| #4825, aired 2005-07-22 | LEADING MEN OF THE MOVIES: This actor who turned down the role of Dirty Harry played 142 leading roles, a Guinness record John Wayne |
| #4824, aired 2005-07-21 | LITERARY FIREARMS: The "Polizei Pistole Kurz" model was often used very effectively by this literary character introduced in 1953 James Bond |
| #4823, aired 2005-07-20 | CLASSICAL MUSIC: It's the roughly 70-minute work that includes the sung words "Alle menschen werden bruder" Beethoven's 9th Symphony |
| #4822, aired 2005-07-19 | WORDS IN LITERATURE: In Webster's, it means either a soldier using a certain muzzle-loading weapon, or a boon companion musketeer |
| #4821, aired 2005-07-18 | ARCHITECTS: He called himself "the man who introduced the glass box and then, 50 years later, broke it" Philip Johnson |
| #4820, aired 2005-07-15 | CHILDREN'S LITERATURE: This 1952 classic contains the line "No one was with her when she died" Charlotte's Web |
| #4819, aired 2005-07-14 | VOLCANOES: In the last 400 years, over 2/3 of all the deaths caused by volcanoes occurred in what is now this nation Indonesia |
| #4818, aired 2005-07-13 | SLOGANS: In 1986 the Texas Department of Transportation began using this 4-word slogan as part of a campaign to prevent litter "Don't mess with Texas" |
| #4817, aired 2005-07-12 | THE 50 STATES: Rejected earlier in its bid for statehood, it finally entered the Union in 1876 Colorado |
| #4816, aired 2005-07-11 | SUPREME COURT JUSTICES: Robert Jackson, the only justice to take a formal leave of absence, went to be a prosecutor in this foreign city Nuremberg |
| #4815, aired 2005-07-08 | OLYMPIC ATHLETES: In 1960 European journalists gave her the nickname "La Gazzella" Wilma Rudolph |
| #4814, aired 2005-07-07 | ON THE GLOBE: Moving west from Canada, the next 3 countries through which the Arctic Circle passes USA, Russia, & Finland |
| #4813, aired 2005-07-06 | PEOPLE IN GOVERNMENT: Now in his job over 17 years, he's the longest-serving pres. appointee other than Supreme Court members Alan Greenspan (Chairman of the Federal Reserve) |
| #4812, aired 2005-07-05 | WARTIME: The Victoria Cross is made from metal taken from enemy guns captured in this war the Crimean War |
| #4811, aired 2005-07-04 | TERMS IN SCIENCE: Sky & Telescope magazine's contest to replace this term for a single event got 13,000 entries, but chose none the Big Bang |
| #4810, aired 2005-07-01 | U.S. SENATE HISTORY: Of the 15 expulsions of senators in the Senate's 215-year history, 11 took place in this year 1861 |
| #4809, aired 2005-06-30 | OSCAR NOMINEES: In a 1964 film, he played 3 characters but received only one nomination for Best Actor Peter Sellers |
| #4808, aired 2005-06-29 | MUSICAL THEATER: In Act II of this musical, an election victory is announced "on the balcony of the Casa Rosada" Evita |
| #4807, aired 2005-06-28 | 20th CENTURY AUTHORS: In 1956 she published "Venice Observed" & her brother Kevin starred in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" Mary McCarthy |
| #4806, aired 2005-06-27 | MILITARY MEN: Last name of the first father & son to be awarded medals of honor, for service in the Civil War & WWII respectively Arthur & Douglas MacArthur |
| #4805, aired 2005-06-24 | RULERS: Though he was already emperor of one country, Franz Joseph was crowned in this city June 8, 1867 Budapest |
| #4804, aired 2005-06-23 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: He's the only president to have held 2 different cabinet posts: Secretary of State & Secretary of War James Monroe |
| #4803, aired 2005-06-22 | HISTORIC NAMES: The first name of this man born February 15, 1564 was derived from his parents' surname, a common Tuscan habit at that time Galileo Galilei |
| #4802, aired 2005-06-21 | U.S. COLLEGE TOWNS: This 2-word city is named for the founders' wives (they had the same name) & the natural groves found there Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| #4801, aired 2005-06-20 | SIGNS & SYMBOLS: The official insignia of this profession includes a serpent on a staff, a Greek delta & 32 leaves dentistry |
| #4800, aired 2005-06-17 | AUTHORS: This writer was born in Germantown, Penn. on Nov. 29, 1832, the second of 4 daughters Louisa May Alcott |
| #4799, aired 2005-06-16 | HISTORIC BUSINESSMEN: Tired of his fragile wares being smashed in transit, this man born in 1730 advocated British turnpike building Wedgwood |
| #4798, aired 2005-06-15 | 20th CENTURY ATHLETES: In 1938, at age 25, she became the youngest person made a Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav Sonja Henie |
| #4797, aired 2005-06-14 | EUROPEAN CAPITALS: In an August 1989 protest, a 2-million-person human chain stretched from Tallinn to Riga to this city Vilnius |
