THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
207-780-4249       www.usm.maine.edu/planet
70 Falmouth Street  Portland, Maine 04103
43.6667° N,                    70.2667° W
Founded January 1970
              "We were going to attempt a prank, then we saw what happened to Google!"


THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, April 1, 2016
Quiz: World Almanac!


Information please!
The World Almanac is a crate of vintage for those who like nothing more than to ingest information about anything and everything.  There is no intoxicant as potent as the joy of wanton knowledge acquisition.  This quiz, ripped violently from the pages of the World Almanac, celebrates the human impulse to learn about all manner of topics in this immensely complex world.   
We'll take information from popular culture, science, history, politics...anyplace where one can find interesting facts.  Fortunately, our Universe is just lousy with information!    And, just to keep life interesting, sometimes you'll have choices; other times, not.

1.  Which US Magazine has the highest paid circulation?
       a.   AARP magazine
       b.  Time
       c.  Sports Illustrated
       d.  US News and World Report

2.  Who was the first US President to appear on television?
         a.  George Washington
         b.  Harry Truman
         c.  Franklin D. Roosevelt
         d.  Dwight Einsenhower

3.  Until 1989, ____________ was the official name of the country now known as Myanmar.

4.  ________ was the last name of Great Britain's first prime minister.
        a.  Wadpole
        b.  Disraeli        
        c.   Gladstone
        d.   Salisbury

5.  Which ONE of the following countries is not on the list of the top five most populous countries?
       a.  China
       b.  India
       c.  Brazil
       d. Nigeria
       e.  Indonesia

6.   ____________ is considered the world's largest island. (We are not including continents.)

7.  If, according to a British citizen, you weigh 11 stone, how much do you weigh?
           a.  110 pounds
           b.  131 pounds
           c.  154 pounds
           d.  You are mass less.  The term "11 stone" is a tongue in cheek phrase meaning "nothing."

8.  English is NOT the most widely spoken language in the world.    Which TWO of the following languages are more widely spoken than English?
             a. French
             b.  Mandarin Chinese
             c.  Swahili          
             d.  Hindi             
             e.  Spanish

9.  _________ is the name of the largest known asteroid in our solar system.
              a. Ceres
              b. Vesta
              c. Juno
              d.  Pallas

10.  ______________, founded in 2011, is the world's youngest country.

         ANSWERS

1.  AARP Magazine

2.   c.  Franklin D. Roosevelt

3.  Burma

4.    a.  Wadpole

5.          d. Nigeria

6.   Greenland

7.      c.  154 pounds

1 stone = 14 pounds.
(Somebody check my math.)

8.  b.  Mandarin Chinese;
    e.  Spanish

9.   a. Ceres

10.  South Sudan