STUMPER: The skirmish of Cooch's Bridge in America's War of Independence took place on this date in 1777. What was the significance of that battle?
Answer: American Flag flown in battle for the first time.
STUMPER: What is the longest running radio show in the US, still running and originating in 1925?
Answer: Grand Ole Opry
September 2
STUMPER: On this date in 1963, the first network news broadcast of 30 minutes took place on CBS with Walter Cronkite. Whom did Cronkite interview on that show?
Answer: John F. Kennedy.
September 1
JEOPARDY STUMPER: Answer: Emma Nutt
Question: Who was the first female phone operator?
August 31
STUMPER: According to the Fraser Institute, which is the state with the most economic freedom and which has the least?
Answer: Delaware is the most free and West Virginia the least.
August 27
STUMPER: Fenway Park has the fewest seats of any stadium in major league baseball. Which stadium has the second fewest?
Answer: PNC Park.
August 26
CONNECTION STUMPER: What did Pat Paulsen and George Gobel have in common and no one else?
Answer: They played the role of Otis Harper, Jr. in the movie and television productions of Harper Valley PTA.
August 25
STUMPER: According to the New York Sun in 1835 on this date (one of America's 3 largest circulating newspapers at the time) where were animals discovered including bison, goats, unicorns, bipedal tail-less beavers (and bat-like winged humanoids ("Vespertilio-homo") who built temples.)?
Answer: On the moon.
STUMPER: The Simpsons live on Evergreen Terrace (742) in Springfield. Besides the Simpsons, who is the most famous family in fictional Springfield who live on 607 South Main Street?
Answer: The Andersons of Father Knows Best.
August 24
CLUED-IN STUMPER: What is it? 1) With clouds and stars above, its major axis is 1.24 times its minor axis; 2) It has 816.2 square feet and a perimeter of 102.5 feet; 3) It is 101 years old created by the architect Nathan Wyeth.
Answer: The Oval Office
ADD-ON STUMPER: The clouds and stars above the Oval Office refer to the Seal of the President engraved on its ceiling. How many clouds and how many stars in total?
Answer: 13 clouds and 63 stars (50 stars circle the Seal and 13 are part of the insgnia).
August 20
STUMPER: Who was one of the best known major leaguers of all time, playing his first Major League game on July 27, 1912, and going 4-for-4 at the plate. He commented later in his life, "I broke in with four hits and the writers promptly decided they had seen the new Ty Cobb. It took me only a few days to correct that impression."
Answer: Casey Stengel.
August 19
STUMPER: Who is considered an encyclopedia of information capable of instruction on topics from Alcatraz to Waterloo?
Answer: Lydia, the Tattooed Lady.
August 18
MONA LISA VITO STUMPER CLASSIC: Who was the greatest player to wear the number 13 for the Pittsburgh Pirates?
Answer: Roberto Clemente.
ADD-ON STUMPER: Who was the greatest Pirate player who never wore a number?
Answer: Honus Wagner.
August 17
STUMPER: Which Pennsylvania municipality has the highest income per capita, but does not have a fire department nor a police department?
Answer: Green Hills in Washington County.
August 16
STUMPER: Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians and Michael Powers of the Philadelphia Athletics were the only two major leaguers to have this in common? What unfortunate distinction do they share?
Answer: Both killed by playing baseball.
STUMPER: Eddie Matthews, Wes Westrum, an anonymous umpire, and about 10,000 fans have this in common, what is it?
Answer: Appeared on the first cover of Sport Illustrated.
STUMPER: Who was Jesse Garon Presley?
Answer: The stillborn twin of Elvis Aaron Presley.
August 13
STUMPER: What building has exterior walls that are embedded with authentic pieces of famous buildings including Westminster Abbey, the Alamo, Hamlet's Castle, the Great Pyramid, the Taj Mahal, Fort Sumter, and the Arc de Triomphe?
Answer: Tribune Tower in Chicago
August 12
STUMPER: Which country's Latin motto translates into "John is his name"?
Answer: Puerto Rico.
STUMPER: What is the translation for "Populus Iamdudem Defutatis Est", a suggested motto for the Tea Party movement?
Answer: The People have been screwed long enough.
August 11
STUMPER: I don't know how they measure these things (marchers, units, spectators), but the Tournament of Roses Parade is considered the largest parade in America. Which is the second largest, which is held on the 2nd Saturday of August every year and began in 1929?