| #4796, aired 2005-06-13 | AMERICANA: This type of roadside establishment got its name & original design from a Pullman product a diner |
| #4795, aired 2005-06-10 | PRESIDENTS: The last time there were no living ex-presidents was when this man was president Richard Nixon |
| #4794, aired 2005-06-09 | AMERICAN LICENSE PLATES: One of its official license plates bears the motto "Taxation without Representation" Washington, D.C. |
| #4793, aired 2005-06-08 | CHARITABLE WORK: Musician Ray Charles raised money for people afflicted by this, saying, "To me, it's the worst thing in the world" deafness (or hearing impairment) |
| #4792, aired 2005-06-07 | NOTORIOUS: In 1934 in Chicago, soon before his death, he had painful plastic surgery that left him looking pretty much the same John Dillinger |
| #4791, aired 2005-06-06 | CONTEMPORARY QUOTATIONS: On Dec. 13, 2000 he said, "While I strongly disagree with the court's decision, I accept it" Al Gore |
| #4790, aired 2005-06-03 | PLAYWRIGHTS: His early play "Ivanov" opens with a man carrying a gun & yes, a gun does go off by the end (Anton) Chekhov |
| #4789, aired 2005-06-02 | NEW YORK CITY: Opened in 1937, it got its name in response to the George Washington Bridge, north of it the Lincoln Tunnel |
| #4788, aired 2005-06-01 | PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN SLOGANS: It's the election year the campaign slogans "The Moose Is Loose" & "Ready for Teddy Again" were used 1912 |
| #4787, aired 2005-05-31 | BEATLES MUSIC: Chauffeur Alf Bicknell was the inspiration for this 1965 song "Drive My Car" |
| #4786, aired 2005-05-30 | LEGAL TERMS: In 1999 Britain replaced Latin legal terms with English ones; "witness summons" replaced this word subpoena |
| #4785, aired 2005-05-27 | BODIES OF WATER: The Latin name of this waterway is Fretum Herculeum the Strait of Gibraltar |
| #4784, aired 2005-05-26 | MYTHOLOGICAL WORDS: Its name is from the Greek for "to bind", which in turn may come from the Egyptian shesep-ankh, "living image" the sphinx |
| #4783, aired 2005-05-25 | 20th CENTURY AMERICANS: These names of 2 original Mercury astronauts, who orbited Earth in May 1962 & May 1963, are also occupations Scott Carpenter & Gordon Cooper |
| #4782, aired 2005-05-24 | LAW & SOCIETY: This Hollywood legend who died January 21, 1959 supported placing monuments that have since brought legal challenges Cecil B. DeMille |
| #4781, aired 2005-05-23 | IMAGES OF AMERICA: Citing John Winthrop, who said, "The eyes of all people are on us", Ronald Reagan liked to compare the U.S. to this a shining city on a hill |
| #4780, aired 2005-05-20 | HISTORIC OBJECTS: Given to Washington by Lafayette, one of the keys to this is on display at Mount Vernon the Bastille |
| #4779, aired 2005-05-19 | NUCLEAR POWER: This state, besides having the first, also has the most nuclear reactors Illinois |
| #4778, aired 2005-05-18 | WORDS FROM LATIN: Some of the periods of time called this occurred in 304 A.D. (4 years), 1314 (2 years), 1958 (19 days), 1963 & 2005 interregnum |
| #4777, aired 2005-05-17 | FAMILIAR PHRASES: This 5-word rule or maxim has been attributed to both H. Gordon Selfridge & John Wanamaker The customer is always right |
| #4776, aired 2005-05-16 | BIBLICAL CITIES: Of the 10 most populous U.S. cities, the one that shares its name with a city mentioned in Revelation Philadelphia |
| #4775, aired 2005-05-13 | NATIONAL ANTHEMS: Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore wrote the national anthems of these 2 countries India & Bangladesh |
| #4774, aired 2005-05-12 | LITERARY MUSICAL THEATRE: Songs in this 1956 show include "Oh, Happy We", "You Were Dead, You Know" & "The Best Of All Possible Worlds" Candide |
| #4773, aired 2005-05-11 | FAMOUS PAIRS: Now meaning nearly identical, these 2 names were applied to rivals Handel & Bononcini in a 1720s British verse Tweedledum & Tweedledee |
| #4772, aired 2005-05-10 | 20th CENTURY AUTHORS: Born of Norwegian descent in 1916, he was given the first name of a famous Norwegian of the time Roald Dahl |
| #4771, aired 2005-05-09 | PEOPLE & PLACES: This Mediterranean island shares its name with President Garfield's nickname for his wife Crete |
| #4770, aired 2005-05-06 | FICTIONAL ANIMALS: The name of this character, introduced in 1894, is from the Hindi for "bear" Baloo |
| #4769, aired 2005-05-05 | FEMALE FIRSTS: After 285 years, in 1945 this British organization inducted its first women, including Kathleen Lonsdale, seen here the Royal Society |
| #4768, aired 2005-05-04 | VOCABULARY: Its original meaning was a resident of a certain wealthy city; now it means one who indulges in luxury sybarite |
| #4767, aired 2005-05-03 | WORDS FROM MYTHOLOGY: It refers to a mythical bird that calmed waves, or to past happy "days"; spelled differently, it's a sleeping pill halcyon |
