July 27- Presidents

To finally get back to you on the Thursday question, I have not one answer, but four: Entertainment Sports Programming Network. Ok, now that that's cleared up, let's move right along to today's question.

Back in the old days, presidents used to face the same problems when running for president as they do now. Bad habits, political philosophies, or in this case, age. When this respected general ran for office, he was constantly criticized for being to old. He kept on trucking though, and eventually got the Whig nomination with the slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too." So for today I ask: Which president was this, and what do you think happened to him?

July 23- Sports

Since it is 11:55, and this is the Daily Question, I'm just going to cut to the chase. The only state that still has a confederate flag waving at its capital is Georgia. I'm not 100% sure why, but I imagine it is because Georgia was one of the hardest hit states in the Civil War.



Now for today's question. This question has less to do with playing sports, but more to do with watching sports. With the invention of the television, sports were able to be seen in front row, even from miles away. Sports television has evolved significantly, and leading the coverage of a billion dollar industry is the broadcasting station ESPN. But, my question for today is: What does ESPN stand for?

July 22- Geography

Ancient Greece had four main elements: earth, wind, water, fire. Actually, all of these could be proven by burning a tree. First, you can feel the tree is wet. Once you light it on fire, you can see the elements escape, the water through steam, the wind through smoke, the earth as ashes, and the fire as, well, the fire. However, there is a curve ball; the fifth element. The fifth element was aether, a kind of void element. It represented the vacuum of space, and made up all celestial bodies. Actually, we get the word quintessential from it. Quint, which meant 5, and essential, meaning it was an element. So, a word for the void element that is everywhere now comes to mean something that is typical.



Now, to compliment some classical Greek philosophy, how about some Civil War geography? During the Civil War, the Confederate States of America made their own flag reminiscent of the U.S.A. one, red with a blue x and white stars. Today, all southern states have officially given up this flag, except for one. So my question is: Which state still has a Confederate flag perched atop their capital building?

July 21- Tuesday

5 sets of presidents share names. I'll go in chronological order-



John Adams was the father of John Quincy Adams. Neither had a very successful presidency in my opinion. Next comes William Henry Harrison and his grandson, Benjamin. Both were elected partially because of their successes in battle, William in the Revolution and Benjamin in the Civil War. Moving right along, we have Andrew Johnson and Lyndon B. Johnson, the only presidents on the list who weren't related. After them the Roosevelts, Theodore and Franklin, whose terms were almost 40 years apart. They were 5th cousins. Finally, we have the George H.W. and George W. Bush, the most recent pair.


Now for today's question. I understand I am notorious for asking periodic table questions, but today is a variation on the subject. You see, back in the old days, the Greeks had their own version of the elements. Substances that could not be broken down anymore than they already were; the most basic parts of earth. And to prove it, all you had to do is burn a tree. So for today, I ask: What were the original Greek elements?

(Please Comment)

July 19- Presidents

I'll start off with the answer for yesterday. The reason the monument is multicolored is because it was built in 2 parts, mostly 1848-1856 and 1876-1884. The original designers were not able to finish because they lacked funding. Not only that, but the civil war started breaking out during the building process.
For more info visit: http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc72.htm


So today's question. It is a bit random, but a bit of random presidential trivia is better than none at all. Out of all 44 of our presidents, many share the same last names. So for my daily question, I ask: How many sets of presidents share a last name, and which names are they?

July 18- Random

A few weeks of vacation has given me time to ponder over the blog. Is a format change necessary? Should I make it more interactive? Over the next few weeks I'll be looking at other blogs, and experimenting with my own to figure out how best to conduct The Question. If you have any ideas, please leave a comment. Anyway, I probably should commence in the question for today. The reason I haven't been blogging was because I've been in the capitol. Now, when you're in the capitol, it is impossible not to notice the Washington Monument. Since the buildings in the city are size restricted, the monument is able to tower majestically over everything else. But, if you notice, a third of the way up the monument changes color. So today, I ask, why is the symbol of our founding father's greatness multicolor?

Today, I will be trying out a new format, the format being no posted answer. Please comment if you like or dislike, or even better, about the answer.

Bloggers Need Breaks Too

The Daily Question will be on vacation from June 28th until July 15th. Feel free to check out the archives in absence of a daily question. ENJOY THE SUMMER!

June 21- Presidents

Since it is The Daily Question's trend to incorporate questions with holidays, it would be a crime not to ask a presidential question about Father's Day. I was going to ask how many father/son pairs there were in the White House, but that's to easy. To Google I went. Originally, Father's Day (or Fathers' Day, if you're an English major) was started in Eastern Washington state in the 1910's. By the 1930's, companies had begun marketing the holiday as a commercial day. But who made it a "holiday"? With that, I ask the question: Which president made Father's Day a federal Holiday?








The president was Lyndon Johnson, and he declared it in 1966.

June 20- Random

Could you imagine a world without pens? More specifically, could you imagine a world without ballpoint pens? You may laugh, but there are many things that make pens more useful than pencils. You can sign papers with them, they don't have to be sharpened, and they aren't scarily sharp. But alas, there was a time where ballpoint pens didn't exist. In fact, it wasn't until 1938 that the ballpoint pen was invented by two brothers living in Europe. One was a newspaper editor, and the other a chemist. Their idea for a pen with a free moving ball and ink cartridge was patented in 1938. By 1940, they had started a successful pen company in Argentina. The idea was noticed by an American, who started selling the pens at Gimbels in 1949. But, for my daily question, I ask: what are the names of the brothers who came up with the original ballpoint pen idea?





The brothers were Lazlo and Georg Biro.
If you liked that fact, I noticed it while reading "The Mental Floss History of the World". It's a fantastic book. Pick it up at pretty much any bookstore, even if you don't like history.

June 19- Music

This question comes from true procrastinetic dismay. Originally, I was going to post something about musical theory- what the treble clef means, what 4/4 means at the beginning of a song, or in between certain measures. It's to late in the day for that. Next I wandered into the realm of bands, something I am more comfortable with. But all those questions are lame. What am I supposed to ask? Who is the drummer for The Police? That's a ridiculous question to ask such fine intellectuals like yourselves. We're about trivia here, not trivial! Anyway... I ended up going with something that isn't so much musical trivia, but something that might possibly make you hum a tune while surfing the web. So for my question today, I ask: How many times does a bell ring before the guitar starts on the song "Hell's Bells by AC/DC?


I'm truly sorry...



The bell rings 4 times, and continues ringing once the guitar starts.

June 18- Sports

Since I am blogging right now to avoid studying for French finals, it makes perfect sense that this question be about a sport loved by the French people, and pretty much every country outside the U.S.: Soccer/Football. Now for 1000's of years, countries from all over the world have developed their own versions of ball games. The Greeks and Romans are especially known for having games like modern day soccer/football. But, unfortunately, it is my unpleasant duty to announce today that though the word "ball" implies "sphere", the shape of a soccer ball is not a sphere. Which brings me to my daily question: What shape is a soccer ball?






The shape of a soccer ball is actually a, well, uhhh, it's a truncated icosahedron. Basically, a bunch of hexagons and octagons sewn together.
For more info visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truncated_icosahedron
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football

June 17- Geography

Isn't the National Geographic Society great? From their Bees to their magazine, National Geographic is full of fun and useful information. How useful, you might just be asking. Well first of all, the magazine was great today when I was hanging out in a radio station after school. Second, the magazine came enclosed with a nifty little map of Asia. But more importantly, this most recent July '09 issue provided me with a cool question for today. Some of you might have heard of a place called Angkor. Old city. Destroyed. All that jazz. Anyway, when I first started reading the article, I could not place where Angkor was, until the article was significantly underway. So, for my daily question, I ask: Where is the destroyed city of Angkor located?


