Twenty Shades of Red, White, and Blue Quiz

Answer: Buffalo

The family 'Bovidae' includes the American buffalo or bison. These animals roamed the grasslands of America but nearly became extinct due overzealous hunting. 'Buffalo' Bill Cody was one of those hunters who later formed a popular traveling wild west show. Buffalo is the second largest city in the state of New York by population.

Answer: Long Island

It is a long island. Long Island is part of New York and a heavily populated suburb of New York City.

Answer: South Dakota

Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr., former vice president, was born over his father's drug store on May 27, 1911 in Wallace, South Dakota.

Brock Lesnar, a professional wrestler, was born on July 12, 1977 in Webster, South Dakota.

Thomas John Brokaw, newscaster and writer, was also born in Webster, South Dakota on February 6, 1940.

January Kristen Jones, popular actress and model, was born January 5, 1978 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Answer: Stamford, Connecticut

WWE was established by Vince McMahon and his wife Linda. They long ago gave up the concept that professional wrestling was a sport and have embraced it as a form of entertainment. The popularity of professional wrestling has increased and in 2016 had a gross income of $729.2 million dollars.

The matches depend less on the old grunt and groan tactics but on soap opera type story lines, television promotions, and more athletic performers.

Answer: Watertown, Wisconsin

Margarethe Schurz founded the first kindergarten in Watertown, Wisconsin. Her family had left Germany for political reasons. Schurz's three year old daughter was one of the first students. It opened in 1856 and was taught entirely in German. It closed during World War One due to suspicions of anything German. It was based on the writings of German philosopher Friedrich Froebel.

Answer: Prostitution

Gotti was called "The Teflon Don" after three trials in the 1980s resulted in acquittal. Later evidence of jury tampering, juror misconduct, and witness intimidation were found. None-the-less, Gotti was under constant surveillance and by 1992 authorities had gathered enough evidence to finally convict him. He was known for his flamboyant style and his arrogance toward law enforcement.

To some he became a folk hero like Bonnie and Clyde, Dillinger, or Bugsy Stiegel. Several films and documentaries have chronicled his career. No major charges were filed alleging prostitution.

Answer: 8

Pacific Coast: Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California.

Mexican border: Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

California counted only once.

Answer: John Brown's Body

"Say, Brothers, Will You Meet Us" was the original title to this song as a spirited hymn. After the death of John Brown, it was remodeled to reflect the goals of his campaigns against slavery. In 1861, Julia Howe, a prolific gospel lyricist, changed the lyrics to mirror the Civil War after a meeting with Abraham Lincoln. The song had a resurgence of popularity when it was played at Ronald Reagan's funeral.

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on."

Answer: To use as reference on resumes

Not too long ago, genealogy, the study of one's heritage, was a time consuming task that meant hours poring over birth, death, marriage records, and census data at a county clerk's office or in libraries. In the computer age, many of the records have been digitalized and available on line. In addition, there are numerous resources to aid in the research. DNA testing can be used to trace tribal and regional affiliations of ancestors.

Personal aside: My wife was taught that she had Native American heritage and passed this knowledge on to our children. My adult children who have had DNA testing have found no such link.

Answer: Aging/ageing

British spellings derive in part from Samuel Johnson's "A Dictionary of the English Language" (1755). This work attempted to standardize a chaotic system of spelling.

American spelling got its start with Noah Webster's "A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language" (1806).

Answer: John James Audubon

John James Audubon was born Jean Rabin on April 26, 1785 in what is now Haiti. He was an ornithologist, naturalist, writer, and painter. Not only did he study birds but made life-like paintings of them. He came the United States to avoid conscription into the French army.

Considered a British poet, T. S. Eliot was actually born in St. Louis, Missouri and emigrated to England in 1925 and became a British citizen in 1927.

Willa Cather was born near Winchester, Virginia in 1873. She wrote about life on the Great Plains of the United States.

Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1951. He is a journalist and often writes travel books. He lives in England and has duel citizenship.

Answer: The Magnificent Seven

Based on Akira Kurosawa Japanese film "The Seven Samurai". Yul Brynner stars as the leader of a ragtag group of gunmen hired to defend a Mexican village from marauding gangs. The action takes place in Mexico and it was also filmed mostly there.

"How the West Was Won" (1962) had three directors and every box office star that was available. It was shot outdoors at many locations using the Cinerama that required three cameras to film and a curved screen to show--not popular with either directors or actors.

"The Shining" (1980) was filmed in Colorado.

"Pulp Fiction" (1994) was filmed on a studio set and the American city is not identified.

Answer: Bruce Springsteen

"Born in the U.S.A." (1984) and several Springsteen hits contemplate life in America with both its highs and struggles. Springsteen has sold more than 140 million records worldwide and 64 million records in the United States. He was a supporter of Obama in his presidential campaigns and there was always the question of whether Obama drew the crowds or Bruce.

"Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man

Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A."

Answer: Incas

All of the choices are Native North Americans except for the Incas who were indigenous to South America, particularly Peru.

Answer: Protestant Christianity

2017 statistics on religious affiliation:

Protestant: 51.3%
Catholic: 23.9%
Mormon: 1.7%
Jewish 1.7%
None, not affiliated: 18.6%
Other: 4.55%

Answer: Dr. Pepper

The U.S. Patent Office registers 12/1/1885 to Charles Alderton for Dr. Pepper. It was introduced at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition as a new kind of soda with 23 flavors. Dr. Pepper preceded the introduction of Coca-Cola in 1886.

For many years its advertising suggested three Dr. Peppers a day at 10AM, 2PM, and 4PM.

Answer: NASCAR

All are NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Racing) championship winners.

Kevin Harvick: 2014
Kyle Busch: 2015
Martin Truex: 2017

Answer: Franklin Roosevelt

Roosevelt spoke at the opening session of the New York World's Fair on April 30, 1939 to a very small audience. On October 5, 1947, Harry Truman spoke on TV in a speech from the White House. The Kennedy/Nixon debates established television as a primary presidential communication device.

Answer: Comet Cleanser

After the 1940s Withers' career was in difficulty as audience did not accept her in adult character roles. Her turn with Comet Cleanser reestablished her image with audiences as Josephine the Plumber in the 1960s and 70s. She continued with character roles such as in "Giant" (1956).

Jan Miner was best known for "Madge the Manicurist" in Palmolive dish-washing detergent ads. Stephanie Courtney is Flo in the Progressive Insurance series. Adelaide Hawley Cumming was Betty Crocker between 1949 and 1964.

Answer: Magnavox Odyssey

Release dates were:

Magnavox 1972
Nintendo 1985
PlayStation 1994
Xbox 2001