M.A. 16-20
In 1902, this was one of NYC's tallest skyscrapers. What was its original name, and
what is its address? What is its name now? - ANS-At 23rd Street Broadway cuts across
5th Avenue making an awkward triangular wedge. Architect Daniel Burnham realized
that any structure that would be built on such a site would have to be oddly shaped, and
he went ahead and pushed the Fuller Building to a height of 22 stories. In no time the
building at 175 5th became known as the Flatiron, and it remains one of the city's most
distinctive buildings.
Times Square didn't get its name until the company that published the newspaper
moved into the neighborhood. When did the newspaper move into the neighborhood,
and what was the area called before the company's arrival? - ANS-In 1904 The New
York Times moved its headquarters into Long Acre Square, and from then on the area
has been known as Times Square.
When (month, day, and year) and where did Wilbur and Orville Wright make their first
historic flight? What was the name of their plane? - ANS-Orville and Wilbur Wright
proved their many doubters wrong when their aircraft—named "Flyer"—took to the skies
(for twelve seconds) on its first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17,
1903.
What is the name of Superman's alter ego? What is Superman's nickname? From what
planet does he come? What is the only substance that can harm him? And what is the
name of his hidden fortress? - ANS-When he isn't busy saving the world, The Man of
Steel, who was born on the planet Krypton, pretends to be mild-mannered reporter
Clark Kent. He is invulnerable to everything except for Kryptonite, and his home is
called "The Fortress of Solitude." A good name, isn't it?
You know that if a disaster were to befall the country and the President were killed, the
vice president would take his place. What office is next in line to the presidency if the
same accident took the lives of the President and his v.p. at the same time? What office
is next in line to the presidency after that one? - ANS-The Speaker of the House is
second in line to succeed the President. Next up would the President pro tempore of the
Senate.
Speaking of Presidents: right after this one moved into what would later be known as
The White House, he wrote in a letter to his wife, "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of
,Blessings on this House and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest
and wise Men ever rule under this roof." Later another President would like this
statement so much that he ordered
it carved over the fireplace in the State Dining Room. Who wrote the words, and who
had them carved into stone? (Extra credit will be awarded to boys who memorize the
blessing itself) - ANS-John Adams, who as you know was the second President, moved
into his new house in 1800. In a letter to his wife Abigail he wrote the blessing that
Franklin Roosevelt would have carved in stone over the fireplace almost a hundred and
fifty years later.
What is V-E Day? What is V-J Day? When did each of those momentous dates occur?
(Month, day, and year, please.) - ANS-V-E Day stands for "Victory in Europe"—the day
on which the Allies rejoiced at the news of Germany's surrender. The day was May 8th,
1945. With Germany defeated, the Allies turned more attention to the war in the Pacific.
The Japanese would surrender on August 14ththat year, but President Truman declared
September 2ndto the official date of
V-J day since it was then that the formal surrender papers were signed on the American
battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
March is here, and that means that baseball isn't far behind. (Assuming the players'
union and the owners settle their differences.) If a batter wins the Triple Crown, what
has he accomplished? If a pitcher wins the Triple Crown, what has he accomplished? -
ANS-The Triple Crown for batting: lead the league in batting average, home runs, and
RBIs (runs batted in). The Triple Crown for a pitcher: lead the league in wins, strikeouts,
and ERA (earned run average).
Time to get mathematical and learn about batting averages and earned run average
(ERA). Look up how those two measures are calculated, then figure out these:
Biff plays in four games over the weekend. He goes to bat seventeen times and gets
three singles, a triple, and a homer. He also walks twice. What's his batting average?
Biff is a pretty good pitcher, too. He hurls seven innings and gives up two runs. There
were no fielding errors while he was on the mound. What's his ERA? - ANS-To calculate
a batting average, divide the # of hits by the number of at-bats and round to the nearest
thousandth. BUT—and this is a big but—if you reach base by a walk or being hit by a
pitch, it's as if you were never at bat. To put it another way: if you go up to hit four times
and you get one hit, two walks, and you're plunked by a pitch, you've only had ONE
at-bat and your average is 1.00—in other words, it's perfect.
So let's look at Biff. He went up to the plate seventeen times, but he was walked twice,
so for the purposes of calculating the average, he has only fifteen at-bats. He smacked
five hits, so divide 5 by 15. His average: .333...mighty fine.