By the way, I'd just like to throw out a thanks to a certain radio station that did a shout out about The Question today... appreciate it!!!


Angkor is a region in Cambodia. Not to be confused with Angkor Wat, (as I was) which is a temple complex within the region of Angkor.
To read more about Angkor, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor
For Angkor Wat, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat
For National Geographic: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ (also features a link to the Angkor Wat article.)

June 16- Science

I hope you are as excited as I am to be returning to the regular daily loop. Today's question is a bit of a cross-over question between science and music, so I did have a bit of turmoil coming down to the decision. As you can most certainly tell, I chose to put it under science. Since it was beautiful today, I decided to sit out on my sun porch and listen to music. And not just normally listening to music on a sissy iPod, I mean listening to music on the phonograph. If you've never listened to music on a record player before, you definitely should some time. Anyway, all this was brought on today when I was looking downstairs in my basement and found a container of jazz records. Well, you can bet I popped those guys in there as soon as I could get up the stairs. And as I watched the record spin tunes from the likes of Prima and Brubeck, I began to wonder how it was actually being brought to me. So for my daily question, I ask: How does a phonograph work?







There is an infinity of informational depth that you could get into on the subject of sound, and no one, me especially, likes hearing complexities that I couldn't care less about. So basically, a record is started with a sound. The sound travels down a tube, and makes a part called the diaphragm vibrate. The diaphragm is connected to a stylus, that then pushes down on the new record, at this point made out of wax. The record is on a platform being spun as the imprints are being made on it. Think of it as the childrens' song about bones: The sound is connected to the, diaphragm. The diaphragm's connected to the, stylus. The stylus is connected to the, record. This process makes a piece of wax with tiny little groves all over it. Now, do it in reverse. When you put the wax on a spinning platform, and let the stylus spin slowly down it, the sound is sent down a diaphragm, and out the horn. Then, a contented jazz enthusiast can obsorb the music.
For more info visit: http://www.pbs.org/weta/roughscience/series2/challenges/sound/page3.html

This Ongoing Week's Peculiarity Part 2

In fear of jeopardizing the success of The Question, I am going to post my entire paper, and then return to normal postings. Hope you enjoy! If in the unlikely event you experience a spelling or grammatical error, please comment and tell me so.

What it Takes to be Great
Throughout the course of American history, a select few behemoths of men and women have forever changed the face of culture, society, and even the American way of life itself. They have included politicians, artists, war heroes, writers and athletes. Most have come from different lifestyles, different states, and different niches. So what brings these exclusive few into the pantheon of American greatness? In my opinion, their ability to affect the public came from their ability to effectively communicate with the public. There is no better example than that of George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant. Both were shockingly different, yet both had successful careers as high ranking generals and then two-term presidents. At first glance, it seems improbable that they had anything in common, but if you look just beneath the surface, you can see their two genius techniques of reaching out to the common man, through public image and social behavior.
Ulysses S. Grant was born on April 27, 1822 in Ohio. He was born into a middle class family. His father, Jesse, owned a modestly successful tannery that brought a fair amount of money into the family. Jesse Grant was very ambitious and opinionated. He acquired these personality traits when working for a judge’s family. They helped educate him and get his tannery started (Bunting 9). On the other side of the spectrum, his mother Hannah was often described as a quiet or taciturn woman, a term often used to depict Grant (Bunting 9, Bunting 2). Ulysses had 5 siblings, and for most of his life, he remained one of his father’s favorites. For this reason, his father often pushed him towards greatness and nothing less. One example of this was his father’s insistence that he go to boarding school in preparation for attendance at West Point and a career in the military. Although he ultimately followed this path, the military life was originally not appealing to Grant.
Now this is the first difference we can see between the two. George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. However, he wasn’t being pushed for greatness the way Grant was by his father. Being born into an aristocratic Southern family, he might not have been able to do much more than be a gentleman farmer (Howard). The closest thing that came to academic excellence for Washington was being sent to boarding school a couple of times. By the time he was 16 he had established some connections and was trying to accumulate land.
One thing that can be said of Grant at this point is that he was a “doer”, and remained so for his entire life. During the Civil War, Grant usually did what needed to be done, quickly and efficiently. A job started was always finished. “One of my superstitions has always been when I started to go anywhere, or to do anything, not to have to turn back until the thing intended was accomplished.” (Bunting 11) This attitude helped him get through West Point, and by the time he was through, actually enjoy it.
Here is yet another difference between the two. Though Washington was certainly ambitious, he was not known as a fast reactor. During the Revolutionary War and his presidency, he would often hold war councils or cabinet meetings. The meetings took time, however, with a cabinet of Henry Knox, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the outcome was often good decision making. (The Presidents episode 1)
One thing Grant and Washington did have in common was their love of horses. Both were called some of the best horsemen of their day (The Presidents episode 1, Bunting 18.)
One attribute that made Grant good for riding was his size. Even when he was entering into West Point at the age of 17 he weighed 117lbs and stood 5’1”. Washington rode more for show, which is probably good since his height was over 6 feet (Presidents episode 1).
Only one year after Grant’s graduation from West Point, The Mexican War was beginning. Grant experienced much action throughout the war. This war gave him a chance to hone some of his fighting skills which later made him an effective general. The Mexican War provided him an opportunity to be under fire. In his first glance at combat, he was ordered by Zachary Taylor to attack Mexico’s right flank as an infantryman. Another glance at combat for Grant was his volunteer mission through Monterrey. In this instance, he rode through the streets leaning on the side of his horse, so no one had a shot at him, a tricky equestrian feat at the least (Bunting 24). He was also known to take care of his wounded men. Many of his peers remember Grant tending for the wounded after battle (Bunting 24). Showing his aggressiveness on the battlefield and sympathy towards his men are both traits of a good general and one that would help Grant later.
Here, we can see how Grant’s and Washington’s army experience differ from each other. Even though Washington and Grant participated in smaller wars before the ones they are known for, Washington was rapidly thrown into battle in his early years. His first major command in the French and Indian War was the defense of Fort Necessity. Fort Necessity was built after a brief run in with the French, who were a much larger force. The fort was not very well defended, and Washington later had to surrender to the French. Further into the war, when Washington was under the command of British General Edward Braddock, Braddock was conducting a march to Fort Duquesne. The British were ambushed. American Indians were swarming from the sides of the road, attacking the widely uncovered red-coats in a thin line along the road. Braddock was eventually killed, and Washington had two horses shot from under him and four holes put through his jacket (Adler 53). This was not a good way to begin a military career, especially compared to Grant’s string of successes.
The war with Mexico was only the beginning of Grant’s military career. If not for the bloodiest conflict in American history, the Civil War, his career would have probably spun into some dark corner of history. Grant’s go-get’em attitude helped him in his first war, and would undoubtedly help him win the next. Early in the war, the union suffered at the hands of many inept generals. However, at this same time, Ulysses S. Grant was along out in the West, rising through the ranks, and helping to capture imperative locations along the Mississippi River (Dallek, et al 552)
Fortunately for the Union, Grant’s work in the West didn’t go unnoticed. As early as February, 1862, he was commanding large units of men. He continued to keep pushing, and effectively controlled large chunks of Confederate land near the Mississippi River. (Dallek, et al 552)
In March, 1864, Grant was given command of all Union Armies. This was a great honor only bestowed on a few since. He continued to be aggressive, this time through Northern Virginia. He wanted Lee, and wanted him bad. With a seemingly blatant disregard for casualties, Grant pushed his men forward after Lee. Just in one battle, the battle of The Wilderness, he lost 17,000 men. At Cold Harbor, 7,000 men lost. But Grant failed to cease, “Whatever happens, we will not retreat” (Dallek, et al 552). This method worked, and Grant finally caught Lee, forcing him to surrender on April 9th, 1865, effectively ending the war.
Washington’s experience was quite the opposite. He was on the defending side of the conflict. The British had legions of men to send against America, while he only had a few militia men. Washington’s plans had to be focused more on strategy, though sometimes they were executed with aggression. The famous example of crossing the Delaware to capture a fort in Trenton on Christmas Eve is just one example of aggression with careful planning. Not that I’m insinuating Grant didn’t have good strategy also, it’s just that Washington didn’t have the men to spend.
Washington got to make these strategic decisions through a series of lucky breaks. Even though he was part of some unsuccessful missions in the French and Indian war, he was brought up to rank of Colonel by the end of the conflict. During the beginning of the Revolution, 1775, he was made military advisor for New York. After that, in a short period of time, he was made Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army (Howard). After years of Guerrilla tactics, and some well planned Napoleonic techniques, America had the opposing general, Cornwallis, cornered. He eventually surrendered at the end of the Battle of Yorktown.
And for these two men, their stories could easily have ended there. They both had money, celebrity, power, and yet, there destiny had not been completely found. Both still had more years of dedicated service to their country. After their victories, they were almost guaranteed to be nominees for president, if not easily being elected. In fact, George Washington didn’t even have a campaign, and was elected unanimously
(Presidents episode 1). Grant won by a pretty good margin both times he ran also. Thankfully, for the sake of historical comparison, they had similar problems to deal with while in office, the main problems being domestic.
A misconception of Grant’s presidency was that he really didn’t do much, and the entire time he was fighting scandals. After the war, things weren’t all well and good in the South. At the time, the Ku Klux Klan was wreaking havoc on African-Americans in the Deep South. To combat the killing, Grant launched a war on terrorism, and went after the KKK. In the end, Grant is able to temporarily destroy the KKK with help from many federal troops.
Where he ran into problems was in his second term. Even after his cabinet, mostly made up of people Grant owed a favor or friends of his family, continued to discredit the executive branch with scandals, he continued to trust them. Then, Southern states were taken by the Democrats. This created a lot of political tension, so when violence started up again in the South, Grant was unable to do anything (Presidents episode 4).
Thankfully, Washington’s domestic problem wasn’t as severe as Grant’s, but he acted in a very similar way. To help pay for the Revolutionary War, new taxes were being put in place on liquor. Farmers in Western Pennsylvania didn’t like that, since they made a lot of whiskey. In response, the farmers were trying to start a rebellion. As soon as he got the news, Washington mustered up some troops and quickly stomped out the riot, without a single shot being fired (Presidents episode 1).
So if they both had similar problems that were both dealt with effectively, why then is Washington thought of as one of the better presidents, and Grant is usually forgotten (Presidents episode 4). The answer can be found in the second term of their presidential stays. After Grant’s men continued to betray him, he naively took no action. Washington on the other hand, since he placed some of the smartest cabinet members together, didn’t have as many internal problems. In fact, he was able to build a capital and make a federal banking system. Once again, there are two techniques that made these men completely different.
So what made them successful? I don’t think you could achieve a higher level of success in America than being a top commanding general then president for two terms. So what did they have in common? As I said before, how they were able to become great was through their ability to connect. This is one of the only common traits between the two, even down to their appearance. Grant was often described as “seedy”, yet in pictures of Washington, you can always see him standing tall and regal (Presidents episode 1) (Leadership). Yet through all these differences, they could motivate people. One way they did this was to be with the soldiers they were leading. Washington was freezing at Valley Forge along with his men. Grant was sometimes described as a “dust covered man on a dust covered horse”, meaning that he was often riding right along side of his Union troops (Civil War). What both these generals did was offer inspiration to their men.

