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?

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

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 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 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 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.

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 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 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