, Earned Run Average (ERA) works this way: take the number of earned runs (runs
allowed that were NOT caused by fielding errors), divide it by the # of innings pitched,
then multiply by nine. So...Biff's ERA would be 2 ÷ 7, which equals .286 (again, round to
the nearest thousandth). Multiply that # by 9 and you get 2.57. That Biff can pitch!
How is hitting a grand slam in a baseball game different from winning the Grand Slam of
tennis? A complete answer will list all the tournaments involved and the order in which
they appear in the year. Of the two feats, which is more impressive? Why? - ANS-A
Grand Slam in tennis means a man or a woman has won these four tournaments in
succession: the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open
(held here in our fair city). (Please note that the third tournament in that list is
pronounced "WimbleDUN," not, as most Americans say, "WimbleTUN.") A grand slam
in baseball is hitting a home run with bases loaded. Both accomplishments are pretty
good, but the first is much, much rarer.
One of baseball's immortals was born but a few blocks from St. B's. (The 98th Street
location, that is.) Who was the player, what was his nickname, and where was he born?
(Thanks for this question go to an observant parent who sent along a photo of the
plaque announcing his birthplace.) - ANS-Lou Gehrig (1903-1941) was the Yankee
legend known as "The Iron Horse." He was born at 309 East 94th Street. (The old
building has been demolished, but a plaque marks the spot.)
What are you doing if you posterize someone? - ANS-If you posterize someone, you are
photographed doing something amazingly athletic, and whoever is involved in your feat
is in the picture-looking on hopelessly or perhaps even being victimized directly.
Paul Hawkins has never won the Grand Slam—and he never will. But people who know
tennis very well know him and what he's contributed to the sport. What did he do? -
ANS-Paul Hawkins created the "Hawk-Eye" system, an incredible set of instruments
that can track a ball in flight and can detect, to a fraction of a millimeter, whether a ball is
in.
You are reading the newspaper and you come across this sentence: "Even if you're a
klutz, it's good to know about sports. They are, after all, the lingua franca of America."
What on earth does this sentence mean? (N.B. - a complete answer must define "klutz"
and "lingua franca.") - ANS-"Even if you're a klutz [a super clumsy person], it's good to
know about sports—they're a lingua franca [common language]—a way to communicate
with people whom you don't know or with whom you don't have much in common."
In 1902, this was one of NYC's tallest skyscrapers. What was its original name, and
what is its address? What is its name now? - ANS-At 23rd Street Broadway cuts across
5th Avenue making an awkward triangular wedge. Architect Daniel Burnham realized
that any structure that would be built on such a site would have to be oddly shaped, and
he went ahead and pushed the Fuller Building to a height of 22 stories. In no time the
building at 175 5th became known as the Flatiron, and it remains one of the city's most
distinctive buildings.
Times Square didn't get its name until the company that published the newspaper
moved into the neighborhood. When did the newspaper move into the neighborhood,
and what was the area called before the company's arrival? - ANS-In 1904 The New
York Times moved its headquarters into Long Acre Square, and from then on the area
has been known as Times Square.
When (month, day, and year) and where did Wilbur and Orville Wright make their first
historic flight? What was the name of their plane? - ANS-Orville and Wilbur Wright
proved their many doubters wrong when their aircraft—named "Flyer"—took to the skies
(for twelve seconds) on its first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17,
1903.
What is the name of Superman's alter ego? What is Superman's nickname? From what
planet does he come? What is the only substance that can harm him? And what is the
name of his hidden fortress? - ANS-When he isn't busy saving the world, The Man of
Steel, who was born on the planet Krypton, pretends to be mild-mannered reporter
Clark Kent. He is invulnerable to everything except for Kryptonite, and his home is
called "The Fortress of Solitude." A good name, isn't it?
You know that if a disaster were to befall the country and the President were killed, the
vice president would take his place. What office is next in line to the presidency if the
same accident took the lives of the President and his v.p. at the same time? What office
is next in line to the presidency after that one? - ANS-The Speaker of the House is
second in line to succeed the President. Next up would the President pro tempore of the
Senate.
Speaking of Presidents: right after this one moved into what would later be known as
The White House, he wrote in a letter to his wife, "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of
,Blessings on this House and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest
and wise Men ever rule under this roof." Later another President would like this
statement so much that he ordered
it carved over the fireplace in the State Dining Room. Who wrote the words, and who
had them carved into stone? (Extra credit will be awarded to boys who memorize the
blessing itself) - ANS-John Adams, who as you know was the second President, moved
into his new house in 1800. In a letter to his wife Abigail he wrote the blessing that
Franklin Roosevelt would have carved in stone over the fireplace almost a hundred and
fifty years later.
