I Left My Heart Where? Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Presidio

The Presidio began as a Spanish frontier post in 1776 and came to be a major fortification defending San Francisco Bay as it changed hands to Mexican and later to United States control in the 1800s. Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake is in the Mojave Desert; Naval Base Coronado is in and around San Diego. Alcatraz began as a fort and was a military prison before becoming the high security civilian prison we associate with the name.

The lyrics to the song, famously sung by Tony Bennett, were written by Douglass Cross.

Answer: Edinburgh, Scotland

The custom of spitting on the mosaic heart comes from its connection with the prison and the executions that took place on the spot, but the Heart of Midlothian is also near the building where the Scottish Parliament met and near St. Giles High Kirk (church). "Hearts of Midlothian" is the name of an Edinburgh football club, and a novel by Sir Walter Scott.

Answer: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

An awl is a sharp spike used for piercing leather or wood. The tribe called themselves the Schitsu'Umsh--"those who were found here"--but accept the name Coeur d'Alene with pride. While there is some debate about the origin of the name, the "heart of an awl" origin is widely accepted, with the lake and the city being named for the tribe.

Answer: Croatia

Google Earth brought images of the uninhabited, heart-shaped island to a wider audience in the 21st century. It has become an attraction for couples who want a romantic retreat alone in the beautiful landscape of Croatia, already a popular tourist destination. Italy is opposite Croatia on the western shore of the Adriatic, Greece is on the Aegean Sea, and Estonia is on the Baltic Sea.

Answer: The Great Barrier Reef

Heart Reef, named for its shape as seen from the air, is an uninhabited coral reef off-limits to both land visitors and divers. The Whitsunday Islands, eight of which are inhabited, are contained in the MacKay District of Queensland, Australia, and are surrounded by the Great Barrier Reef. Easter Island and New Caledonia are in other parts of the Pacific. Bikini Bottom is where SpongeBob SquarePants lives.

Answer: Alabama

The "Heart of Dixie" nickname was popularized by a Chamber of Commerce promotion in the 1940s and 1950s, and Alabama used the words on its license plates from 1951 forward. Geographically, Alabama is roughly in the center of the southeastern states that comprised the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Historically, centrality can be argued from the part Alabama's capital Montgomery played in the establishment of the Confederate government.

Answer: South Pacific Ocean

Because Caledonia is the Roman name for Scotland, I might be tempted to choose the North Sea, but mangrove forests are native to tropical environments, like the Indian Ocean. However, New Caledonia is in the South Pacific and is connected with France rather than Scotland. Voh's sole claim to fame is the heart-shaped area of vegetation that can be seen only from the air.

Answer: Northern Territory

Uluru is in the southern part of the Northern Territory, around 290 miles from Alice Springs, almost to the border of South Australia, placing it near the heart of the continent. The Northern Territory has many points of interest, including Katherine Gorge, the "Top End" city of Darwin, and the World Heritage Site of Kakadu National Park, among others.

Answer: Rio Grande

The Rio Grande, flowing southeast toward the Gulf of Mexico for much of its length, serves as the border between Texas and Mexico, both to the west of Texas and to its south. The Sabine River is on the eastern border of Texas, the Pecos is a tributary of the Rio Grande, while the Brazos--the longest river of the state--flows through the middle, passing by Houston on the west.

Many Americans have sung and clapped to the 1941 song "Deep in the Heart of Texas."

Answer: Cape Town, South Africa

The first recipient of a heart at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, lived only 18 days, but the heart remained sound, allowing Dr. Christiaan Barnard to claim victory for South Africa in the race to achieve the first successful heart transplant.

He may have been first because American law required that the heart stop beating completely before a donor could be declared dead, while South African law defined death as occurring when the doctor pronounced the patient dead. Thus, political geography contributed to the history of medicine.