Flight of the Phoenix Trivia Quiz

Answer: Minneapolis

The IDS Tower and the Capella Tower graced the skyline of the Midwestern city of Minneapolis, a settlement that makes up one half of Minnesota's Twin Cites (the other being neighbouring Saint Paul). Together these cities form a substantially-populated metropolitan area that straddles the Mississippi River.

Answer: Anchorage

Large in area but few in population, the very sparsely inhabited state of Alaska is the USA's gateway to the Arctic Circle. That said, the major settlements in this state are all on, or close to, the Gulf of Alaska in the south; these are settlements that have conditions that are typically less harsh than those experienced in more northerly places such as Barrow and Bettles.

Answer: Boise

As a foreigner, only two things come to mind when I hear the name Idaho - the state capital, Boise, and potatoes. In 1937, the Idaho Fruit and Vegetable Advertising Commission was established to protect and promote the interests of the state's agriculture and agricultural workers, advertising the humble potato to people around the USA and beyond.

The Advertising Commission, which later changed its name to the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC), has seemingly done a good job; as I have said, all that comes to mind when I hear Idaho mentioned, is potatoes!

Answer: Pierre

What I can gather from sources is that the residents of Pierre, South Dakota pronounce the name of their city in a manner similar to [peer]; people from further afield are more likely to pronounce it as [pea air], the French way. There are many examples of this throughout the world whereby natives can recognise non-natives by the way the name of the settlement is spoken.

This can often go further and apply to the use, or lack thereof, of the definite article, the. In south Wales, United Kingdom, there is a beautiful peninsula called Gower, but it is frequently referred to as "the Gower" by those who visit the area.

Answer: Seattle

Seattle, with its Space Needle, its representation in films and as the home of Starbucks, has everything you'd expect of a capital city; except, that Seattle isn't actually the state capital of Washington, that instead being the less well-known settlement of Olympia.

Whilst capitals of countries around the world *tend* to be the most highly populated and most well-known of places, the states that constitute the US don't always follow that trend. A lot of the time the capital city is centrally located within the state, examples include: Lansing (Michigan), Springfield (Illinois) and Jefferson City (Missouri).

Answer: Ah raze owner

Phoenix is the capital of the southwestern US state of Arizona, a state that holds the distinction of being the last of the contiguous-48 to be admitted to the Union (New Mexico attained statehood approximately one month earlier). To put this into perspective, whilst Arizona was celebrating its statehood centenary in 2012, the first state to join the Union, Delaware, was in its 225th year as part of the USA.

Mars hatch you sits = Massachusetts
Owe high oh = Ohio
Ewe tar = Utah

Answer: Kansas City

Due to the metropolitan area which includes Kansas City being situated in both Missouri and Kansas, what is essentially one city has been split into two; one city on each side of the Kansas-Missouri border. Despite being divided by barely more than a street at times, the two cities are governed by their own respective set of laws and have their own cultural identities. I am sure that if there is any rivalry between the two cities, it is in good spirit; after all, why would a city wish to name itself after its neighbouring state?!

Answer: Savannah

Savannah, which has very little to the east of it except for the massive expanse of water that is the Atlantic Ocean, is a relatively old settlement. Savannah has such a long history in fact (it was established in 1733) that it is the oldest city in Georgia and has the distinction of being the state's first ever capital.

The capital of Georgia since 1868 has been the world famous city of Atlanta, a place known for holding international sporting events.

Answer: Miami

Miami is a city in the far southeastern reaches of the southeastern-most mainland US state of Florida. Its fine climate and splendid location on the Atlantic Ocean has seen the city grow into a massive metropolitan area, census after census declaring it to be one of the most populated in all of the United States.

The appeal of Miami perhaps lies partly in its cleanliness, 'Forbes' magazine declared it "America's Cleanest City" in 2008, noting the settlement's "healthy ozone levels, low pollution and high-quality water".

Answer: Bull are whey hoe

I can't imagine there will be very many people who will travel to the USA looking for Bulawayo [bull are whey hoe], but you never know! Bulawayo is Zimbabwe's "second city", the only settlement that is larger in this southern African country is its capital, Harare. That said, the majority of Zimbabwe's business and industry tends to congregate in the central business district (CBD) of Bulawayo despite (or perhaps because) the seat of government not being there.

Filler tell fear = Philadelphia
Sack cram meant toe = Sacramento
Mill walk he = Milwaukee