What these generals also offered was an aggressive attack. Just looking back into history, I am reminded of times when soldiers would follow an aggressive leader into battle, even if their plan was less than intelligent. Soldiers don’t want to be under
command of a cowardly leader, nor would anyone for that matter. As I showed earlier, their tactics, and personality traits show their aggressiveness.
Another thing that helped them get noticed was their public image. Washington especially mastered this concept. One of the first things he did as president was to go to every state in the new country. When traveling, he would ride comfortably in a stagecoach, but right before he entered a town, hop onto his beautiful white equine, and win the hearts of all that lived there. Grant took a different approach. He was one of the most photographed people of the 1800’s (Presidents episode 4). It would be very had for someone not to know who Ulysses S. Grant was, and what he looked like.
So why does this matter now? Because, contrary to popular belief, people aren’t much different now than they were 150 years ago. Two completely different men who had two frighteningly similar challenges both meet their goal with relative success. This undeniably shows that the ability to connect with the people that you lead and work with through aggressiveness and like ability can bring you as far as you’d like to go, if that be general, president, or both.




Work Cited
Bunting, Josiah. Ulysses S. Grant Times Books, 2004
Adler, David A. George Washington: An Illustrated Biography United States of America: Holiday House, 2004
Howard, Alan B. “Toward Fact: A Biography” University of Virginia June 2009. June 9, 2009
“Valley of the Shadow of Death” The Civil War Prod. Ken Burns. PBS.
“Episode 1: 1789-1825” The Presidents. A&E Television Network, 2004
“Episode 4: 1865-1885” The Presidents. A&E Television Network, 2004
Dallek, Robert, et al. American History: Beginnings Through Reconstruction. Evanston: McDougal Littell, 2008.

(Serious NOTE: There is one resource that I do not have with me currently to cite, but it was a magazine article about the leadership of Washington. For the in page citation, it is under (Leadership). As soon as I find it, I will add it to the works cited list.)

June 10- Geography

Sorry I haven't been regular with the blog, but as I said before, it's going to be a busy last couple days of school. I will post my paper as promised, but I want to make sure it is up to par. Hopefully tomorrow I can have the first section out. Anyway, just to satisfy your hunger for more daily facts, this question comes straight from Africa. This country has done fairly well for itself over the years against invaders, and they aren't afraid to show it. On the national flag, they actually have a picture of an AK-47 assault rifle. So, for my question, I ask: Which coastal African country has an AK-47 on their flag?





The country is Mozambique.

June 7- This Week's Peculiarity: Part 1

As this school year rounds to a close at an ever alarming rate, I can't be 100% sure of of being able to write up a question everyday. More specifically, I have a research paper due the 16th. WAIT. Before you burst into tears, I have good news! I'm pulling a Charles Dickens. No, I'm not growing mutton chops. Instead, I am going to release my paper in a few parts everyday. The rough draft is due Wednesday, so I should have it spaced out so it will be completely posted by Friday. So what is this paper about that makes it so much more important than The Question (besides the fact that it is about 25% of my grade)? Well, in it I am comparing George Washington and Ulysses Grant. Both were completely different men (as you'll find out), and yet, they both were very successful generals and presidents. What makes them similar? Well, hopefully as this saga continues, I will convince you of how this is in fact possible.