Answer: The Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic in Chicago, IL.
STUMPER: On this date in 1942, who received a patent for a frequency hopping, spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones and Wi-Fi?
Answer: Hedy Lamarr
August 10
STUMPER: Sebastian Elcano was the first to do something, but a dead man always gets the credit. What did he do?
Answer: He was second in command on Magellan's excursion to circumnavigate the globe.
STUMPER: Speaking of firsts in exploration, Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko was the first person to do something in outerspace on this date in 2003. What did he do?
Answer: He got married.
August 9
STUMPER: What do Lon Chaney Sr., Bugs Bunny and Chuck Norris have in common? Also photographer Joe Rosenthal and Jim Nabors.
Answer: They are Honorary U.S. Marines.
STUMPER: Which state has the highest percentage of millionaires?
Answer: Hawaii.
August 6
STUMPER: The 2nd atomic bomb drop was originally scheduled for august 11, but was moved up to August 9 because of concerns about the weather. Who gave the order to drop the bomb on the 9th?
Answer: Colonel Paul Tibbets.
August 5
STUMPER: Jesse Owens won the gold medal in the 200 meter dash on this date in the 1936 Olympics. Who won the silver in that race?
Answer: Mack Robinson, older brother of Jackie Robinson.
JEOPARDY STUMPER: "I won't go hunting with you, Jake."
Question: What was the 'A' side of the 45 record on which "Big Bad John" was released as the 'B' side?
August 4
STUMPER: What do two ladies named at birth Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu and Hannah Callowhill have in common with 5 famous men, including Winston Churchill?
Answer: Mother Teresa and Hannah Callowhill Penn are Honorary U.S. Citizens along with Winston Churchill, the Marquis de Lafayette, Raoul Wallenberg, Kasimir Pulaski, and William Penn.
STUMPER: On this date in 1958, the Billboard 100 began rating the popularity of songs. Which was the first song to be #1 on the Billboard?
Answer: Poor Little Boy sung by Rickie Nelson.
August 3
STUMPER: What was the longest running music show on television at 42 years before going off the air in 2006?
Answer: Top of the Pops on the BBC.
July 30
STUMPER: Who was the statistician who served in WW I as a sergeant in "Fighting 69th" and although offered promotion to officer numerous times always declined saying, "I'd rather be a seargent in the 69th than an officer any where else. A companion wrote: "He was worshipped by the men about him. I have heard them speak with awe of his coolness and his nerve in scouting patrols in No Man's Land. This coolness and his habit of choosing, with typical enthusiasm, the most dangerous and difficult missions, led to his death."
Answer: Joyce Kilmer
July 29
JEOPARDY STUMPER: 672.
Question: What is the international dialing code for Antarctica?
July 28
STUMPER: What was the first city to have a population exceed 1,000,000?
Answer: Rome.
STUMPER: In a South Park episode, what American celebrity was intercepting and hoarding the food bound for starving Ethiopians?
Answer: Sally Struthers.
July 27
STUMPER: He never played for or worked for an NHL team, but he's in the hockey hall of fame? Who is he?
Answer: Frank Zamboni.
STUMPER CLASSIC: What are the "saddest of possible words"?
Answer: Tinker to Evers to Chance.
July 22
STUMPER: Besides Damascus, which is the oldest city in the world?
Answer: Jericho
July 21
STUMPER: What did Oliver Barnes create in 1854? Hint: It's bigger than a breadbox and he named it after his good friend, Benjamin.
Answer: Latrobe, PA.
STUMPER: On whose tombstone is it written, "The greatest honor that history can bestow is the title of peacemaker."
Answer: Richard M. Nixon.
July 20
STUMPER: Who wrote and sent the first letter delivered by air mail in the United States?
Answer: During the first aerial flight in North America by balloon on January 9, 1793, from Philadelphia to Deptford, New Jersey, Jean-Pierre Blanchard carried a personal letter from George Washington to be delivered to the owner of whatever property Blanchard happened to land on, making the flight the first delivery of air mail in the United States.
STUMPER: Who invented suspenders and received a patent for this invention in 1871?
Answer: Mark Twain
July 19
STUMPER: What distance is 50 miles in the United States (except in one place where it's 76 miles) and 62 miles in the rest of the world?
