The District of Columbia Trivia Quiz

Answer: 100 square miles

It was originally a 10 mile by 10 mile square area straddling the Potomac River and incorporating land from Maryland and Virginia. It is now smaller because the Virginia portion was ceded back in the 19th Century.

Answer: False

There are four interstate highways (with five numbers) that venture within DC's borders: I-66 comes in from Virginia near Roosevelt Island and ends in a mix of connector roads just east of the Kennedy Center. I-395 enters just SE of the Pentagon and ends at New York Ave NW. I-295 enters south of Bolling Air Force Base and ends where it's redesignated as DC Rt. 295. I-95/I-495 (the eastern half of the Capital Beltway) technically crosses through DC at its southern tip just east of Alexandria, VA.

Answer: Department of Defense

The Pentagon is the Department of Defense's HQ. It lies in Arlington, VA, about a quarter of a mile from the VA/DC line.

Answer: Maryland and Virginia

This was to appease both Northerners and Southerners by basing the capital in both a Northern and Southern states' territory.

Answer: True

Washington was only a small area within DC at first. Towns such as Georgetown and Alexandria continued to exist after DC's founding. Eventually, DC completely urbanized and is now contiguous with the City of Washington.

Answer: Cabin John Bridge

Cabin John Bridge is what carries I-495 (the western half of the Capital Beltway) between Virginia and Maryland. The TR Bridge carries I-66 and US-50 from Arlington, VA. The Chain Bridge takes traffic from Virgina roads N. Glebe Rd (VA 120) and Chain Bridge Rd (VA 123) to the Clara Barton Pkwy. The Key Bridge carries US-29 from Rosslyn into Georgetown.

Answer: False

Although Bolling is within DC's border, Air Force One is based out of Andrews AFB, which is just south of the Capital Beltway near Clinton, MD.

Answer: Northern Ave

The straight borders have Western Ave along the northwestern border, Eastern Ave along the northeastern border, and Southern Ave along the southeastern border. What was once the southwestern border has VA Rt 7 (King St.) along much of it. There is no Northern Ave.

Answer: Colorado Ave

There has been an avenue named after each state inside DC, though a couple have been renamed.

There once was a California Ave. in the Burleith neighborhood; now there is a California St. in the Kalorama neighborhood.

Ohio Dr., near the Jefferson Memorial, was once named Ohio Ave.

Most of the early states' avenues extend out into Maryland.

Answer: 3

Amendment to the US Constitution: "Article [amendment] XXIII: The District... shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct... [a] number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State..." As of 2002, the least populous state (actually, several states) has only 1 Representative in the House and the constant 2 Senators for a total of 3. Unless there's a massive campaign to convince people to move from California, Texas, and Florida to the cold northern states of Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, and the Dakotas, there will probably always be just three electoral votes for DC.