So without further ado, I give part one of my research paper:

Throughout the course of American history, a select few behemoths of men and women have forever changed the face of culture, society, and even the American way of life itself. They have been politicians, musicians, war heroes, writers and even athletes. Most have come from different lifestyles, different states, and different niches. So what brings these exclusive few into the pantheon of American greatness? In my opinion, their ability to affect the public came from their ability to effectively communicate with them. There is no better example of this than that of George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant. Both were shockingly different, yet both had successful careers as high ranking generals and then 2 term presidents. At first glance, it seems improbable that they had anything in common, but if you look just beneath the surface, you can see their two genius techniques of reaching out to the common man, through public image and social behavior.

June 6- Random

I'd just like to start off this post with stating how hard it is to come up with a random question that doesn't fit into any other category. So today, I am going to ask a question that isn't quite intellectualy stimulating, but just random cinema trivia. Bruce Lee was a founding father of the "Kung Fu" film industry. Pioneering movie techniques that are still in use today, Lee has left his mark on fighting movies forever. However, he was able to do so in a short amount of time. This brings me to my daily question: How many movies was Bruce Lee in?




He been in 26 movies: "Game of Death II" (1981);"Game of Death" (1978); "Enter the Dragon" (1973); "Return of the Dragon" (1973); "The Chinese Connection" (1973);"Fists of Fury" (1971); "Marlowe" (1969); "Ren hai gu hong" (1960); "Lei yu" (1957); "Zha dian na fu" (1956); "Zao zhi dang cu wo bu jia" (1956); "Er nu zhai" (1955); "Ai xia ji" (1955); "Gu er xing" (1955); "Ai" (1955); "An Orphan's Tragedy" (DVD title) (1955); "Wei lou chun xiao" (1953); "Ci mu lei" (1953); "Ku hai ming deng" (1953); "Qian wan ren jia" (1953); "It's Father's Fault" (1953); "Ren zhi Chu" (1951); "My Son, Ah Chung" (1950); "Meng li xi shi" (1949); "Fu gui fu yun" (1948); and"The Birth of Mankind" (1946).

And since I blatantly copied that, here is my source, and their sources: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080923172656AAu7Hyu

June 5- Music

Can you believe those writers at The Daily Question? 2 entire days without posts! Well, hopefully I can succeed in quelling your zero-Daily Question sadness. A few hours ago, I got back from a dance.. on a boat. All in all, it was pretty good, however, there were a few songs that no one really likes, and kind of stands in the side of the room for. Anyhow, when I was fashionably standing on the side, I thought of what question I should ask today. Then it hit me! I'm listening to MUSIC, on a BOAT! How about a question inquiring into the realm of nautical music! Back in the good ole' days, large sailing ships were controlled by sails. This method was used late into the 19th century. To control the sails, many sailors would have to pull at different ropes at the right times to get the desired speed. As you could imagine, getting dozens of people to do something perfectly in unison could be a difficult task. To help combat this problem, songs came into being that had a certain rhythm for pulling. Each job had its own beat, making the pulling completely efficient. So for my daily question I ask: What is the name of this kind of song?







The name of this genre of music is a "Sea Shanty".

June 2- Science

In 2006, 5% of astronomers worldwide voted on a subject that would be hotly debated until now, and probably for a while to come. What vote could this possibly be? The split decision to degrade Pluto from being a planet to a dwarf planet. How could such an atrocity have taken place? How dare the IAU make such a decision?! It's to small to be a planet anyway...whatever your opinion is, technically, Pluto isn't a planet anymore. So for my daily question, I ask: Why?







The new definition of a planet is a bit more complex than the former definition of a planet. First, a planet must orbit around the sun. Well, lots of things do that. Comets, Asteroids, all that stuff. It needs to have enough gravity to pull itself into a spherical shape. Gravity is a force that surrounds anything with mass. The more mass, the more gravity. If there is enough mass, an object can pull itself into a ball, the tightest object it can become. Pluto can do that. Finally, a planet must clear everything near its orbit. This is where Pluto just doesn't match up. There are lots of thing near Pluto that it just doesn't have enough gravity to pull into it. So, unfortunately for now, Pluto remains a "dwarf planet".

June 1- History

I don't mean to brag, but I have quite an extensive iTunes collection. Miles Davis, Grateful Dead, Talking Heads-you name it, its on there. But with a great iTunes library, also comes embarrassment. One time, I was talking to my friend on the phone and listening to my iPod on shuffle, and it was blasting over the speakers, and then, to my dismay and utter chagrin, ABBA pops on. I had a good reason, it was on there for a mix tape I had previously made for my mom, but the deed had been done. So why am I telling you this? Well, it's not an interesting story, but is in fact a quintessential anecdote! You see, the song that popped on was Waterloo, and being the history buff that I am, decided to check out the lyrics to see if there was any relation to the famous battle; and in fact, there was! The songs states: My, my/ At Waterloo Napoleon did surrender. Anyway, you can see where this is going. So for my daily question, I ask: Where was the Battle of Waterloo and what was it about?













The Battle of Waterloo was Napoleon's last ditch attempt to save his thrown on his 100 days back from exile during the Waterloo Campaign. Napoleon was eventually forced to surrender. It was fought just South of Brussels, Belgium in Waterloo. The sides were basically France against all the other major European powers to protect their interests.

May 31- Presidents

One of the main reasons I find presidential history so interesting, besides the word history being in it, is that I believe that whomever America elects as their leader shows where the nation is at that time. Just one example is the election of Thomas Jefferson after John Adams, two completely different presidents, but coming one after the other. That shows where America was in finding itself. I could go on all day, but alas, there is only 1 hour and 20 minutes left in that day, so I better speed it up. When electricity was brought into use for things like light bulbs, people didn't really understand it. Frankly, even people today don't really understand electricity that much. I'd sure have a hard time telling you how flipping the switch makes the light bulb turn on (perhaps that will be a Tuesday question...) The difference is, when electricity was first introduced, people were afraid of it. Actually, the president who had electricity put in the White House was so afraid of it, he wouldn't touch any of the switches (and he was a Civil War vet!) So for my daily question, I ask: Which president had electricity put into the White House?







The president who put electricity in the White House was Benjamin Harrison.

May 30- Random

Whether you oppose or support, one has to admit that McDonald's is convenient. If you're stopping for coffee, there is McCafe. If you want to run through a plastic tube, there is the PlayPlace. Or perhaps you want to stay awhile with your fancy laptop, you could go to the "linger" area with Wi-Fi. Now, I'm not trying to label myself a McDonald's supporter, I'm merely commenting on the speed in which things are done. And it is this infectious idea of speed that inspired McDonald's original mascot, before Ronald. So for my daily question, I ask: Who was McDonald's original mascot, and for a bonus, who were its original owners?







The mascot's name was Speedee, and the owners were Dick and Mac McDonald.
For more visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mcdonalds

May 29- Music

Isn't the radio fun? You can listen to it in the car, outside, or anywhere with plugs or batteries. You can hear the Sox game, or any random assortment of musical goodness. And supposedly, AM and FM attempt to de-randomify the assortment, but in recent years, as you probably have noticed, the line has become blurred. Back in the good ole days, shows were allotted AM or FM according to what they were, like music on FM and talk on AM, but as you have undoubtedly noticed, there is plenty of talk on FM, and all sorts of music on AM. And why does this matter, you may be asking yourself (for good reason!) What could possibly be the difference a weary reader might ask. Well, there is a difference! So, I ask: What is the difference between AM and FM? (Besides the channel numbers, that would be cheap!)