| #4766, aired 2005-05-02 | WORLD CITIES: Capital of the ancient Roman province of Galatia, it became a modern national capital in 1923 Ankara |
| #4765, aired 2005-04-29 | 19th CENTURY AMERICAN ART: Some versions of this painting based on a Bible verse show William Penn making a treaty with the Indians in the background Hicks's Peaceable Kingdom |
| #4764, aired 2005-04-28 | BRITISH MILITARY HISTORY: He commanded the forces that rescued the survivors of the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta in 1756 Robert Clive |
| #4763, aired 2005-04-27 | RELIGIOUS HISTORY: From the Greek, the name of this movement of the early Christian era means that its members had knowledge of God Gnosticism |
| #4762, aired 2005-04-26 | IN THE DICTIONARY: Much in the news of the world at the end of June 2004, it's the only English word to contain "GNT" consecutively sovereignty |
| #4761, aired 2005-04-25 | U.S. CITIES: In 1790 this Midwest city was named for a society that had been named for a Roman citizen-soldier Cincinnati |
| #4760, aired 2005-04-22 | NEW LAWS: CEOs must personally certify their corporate books following a July 2002 law named for these 2 men Sen. Paul Sarbanes & Rep. Michael Oxley |
| #4759, aired 2005-04-21 | 20th CENTURY ASIA: In 1942 Aung San, commander of this country's Independence Army, married nurse Khin Kyi Burma |
| #4758, aired 2005-04-20 | LITERARY INSPIRATIONS: This real man inspired a 1719 novel character & a poem that says, "I am monarch of all I survey" Alexander Selkirk |
| #4757, aired 2005-04-19 | THE CABINET: A top member of the Reagan Cabinet, he was also Labor Secretary & Treasury Secretary under Richard Nixon George Shultz |
| #4756, aired 2005-04-18 | INVENTED WORDS: In works by Lewis Carroll, this word means "four in the afternoon; the time when you begin broiling things for dinner" brillig |
| #4755, aired 2005-04-15 | BRITISH ROYALTY: When his tomb was opened in 1102, a fragrance filled the air, & his body was perfectly preserved Edward the Confessor |
| #4754, aired 2005-04-14 | ANCIENT CITIES: It sided with Sparta in the Peloponnesian War, & the Bible includes 2 letters to its Christians Corinth |
| #4753, aired 2005-04-13 | 16th CENTURY NAMES: As a foe of the Spanish, he's been called "The Queen's Pirate" & a "Gran Luterano" Sir Francis Drake |
| #4752, aired 2005-04-12 | ASTRONOMY: It's the colorful 2-word term used to describe the motion of galaxies coming toward us, like Andromeda is blue shift |
| #4751, aired 2005-04-11 | ARLINGTON'S TOMB OF UNKNOWNS: Sentinels at the tomb walk exactly this many steps at a time before they stop & turn 21 |
| #4750, aired 2005-04-08 | CHILDREN'S LITERATURE: Dr. Seuss wrote this book to win a bet that he couldn't write a book using only 50 different words Green Eggs and Ham |
| #4749, aired 2005-04-07 | NOTABLE AFRICAN AMERICANS: In 1980 Marva Collins declined this Cabinet post in favor of keeping her regular job Secretary of Education |
| #4748, aired 2005-04-06 | FAMOUS PLACES: The appearance of this famous site gave England its old name of Albion the White Cliffs of Dover |
| #4747, aired 2005-04-05 | HISTORIC PLACES: The towns of Vierville-sur-Mer & Colleville-sur-Mer entered history with this 2-word area named for a U.S. city Omaha Beach |
| #4746, aired 2005-04-04 | PRESIDENTS & THE MOVIES: This president arranged the first film showing in the White House when he had "The Birth of a Nation" screened there Woodrow Wilson |
| #4745, aired 2005-04-01 | AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY: In 1959 the ad firm of Doyle Dane Bernbach began using the slogan "Ugly is only skin-deep" for this import model Volkswagen Beetle |
| #4744, aired 2005-03-31 | ENGLISH LIT: This 17th century poetic follow-up begins, "I who ere while the happy garden sung, by one man's disobedience lost..." Paradise Regained |
| #4743, aired 2005-03-30 | VOCABULARY: This term for a sudden piece of good fortune literally refers to fruit blown to the ground windfall |
| #4742, aired 2005-03-29 | HISTORICAL PLAYS: "If I were to dress as a woman, they would think of me as a woman... What would become of me?" is a line from this 1923 play Saint Joan |
| #4741, aired 2005-03-28 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: He's the only U.S. president to serve in the Senate after leaving the White House Andrew Johnson |
| #4740, aired 2005-03-25 | 12-LETTER WORDS: A chemist in the 1920s coined this term after finding lavender oil not only hid the odor of his burnt hand but also healed it aromatherapy |
| #4739, aired 2005-03-24 | HARVARD MEN: Books by this alumnus include 1957's "Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy" & 1994's "Diplomacy" Henry Kissinger |