Answer: There is no clear boundary between Earth's atmosphere and space, as the density of the atmosphere gradually decreases as the altitude increases. There are several designated scientific boundaries, namely:
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale has established the Kármán line at an altitude of 100 kilometres (62 mi) as a working definition for the boundary between aeronautics and astronautics. This is used because above an altitude of roughly 100 km, as Theodore von Kármán calculated, a vehicle would have to travel faster than orbital velocity in order to derive sufficient aerodynamic lift from the atmosphere to support itself.
The United States designates people who travel above an altitude of 50 miles (80 km) as astronauts. NASA's mission control uses 76 miles (122 km) as their re-entry altitude, which roughly marks the boundary where atmospheric drag becomes noticeable, (depending on the ballistic coefficient of the vehicle), thus leading shuttles to switch from steering with thrusters to maneuvering with air surfaces.
July 16
STUMPER: What event is commemorated by a monument 1/4 mile south of the intersection of Pennsylvania state routes 26 and 164?
Answer: The Phillips' Rangers Massacre (7/16/1780)
July 12
STUMPER: Who is the only person named Oscar to win an Oscar?
Answer: Oscar Hammerstein II.
STUMPER: What was the legendary first name of Tennessee jurist, Kerr Hicks, who before becoming a judge was the prosecutor in the famous Scopes trial?
Answer: Sue, the inspiration of "A boy named Sue".
July 9
STUMPER: (Fill in the blank) Smedley Butler, the fighting Quaker, said, "Soldiers follow the flag and the flag follows the __________________."
Answer: dollar.
July 8
STUMPER CLASSIC: Which organization describes itself this way: "We speak for free markets and free people, the principles, if you will, marked in the watershed year of 1776 by Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations." So over the past century and into the next, [we] stand for free trade and sound money; against confiscatory taxation and the ukases of kings and other collectivists; and for individual autonomy against dictators, bullies and even the tempers of momentary majorities"?
Answer: The Wall Street Journal
ADD-ON: In 1951, the editor of the Wall Street Journal, William Grimes, wrote, "We are not much interested in labels but if we were to choose one, we would say we are radical. Just as radical as ___________."?
Answer: the Christian doctrine.
July 7
STUMPER: Which American was greeted with parades across the country of Japan in 1934?
Answer: Babe Ruth
July 6
STUMPER: What is the much used and seen namesake of the Czech valley, Joachimstal?
Answer: The metal mined there was used to make coins called Joachimstalers, later talers, and later still dollars.
STUMPER: Which presidential candidate's campaign slogan was "Just a common, ordinary, simple savior of America's destiny"?
Answer: Pat Paulsen.
July 1
STUMPER: Complete this list of four mountains in America: Mount Mitchell, Mount Whitney, and Mount McKinley.
Answer: Guadalupe Peak, Texas. If you asked the question, what is the highest point in a U.S. state, the answer would have changed over time. Originally, the highest point in a U.S. state was Mount Mitchell in North Carolina. When Texas joined the Union, the highest point in a U.S. state was Guadalupe Peak. Then Mount Whitney and finally Mount McKinley.
June 30
MONA LISA VITO STUMPER: Who was the most famous person that Officer Edgar Mallory sent to jail?
Answer: Jake the Jailbird in the game of Monopoly.
STUMPER: Although it doesn't show up in the Balance of Trade accounts as an export, what is America's largest export at nearly $600 billion a year?
Answer: U.S. currency mostly in $100 bills.
June 29
JEOPARDY STUMPER: The answer is "15,140".
Question: What is the number of dollars in a game of Monopoly?
June 28
MENSA STUMPER: What do the dates June 6 and June 28 have in common and no other dates in the year?
Answer: 6 and 28 are called "perfect numbers", numbers whose factors add up to double the number itself. June 6 (6/6) and June 28 (6/28) are the only two days in the year represented entirely by perfect numbers.
STUMPER: Which pitcher has given up the most home runs in major league history?
Answer: Jamie Moyer.
June 25
STUMPER: Name the only actor or actress who starred in three hit TV shows in the 1960s.
Answer: June Lockhart (Lassie, Lost in Space, Petticoat Junction).
STUMPER: What was Country and Western music called before it was called Country and Western?
Answer: Hillbilly Music.
June 24
STUMPER: What movie title is a triple entendre and whose soundtrack begins with "The Marriage of Figaro"?