The difference is how their frequencies are altered. With AM, the strength of the signal is changed with the sound information. FM's frequency is varied, and is less susceptible to static. Since I did a terrible job at explainging that, for more info visit: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/radio/radiorelayer.html

May 28- Sports

Have you ever noticed how strange the Olympics would sound to someone who has never heard of them? Now I know most people have heard of the Olympics, but think about how crazy it sound. Amateurs from all different countries gather in one host country to compete in a bunch of random sports, sometimes in freezing weather, and never for pay. And yet, every 4 years, the Earth is graced with either summer or winter Olympics, always a monolithic sporting, event, no, epic, no matter where you are on the planet. But as you might know, for over 1,000 years, the Olympics weren't around. It wasn't until recently that the "modern" Olympics were started. So with that, I ask my daily question: Where and when were the first modern Olympics held?







The first modern Olympics games were held in Greece in 1896.

May 27- Geography

All countries have their own special way of dealing with crime. For a fun social experiment, you can compare the crime rate to the justice method used, but we're about already proven facts here at The Daily Question. Now, most countries try to keep the crimes committed per person down, but the country that has the highest crime committed per person is 1.5! That means 1.5 crimes are committed for every person in that country. So, keeping in mind a bit of irony, which country has the highest crime rate in the world.






The country is in Europe, and is Vatican city. Most crimes are pickpockets, but count for a lot because the country is so small.

May 26- Science

Hello! Bonjour! Olá! Hallo! Ciao! Γειά σου! I don't know how many people have noticed the little spinning globe at the bottom of The Daily Question main page, but it is a very useful tool I am just utilizing the benefits of. Notice the orange dots scattered throughout? Those show where people have visited my blog. The flashing title is you, and any flashing title that is different from about where you are is someone else looking at the blog simultaneously. The reason I am saying all of this is that I am now proud to announce that we have international viewers! I think I know where the European dot came from, but I have no idea who looked me up in Asia. Who ever you are, thank you for your support in the global uplifting of The Daily Question, and thanks to all of those here in the "States" who read everyday also. It is daily readers whom I know are out there that give me the gumption to post everyday, regardless of the hour. (Let's just forget about Saturday for the moment.) In the spirit of this worldwide connectivity, I am going to ask a question about the Internet, which, after all, makes The Question possible. During the Cold War, the American government launched a boatload of new agencies to help get America ahead of the Russians technology-wise. Information Processing Technology Office was one such branch. (Click the link if you knew as little about IPTO as I did.) Long story short, a guy named Lawrence Roberts started a project to work on a new network (packet switching instead of circuit switching, apparently. Yet another thing I learned more about to write this post.) Anyway, on October 29, 1969-a good date to remember for a completely different reason- a connection was made using packet switching. So, for my daily question, I ask: Which two places was the connection made between?







The connection was made between UCLA and the Standford Research Institute.

May 25- History

Since it is Memorial Day, I'm going to ask a question about said holiday. And also by happenstance, it is history day here at the Daily Question, so today's question will be about the history of Memorial Day. Originally called "Decoration Day", no one is really sure exactly where the holiday originated. Some say Waterloo, N.Y. Others, in the deep South. Anyway, New York was the first state to officially recognize the holiday. By World War 1, all the states in the Union celebrated Memorial Day. Now, we celebrate Memorial Day on the last Monday in May (Passed by Congress with National Holiday Act.) But for my daily question, I ask: Which war is responsible for spurring the idea of a Memorial Day?






On May 5, 1868, General John Logan declared Memorial Day, and it was celebrated on May 30th. General Logan the national commander for the Grand Army of the Republic. He originally started it for the fallen veterans of the Civil War.
For more info visit: http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

May 24- Presidents

Since I failed in my duties as blogmaster to report to you yesterday, I'll try to make this question a super hard one! Remember the days of old? Children played baseball in the streets, horses roamed cities as an everyday happening? Work was harder, play-time came with less batteries and packaging, and life was all but complex. And yet, a resounding similarity between the days of old and the calender boxes of now is public image. If any person wants to run for any sort of public office, image is the most important. After all, it is the first thing one sees about a candidate (for it is harder to delve deep into a politician's résumé.) And, looking back into the days of old, we can get a glimpse of a president who was a master of public image. So for my daily question, I ask: Which president was known for giving a flower off of his lapel to small children?






The president was William McKinley. (And for a side note, that was the last thing he did before he died.)

May 22- Music

Since this is in fact the Daily Question, I promise: no more poetics this week. So for now I'll stick with the basics, and today those basics happen to be about music. You hear about it all the time. An album went platinum. Who cares?! Not that that's not a big accomplishment, but you hear about it often, as I stated before. Now double platinum, that's cool. Triple platinum, you're getting up there. In case you don't know how many records it takes to make platinum, it's 1,000,000 (or about how many people took my presidents quiz on Facebook) . But this question has to do with insane sales. Only a few musical geniuses (or pop icons, if you are so inclined to be argumentative) can claim the title of a "Diamond Record". So, for my daily question, I ask: How many albums do you have to sell to get a Diamond Record?







The magic number is 10,000,000. (Oh, and by the way, Gold is 500,000. That's pretty cool too :)

May 21- Sports

It is my deepest pleasure to write this question today, because I believe it captures the essence of The Daily Question more than any question so far. The original reason I started the blog was so that I would have an excuse to ask questions, and, more importantly, have an excuse to look it up. The background of this story begins with my baseball team watching the Varsity Team during a game. Awhile into the game, (baseball is a dreadfully long sport) one of the guys looks up and says "I wonder if a bird has ever gotten hit by a pitch..?" Of course, I thought to myself wow that might be a pretty good daily question... has a bird ever gotten hit by a pi....
And then, before the thought could even be completed, another player looks up and says the date, the player who hit the bird, and team he was on. I was stunned. I certainly didn't know that, but someone else on my team did, and that is the point of the blog. To find the daily dose of intellectual awesomeness in each other. Not to post random facts each day, but to actively encourage myself, and hopefully my readers to search for the random, the ridiculous, the unknown, because isn't that what learning is about? So with that little sentimental Daily Thought, I give today's Daily Question: Who most recently hit a bird with a pitch in a major league game, and what team was he on?







His name was Randy Johnson, and he happened to be playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks on March 24, 2001 when he hit an unlucky dove.

May 20- Geography

Last year, I was given a week to pick a country to study for the rest of the school year, and give numerous reports on. And I, being the procrastinator that I am, (which you can tell since I'm posting this at 10:08pm) Picked a country off the list 5 minutes before the choosing time was due. I mostly picked this country because it had a cool name, and I didn't know much about it. Later, as I would find out to my chagrin, there was almost no information online about it. However, I did find one fact about this eccentric little country, that has stuck with me today. So my daily question is: What is the only landlocked country to be landlocked by landlocked countries, in Europe?








The country I did a report on, and is landlocked by landlocked countries in Europe, is Liechtenstein.

May 19- Science

There are many ways to define worst, especially when dealing with hurricanes; How many homes were destroyed, how much it cost insurance companies, the possibilities are endless. So for this question, I won't ask which was the worst hurricane ever, this question will be more specific. The year is 1979. A tropical storm is building up steam in the Pacific Ocean. After it passes over Guam, it gains speed. Eventually, it becomes the "largest and most intense tropical cyclone on record". It also holds the lowest sea-level pressure on record of 870 mbar. (The average is 1013 mbar.) So for my daily question, I ask: What is the name of this tropical cyclone?