| #4738, aired 2005-03-23 | MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: The team names of these 2 expansion clubs start with the same 3 letters; one might catch the other the Seattle Mariners & the Florida Marlins |
| #4737, aired 2005-03-22 | CYBER-GLOSSARY: In computerese this word from the Hindu faith means an icon of a user in virtual reality an avatar |
| #4736, aired 2005-03-21 | WORLD FACTS: In 2004 Brenda Christian became the first woman mayor of this island with a population of about 47 Pitcairn Island |
| #4735, aired 2005-03-18 | EUROPEAN LANGUAGES: In this language spoken by 120 million worldwide, all of the days of the week but one end with the same 3 letters German |
| #4734, aired 2005-03-17 | WORDS: This 6-letter word can mean both a bright light above someone's head & a dark cloud above our heads nimbus |
| #4733, aired 2005-03-16 | THE 2004 U.S. ELECTIONS: This woman received the third-highest vote total of any candidate for all of the November 2004 elections Barbara Boxer |
| #4732, aired 2005-03-15 | ARTISTIC MASTERPIECES: "Shouldn't the shining dots of the sky be as accessible as the black dots on the map of France?" the artist wrote of this work The Starry Night (by Vincent van Gogh) |
| #4731, aired 2005-03-14 | THE 20th CENTURY: To allow people to communicate more quickly, on May 15, 1918, courtesy of the U.S. Army, this service began air mail |
| #4730, aired 2005-03-11 | HISTORIC BRITS: During the American Revolution, in his last moments he said, "It will be but a momentary pang" Major John André |
| #4729, aired 2005-03-10 | ANCIENT WRITERS: Born in 43 B.C., his most famous work begins, "My intention is to tell of bodies changed to different forms" Ovid (in Metamorphoses) |
| #4728, aired 2005-03-09 | 20th CENTURY NOVELS: It begins, "'To be born again,' sang Gibreel Farishta tumbling from the heavens, 'first you have to die'" The Satanic Verses (by Salman Rushdie) |
| #4727, aired 2005-03-08 | THE SCIENCE WORLD: With Napoleon III's support, a physiological chemistry lab was created for him at the Ecole Normale Superieure (Louis) Pasteur |
| #4726, aired 2005-03-07 | SPORTS PHRASE ORIGINS: In 1939 an Illinois sports official wrote "A little" of this alliterative phrase may "contribute to sanity" March Madness |
| #4725, aired 2005-03-04 | U.S. ISLANDS: Dutch for either "devil's whirlpool" or "spite the devil", Spuyten Duyvil Creek forms part of its northern border Manhattan |
| #4724, aired 2005-03-03 | 20th CENTURY AMERICANS: He was alive for the Wright Brothers' historic flight & was John Glenn's Senate colleague when Glenn returned to space Strom Thurmond |
| #4723, aired 2005-03-02 | DETECTIVE FICTION: "Grand Master Villiers de l'Isle d'Adam had" this made "by Turkish slaves in the castle of St. Angelo" the Maltese Falcon |
| #4722, aired 2005-03-01 | HISTORIC QUOTATIONS: In 1900 Teddy Roosevelt wrote, "I have always been fond of the West African proverb:" this "speak softly and carry a big stick" |
| #4721, aired 2005-02-28 | COLLEGE LIBRARIES: Built in memory of a victim of this tragedy, Harvard's Widener Library was opened in 1915 the sinking of the Titanic |
| #4720, aired 2005-02-25 | WOOD: The remarkable elasticity of yew led to this new weapon that made history at a 1346 battle the longbow |
| #4719, aired 2005-02-24 | THE U.S. CENSUS OF 1790: It was the only state in the 1790 census to claim a slave population of zero Massachusetts |
| #4718, aired 2005-02-23 | BESTSELLING AUTHORS: In 2000 this writer, with more than 100 million copies of novels in print, had a new species of dinosaur named for him Michael Crichton |
| #4717, aired 2005-02-22 | POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY: The 2 island nations that are official members of the G-8 (Group of Eight) Japan & the United Kingdom |
| #4716, aired 2005-02-21 | FOREIGN WORDS & PHRASES: It's the more commonly used term for the practice of Chinese geomancy feng shui |
| #4715, aired 2005-02-18 | WORDPLAY: This word for a type of war is one of the few 5-letter words that can be made using only Roman numerals civil |
| #4714, aired 2005-02-17 | AMERICAN WRITERS: These 2 writers of lavish prose, born in North Carolina & Virginia 30 years apart, have the same first & last name Thomas Wolfe & Tom Wolfe |
| #4713, aired 2005-02-16 | SINGERS: This man who often criticized the government was named for the president elected in 1912, his birth year Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie |
| #4712, aired 2005-02-15 | SHAKESPEAREAN ROYALTY: Kings Edward IV & Edward V, the future Henry VII & the corpse of Henry VI appear in the play named for him Richard III |