Answer: Trading Places.
June 23
STUMPER: After Albert Einstein's brain, whose finger is probably the most famous body part preserved in history?
Answer: Gallileo.
STUMPER: What is Roger Menees in the Guiness Book of Records for having accomplished?
Answer: Lowest sung note in history at .393 Hertz.
June 22
STUMPER: What do these famous people have in common besides being famous and dead: Judy Garland, Les Paul, Jim Henson, Peter Jennings, Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis, Heath Ledger, Irving Berlin, Greta Garbo, George Gershwin, John Lennon, Bat Masterton, Peter Boyle?
Answer: All of their funerals were handled by Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel.
ADD-ON STUMPER: Who was the best man at Peter Boyle's wedding?
Answer: John Lennon.
June 21
MONA LISA VITO STUMPER: Which American G.I Joe was awarded the Dicken Medal for bravery by the Lord Mayor of London for saving a thousand British soldiers during WWII?
Answer: The carrier pigeon named G.I. Joe.
STUMPER: Who was the youngest general in American history, earning the Medal of Honor and the rank of brigadier general before he was old enough to vote?
Answer: Galusha Pennypacker.
June 18
STUMPER: Which western singer and composer performed with Gene Autry for nearly 30 years and was a part of the Johnny Cash road show. He wrote and performed the theme song "The Ballad of Paladin" for the television program Have Gun – Will Travel and co-wrote songs for TV shows The Rebel and Bonanza.
Answer: Johnny Western.
STUMPER: Where is the world's largest collection of artifacts from the Wright Brothers' workshop?
Answer: The Franklin Institute.
June 17
STUMPER: Who is arguably the most famous legal immigrant in the history of America (more famous even than Annie Moore of Ireland), arriving at the age of 7 on the ship, Isere, on this date in 1885?
Answer: Lady Liberty who lifts her lamp beside the golden door.
June 16
MONA LISA VITO STUMPER: Hockey player Derek Sanderson became the highest paid athlete in 1972. Who was the highest paid athlete before him? Hint: It was football player and remember this is a MLV stumper.
Answer: Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele)
MONA LISA VITO STUMPER: Who was the famous man whose nickname was "The Babe"? He was born in a southern state that was home to one of baseball's most famous players and his first name was Norvell. He skipped college to embark on his professional career earning national fame in the 1920s and 30s and beyond.
Answer: Oliver Hardy
June 15
STUMPER: Who was born 151 years before the first U.S. national chess championship yet nonetheless is in the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame?
Answer: Benjamin Franklin, author of The Morals of Chess.
June 14
STUMPER: Which was the first state, in 1937, to make Flag Day an official holiday?
Answer: Pennsylvania.
STUMPER: Which organization, still around today, was the first to adopt an annual celebration of the flag (to which it requires all its members profess allegiance—no atheists allowed) beginning in 1907?
Answer: The B.P.O.E. a.k.a. The Elks.
ADD-ON STUMPER: If a dog barks and a lion roars, what does an elk do?
Answer: Elks bugle.
STUMPER: What two "ornaments" were added to Altoona's first city park at Gospel Hill in 1907?
Answer: Two Navy Guns.
ADD-ON STUMPER: What became of those two Navy guns in the 1940s?
Answer: They were taken for scrap to contribute to the war effort.
June 11
STUMPER: What two colors would the Empire State Building use to honor Mother Teresa if they had any sense whatsoever?
Answer: Blue and White.
STUMPER: Besides Kamehameha, a statue of whom is in Statuary Hall from Hawaii?
Answer: Father Damien.
STUMPER: Who was the first president known to be chosen by his party in a smoke-filled room?
Answer: Warren G. Harding..
STUMPER: Today is national German Chocolate Cake day. In what country was German Chocolate cake invented?
Answer: USA.
STUMPER: Whose philosophy did Richard Strauss put to music in Also Sprach Zarathustra?
Answer: Friedrich Nietzshe
STUMPER: The only city which is a better place to raise a family than the Smith's new hometown in Carlisle, PA?
Answer: Des Moines, IA.
June 9
STUMPER: Who was the man who "taught America to how to sing"? [No, not Dr. John.] He was born in Tyrone, PA and also was the eponym for the first food blender in history and his grandfather was an eponym for a portion of the Penn State UP campus.