The name of the cyclone is "Typhoon Tip".
For more info visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Tip

May 18- History

This question entails a lesser known country, so bear with me. A few weeks ago, I was sitting around the table with my family, and we were debating why my ancestors left Germany. (We weren't exactly sure about the timeline, so it was up to guessing.) There were famine theories, over population, all the classic 1800's migration grounds, or trying to pinpoint the main raison d'être, if you will. Anyway, one of the ideas I threw out there was that it was the fall of the Holy Roman Empire that drove them away. That really got things confusing, since the Holy Roman Empire existed at a completely different time period than the real Roman Empire. And since I didn't know enough about the Empire at the time, that theory was entirely smooshed. (It was incorrect anyway, because my ancestors left 40 years after the disestablishment, but that doesn't matter right now.) So now, without further ado nor rhetoric, I give, the daily question: When was the Holy Roman Empire established, and how long did it last to?







Lasting for almost 1,000 years, the Holy Roman Empire spanned from around 962 AD to 1806 AD. (One famous leader of this country was Charlemagne, but you don't hear much about it otherwise.)
For more info visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire

May 17- Presidents

July 4th, 1776. A date known by most proud Americans as the beginning of the best country in the world. More specifically, 56 political radicals signed a piece of paper stating that America was its own country. 200 years after that, Americans rallied after Watergate to celebrate its 200 birthday. At that time, Gerald Ford was President. But this was only the 2nd party of the sort. 100 years earlier, however, was America's 100th birthday was at hand. Still recovering from the Civil War, the nation was in need of a big rally. Anyway, this brings me to my daily question: Who was president during 1876 (Bonus what was the name they were born with)?






The presidents name was Ulysses S. Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant.
For more info visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_S._Grant

May 16- Random

Remember Theodore Seuss Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss? Born in Massachusetts, Geisel went on to write many popular children's books. One such book has a particularly interesting story behind it. After the publication of The Cat in the Hat, Geisel's publisher made a bet with him, the bet being $50 that Geisel could not write a book only using 50 words. (The Cat in the Hat used 225 words) In the end, Geisel was able to accomplish his task, and the result was the fourth Best Selling Children's Book of all time. So, for my daily question, I ask: Which Dr. Seuss book was a result of a bet and only has 50 words?






The book was Green Eggs and Ham.
For more info visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_eggs_and_ham

May 15- Music

Recently, I rediscovered a great album from the dark depths of my iTunes account. A hit in the U.K. (reaching #1) and #3 in America, Paul Simon's 5xPlatinum CD Graceland is one of my favorites of all time. To date it has sold over 14 million copies. Recorded mostly in South Africa by a large group of musicians, with all very diverse backgrounds, most from around Africa, Graceland experiments with many different kinds of music and rhythms. People liked it so much, it won The Record of the Year Grammy award for 1986 and 1987. Also in 1987, Paul Simon went on a tour of African, performing the songs from Graceland. Which brings me to the daily question: Which African country did Paul Simon perform the songs from Graceland to make the movie The African Concert in 1987?








It was filmed over the course 2 concerts in Harare, Zimbabwe.
To see clips from the movie, see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w3CBdLfGqw
For more info:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graceland_(album)

May 14- Sports and ONE MONTH ANNIVERSARY

In light of the one month anniversary of The Daily Question, I am going to ask a question about one of my favorite sports stories. The 1936 Olympics were held in Berlin Germany, while Adolf Hitler was in power. During the Berlin Olympics, Nazi propaganda was being spread around Germany that only "superior" Aryan athletes would be the main winners of the various competitions, and Hitler himself had enormously high hopes for his athletes to come in first place, especially since the games were being held on his home turf. Enter Jessie Owens, the well known African-American 23-year-old track star from Ohio. With amazing skill, and stunning many, he wins 4 gold medals over the course of the Olympics. So for my question of the day, I ask: What were the 4 events Owens competed in?







The 4 events he competed in were 100m, 200m, the long jump, and as part of the 4x100m relay team.
For more info visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessie_Owens

May 13- Geography

I don't know how many Clash fans we have following this site, but I do hope there are a few, because this question entails a famous song by said band: Rock the Casbah. (Unfortunately, there were no good geography questions about "Should I Stay or Should I Go".) If you don't know the song, you might want to check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAkfHShATKY . There are several different theories about what the song is about. One is that it just sort of happened, and was created randomly after a producer's comment. Another is that it has to do with bans on rock music, and the Middle-East, and jets listening to music. Whatever the lyrics mean to you, you have to notice the eclectic, if not nonsensical word choice of "Rock the Casbah". Well, if you are a history/geography buff as I am, you might notice that Casbah is also a term for a fortress, one of which played a drastic part in the Operation TORCH during World War 2. During Operation TORCH, Allied forces were vying for a better hold in North Africa by landing on beaches and all that stuff. One of these landings was at a certain beach, and resulted in a fair sized battle, which finally concluded in Allied victory and taking the Casbah. So for my question, I ask: What is the name of the beach that held this famous Casbah and what country is it in?






The Casbah is in Morocco, and is on the beach Mehdia, about 80 miles East of Casablanca.

May 12- Science

Although I was very tempted to ask another question about the periodic table, or something of the like, I decided to restrain myself. Instead I will ask a question about biology. Have you ever noticed at the zoo, that without fail, people are attracted to large animals. Just think back into the Reptile Room. How many people gathered around to see the Poison Dart Frogs? (An inaccurately placed amphibian at that, but this is for another day) People were at the elephants, that's where they were! Or the Rhinos, people are always at those pens. So I thought that the Blue Whale was the largest living thing, until I heard it wasn't a couple months ago. So, without further ado, I give, zee daily question: What is the largest organism in existence?





The largest organism is the Aspen Tree. In fact, you could walk in a grove, and all the trees could be the same living thing. The largest exactly was called Pando, and is in Utah.

May 11- History

History is such a massive subject, sometimes it is difficult to delve deep into the catacombs of my brain to come up with a sufficient question for Mondays. So for my question today, I am going to ask a question about... PRE-history. A pre-historic question? Is this even possible? Alas my friends, it is, so with that sentiment I will be asking my question about Dinosaurs. Since science was making leaps and bounds in the 1700's, and fossils were being found, Dinosaurs became a hot topic. Were they cold or warm blooded? Tail carried up or down? Most of this we still don't know, but paleontologists (dinosaur researchers) are coming closer to finding the answers every day. (If you don't believe me, check out the New York Museum of Natural History) Anyway, one thing we were able to figure out over time was how to classify things using time periods. Scientists and historians just loving doing that. (Think Bronze Age, Romantic Era, Gilded Age) So even though you might think this question comes out of left-field, it really doesn't, considering all the things we use time periods for. And with that, I present this question: What are the three main periods in which Dinosaurs roamed the Earth?





The three are listed from most recent to least recent:
Cretaceous 65-145 million years ago
Jurassic 145-208 million years ago
Triassic 208-245 million years ago

May 10- Presidents

Sorry it took me so long to post today, but I got distracted, it being Mother's Day and all. Anyway, I spent today at the Sheep and Wool festival (it's the Mother's Day tradition), and everything reminded me of old "tymes". Herding dogs were about, just doing there thing, the smell of cooked meat lingered in the air, and if an alpaca roamed in front of you, who cares? In all of this quaint simplicity (wow, I'm on an adjective roll!) I was thinking of our Founding Fathers who grew up just this way, on a small farm, in a log cabin. Which brings me to my daily question: How many presidents, and which ones, grew up/ were born in log cabins?






