All Things Blue Trivia Quiz

Answer: A second full moon within a calendar month

A "blue moon" occurs when there are two full moons in any calendar month. In a normal year, there are twelve full moons. A "blue moon", therefore, would be a thirteenth full moon in a calendar year. The expression is also used to describe a rare event, as in "Once in a blue moon".

Answer: The American South

The musical genre known as the blues originated in the American South as a mixture of work songs, chants, and spirituals sung by African slaves. The blues have evolved over time into regional variations, and the blues are the root of several other musical styles, including rock and roll, jazz, and ragtime, among others.

Answer: To have visible bruises from a beating

The phrase "black and blue", in the English language, has the literal meaning of the colors of bruises on a person's skin after a beating or other trauma. The phrase could also refer to severe mental abuse, leaving a person feeling like they have suffered a beating.

Answer: Spain

The German 250th Infantry Division was a unit comprised of volunteers from Spain. Authorized by Spanish dictator Franco just days after the 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union, the unit contained both members of the Spanish Falangist Party and troops of the Spanish Army granted leave to serve in the unit.

The nickname derived from the blue shirts the unit wore in place of regular Army uniforms while in Spain.

Answer: Louisiana USA

The Bluetick Coonhound, also known as the blue tick hound, originated in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The dog's pedigree includes both the English and American foxhounds, the cur dog, the French Grand Bleu de Gascogne, and the black and tan Virginia foxhound.

The United Kennel Club recognized the Bluetick as a separate breed in 1946. The breed was recognized by and eligible to compete in shows by the American Kennel Club in 2009.

Answer: 19th Century England

The term "blue blood", in reference to a member of the nobility, was first recorded in England in 1811. The phrase most likely derives from the medieval Spanish belief that their nobility and royal family were descended from the Visigoths, whose blue veins showed through their light skin.

This was to distinguish them from the darker skinned peasants, many of Moorish blood. The Spanish phrase was "sangre azul", literally translated as "blue blood".

Answer: Forensic science

The bluebottle fly is a species of blowfly, almost twice as large as a housefly, with a distinctive metallic blue abdomen. The adult flies feed on plant nectar. The female lays her eggs on rotting corpses, and because the growth rate of the larva is known, forensic experts can reliably estimate the time of death of a human corpse by examining blowfly larva found on remains.

Answer: To promote religious observance

Used by various communities since late Roman times, blue laws were enacted to ensure that the Christian Sabbath day was observed by all citizens. By outlawing most work and business activities, except necessary tasks such as cooking and tending to livestock, the Church could count on people attending services, especially since they were mandatory in the Middle Ages. Blue laws, though now secular, remain in effect in some European, American, and Canadian areas.

Answer: Angina (chest pain)

Sildenafil, marketed under the trade name Viagra, was originally developed as a treatment for hypertension and angina pectoris, a symptom of heart disease. During clinical trials beginning in 1989, it was found that although the drug had little effect on these conditions, male test subjects reported that they developed erections.

The drug was patented by Pfizer in 1996 and cleared for use in the U.S. in 1998.

Answer: Otto Preminger

Though mild by today's standards, Otto Preminger's 1953 film "The Moon is Blue", starring William Holden and Maggie McNamara, caused an uproar when the censors rejected it for its allegedly casual treatment of sex and seduction. The studio, United Artists, released the film without the censor's approval.

The film was dismissed by critics as nothing more than a lighthearted comedy, not even near worthy of the controversy. The film even became a plot device in a 1982 episode of the American TV series "MASH", in which surgeons Hawkeye and B.J. go to absurd lengths to obtain the film, only to be let down when it wasn't the dirty movie that they expected.