Take a Ride on the Reading! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Waco

Waco, Texas more or less got its 'start' in 1824, although indigenous Native American tribes had been there much earlier in history.

The Waco Suspension Bridge across the Brazos River was completed in 1870 with over three million bricks in the support columns. Since 1971, the bridge has been only open for foot traffic.

In 1953, the first tornado ever tracked by radar hit Waco and caused 114 deaths. The fledgling radar system that was in use at the time helped to encourage other communities throughout the U.S. to employ it in their efforts to prevent loss of life.

Answer: Lynchburg

The Blue Ridge Mountains extend all the way from Georgia into Pennsylvania.

The city of Lynchburg was first settled by Europeans in 1757. It was named after a young 17 year-old man named John Lynch who began operating a ferry service across the James River.

In 1865, Lynchburg served very briefly (for about five days, from April 6-10) as the capital of Virginia. The reason for the move to Lynchburg was to buffer the effects of the fall of Richmond along with the fall of the Confederacy, and to provide some semblance of government amidst the chaos of the war.

Answer: Crow

Crow Agency, the tribal headquarters, are located just south of Billings, Montana.

Billings got its name from Frederick H. Billings, a railroad president for Northern Pacific Railway. It was established in 1882 and began with three buildings. Within less than a year, however, that number had amazingly grown to over 2000, thus prompting the sobriquet "Magic City", since the town had seemingly grown as if by some miracle.

Clarks Fork Bottom was the original name of Billings.

Answer: Rutland, Vermont

The Ethan Allan Express, operated by Amtrak, serves as a commuter rail line into New York City and has a terminal in Rutland, Vermont.

The Vermont State Fair is held each September in Rutland. From the early 1800s up until the 1990s, marble quarries contributed largely to the area's wealth, but as they began to close, the economy suffered job losses.

Rutland is the largest city in Vermont that is not connected to a major interstate highway.

Answer: Racine, Wisconsin

Okay, so maybe you didn't know that the French word for 'root' is racine. The city got its name from the Root River, which empties into nearby Lake Michigan.

Racine was established as a manufacturing center, especially focusing on those products pertaining to farming.

Rail service for the region is provided by the Hiawatha Line of Amtrak, and by the commuter line Metra.

Answer: True

"Mile High Denver" is so nicknamed because of its elevation above sea level which ranges from 5,130 feet to 5,690 feet, although on the steps of the state capitol building it measures exactly one mile high (5,280 feet).

Even though Albuquerque lies alongside the Rio Grande, it is actually higher than Denver in some locations!

With a range of measurements in elevation from 4,900 to 6,000 feet, Albuquerque's airport is even more than the height of the steps at Denver's capitol building, rising up to 5,352 feet above sea level.

Albuquerque hosts an annual International Balloon Festival that attracts hot-air balloon enthusiasts from all over the world.

Answer: False

While the Lincoln Tunnel (originally slated to be called the Midtown Vehicular Tunnel) was named after former president Abraham Lincoln, the Holland Tunnel was named after its first major engineer, Clifford Milburn Holland. Holland died in 1924, while work on the project was still underway. The tunnel was completed in 1927.

Both of these tunnels pass underneath the Hudson River, with the Holland Tunnel connecting Manhattan Island in New York with Jersey City, New Jersey, and the Lincoln Tunnel providing a link between Manhattan and Weehawken, New Jersey.

Answer: It came from an indigenous Aleut language.

Unalaska, Alaska traces the roots of its name back to the native tongue of the Aleutians who settled the area thousands of years ago. The Unangan people, who were called Aleutians by the Russians after their conquest of the area, had named the area "Ounalashka", a word meaning "Near the Peninsula".

In 1788, during early contacts with Russia, Spain laid claim to Unalaska.

In 1867 the United States purchased "Alyaska" from Russia for the tidy sum of $7.2 million, thereby making Unalaska a part of the U.S.

Answer: Calistoga

Calistoga, California may owe its name to Mr. Brannan, who was trying to say something to the effect of 'I'll make this place the Saratoga of California', in reference to the spa of Saratoga, but instead offered up what might be considered the 'spoonerism' of "... the Calistoga of Sarifornia".

The town made national news when another man, Anson Tichenor, claimed that he could extract gold from the waters of the area's hot springs, a claim which later proved to be false.

Calistoga lies in the northernmost part of the Napa Valley. It enjoys quick and easy access to the wine vineyards, along with hot spring spas and mud baths that help generate commerce for the area, while bottled water ventures abound in the region as well.

Answer: Arkansas

Pocahontas, Arkansas was named after the Native American princess who married John Smith in Virginia. Dr. Ransom S. Bettis was responsible for giving the town the name in his intent to honor her. Dr. Bettis' daughter, Cinderella, married a man named Thomas Drew who, along with Dr. Bettis, helped with the founding of Pocahontas as the county seat of government for Randolph County, Arkansas.