Of all of our presidents, 8 have been born in a log cabin. Taylor (Ole Ruff n' Ready), Polk, Pierce, Garfield, Lincoln, Buchanan, Fillmore, Jackson. Ironically, William Henry Harrison was born in a Virginia mansion (one of the last "Virginian Elite" presidents), but won his campaign with a "log cabin and hard cider" slogan. Another interesting point is that of those 8, 4 were important generals.

May 9- Random

I was watching Modern Marvels the other day, and, it happened to be about the scientific aspects of, well... truck stops. Now I might have changed the channel to something more informative like The Simpsons or Everybody Loves Raymond, but the science part piqued my interest. Like right now, technology is in the works for truck so they don't even have to stop at weighing stations =o Anyway, one of the things I heard was about how many truck stops there are in the U.S. (There are quite a few) and I would like to relay that fact to you. So, my question of the day is: How many truck stops are there in the U.S.?






There are about 6,000 truck stops.

May 8- Music

ONNNN BROOOAAADWAAAY, ONNN BROOAAAD WAAAY. Sorry about that, but it was the only worthy way to open a daily question about Broadway. George Benson famously sang those words in his hit song "On Broadway" in 1978 (Though he wasn't the first.) to try to describe the sights, sounds and smells of the beloved Broadway Theater, (or Theatre if your fancy/British). Since the 1800's, companies that have morphed into the Broadway Theater in N.Y. City have been putting on plays, but it wasn't until The Gilded Age (Post-Civil War) that Broadway as we know it became popular. And some parts of Broadway are more popular than others. Which brings me to my daily question: Which MUSICAL has been preformed the most times on Broadway?





The most run musical is Phantom of the Opera with a whopping 8,771 showings since its debut in 1988. It also won that same year's Tony Award.

May 7- Sports

If you follow sports particularly close (don't worry, I don't either) you might know that drafting is going on in the NFL. One of my favorite sports to watch, if not the favorite, is football. One of my favorite parts about the sport to watch are the suspenseful plays, particularly field goals. It's crazy to watch how accurate the kicks can be, especially since I can't kick at all (which you might already know because I'm a blogger :) So, for my question of the day, I ask: Who kicked the longest field goal and how long was it?





Trick Question! Two people share the title for the regular season: Tom Dempsey in 1970 and Jason Elam in 1998. The distance was 63 yards.

May 6- Geography

I was flipping through an atlas today, and was looking at some of the smaller country names. At this point, I was thinking of demonyms. A demonym is what you call a person from where they live. For example, I am from America, so I am an American. Someone from Spain would be a Spaniard, and so on. Anyway, one of the countries I noticed was Monaco. Monaco is a very tiny country that is entirely city and is on the Mediterranean Sea. And though I knew all of that, I didn't know what you called a person from Monaco, which brings me to my question of the day: What do you call a person from Monaco?





You call someone from Monaco a Monégasque or Monagasque.
If you would like to learn more about Monaco, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaco

May 5- Science

Recently, I was looking at the periodic table of the elements (I have a poster of it) and was looking at the pattern. How the lightest elements elements are at the top and the heavy in the middle, and the strip of medium ones on the bottom. One thing I noticed was that on most standard periodic tables, the element Lawrencium (Lr) is ALWAYS on the bottom right. This got me interested... because frankly, Lawrencium is strangely named. It doesn't have a normal name, like Hydrogen or Carbon or Lithium, but at the same time, it isn't clearly named after anything, like Americium; you know what that element was named after. Anyway, this brings me to my question of the day: For whom or what is Lawrencium named after?





First off, it was named after Ernest Lawrence (1901-1958) who invented the machine (cyclotron) that created Lawrencium. Lawrencium itself is Californium bombarded with Boron.

For more info (and to get all the fancy stuff) visit: http://homepage.mac.com/dtrapp/people/Lawrencium.html

May 4- History

For most of the 1800's, trouble had been brewing in America. Two distinct regions of the nation started growing apart, the North and the South. Ever since early colonization, these different regions were in for trouble. The Compromise of 1820 did little to offset the tension, neither did the compromise of 1850 or the Kansas- Nebraska act. New territories joining the union all the time didn't help it's problems either. And eventually, it came to war when the first Southern state seceded. Which brings me to my question of the day: Which was the first state to secede?





The first state to secede was South Carolina on December 20, 1860.

May 3- Presidents

Throughout U.S. history, many presidents have been related to other presidents. Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt were 5th cousins. John Adams and John Quincy Adams were father and son, same with George Bush Sr. and George W. Bush. And, on the nation's 100th birthday, there was a president in office who was a grandson to one of our founding fathers (If not a bit of an obscure one), and a former president himself. So now, with all this presidential lineage, I give you my question of the day: Who are the only Grandfather-Grandson pair in U.S. history?





The Grandfather was William Henry Harrison and the Grandson was Benjamin Harrison.

May 2- Random

So today, after participating in town green-up day, the volunteers all gathered and had a big lunch. One of the things I enjoyed was a nice big sandwich with salami on it, a delicious meat with the shape of a sausage and fermented in bacteria. Anyway, it was pretty good. But after it, I began to wonder about the history of this noble meat. As it turns out, salami has a long and proud history, (It could only be made by the finest meat artists) starting in the Mediterranean area and working its way into the hearts and stomachs of the whole world. And all this salami history brings me to my question of the day: When and where was the worlds longest salami made, and how long was it?





The longest salami on record was 500 feet long, (200 longer than the Statue of Liberty). It was made in Denmark in 2003.

May 1- Music

The music of bluegrass. Coming from the state of Kentucky, The Blue Grass State, bluegrass music is a mixture of country, jazz, and blues. It also claims the deep roots of Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh traditional music (People from those countries were the first Europeans to pioneer the "backwoods", or west of the Appalachian). Incorporating many stringed instruments, bluegrass is quite a thing to listen to if you haven't before. Anyway, this all brings me to my question of the day: Who is often considered the "Father of Bluegrass"?




The artist Bill Monroe (1911-1996) is often referred to as the "Father of Bluegrass". He is most known for his band The Blue Grass Boys.

April 30- Sports

Since it is late and I am tired, I am sad to inform you that there will be no customary paragraph long introduction. This is just a question that popped into my head, and being that today is sports day, I though I'd ask. So today's question is: What was the first sport televised in the U.S.?




The first sport was baseball. It was between Princeton and Columbia. Princeton won.

April 29- Geography

When American states and territories were first being made, the proud citizens were clamoring for things to make their state famous or well known. New Hampshire is the Granite State. Pennsylvania is known as the Keystone State (Because, like a keystone, it held early America together.) and New York, named for the Duke of York (brother of Charles ll) is known as the Empire State. But, unbeknownst to many people, there is a state that "copies" New York's nickname, which brings me to my question of the day: Which state has the nickname of "Little Empire State"





The state that goes by the name of "Little Empire State" is Georgia.

April 28- Science

You see it all the time in ads. This cleaning product will be so and so effective. And often, non-descriptive words are used, like "cleaner" or "fresher". Notice how they don't often use the words sanitize or sterilize. Well, at least I noticed that. Anyway, they don't use those words because those words have definitions. Which brings me to my question of the day: What is the difference between sanitize and sterilize?




To sanitize something, you need to get rid of 99.999% of micro organisms in 30 seconds. To sterilize something, you need to get rid of every micro organism, in 30 seconds.

April 27- History

As it turns out, females have been vying for the seat of President of the United States. Before Hilary, other women have run for the seat in the past, but much longer before most people think. Which brings me to the question: Who was the first woman to run for president, and when? (Hint: It was before women had the right to vote.)





