Quiz Me

[Tom Slick]

How many stars on the original US flag?
who sewed the original flag?
how many members are there in the senate? house of representatives? how are these numbers determined? Each is modeled after the English legislature, which US side of congress matches which English house?
how many branches of gov't are there? can you name them?
how long do supreme court justices serve?

[radhak]

LOL - yeah, you got me on that one. I'm pretty sure there is no "official" language.


Uh... Let's see.....

* Who's famous for riding a horse about Massachusetts in the middle of the night shouting "The Redcoats are coming!" (or something along those lines). He wasn't alone, but he usually gets all the credit.
* What is the name of the national anthem of the USA, who wrote it, what were the circumstances under which it was written, and where/when was it written? (I'm pretty sure it was only a poem when it was written.)
* What's the gist of the Emancipation Proclamation and when was it issued? (around what year)
* What founding father has (rather unfortunately) come to be better known as a tasty beer that's marked with an expiration date to ensure freshness?
* Which side was "the Blue" and which side was "the Gray"?
* What's the square root of pi?
* Name the 5 branches of the US military, and their current Commander-in-chief(s).
* Name two US state capitals that you can't get in a car and drive to from where you are right now.

I have to say it's pretty fun trying to think up all these questions! ...but after this one I'm going to bed!

Sorry Guys! I just fell asleep!

- Paul Revere! But I did not know there were others!!!
- This is on the CD we got from the INS (and LOML has played it out ALOUD a number of times!) : Star Spangled Banner, Francis Scott Key, when he was thrilled to see after a night of war that the fort he was stationed at did not fall to the British. (I know, very loose, but can't remember more that that, not even the name of that fort).
-Declaration by Abe : Free the Slaves! (or maybe, The Slaves Are Free!). I have heard it's wordy, but have not got around to reading it . When - umm - after the war, so 1865? 1867?
- Can't think of anyone other than Samuel Adams!
- The Northern Blue! (remember it from the movie 'The Good, The Bad and the Ugly'.
- Hey! was the Pi American? But, I am a math major, so it has to be around 1.73-ish
- Always thought 3 branches Army/Navy/Airforce under the President (Mr.Bush now); maybe the Coast Guard is too? but can't think of another. the Secret Service? CIA? Oh, I know - hollywood paparazzi! Or Walmart employee force!
- No! Can't believe you got to State capitals in which I s*ck. Alaska/Hawaii state capitals - can't even guess. But am gonna look at the wall behind me right after i post this !

[radhak]

How many stars on the original US flag?
who sewed the original flag?
how many members are there in the senate? house of representatives? how are these numbers determined? Each is modeled after the English legislature, which US side of congress matches which English house?
how many branches of gov't are there? can you name them?
how long do supreme court justices serve?

- 50, one for each state
- Betty Ross
- 100 + 435; 2 for each state, 1 for each congressional district, which means more for larger states. Oh, did'nt know about that English connection!
- 3 : Legislative, Executive and Judicial. My favorite part of the constitution. The checks and balances work so great!
- For life!

Guys, this has been great! Thanks! But I shall be going for the interview soon now, so I guess after this we could open the forum up for whoever wants to ask and answer! But still, we should not refer to anything!

I shall visit again once I am thru with the interview. Wish me luck!

[docrowan]

Good luck, Radhak! My mom is a naturalised citizen.

Great thread you started by the way. I've often wanted to go back and restudy American history and civics. Whew, you guys were tough on some of your questions.

[goslin23]

- 50, one for each state
- Betty Ross
- 100 + 435; 2 for each state, 1 for each congressional district, which means more for larger states. Oh, did'nt know about that English connection!
- 3 : Legislative, Executive and Judicial. My favorite part of the constitution. The checks and balances work so great!
- For life!

Guys, this has been great! Thanks! But I shall be going for the interview soon now, so I guess after this we could open the forum up for whoever wants to ask and answer! But still, we should not refer to anything!

I shall visit again once I am thru with the interview. Wish me luck!

Isn't that Betsy Ross?

[crokett]

Good Luck! It sounds like you know your stuff!

[cgallery]

I shall visit again once I am thru with the interview. Wish me luck!

GOOD LUCK!

