Get Your Kicks on Route 66 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Joplin

Hale Irwin won the US Open three times, in 1974, 1979, and 1990, and also represented US several times in the Ryder Cup.

Joplin is in the southwestern corner of Missouri, only a few miles from the borders with Kansas and Oklahoma. The town was founded in the 1870s when lead and zinc were discovered and mined.

Answer: Amarillo

Amarillo gets its name from the Spanish word, meaning 'yellow', because of the many bright wild flowers growing there. It is a city of around 200,000 people located in the northern portion of Texas. The Tony Christie version of '(Is This the Way to) Amarillo?' topped the charts in several countries, but strangely enough, did not even crack the Top 100 in USA.

The song was written by Neil Sedaka, and he had an American hit with it six years later.

Answer: San Bernardino

Richard and Maurice MacDonald opened their first hamburger stand in San Bernardino, California, way back in 1940. The outlet closed in the 1970s, and there is now a McDonald's museum on the site, on E Street.

Answer: St Louis

According to the lyrics of "Route 66", St Louis, Missouri, is our first stop after leaving Chicago. It was named after King Louis IX of France and is home to the huge Gateway Arch. You can even visit the Anheuser-Busch plant, home to Budweiser beer.

Answer: Flagstaff

Flagstaff, Arizona, has an altitude of over 2,000 metres (7,000ft) and very clear skies, making it a perfect location for Lowell Observatory. This is where Clyde W. Tombaugh discovered Pluto, in 1930.

Answer: Kingman

Lewis Kingman was a railway surveyor, who worked for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad company.
Kingman, which is in northwestern Arizona, sells itself as 'The Heart of Historic Route 66'. Hualapai Mountains have a maximum elevation of 8,417 ft (2,566 m), and are popular with hikers. The mountains are just south of the city.

Answer: Barstow

A small but comprehensive museum, it has displays of the history of the famous road, including old vehicles, signage, photos, etc. Barstow is midway between Los Angeles and Los Vegas.

Route 66 was built in 1926 and became a symbol of hope during the Depression years. It ran from Chicago to Santa Monica, traversing eight states. It existed for almost 60 years before being decommissioned in 1985. Many stretches of the road have since fallen into disrepair, unfortunately.

Answer: Winona

"Don't forget Winona." Winona, Arizona, is a dot on the map, just to the east of Flagstaff. It is supposedly mentioned in the song only because it rhymes with 'Arizona'!

Answer: Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City is the capital of Oklahoma, strangely enough. It is home to the Museum of Osteology, where you can gaze at hundreds of animal skeletons, or visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial, which honours the 162 lives lost in the terrible terrorist bomb attack in 1995.

Answer: Gallup

Gallup is a small town in western New Mexico. It is the birthplace of Caroline Shoemaker, after whom the Shoemaker-Levy comet was named. The town has a population of about 20,000 and in 1881 was named after David Gallup, an employee of the Atlantic and Pacific Railway, who used Gallup as a terminus.