| #4711, aired 2005-02-14 | STATE SYMBOLS: In 1993 it became the first state to adopt an official flavor, which, incidentally, comes from its state tree Vermont |
| #4710, aired 2005-02-11 | 1930s MOVIES: This film that originally hit the big screen in 1930 was re-released soon after the German invasion of Poland All Quiet on the Western Front |
| #4709, aired 2005-02-10 | LEGAL TERMS: Innuendo is what a plaintiff must demonstrate in order to prove the commission of this slander (or libel or defamation) |
| #4708, aired 2005-02-09 | 19th CENTURY PRESIDENTS: With 5, this president had more attorneys general in his administration than any other president Ulysses S. Grant |
| #4707, aired 2005-02-08 | U.S. GOVERNMENT: (Hi, I'm John McCain.) In presidential succession, the senator holding this position follows the VP & the Speaker of the House president pro tempore |
| #4706, aired 2005-02-07 | THE ELEMENTS: By weight, this element makes up more of the human body than all the others combined oxygen |
| #4705, aired 2005-02-04 | U.S. POLITICS: A member of this family has spoken at every Democratic National Convention since 1956 the Kennedys |
| #4704, aired 2005-02-03 | BIBLICAL NAMES: This biblical figure's name comes from the Hebrew word meaning "to be drawn" from the water Moses |
| #4703, aired 2005-02-02 | IN THE NEWS: Launched in 2004, a spacecraft named MESSENGER is on a mission to study this planet Mercury |
| #4702, aired 2005-02-01 | 19th CENTURY LITERATURE: "The Pastor and His Parishioner" is Chapter 17 of this classic novel The Scarlet Letter |
| #4701, aired 2005-01-31 | ASTRONAUTS: Born Edwin in 1930, this Apollo astronaut legally changed his name in 1982 to his popular nickname Buzz Aldrin |
| #4700, aired 2005-01-28 | THE WORLD OF ART: It's the room where you'll find the masterpiece that includes "The Flood" & "The Creation of Eve" the Sistine Chapel |
| #4699, aired 2005-01-27 | MOUNTAINS: To trek through its Khumbu Icefall, Lhotse Face & South Col, your team needs a $70,000 permit from Nepal's government Mount Everest |
| #4698, aired 2005-01-26 | LANDMARKS: Located SE of Charlottesville, Virginia, it has 3 stories, an octagonal dome & 33 rooms of varying shapes Monticello |
| #4697, aired 2005-01-25 | 18th CENTURY POETRY: 18th c. poem that says, "Forever cursed be this detested day, Which snatched my best, my favorite curl away!" "The Rape of the Lock" |
| #4696, aired 2005-01-24 | MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS: The Arab-Israeli War that started on June 5, 1967 ended with a cease-fire on this date in Israel June 10, 1967 |
| #4695, aired 2005-01-21 | FICTIONAL CHILDREN: This boy introduced in a 1902 book flew away from his mother when he was 7 days old Peter Pan |
| #4694, aired 2005-01-20 | BESTSELLING NOVELS: Today, many who visit Santa Maria delle Grazie Church admit doing so because of this 2003 No. 1 bestseller The Da Vinci Code |
| #4693, aired 2005-01-19 | CLASSIC AMERICAN SONGS: The introductory verse to this 1908 song begins, "Katie Casey was baseball mad" "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" |
| #4692, aired 2005-01-18 | BRANDS: This brand's airtight seal, introduced in 1946, was patterned after the inverted rim of a paint can Tupperware |
| #4691, aired 2005-01-17 | WORLD MONARCHS: On the throne since 1946, the king of this Asian country is the world's longest-serving living monarch Thailand (Rama IX or King Bhumbibol Adulyadej) |
| #4690, aired 2005-01-14 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: They're the 2 men who served the U.S. as President representing the Union Party Abraham Lincoln & Andrew Johnson |
| #4689, aired 2005-01-13 | FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVANTS: With 7 years' service, this man who resigned in June 2004 had the longest tenure in his position in over 4 decades George Tenet (former head of the CIA) |
| #4688, aired 2005-01-12 | DATES IN AMERICAN HISTORY: On this date Philadelphia partied with fireworks & music from a Hessian band captured 6 months earlier July 4, 1777 |
| #4687, aired 2005-01-11 | ENGLISH ROYALTY: One of the 3 years in which 3 different kings reigned (1 of) 1936, 1483, or 1066 |
| #4686, aired 2005-01-10 | 20th CENTURY AUTHORS: This Russian-born author & scientist who died in 1992 said, "I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them" Isaac Asimov |
| #4685, aired 2005-01-07 | MAGAZINES: Founded in 1821, it was named for its delivery time, the last mail delivery of the day The Saturday Evening Post |
| #4684, aired 2005-01-06 | EUROPE: After being subdued by the Franks in the 700s, this people formed a kingdom at Pamplona in the 800s the Basques |
| #4683, aired 2005-01-05 | 1920s NOSTALGIA: A poor couple window-shopping a diamond bracelet at this store inspired the song "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" Tiffany's |
