A Tribute to Bill Trivia Quiz

Answer: Malden

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts was one of the original thirteen colonies that founded the United States. It is a very relevant state in the history of the country, with important events like the Mayflower landing of the Pilgrims and Paul Revere's ride happening there. Boston is the state capital and most important city in the state and indeed, the country. Malden is a small city in Middlesex County, the same county where Lexington and Concord are located. Malden is the hometown of many notable Americans in different fields, including Kevin Cullen (a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for his reporting on the Boston Catholic Archdiocese sex abuse scandal), Senator Ed Markey (a Democrat who has served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate), and Mary Elizabeth Hewitt (a poet known for her collections like "The Songs of our Land, and Other Poems").

Answer: Dartmouth

Dartmouth College was established in 1769 with a royal charter issued by King George III. Named after William Legge, the 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, the college offers more than 50 different majors and is part of the Ivy League, an athletic conference in the United States which is often associated with selective, elite-level academics and institutions.

The university is located in Hanover, New Hampshire, and counts among its alumni distinguished members of different fields and professions. Some notable alumni include poet Robert Frost, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Chief Justice Salmon Chase, actress Mindy Kaling, and producer Shonda Rhimes.

A large number of academics and researchers have attended Dartmouth as well, from law professors to MacArthur Fellows and Nobel Prize winners.

Answer: Carol

Carol is one of the many variations of the English name Charles. Though it is typically more popular among women, there have been some men in history to have that same name, including British director Carol Reed and Romanian kings Carol I and Carol II.

The film "Carol" was first released in 2015 at the Cannes Film Festival, where Rooney Mara won the Best Actress award for her performance in the film (it was also nominated for the festival's coveted Palme d'Or but did not win.) The movie is about two women who start as friends but evolve into a relationship.

It is based on Patricia Highsmith's novel "The Price of Salt".

Answer: Salem

Salem is a city full of history, culture, and traditions. The Massachusetts city was settled by colonists in the 1600s upon their arrival to what is now the United States. Salem's first two government leaders, as part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, were Roger Conant and John Endecott. The latter is the namesake for Endicott College in Beverly, MA, which itself used to be a part of Salem. Many around the world know Salem for the infamous Salem witch trials held in 1692 when Puritans in the area accused dozens of people (mostly women) of witchcraft in what is often used as an example of mass hysteria. The city has many important museums like the Peabody Essex Museum and the House of Seven Gables, best known for its appearances in the works of native Nathaniel Hawthorne (the namesake of the city's iconic Hawthorne Hotel).

One other landmark in the city is Salem State University, a public institution that offers a variety of degrees in areas like business, science, English and literature, and political science, among many others. The school was called Salem State College between 1960 and 2010, since in the latter year Governor Deval Patrick changed the name to Salem State University.

Answer: John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck was a Nobel Prize-winning author born in California in 1902. He is mostly known for his novels and novellas like "Of Mice and Men", "The Grapes of Wrath", and "East of Eden". Steinbeck won a controversial Nobel Prize for literature in 1962, with some claiming he was undeserving of the award. Steinbeck studied English literature at Stanford University but did not graduate; instead, he decided to work on his writing.

Many of his books were set in his home state of California. One of his most famous works, "The Grapes of Wrath", was adapted to a movie that was released in 1940.

Answer: .biz

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (abbreviated as ICANN) was founded in 1998 in the United States. Due to the internet's explosive growth after it was created, the U.S. government through its Department of Commerce began working on alternatives to better manage the internet's domains and databases. Thus, ICANN was officially established in Los Angeles, California, in 1998 under the leadership of Esther Dyson and Jon Postel, the latter of whom is known for his multiple contributions to the development of the internet and who passed away from heart complications shortly before joining ICANN.

The .biz domain was introduced in 2001 via ICANN in order to expand available domains for businesses looking for an alternative to the highly-demanded ".com" website ending.

The domain is managed by GoDaddy and has been used by small businesses around the world to establish an online presence.

Answer: Washington

Washington State was admitted to the Union in 1889 after the Washington Territory was ceded by the British (this piece of land later became parts of Nebraska and Idaho as well). The state was named for General George Washington, the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army and first President of the United States (he is also the namesake for Washington D.C., the country's capital city).

The northwestern state is known as "the Evergreen State" and is home to many important American cities. Even though its capital is Olympia, the largest city in the state is Seattle, the birthplace of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Another important city in Washington is Spokane, which is home to Gonzaga University and The Davenport Hotel, among other landmarks.

Answer: Peseta

The word "peseta" is of Catalan origin and literally translates to "little piece". Peseta coins were first introduced in Barcelona, Spain, in 1808, but began officially being used until 1869. There were pesetas for the values of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 500 in coin form (many of which had a distinctive small perforation in the center), and in bills of 1000, 2000, 5000, and 10000.

Many of the coins showed the face of Spanish King Juan Carlos I. The peseta was discontinued in 1999 after the euro was adopted as the currency of Spain and many other countries of the European Union.

Answer: Delicate Arch

Utah is home to the Arches National Park, a popular tourist destination in the state due to the thousands of natural sandstone arches, rocks, and monoliths that formed in the area. Nearby the Colorado River, the national park features a variety of well-known arches and structures like the Balanced Rock, the Double Arch, the Landscape Arch, and the Delicate Arch.

The Delicate Arch is very famous in Utah and has had notable moments like the Olympic torch passing through it prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City.

A picture of the arch appeared in a special edition of Utah license plates commemorating the state's centennial but is also depicted in standard plates with the phrase "Life Elevated" on the bottom of the plate.

Answer: 300

The number 300 has many different usages in fields like history, sports, entertainment, and more. The first example is a perfect score in bowling: if all turns during the game result in strikes (knocking down all 10 pins), the player achieves 300 points that are equivalent to a perfect score. The number 300 is also associated with the eponymous movie starring Gerard Butler, which itself is based on the Battle of Thermopylae, one where the small Spartan army or 300 soldiers was defeated but served as moral strength for future battles. Finally, 300 Entertainment is a record label founded in 2012 by experienced music executives Lyor Cohen and Todd Moscowitz, which worked with award-winning artist Young Thug since 2014.

Bill wrote 300 fantastic quizzes for FunTrivia across categories, including Music (mainly lyrics from songs in the 1950s-1960s), Literature, and Brain Teasers (especially Letter Quizzes).