flash of light. The average lightning bolt is five miles in length and only 1 inch in width. It only seems to appear bigger because the bolt is so bright. Lightning is extremely hot—a flash can heat the air around it to temperatures five times hotter than the sun’s surface. Lightning flashes more than 3 million times a day worldwide which equates to about 40 times a second. The average American has…

Step 1 : Introduction to the question “Which sports league’s commissioner has a last name that can be found on the periodic table?” …Adam Silver is the current commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Silver was unanimously elected NBA Commissioner on Feb. 1, 2014, by the NBA Board of Governors. Since joining the NBA in 1992, Silver has also held the positions of Senior VP & COO, NBA Entertainment, and NBA Chief of Staff. Before joining the NBA, Silver was a lawyer at the New York law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore. In 2015, he was named one of Time’s…

Step 1 : Introduction to the question “Which of these chemical elements is represented on the atomic table by a single letter?” Every element in the Periodic Table has been given a unique 1, 2 or 3 letter symbol. The first letter of an element symbol is always a capital letter. Many of the element symbols are quickly remembered with just one letter. These elements are: B for Boron, C for Carbon, F for Fluorine, H for Hydrogen, I for Iodine, K for Potassium, N for Nitrogen, O for Oxygen, P for Phosphorus, S for Sulfur, U for Uranium, V for Vanadium,…

Step 1 : Introduction to the question “Which musician was recently pardoned by the Trump administration?” At the very end of his final full day in office, President Trump exercised his clemency power, offering 73 pardons and 73 commutations. Among the notable names on Trump’s clemency list included rapper Lil Wayne, who received a full pardon after being charged last year with possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon. Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., endorsed Trump ahead of the November election. He has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the world’s best-selling…

Step 1 : Introduction to the question “Which man witnessed the D-Day invasion of Normandy as a war correspondent?” …No American writer is more associated with writing about war in the early 20th century than Ernest Hemingway. He experienced it firsthand, and used war as a backdrop for many of his most memorable works. Hemingway based many of his stories on his experiences during World War II. As a war correspondent for Collier’s magazine in 1944, Ernest Hemingway took part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy on a landing craft, coming in on the seventh wave after most of the action was…

Step 1 : Introduction to the question “What classic candy was named after its creator’s daughter?” Leo Hirschfield, the inventor of the Tootsie Roll, named the chewy, chocolatey candy for his 5-year-old daughter, Clara, who he called “Tootsie.” It was a popular nickname at the time, and appealed to the penny-toting children who bought up Hirschfield’s individually wrapped treats. The long-lasting, chewable candy has been made with the same recipe since 1896, when Hirshfield started producing the first individually wrapped penny candy. Because of its ability to stay fresh for long periods of time, Tootsie Rolls were included in G.I. rations, which…

Step 1 : Introduction to the question “Which game did Fidel Castro ban upon rising to power in Cuba?” …Lovers of Monopoly in Cuba… Do not pass “GO.” Do not collect $200. Upon taking power in 1959, Fidel Castro banned the board game “Monopoly” and decreed that every set be destroyed. Apparently, the game had a strong following in Cuba but he perceived it as the pure embodiment of capitalism. Parker Brothers was unable to estimate how many games were sold to Cuba at the time of the incident. The fact that the Cuban government heavily sanctions its citizens unfortunately isn’t news.…