| #4682, aired 2005-01-04 | TECHNOLOGY: In 1913 this alloy was invented by Harry Brearley of Sheffield, England, a city known for its cutlery since before 1400 stainless steel |
| #4681, aired 2005-01-03 | MILITARY MATTERS: According to the CIA, this foreign country has the highest military expenditures per capita Israel |
| #4680, aired 2004-12-31 | THE SOLAR SYSTEM: Objects that pass closer to the Sun than Mercury have been named for this mythological figure Icarus |
| #4679, aired 2004-12-30 | VICE PRESIDENTS: He was the first vice president to cast zero tiebreaking votes in his capacity as president of the Senate John Tyler |
| #4678, aired 2004-12-29 | ISLANDS: Just days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, it became the first U.S. possession occupied by the Japanese Guam |
| #4677, aired 2004-12-28 | 8-LETTER WORDS: Differing by one letter, the 2 words that mean job & time away from the job vocation & vacation |
| #4676, aired 2004-12-27 | BODIES OF WATER: This sea that extends about 1,200 miles was referred to in ancient times as the Erythraean Sea the Red Sea |
| #4675, aired 2004-12-24 | PSYCHOLOGY: In 1973 4 bank employees held hostage in this city ended up feeling grateful to their captors Stockholm |
| #4674, aired 2004-12-23 | AUTHORS: He publicly objected to the name of a 2004 documentary for infringing on the title of one of his books Ray Bradbury |
| #4673, aired 2004-12-22 | 19th CENTURY SPEECHES: At Harvard, this writer proposed that we work 1 day & leave 6 free for the "sublime revelations of nature" Henry David Thoreau |
| #4672, aired 2004-12-21 | DANTE'S INFERNO: At the center of Hell, Satan is devouring Brutus, Cassius & this biblical figure Judas |
| #4671, aired 2004-12-20 | THE ACADEMY AWARDS: Last names of the 2 famous families in which 3 generations have won Oscars Huston and Coppola |
| #4670, aired 2004-12-17 | ANNUAL EVENTS: A high-bounce ball inspired businessman Lamar Hunt to give an annual event this name the Super Bowl |
| #4669, aired 2004-12-16 | HISTORIC OBJECTS: More than 600 people, 200 horses, 40 ships, Edward the Confessor & Halley's Comet are depicted on it the Bayeux Tapestry |
| #4668, aired 2004-12-15 | HISTORIC MESSAGES: In 1943 he sent the famous message "Eleven alive native knows posit and reefs Nauru Island" John Fitzgerald Kennedy |
| #4667, aired 2004-12-14 | AWARD-WINNING AUTHORS: The only Oscar winner also to win a Nobel Prize, this European won a 1938 Oscar for adapting his own play George Bernard Shaw |
| #4666, aired 2004-12-13 | BUSINESS HISTORY: Last names of the 2 men, both engineers, who met & formed a partnership at England's Midland Hotel in May 1904 Rolls and Royce |
| #4665, aired 2004-12-10 | STATE MOTTOES: 2 of the 5 states whose mottoes aren't in English or Latin (2 of) Hawaii, Washington, Montana, Minnesota, or California |
| #4664, aired 2004-12-09 | RARITIES: All 6 examples of his signature known to exist date from between 1612 & 1616 William Shakespeare |
| #4663, aired 2004-12-08 | THE CABINET: He's been both the youngest & the oldest U.S. Secretary of Defense in history Donald Rumsfeld |
| #4662, aired 2004-12-07 | PLAYWRIGHTS: His 1840s romance with an older housemaid in Grimstad may have inspired his later themes of guilt & social hypocrisy Henrik Ibsen |
| #4661, aired 2004-12-06 | CHILDREN'S STORIES: In German, this classic story is called "Die Kleine Seejungfrau" "The Little Mermaid" |
| #4660, aired 2004-12-03 | U.S. CITIES: Of the USA's 10 most populous cities, 1 of the 2 that dropped in population from 1990 to 2000 (1 of) Detroit or Philadelphia |
| #4659, aired 2004-12-02 | VOCABULARY: This adjective for scholars & "Jeopardy!" champs is from the Latin ex, "out or away" & rudis, "rudeness" erudite |
| #4658, aired 2004-12-01 | THE 18th CENTURY: In 1790 the HMS Pandora sailed thousands of miles specifically to bring back this man, but failed Fletcher Christian |
| #4657, aired 2004-11-30 | BUSINESS & INDUSTRY: Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only 4 months a year H&R Block |
| #4656, aired 2004-11-29 | BABY NAMES: Of the Social Security Administration's top 10 boys' names in 2000, the 2, ending in the same letter, on a list of the 12 Apostles Matthew & Andrew |
| #4655, aired 2004-11-26 | 19th CENTURY U.S. HISTORY: Of the 5 times Congress has declared war, the 3 during the 19th century were against these 3 nations Britain, Spain & Mexico |
| #4654, aired 2004-11-25 | POLITICAL WORDS & PHRASES: Teddy Roosevelt used this boxing phrase to announce his 1912 candidacy & said, "The fight is on & I'm stripped to the buff" (my) hat is in the ring |