[Alex Franke]

- Paul Revere! But I did not know there were others!!!
- This is on the CD we got from the INS (and LOML has played it out ALOUD a number of times!) : Star Spangled Banner, Francis Scott Key, when he was thrilled to see after a night of war that the fort he was stationed at did not fall to the British. (I know, very loose, but can't remember more that that, not even the name of that fort).
-Declaration by Abe : Free the Slaves! (or maybe, The Slaves Are Free!). I have heard it's wordy, but have not got around to reading it . When - umm - after the war, so 1865? 1867?
- Can't think of anyone other than Samuel Adams!
- The Northern Blue! (remember it from the movie 'The Good, The Bad and the Ugly'.
- Hey! was the Pi American? But, I am a math major, so it has to be around 1.73-ish
- Always thought 3 branches Army/Navy/Airforce under the President (Mr.Bush now); maybe the Coast Guard is too? but can't think of another. the Secret Service? CIA? Oh, I know - hollywood paparazzi! Or Walmart employee force!
- No! Can't believe you got to State capitals in which I s*ck. Alaska/Hawaii state capitals - can't even guess. But am gonna look at the wall behind me right after i post this !

* Right!
* Right! It was at Fort MacHenry in Baltimore, MD during the war of 1812, I believe.
* Right! I think it was during the war - so around 1863 maybe
* Sam Adams - Right!
* blue/gray - Right!
* pi - Sound like a good guess to me!
* Cost Guard and Marines are the other two. But Coast guard is under department of Homeland Security, and I think Marines are under department of the Navy. So I think three is a good answer too. Maybe someone else can elaborate?
* Right - AK and HI!

[dkerfoot]

Coast Guard and Marines are the other two. But Coast guard is under department of Homeland Security, and I think Marines are under department of the Navy.

The Marines do fall under the Dept of the Navy. I remembered that the Coast Guard used to be under the Dept of Transportation (during a declared war it falls under the Navy's direction) but that has changed. I did look it up to be sure, and it is indeed under Homeland Security now.

So, we have identified the five Armed Forces, but there are a total of seven Uniformed Services - What are the other two? (I just remember one of them)

Also one of the other "British Are Coming" rider's names was Dawes. Revere gets the fame because his name made for a better poem. "Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere...."

This is good stuff. I sometimes wish there were some requirement for those of us who are citizens by birth to pass a basic citizenship test. Of course, most of the founding father's would recoil at the thought of having to pass a test in order to vote - too easy to manipulate and too egalitarian. Still, it would be handy to have some clue about the constitution before casting votes. Perhaps we could require a citizenship test before you are allowed to operate a cell phone?

[cabinetman]

The test will likely not be that hard, probably no tricky questions. Just understand the question completely before you answer. Now that I think about me taking the test I would have to do some studying, less risk being deported to Buffalo, N.Y. (yuk!!).

My guess is you'll do just fine...don't worry.
.

[Bigbit]

Here's my solo contribution:

Which two U.S. presidents died on exactly the same day, what was the date, and what was so special about that day?

[dkerfoot]

Here's my solo contribution:

Which two U.S. presidents died on exactly the same day, what was the date, and what was so special about that day?

Ooh, ooh, ooh! I know that one! (I am currently listening to the recent John Adams biography audio book)

Jefferson and Adams - July 4th - the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence - Which would make it... 1826?

[dkerfoot]

Of the Continental States, which has the northernmost point?

How did West Virginia become a State?

Who fought in the French & Indian War?

Bonus Questions:
Name the Provinces and Territories of Canada.
Name the Prime Minister of Canada.




The bonus questions are a trick - if you can name them, you are probably not a US Citizen!

[radhak]

Done!

Update : Went there, done with it!

Went pretty smooth. The given time was 7.40am, they called my name 6 minutes later, but I was out by 8:05! Half that time was taken for the usual 'security' questions : are you a member of any terrorist organization, have you ever smuggled anybody into the US, etc.
One of the questions was - 'are you a member of any communist party?' which actually stumped me. Not that I am, but i felt that question was a bit archaic. Would a 'yes' to that cause problems even today? Felt like asking her, but self-preservation prevailed !

The other questions were simple - who makes laws (congress), what was the first holiday/festival celebrated (thanksgiving), who say 'gimme liberty or gimme death' (patrick henry), what do the stripes represent (13 original states), how many stars (50), how many times can a senator be elected (no limit).

Felt sorta let down - I guess I was primed for much tougher questions !

But thanks everybody for the help, the wishes and the support.

I think the wife is in a good enough mood for me to try and finagle a tool or something; our celebration was brief as I had to get to work, but the kids were not at home ... !

[JR]

Isn't that Betsy Ross?

And 13 stars on the ORIGINAL flag...