John Bernhisel

Questions

1. What disastrous event occurred on Aug. 24, A.D. 79?

2. Who started the expedition that Juan Sebastián Elcano finished?

3. Are each of these a unit of volume, length, or time: hand, acre-foot, shake, sol, chain, cord?

4. Which car company’s name roughly means “Listen!” in Latin?

5. Give the mascots for these Big 12 teams: Utah, Iowa State, Kansas, Colorado and TCU.

Fun Facts

The Voyager space missions were so successful in part because of a rare alignment of the outer planets. When President Richard Nixon was asked to approve the mission, NASA emphasized that such an opportunity would not come again for roughly 175 years and had not happened since Thomas Jefferson was president.

The largest consumer of fireworks in the United States is Disney.

When music is scored for a film, an orchestra or ensemble may perform while watching the movie on a screen, allowing the conductor and musicians to synchronize the music precisely with the action. The performance is recorded and added to the film’s soundtrack.

The gold and silver in your jewelry have probably been recycled many times. Because precious metals from different sources are routinely melted together, the gold in a wedding ring could contain atoms from Roman jewelry or Aztec gold/

At exactly 8:00 a.m. on Sept. 1, 2026, the year 2026 will be precisely two-thirds over.

There is no difference between a violin and a fiddle. The difference is primarily how the instrument is played and the style of music being performed.

The spaces between crib slats should be no more than 2⅜ inches, while openings between most railing spindles should be less than 4 inches.

Eleanor of Aquitaine was married to King Louis VII of France, but their marriage was annulled after they had two daughters and no sons. Just eight weeks later, she married the future King Henry II of England. They had eight children, including two future kings, Richard the Lionheart and John.

The fires following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake were so destructive that residents gathered on the city’s hills to watch much of San Francisco burn. The fires ultimately caused more destruction than the earthquake itself.

Answers

1. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius (It buried Pompeii, Herculaneum and other cities killing thousands.)

2. Ferdinand Magellan. (He was killed in the Philippines in 1521 before completing the first circumnavigation of the Earth.)

3. Hand - Length, Acre-foot - Volume, Shake - Time, Sol - Time, Chain - Length, Cord - Volume

4. Audi. (Founder August Horch last name means roughly “Listen!” in German, so it was translated into Latin: Audi!)

5. Utah - Utes, Iowa State - Cyclones, Kansas - Jayhawks, Colorado - Buffaloes, TCU - Horned Frogs