| #4653, aired 2004-11-24 | 20th CENTURY VICE PRESIDENTS: Aptly, his middle name contained the word "rich" Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller |
| #4652, aired 2004-11-23 | STATE FACTS: This state & its capital were named for 2 dukedoms held by the same British man New York |
| #4651, aired 2004-11-22 | 20th CENTURY AMERICANS: At the dedication of a fountain at Radcliffe College in 1960, she began her speech with the single word "Water" Helen Keller |
| #4650, aired 2004-11-19 | FAMOUS WOMEN: In 1952 William Rehnquist graduated first in his class at Stanford Law & she graduated third Sandra Day O'Connor |
| #4649, aired 2004-11-18 | AMERICAN NOVELS: The image seen here is part of Faulkner's original text of this 1930 novel As I Lay Dying |
| #4648, aired 2004-11-17 | SCIENCE NEWS: In June 2000 Bill Clinton described it as "the most wondrous map ever produced" the human genome |
| #4647, aired 2004-11-16 | OCCUPATIONS: While working as one, Charlotte Bronte complained that one of these "has no existence, is not considered as a living... being" a governess |
| #4646, aired 2004-11-15 | BEETHOVEN: Poet & critic Ludwig Rellstab compared this piano work to a nighttime boat ride on Lake Lucerne Moonlight Sonata |
| #4645, aired 2004-11-12 | ON THE GLOBE: 2-word alternate name for 0 degrees longitude Prime Meridian |
| #4644, aired 2004-11-11 | BRITISH NOVEL CHARACTERS: W.E. Henley, the amputee who wrote the brave poem "Invictus", inspired this character in an 1883 book Long John Silver |
| #4643, aired 2004-11-10 | WORLD FLAGS: Never directly seen in the Northern Hemisphere, it's featured on the flags of 5 of the world's countries the Southern Cross |
| #4642, aired 2004-11-09 | THEATRICAL PREMIERES: The "Playboy Riots" took place in this world capital in 1907 following a theatrical premiere Dublin |
| #4641, aired 2004-11-08 | COMPANY ORIGINS: This Fortune 100 company got its name from what it bought from sailors & sold to natural history collectors Shell Oil |
| #4640, aired 2004-11-06 | SPORTS: Its solo female winner is awarded the Venus Rosewater Dish Wimbledon |
| #4639, aired 2004-11-05 | LITERATURE: In early drafts, the heroine of this novel was named Pansy & her family home was called Fontenoy Hall Gone with the Wind |
| #4638, aired 2004-11-04 | U.S. TRAVEL AND TOURISM: Souvenirs sold at this attraction include 1962 World's Fair glassware & mugs boasting "I made it to the top" the Space Needle |
| #4637, aired 2004-11-03 | ROYALTY: This king was the great-grandfather of France's King Louis XV Louis XIV |
| #4636, aired 2004-11-01 | SEMIANNUAL PUBLICATIONS: It began in 1886 as an extension of an upper crust family's list of whose house they'd visit & who they'd receive The Social Register |
| #4635, aired 2004-10-29 | FILMS OF THE '70s: "The Babysitter Murders" was the working title for this 1978 thriller Halloween |
| #4634, aired 2004-10-28 | HISTORIC AREAS: In 1893, as it was disappearing, F.J. Turner wrote a famous essay on "The Significance of" it "in American History" the Frontier |
| #4633, aired 2004-10-27 | POPULATIONS: With only about 425,000 people, it's South America's least populous independent mainland country Suriname (formerly Dutch Guiana) |
| #4632, aired 2004-10-26 | AUTHORS: After several decades off it, works by this man seen here returned to the New York Times Bestseller List in 2003 J.R.R. Tolkien |
| #4631, aired 2004-10-25 | HISTORIC FIRSTS: The brother of this leader is believed to be the first known European to have died in the Americas Leif Ericson |
| #4630, aired 2004-10-22 | THE OLYMPICS: This sport that's also known as whiff-whaff & flim-flam has been an Olympic sport since 1988 table tennis (or ping pong) |
| #4629, aired 2004-10-21 | THE EARLY 20th CENTURY: On April 11, 1912, from a pier in Queenstown, Ireland, Francis Browne took one of the last known photos of this the Titanic |
| #4628, aired 2004-10-20 | BIBLICAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: As described in the Bible, the total volume of this was 450,000 cubic cubits Noah's Ark |
| #4627, aired 2004-10-19 | U.S. GEOGRAPHY: With a common nickname that refers to its size, this is the largest island in the United States Hawaii |
| #4626, aired 2004-10-18 | FAMOUS FIRSTS: In 1876 this man became the first person not to get a busy signal on the other end of a phone line Alexander Graham Bell |
| #4625, aired 2004-10-15 | FAMOUS PAIRS: They first teamed up in 1974; one a quiet Latin teacher & the other a former clown college student Penn & Teller |
| #4624, aired 2004-10-14 | FAMOUS AMERICANS: After his public comments were criticized by FDR, he resigned his Air Corps Reserve commission in April 1941 Charles Lindbergh |