Victoria Woodhull ran in 1876, but lost. Suffrage was passed in 1920.

April 26- Presidents

To be elected to the highest position of office in the most powerful country in the world, one must have an impressive resume, to say the least. Sometimes people achieve this through being a governor, senator, or congressman. But also, people rise to power through the military. Which brings me to my question: How many presidents have been 2 star Generals or higher? (Surgeon General or Attorney General doesn't count.)




8 presidents have had 2 stars or higher: Washington (6), Eisenhower(5), Grant(4), Jackson(2), William Henry Harrison(2), Taylor(2), Hayes(2), Benjamin Harrison(2).

For more info visit: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_US_presidents_were_Army_generals

April 25- Random

The game of Monopoly. Invented during the Great Depression, this intense real-estate game involves bribing, tricking, and buying ones way to victory, or, monopoly. The "spokesperson" and mascot for the game of Monopoly is, or was, Rich Uncle Pennybags. But recently, Pennybags changed his name to Mr. Monopoly. Also, with the changing times, (and I suspect a decent dose of political correctness) Mr. Monopoly quit smoking. Which brings me to my question of the day: When was Mr. Monopoly renamed and quit smoking?




He changed his name and quit smoking in 2000. And, just for a bonus, a quick fact: The longest game of monopoly ever was 1,680 hours long, or 70 days.

*I got these facts from Mental_Floss, probably the best magazine ever. Check them out at www.mentalfloss.com

April 24- Music

The glass armonica. A series of glass bowls placed in order from biggest to smallest, it is played by someone wetting their fingers, and rubbing the top of the bowl that has the desired sound. A foot pedal at the bottom keeps the bowls spinning. Famous composers such as Mozart have written pieces for it. Unfortunately, the glass armonica has sort of died out over the years, but enthusiastic fans predict its imminent return to fame. So, without further ado, I bring my question of the day: Which famous American invented the glass armonica?





In 1761, Benjamin Franklin invented it after watching a performance of a man playing tunes on the top of wine glasses.

For more info visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XPfoFZYso8 (The title is "Glass Harmonica", which is another widely used name, but not the official one.)

April 23- Sports

Wow, aren't you guys lucky. I plum forgot that Thursday is SPORTS day, and Friday is MUSIC day. So, the only possible solution is I do another question today about sports, and one tomorrow about music. Anyway, this question has to do with America's pastime, Baseball. Since the 1870's, baseball has been a huge American sport, but as the sport became popular, people wanted to watch better players, and so came Major League Baseball. And with these new teams, stadiums were built. Which brings me to my question: Where was the oldest MLB stadium built. (Bonus: when was it built?)




The oldest MLB stadium was built in Boston in 1871. It belonged to the Boston Braves, and was called South End Grounds.

For more info visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_stadiums

April 23- Music

Every year, American singers gather from near and far to possibly receive a Grammy award. Presented annually, the Grammy awards go to musicians for all sorts of accomplishments. Originally started in 1958 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Grammys have been presented every year since. But technically, the name of the award isn't "Grammy". So my question to you is: What does Grammy stand for?






The word Grammy is short for the music player Gramophone.
For more info visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_awards

April 22- Geography

Being that today is Earth Day, a holiday founded in San Francisco, I'm going to ask a California question. San Francisco is located on a peninsula in California. The San Francisco Bay to the Southeast helps carve out this body of water, but there is a lesser known bay to the North. This brings me to the question: What is the name of the bay to the North of San Francisco?






The name of the bay is the San Pablo Bay. San Rafael Bay could have also been correct, but it is very small.

April 21- Science

Radios are weird. They have all sorts of strange properties, like if you grab the antenna, the reception gets better. Another strange thing, that you may or may not have noticed, is that the reception is often times better at night. Which brings me to my question of the day: Why is the reception better at night? (Hint, it has to do with the sky)







In order to find a complete answer, we need to remember a couple of things. First, the earth is constantly revolving. Second, there are several layers of the atmosphere that keep said earth from frying. One such layer is the ionosphere. This is a layer of the atmosphere that has lots of ions very close to each other. Now lets look down at the picture. (Click on it to see the image in its entirety) You can't really see some of the writing I put on there, but, you can see the earth, and that white oval around it. Inside the oval is a purple line. That represents radio waves. Now, the left side of the earth is day, and the right is night. Since the ions are so close in the ionosphere, radio waves have to bounce off them. You can see that the ionosphere is closer during the day, so the radio waves have to bounce more, giving it more opportunity to get blurred. But at night, the ionosphere is farther away, so the waves can go farther in one bounce. This means you get a clearer reception.

April 19- Politics/Presidents

Although they are our commander-in-chiefs, you don't often hear about them storming into battle while they are president. Even though 11 of our presidents have been generals, none have directly lead a combat unit into battle, except for one. Which brings me to the question of the day: Who is the only president to directly lead a combat unit into battle while they were president?





During the War of 1812, lots of crazy things were happening, like the Capitol being razed. Through all the craziness, James Madison ended up leading a siege unit into battle. Unfortunately, to his embarrassment, he was forced to retreat.

April 18- Random

I've decided that finding decent news stories is hard, so I'm changing Fridays to music day. Now for today-
Ketchup. The all important condiment. Found on french fries and hot dogs alike. Unfortunately, it seems like it takes forever for the ketchup to get from the bottle to the food item. And really, does hitting the top of the ketchup container with your palm do anything? But actually, ketchup is moving pretty fast, which brings me to this question: How fast does ketchup leave the bottle?




On average, the speed of ketchup leaving the bottle is 30 miles per hour.

April 16- Sports

The game of polo. Hockey on horses. Polo has risen over time to be one of those sports you associate with England, but surprisingly, it does not originate there. So, my question is: Where did polo originate?




Polo originated in China and Persia around 2,000 years ago. It only became popular in the Western Hemisphere in the mid-1800's because of British colonization.

For more info visit:
www.polo.co.uk/polo_history.htm

April 15- Geography

As I'm sure you know, pirates are everywhere these days. Unfortunately, they aren't even the fun kind with peg legs and hooks. Right now after the Maersk takeover, the kind of pirate you hear about now are the Somalian pirates. Constantly out on the Indian Ocean, it seems like all kinds of ships are in danger, which brings me to my question: "The Indian Ocean is the name of the ocean the pirates are on, what is the name of the body of water to the North of Somalia?



The name of the body of water to the North of Somalia is the Gulf of Aden

April 14th-Science

The much loved Ozone layer. High above us, it converts UV rays into heat. Without it, the Earth would become sterilized, or in simpler terms, we'd be toast. Man made pollutants are constantly breaking down this part of the atmosphere, but more recently, the Ozone layer has been patching itself up. But what exactly is the Ozone layer?




The element that makes up the Ozone layer is oxygen. The exact compound is O3 which means that it is 3 oxygens linked together.

To learn more visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_layer
http://www.nas.nasa.gov/About/Education/Ozone/ozonelayer.html
http://www.oar.noaa.gov/climate/t_ozonelayer.html

The Daily Question Layout

My newest blogging endeavor, The Daily Question, will present a question each day about history, science, sports, geography, and anything else I can think of. The schedule should look something like this:

Monday: History
Tuesday: Science
Wednesday:Geography
Thursday: Sports
Friday: News
Saturday: Random
Sunday: Politics/Presidents

I intend to stick with that plan, but like anything, it is subject to change. :)
Please send this link to whomever you feel, and also check out my popular quiz on Facebook, "Which President are You?"