What is V-E Day? What is V-J Day? When did each of those momentous dates occur?
(Month, day, and year, please.) - ANS-V-E Day stands for "Victory in Europe"—the day
on which the Allies rejoiced at the news of Germany's surrender. The day was May 8th,
1945. With Germany defeated, the Allies turned more attention to the war in the Pacific.
The Japanese would surrender on August 14ththat year, but President Truman declared
September 2ndto the official date of
V-J day since it was then that the formal surrender papers were signed on the American
battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
March is here, and that means that baseball isn't far behind. (Assuming the players'
union and the owners settle their differences.) If a batter wins the Triple Crown, what
has he accomplished? If a pitcher wins the Triple Crown, what has he accomplished? -
ANS-The Triple Crown for batting: lead the league in batting average, home runs, and
RBIs (runs batted in). The Triple Crown for a pitcher: lead the league in wins, strikeouts,
and ERA (earned run average).
Time to get mathematical and learn about batting averages and earned run average
(ERA). Look up how those two measures are calculated, then figure out these:
Biff plays in four games over the weekend. He goes to bat seventeen times and gets
three singles, a triple, and a homer. He also walks twice. What's his batting average?
Biff is a pretty good pitcher, too. He hurls seven innings and gives up two runs. There
were no fielding errors while he was on the mound. What's his ERA? - ANS-To calculate
a batting average, divide the # of hits by the number of at-bats and round to the nearest
thousandth. BUT—and this is a big but—if you reach base by a walk or being hit by a
pitch, it's as if you were never at bat. To put it another way: if you go up to hit four times
and you get one hit, two walks, and you're plunked by a pitch, you've only had ONE
at-bat and your average is 1.00—in other words, it's perfect.
So let's look at Biff. He went up to the plate seventeen times, but he was walked twice,
so for the purposes of calculating the average, he has only fifteen at-bats. He smacked
five hits, so divide 5 by 15. His average: .333...mighty fine.
, Earned Run Average (ERA) works this way: take the number of earned runs (runs
allowed that were NOT caused by fielding errors), divide it by the # of innings pitched,
then multiply by nine. So...Biff's ERA would be 2 ÷ 7, which equals .286 (again, round to
the nearest thousandth). Multiply that # by 9 and you get 2.57. That Biff can pitch!
How is hitting a grand slam in a baseball game different from winning the Grand Slam of
tennis? A complete answer will list all the tournaments involved and the order in which
they appear in the year. Of the two feats, which is more impressive? Why? - ANS-A
Grand Slam in tennis means a man or a woman has won these four tournaments in
succession: the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open
(held here in our fair city). (Please note that the third tournament in that list is
pronounced "WimbleDUN," not, as most Americans say, "WimbleTUN.") A grand slam
in baseball is hitting a home run with bases loaded. Both accomplishments are pretty
good, but the first is much, much rarer.
One of baseball's immortals was born but a few blocks from St. B's. (The 98th Street
location, that is.) Who was the player, what was his nickname, and where was he born?
(Thanks for this question go to an observant parent who sent along a photo of the
plaque announcing his birthplace.) - ANS-Lou Gehrig (1903-1941) was the Yankee
legend known as "The Iron Horse." He was born at 309 East 94th Street. (The old
building has been demolished, but a plaque marks the spot.)
What are you doing if you posterize someone? - ANS-If you posterize someone, you are
photographed doing something amazingly athletic, and whoever is involved in your feat
is in the picture-looking on hopelessly or perhaps even being victimized directly.
Paul Hawkins has never won the Grand Slam—and he never will. But people who know
tennis very well know him and what he's contributed to the sport. What did he do? -
ANS-Paul Hawkins created the "Hawk-Eye" system, an incredible set of instruments
that can track a ball in flight and can detect, to a fraction of a millimeter, whether a ball is
in.
You are reading the newspaper and you come across this sentence: "Even if you're a
klutz, it's good to know about sports. They are, after all, the lingua franca of America."
What on earth does this sentence mean? (N.B. - a complete answer must define "klutz"
and "lingua franca.") - ANS-"Even if you're a klutz [a super clumsy person], it's good to
know about sports—they're a lingua franca [common language]—a way to communicate
with people whom you don't know or with whom you don't have much in common."
