U.S.A: All about Connecticut Trivia Quiz

Answer: Land on the long tidal river

The state of Connecticut is named after the Connecticut River, which is the longest river in the New England area. New England is a region of the north-eastern U.S.A, composed of six states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

Answer: Berkshire Mountains

The Berkshire Mountains are located in the north-west of Connecticut, and the west of neighbouring Massachusetts. Three states border Connecticut, with Massachusetts lying north, Rhode Island lying east, New York lying to the west. Connecticut also has the Long Island Sound (which is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean) lying to the south. Mount Greylock is the highest mountain of this sub-range of the Appalachians, at around 3,490 (1,060 m) feet high.

Ridgefield is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut. It features the Keeler Tavern, the summer house of architect and pioneer in skyscrapers, Cass Gilbert (1859-1934), known for designing the Woolworth Building in Manhattan, one of America's first skyscrapers. The Keeler Tavern predates Gilbert's ownership, standing since around 1713. During the Battle of Ridgefield in 1777, the British opened fire on the tavern, upon learning that the basement was used for the creation of musket balls. One British cannonball got stuck in the corner of the building, and it has remained in place ever since.

Answer: Bridgeport

On March 10, 1860, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech at what was then called Bridgeport City Hall, now named the McLevy Hall. An advert in the papers specified that Lincoln's speech would "commence precisely at 7 o'clock, as he is obliged to leave on the Express train at 9:07 pm." Lincoln spoke in front of over 100 members of the Republican committee, talking for two hours passionately against slavery. Not only did Lincoln receive a standing ovation for his speech, but a crowd followed him right to the train station, cheering as the train pulled away with Lincoln on it. A year later, Abraham Lincoln was elected U.S President. There is a plaque standing where Lincoln stood during the speech.

Bridgeport is situated in Fairfield County, on the Pequonnock River. It is around 40 miles (65 km) from the Bronx, New York City. Famous showman, P.T. Barnum, lived in Brideport for around 40 years of his life, and was even Bridgeport's mayor. There is a statue of him here overlooking the Long Island Sound.

Answer: Bantam Lake

Candlewood Lake is situated in Fairfield and Litchfield counties. It encompasses an area of around 8.5 square miles (22 square km) and is the largest lake within a 60 mile radius of the city of New York.

Bantam Lake is the largest natural lake in the state. It measures around 1.55 square miles (4 square km) and is located within Lichfield County. It is fed by the Bantam River and Whittlesey Brook from the west of Connecticut.

Answer: Igor Sikorsky

Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972) was heavily involved in the development of both the helicopter, and other aircraft. His legacy is strong in Connecticut, and the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in Stratford is to this day one of the world's most prominent manufactures and distributors of helicopters. The nearby Sikorsky Memorial Airport is also named after him.

The Housatonic River is around 150 miles (240 km) long, and flows through both Connecticut and neighbouring Massachusetts. The Igor Sikorsky bridge is reportedly a great place to watch helicopters take off from the helicopter plant. Construction of the first bridge across the area was completed in 1940, simply known as the "Sikorsky Bridge." Since 2000 the bridge has been renovated and replaced, including new safety features such as concrete installations that protect the bridge from potential ship collisions. It was completed fully in 2006.

Answer: Litchfield

Named after the cathedral city of Litchfield in England, United Kingdom, the county of Litchfield is located in the north-west of Connecticut. Litchfield encompasses an area of around 945 square miles (2,450 square km). Like the other counties of the state, there is no county town.

Lichfield has the most Republican voters of any other county of Connecticut. In 2004, George W Bush won 51% of the county, whereas John Kerry won 41%, making it the only county in the south of New England that Bush won. His father, George H. W. Bush, won two counties of Connecticut in 1992, Lichfield being one of them. However, this would all change in 2008, when Republican John McCain did not win any counties of Connecticut at all. While Lichfield has given the vote to Democratic candidates, such as in 1996 and 2000, it became the only county of Connecticut to be won by Mitt Romney in 2012. It was also won by Donald Trump in both 2016 and 2020.

Answer: Danbury

Danbury is situated in Fairfield County, Connecticut, around 50 miles (80 km) to the north-east of New York City. Danbury was a city famous for its hats. Many were involved in the felt hat-making business. By 1800, Danbury was the hat capital of America, producing more hats than any U.S city. It even had a motto, "Danbury Crowns Them All."

To make the hats, the hat-makers matted together animal skins to make the felt, using a solution to smooth them containing mercuric nitrate. By this point in time, doctors were aware of mercury poisoning but nothing was done about the conditions imposed on the factory workers. They began to experience tremors, slurred speech, a lack of coordination and sometimes even hallucinations. This locally came to be known as "the Danbury shakes"." The felt companies ignored the complaints, blaming the alleged tobacco and alcohol use of the workers. The first recorded description of mercury poisoning in Danbury dates from 1860, but the U.S. Public Health Service did not investigate this until 1937, after considerable pressure from a group called the "Hatter's Union." In 1941, Connecticut finally banned the use of mercury during hat-making.