| #4623, aired 2004-10-13 | 1920s TRANSPORTATION: Last name of the Chicago cab fleet operator who started the "Drive-Ur-Self" rental system Hertz |
| #4622, aired 2004-10-12 | WESTERN HEMISPHERE GEOGRAPHY: The 2nd-smallest independent country in area in the Western Hemisphere; in the '80s it was invaded by the 2nd largest Grenada |
| #4621, aired 2004-10-11 | BROADWAY MUSICALS: Legend says this musical was inspired by Lunt & Fontanne's backstage bickering during a Shakespeare play Kiss Me, Kate |
| #4620, aired 2004-10-08 | MEN OF SCIENCE: "Somnium", an early work of science fiction, was written by this German & published posthumously in 1634 Johannes Kepler |
| #4619, aired 2004-10-07 | FAMOUS NAMES: The last thing visitors see in the exhibit area of the Salem Witch Museum is a huge photo of this politician (Sen.) Joseph McCarthy |
| #4618, aired 2004-10-06 | 2004: On Monday, December 13, 3 people designated these will meet in Cheyenne, Wyoming to help decide the world's future electors |
| #4617, aired 2004-10-05 | AMERICANA: This Monsanto product was developed as a covering to turn asphalt lots in urban areas into playgrounds AstroTurf |
| #4616, aired 2004-10-04 | POETS: Called the 2 most innovative 19th century American poets, one didn't read the other after being "told that he was disgraceful" Emily Dickinson & Walt Whitman |
| #4615, aired 2004-10-01 | AMERICANISMS: Around 1900 Monroe Rosenfeld remarked that the music heard along NYC's 28th Street sounded like this tin pans |
| #4614, aired 2004-09-30 | ACRONYMS: Passed in October 2001, its full name includes "providing appropriate tools required..." the USA PATRIOT Act |
| #4613, aired 2004-09-29 | 19th CENTURY NAMES: Once known as "the handsomest man in America", he performed his last play, "The Apostate", on March 18, 1865 John Wilkes Booth |
| #4612, aired 2004-09-28 | POETS: A San Francisco resident since the 1950s, in 1998 he became the city's first Poet Laureate Lawrence Ferlinghetti (owner of City Lights bookstore in San Francisco) |
| #4611, aired 2004-09-27 | PULITZER PRIZE WINNERS: 1 of the 2 novels, both Southern, that won the Pulitzer for fiction & became Best Picture Oscar winners (1 of) Gone with the Wind or All the King's Men |
| #4610, aired 2004-09-24 | CHILDREN'S AUTHORS: After WWI he wrote, "To develop a horse-surgery… would necessitate a knowledge of horse language" Hugh Lofting (author of the Doctor Dolittle books) |
| #4609, aired 2004-09-23 | 20th CENTURY SHIPS: This British ship was named for a Roman province established in the area of Portugal in 27 B.C. the Lusitania |
| #4608, aired 2004-09-22 | GEOGRAPHY IN LITERATURE: Leo Tolstoy's story about Hadji Murat, "who slew the Russian swine", opens in this present-day Russian republic Chechnya |
| #4607, aired 2004-09-21 | FIRST LADIES: She survived the President by 39 years & was married to an archaeology professor at the time of her own death in 1947 Frances Folsom Cleveland |
| #4606, aired 2004-09-20 | ART SUBJECTS: Seen in sculpture, Eustache de St. Pierre & 5 other wealthy men made themselves hostages to free this city Calais (from Rodin's The Burghers of Calais) |
| #4605, aired 2004-09-17 | MARILYN MONROE MOVIES: Marilyn plots her husband's murder at a honeymoon site in this, her only film with a 1-word title Niagara |
| #4604, aired 2004-09-16 | AMERICAN AUTHORS: Ford Madox Ford, in the ‘20s, hadn’t “read more than six words” by this man before vowing to “publish everything he sent me” Ernest Hemingway |
| #4603, aired 2004-09-15 | BRITISH MONARCHS: Before Victoria & Elizabeth II, this was the last British monarch to reign during 2 different centuries George III |
| #4602, aired 2004-09-14 | ALIASES: Norma McCorvey recently sought a reversal to her landmark 1973 case in which she had this name (Jane) Roe |
| #4601, aired 2004-09-13 | COUNTRY NAMES: A Spanish dictionary defines it as "circulo maximo que equidista de los polos de la tierra" Ecuador |
| #4600, aired 2004-09-10 | PATRON SAINTS: In November 2000, Pope John Paul II proclaimed this 16th century Englishman as the patron saint of politicians Sir Thomas More |
| #4599, aired 2004-09-09 | PRESIDENTS: 2 of the 3 men who went from being either a U.S. senator or congressman directly to the presidency (2 of) Kennedy, Garfield, and Harding |
| #4598, aired 2004-09-08 | HISTORIC MEDIUMS: In the '20s the alleged spirit powers of Margery caused a rift between these 2 men, a magician & a writer Harry Houdini & Sir Arthur Conan Doyle |
| #4597, aired 2004-09-07 | WAR MOVIES: A controversial 1979 war film was based on a 1902 work by this author Joseph Conrad |
| #4596, aired 2004-09-06 | COMIC BOOKS: In 2002 the Library of Congress had William B. Jones, Jr. speak on this 1941-1971 comic book series in its collection Classic Comics (or Classics Illustrated) |
