All Things Red Trivia Quiz

Answer: Richard Bernard Skelton

Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton was born in Vincennes, Indiana in July 1913. He began his entertainment career as a circus clown before moving on to vaudeville, Broadway, and eventually radio, television and film. His first movie role came in 1937's "Having Wonderful Time" with Ginger Rogers, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Lucille Ball, and Eve Arden. Skelton passed away in 1997 at the age of 84.

Answer: cranberries

The legend is probably true that cranberries were first eaten in North America by native peoples, who also used them for medicines and dyes, and who introduced them to European settlers in Massachusetts. From there it was an easy step to the first Thanksgiving feasts, even though the official holiday wasn't proclaimed until the US Civil War in 1863. Cranberries were first farmed in Massachusetts on Cape Cod in 1816. Recognition of the excellent nutritive properties of cranberries has led to their popularity on a 12-month basis.

Answer: hardiness and valor

Curiously, there is no record of any symbolic meaning being attached to the colors in the early American flags at the time of their creation in 1776 and 1777. The colors seem to have been borrowed from the colors in the Union Jack at first. However, at the time of the adoption of the Great Seal of the United States in 1782, the symbol's creator Charles Thomson stated specifically that the colors in the Seal referred to those in the flag and stood for "Red: hardiness and valor; White: purity and innocence; and Blue: vigilance, perseverance and justice".

Answer: red clay

Ultisols prevail in humid temperate or tropical regions and owe their red and yellowish colors to the presence of iron oxide. The soils are quite acidic and are deficient in major nutrients necessary for agriculture. Thus, they require supplementation with lime and other fertilizers for the successful growth of crops.

Although common in the Southern United States, red clay soils can also be found in Africa, Asia, and South America.

Answer: The Big Red Machine

Between 1970 and 1976, the Reds won five division titles, four National League pennants, and two World Series. The nickname was actually coined in 1969 by newspaperman Bob Herzel of "The Cincinnati Enquirer". However, with the team's success in the following years, the name stuck and was adopted nationwide.

Answer: Nancy Reagan

Nancy Davis Reagan was married to Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), who was President of the United States from 1981-1989. As First Lady, Mrs. Reagan was both admired and criticized for her stylish wardrobe, interior decoration of the White House, and acquisition of new trappings and furnishings for the Executive Mansion.

She was always elegantly attired in clothing provided by such American designers as Galanos, Blass, and de la Renta. Mrs. Reagan preferred wearing red - saying it raised her spirits - so much so that a particular shade of the color became known as "Reagan Red".

Answer: Rhode Island Red

The Rhode Island Red was adopted by state law as the Ocean State's state bird in 1954. As then-Governor Dennis J. Roberts stated as he signed the legislation, "The Rhode Island Red has become a symbol of Rhode Islanders all over the world". The breed was originally developed in the mid-1800s, and as the name suggests, the bird is rust-colored to dark brown, with a reddish-brown beak.

It is a utility bird, raised both for egg production and for meat.

Answer: The Red Badge of Courage

Stephen Crane (1871-1900) published "The Red Badge of Courage" in 1895, after it was serialized in a Philadelphia newspaper in 1894. The book tells the story of Henry Fleming, a young private in a New York regiment of the Union Army in the U.S. Civil War.

He is tested with his fellow soldiers through a series of battles as he experiences fear, bravado, cowardice, and resignation. The book has been hailed as one of the greatest American novels for anticipating the modern ambivalent attitudes towards war.

Answer: Ruby

While all of the listed gemstone options come in red, it is the ruby that is corundum, the same mineral as sapphire. The presence of chromium makes the ruby gemstone crystal have a red color. Rubies range from dark pink to darkest red. In the United States rubies have been found in Montana, Wyoming, and North and South Carolina.

For example, North Carolina has many pay-to-prospect mines where anyone can enter, pay a small fee, and keep any gemstones that might be found. Local businesses nearby have skilled gem cutters and bench jewelers who can turn a piece of such "mined" rough stone into a lovely jewelry keepsake.

Answer: Joseph McCarthy

In the late 1940s through the early 1950s the United States had its confidence, so arduously won during World War II, severely shaken. This period saw the Soviet Union's acquisition of the atom bomb, the "Iron Curtain" cordon around Eastern Europe, and the conviction of U.S. citizens Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for spying for the Soviet Union against the United States.

As a result, U.S. citizens lived in a climate of suspicion and fear. Into this situation stepped Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy, who led the effort to find Communists ("Reds") and their sympathizers in many walks of U.S. life.

In furtherance of this hunt, McCarthy held hearings, made inflated accusations of Communist infiltration of the State Department and U.S. Army, and tarred scores of individuals with a very broad brush.

These allegations proved almost universally baseless, and McCarthy was eventually censured by the Senate in 1954. Three years later he was dead, ostensibly of hepatitis, which was almost certainly exacerbated by alcoholism.