Danbury's hat industry was in serious decline by the 1920s, with returning soldiers now preferring to remain hatless upon arrival in the U.S. This trend carried on throughout the 1950s, spelling the end for Danbury's hat making culture. Danbury's last major hat-making factory closed in the 1960s, with the last hat being created by a small factory in 1987.

Answer: New Canaan

The town of New Canaan is situated in Fairfield County, Connecticut. It is known for Waveny Park, where shots of the exterior of the stately home in the park were used for the 2004 remake film, "The Stepford Wives." Actor Christopher Lloyd once lived in Waveny Park.

The Glass House's construction was completed around 1949. The building is minimalist and modernist, with light flooding through the glass, and Philip Johnson (1906-2005) lived here for decades with his partner, David Whitney, who died five months after him. He is known for designing 550 Madison Avenue in New York.

Answer: Salisbury

Salisbury is located in Litchfield County, Connecticut, and is the north-westernmost town of the state. Salisbury is also known for Scoville Library, which was the first public library of America to be accessible to the public, with no charge.

Bear Mountain is around 430 feet (130 m) in height, and is situated in the north-west corner of Connecticut. The tallest mountain in Connecticut is actually Mount Frissel, but part of this mountain lies in Massachusetts. Bear Mountain is a popular trek for hikers, offering breathtaking views of Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts, and easy access to the Appalachian Trail.

Answer: New Haven

Located on Connecticut's coastline on the mouth of the Quinnipiac River, New Haven is situated in the county of New Haven, Connecticut. It was established by English puritans in 1638, and is noted for being the location of Yale University, which U.S Presidents; Gerald Ford, William Howard Taft, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton being listed as part of its alumni.

Charles Goodyear (1800-1860) is renowned for his work in developing the process of rubber vulcanization, which is the method of hardening rubber for commercial use.

Answer: Bristol

ESPN has been broadcasting since 1979, established by Bill Rasmussen, who was the company's first CEO. ESPN is the largest taxpayer in the city of Bristol.

Bristol is located in Hartford County, situated around 20 miles (30 km) south-west of state capital, Hartford. It is known for its clock-making heritage, being home to the American Clock & Watch Museum. Bristol carries the nickname of "Mum City" in reference to the city's history with chrysanthemum (or "mum") production, holding the Bristol Mum Festival every year.

Answer: Hartford

Hartford is the state capital of Connecticut, and is one of the oldest cities of America, being established in 1635. Hartford is also the home of the Hartford Courant, reportedly the oldest continuously used newspaper of the U.S.A. Hartford was also the birthplace of Samuel Colt, the inventor of the revolver, and also of Noah Webster, author of the first American dictionary.

"American Cookery" was written by Amelia Simmons, and was the first cookbook of America to be written by an American. Before this, all cookery books were British, but Simmons wrote a book using terms familiar to Americans, as well as ingredients she knew would be easy enough for the average American cook to come by. This cookbook also includes the first recorded suggestion to include cranberry sauce with turkey. Little is known about the author, with this work being the only published literature of Amelia Simmons.

Answer: Red maple

Connecticut is a densely forested state, around 60% it being covered. Around 50% of the trees of Connecticut are of the oak-hickory hardwood kind, and between 20-30% of the total trees in the state are red maple.

Acer rubrum, or red maple, is one of the most common trees of North America. It is asserted by the U.S. Forest service, that this tree is the most common in the eastern portion of the U.S.A. It is easily recognised by its red leaves.

Answer: Mystic

Mystic has had a connection to ships and the sea since the 1780s. Built in 1841, the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship is on exhibit here, and is one of the main attractions of the museum. This is the only surviving (in one piece) wooden whaling ship from the 2,700 American merchant fleets built at the time. It is also one of the world's oldest surviving merchant vessels that is preserved, remaining unobliterated by cannon fire, sinking or other damages typically afflicted on ships. It was recognised as a National Landmark in 1966.

Mystic Aquarium is also a feature of the village. The only aquarium in the New England area to host beluga whales, it is also one of the only two aquariums of America to home Steller sea lions, a near-threatened species of sea lion native to the northern Pacific Ocean.

Mystic also features the B. F. Clyde's Cider Mill, the oldest steam-powered cider mill of America.

Answer: Waterbury

The city of Waterbury is situated on the Naugatuck River, around 30 miles (50 km) south-west of Hartford. It is also around 80 miles (125 km) north-east of the city of New York. The city's motto is "Quid Aere Perennius?" that is, "What Is More Lasting Than Brass?" reflecting the city's history of its brass making industry. Robert D. Glass, the first African-American justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court (in office from 1987-1992) moved to Waterbury from Alabama with his family, to pursue his judiciary career.

Ezra Warner, a native of Waterbury, found great use for his invention. Back then, cans were heavier than the food, and it took considerable patience and skill to hack one open. Grocery stores ended up all having a can opener, opening cans for the customers before they went home, as this invention was not commonplace in the average American household at the time.