Sixty Nine, Dude! Trivia Quiz

Answer: The English Patient

"The English Patient" won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Anthony Minghella) and Best Supporting Actress (Juliette Binoche as Hana). The films tells the story of a British aristocrat archeologist during the 1930s and World War II. It stars Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas and Binoche.

"English Patient" also won for Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design and Best Film Editing.

"Fargo" (1996) won Best Actress (Frances McDormand) and Best Screenplay (Coen Brothers). "Shine" (1996) won best Actor for Geoffrey Rush. And "Jerry Maguire" won Best Supporting Actor for Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Answer: Port Huron MI and Indianapolis

The original section of I-69 was built between 1966 and 1982. It stretches from the Blue Water Bridge on the Michigan-Ontario border down to Indianapolis, 356 miles away.

Interstate 69 is known as the NAFTA Superhighway, and is built in ten sections across Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennesee, Mississippi and Texas. The sections together are just around 870 miles. The southernmost section is near the US-Mexico border in Laredo, Texas.

Wildwood to Slidell is Interstate 59. Erie to Charleston is Interstate 79. Albert Lea to Port Arthur is US Route 69, built between 1926 and 1935.

Answer: Bryan Adams

"Summer of '69" was done by Canadian rock star Bryan Adams as part of his 1985 album "Reckless." It rose as high as number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and was also a hit in several other countries. The song took a while to become a classic, however. It was written by Adams and Jim Vallance. Adams was born in 1959, so the songs lyrics, if they are autobiographical, do not refer to the actual summer of 1969. The part about the guitar is probably true.

Chartattack, a Canadian music magazine, listed the song as number four on its list of "The 50 Best Canadian Singles of All Time" in 2000.

The song came out in June 1985. Adams did have a number one that summer, "Heaven."

Answer: Thulium

Thulium is a light, silvery metal which is easily cut with a knife. It is relatively rare, but occurs enough that it has commercial uses in X-ray machines and laser beams. Thulium was first discovered by a Swedish chemist in 1879, but was not available in large quantities until the 1950s. It is found in mineral deposits, especially gadolinite.

Thallium is element number 81. Terbium has atomic number 65. And Polonium has atomic number 84.

Answer: George Washington

George Washington was elected president in 1789 with a unanimous electoral college vote of 69 electors. The second election was after the 1790 census, so there were more electors.

John Adams was elected in 1796 with 71 votes, with Thomas Jefferson as Vice President. In 1800, Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied with 73 votes, and the House ultimately elected Jefferson president. In 1824, John Q Adams received 84 votes (fewer than Andrew Jackson with 99), but was chosen by the House of Representatives.

Answer: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian

In June of 68, Nero committed suicide. This led to the rise of Galba, who lasted for about six months. His draconian policies proved extremely unpopular, and he was ousted by the Praetorian Guard (with extreme prejudice) and replaced with Otho very early in 69.

Otho was emperor for three months, and during the whole time faced a political challenge from general Vitellius, whose legions were larger and stronger than those supporting Otho. After a defeat at the Battle of Bedriacum, Otho committed suicide.

Vitellius led Rome to almost complete financial collapse, which led the elites to seek yet another emperor, this time Vespasian, who had made a name for himself in Judea. Vitellius was assassinated by followers of Vespasian on December 20, and Vespasian assumed power the next day.

Vespasian founded the Flavian Dynasty and was in office until June 79 AD. His most notable achievement is still standing after almost two millenia: The Colosseum.

Domitian to Hadrian served September of 81 to July of 138. Commodus to Septimius were in office from March 180 to February 211. Gordian I through Balbinus all served extremely short terms during the year 238.

Answer: Rhone

France is divided into 101 departments. 96 are in mainland France, the others are overseas. Rhone is Department 69.

The Department of Rhone is in southeastern France, in the region Rhone-Alpes. It has 54 townships, the largest being Lyon. It is one of France's oldest cities, founded by the Romans in 43 BC. The University of Lyon dates to 1300. During World War II, the area was a center for the Resistance, and Lyon was known for the war crimes of Nazi Klaus Barbie. The area is also well known for its textiles, and the 1800s was a leading center of the French silk industry.

Paris is Department 75. Loire, directly west of Rhone, is Department 42. Jura, just northeast of Rhone, is Department 39.

Answer: Sagittarius

Messier 69 is a globular cluster in Sagittarius. It was discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier on August 31, 1780. It is roughly 28,700 light years from Earth. It is fairly close to Epsilon Sagittari (Kaus Australis), the brightest star in the constellation.

Messier discovered over 100 celestial phenomena, including the Andromeda Galaxy and the Cran Nebula. He did his observations from the Hotel Cluny in Paris.

Answer: National Football League

Only two NHL players have worn the number 69, and no member of the NBA has worn it. About a dozen baseball players have worn it, most notably Bronson Arroyo when he played with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Because of the numbering conventions of the NFL, many linemen have worn the number 69. The most notable are Defensive End Jared Allen (drafted Kansas City 2004), Offensive Lineman David Bakhtiari of the Green Bay Packers, Tackle Jordan Gross of the Carolina Panthers and Tackle Jon Runyan with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Since the renumbering standardization in 1973, the NFL has required offensive linemen and defense linemen to wear numbers between 50 and 79.

Answer: Dwight Eisenhower

The USS Dwight Eisenhower (CVN-69) was commissioned in 1977 and is a Nimitz Class aircraft carrier. It is almost 1100 feet long and 240 feet high. It is based in Norfolk, Virginia. Fun fact: The game show "Wheel of Fortune" filmed aboard the Eisenhower in 1995.

The Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is famous as the site of George W Bush's "Mission Accomplished" press conference. The Harry Truman (CVN-75) was launched in 1996. And the Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) was launched in March 2001.