| #8925, aired 2023-07-28 | WORD ORIGINS: Theories on the origin of this, a style of journalism, include Cajun slang for unhinged jazz & Boston slang for a person on a bender gonzo |
| #8924, aired 2023-07-27 | FIGHTING FORCES: Formed in 1831 to help with the conquest of Algeria, its ranks have included Germans, Turks & Chinese the French Foreign Legion |
| #8923, aired 2023-07-26 | OPERA SOURCE MATERIAL: Henri Murger, who was broke & lived in a freezing attic apartment in Paris, wrote the source material for this 1896 opera La bohème |
| #8922, aired 2023-07-25 | COMPOUND WORD ORIGINS: This compound word meant an astronomical object of exceptional brightness in 1910; it was soon applied to actors & athletes superstar |
| #8921, aired 2023-07-24 | AFRICAN GEOGRAPHY: The only country in Africa with Spanish as an official language, it lies mostly between 1 & 2 degrees north latitude Equatorial Guinea |
| #8920, aired 2023-07-21 | NUMBERS OLD & NEW: Expressed in today's numbers, it's the sum total if you add the 7 Roman numerals together 1,666 |
| #8919, aired 2023-07-20 | 19th CENTURY BRITISH POEMS: The author of this unfinished epic poem was unsure if he wanted the title character to "end in Hell--or in an unhappy marriage" Don Juan |
| #8918, aired 2023-07-19 | FAMOUS PAINTINGS: A German guidebook to a 1937 World's Fair dismissed it as a "hodgepodge of body parts that any four-year-old could have painted" Guernica |
| #8917, aired 2023-07-18 | MAN-MADE OBJECTS: Around since 1998, it's now roughly the length of a football field & travels at about 5 miles per second the International Space Station (the ISS) |
| #8916, aired 2023-07-17 | GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS: In 1867 he wrote to General Rousseau, "on arriving at Sitka... you will receive from the Russian commissioner the formal transfer" (William) Seward |
| #8915, aired 2023-07-14 | BOOKS & AUTHORS: In 1930 this author wrote "Murder at Full Moon", a horror-mystery novel set in a fictional town in Central California (John) Steinbeck |
| #8914, aired 2023-07-13 | FAMOUS SHIPS: This first U.S. battleship ever built was launched in 1889 but lasted less than 9 years the Maine |
| #8913, aired 2023-07-12 | NAME'S THE SAME: A 1931 Charlie Chaplin film & a West Coast bookstore open since 1953 both bear this name City Lights |
| #8912, aired 2023-07-11 | OLYMPIC TEAMS: A city of about 2.5 million people, since 1984 for political reasons it has been in the name of an Olympic team Taipei |
| #8911, aired 2023-07-10 | ART HISTORY: At the 1865 Paris Art Salon, the elder of these 2 men said if the younger were successful, it would be "because his name sounds like mine" Manet & Monet |
| #8910, aired 2023-07-07 | HISTORY & NATURE: In March 1519, these were again seen in mainland North America for the first time in 10,000 years with the arrival of 16 of them horses |
| #8909, aired 2023-07-06 | 20th CENTURY LIT: Squashing the allegory theory, the daughters of the author of this novel say it's "just a story about rabbits" Watership Down |
| #8908, aired 2023-07-05 | AFRICAN COUNTRIES: Nicknamed "the Kingdom in the Sky", this landlocked nation is the only country in the world to lie entirely above 4,000 feet Lesotho |
| #8907, aired 2023-07-04 | CLASSICAL MUSIC: Composed around 1720, this group of instrumental works was dedicated to a younger brother of Prussian king Frederick I the Brandenburg Concertos |
| #8906, aired 2023-07-03 | FASHION: The name of these items that became a 1940s fad derives in part from a word meaning "to cut short" bobby socks |
| #8905, aired 2023-06-30 | NATIONAL ANTHEMS: The name of this country's national anthem translates as "His Majesty's Reign" & its lyrics come from a 1,000-year-old poem Japan |
| #8904, aired 2023-06-29 | THE MOVIES: Centenarian ceramic artist Beatrice Wood helped inspire one of the main characters & the narrator of this film from the 1990s Titanic |
| #8903, aired 2023-06-28 | THE MEDICAL WORLD: He created a chest drain valve that aided breathing in wounded soldiers in Vietnam but is better known for a lifesaving measure (Henry) Heimlich |
| #8902, aired 2023-06-27 | 19th CENTURY LITERATURE: In 1896 new spider species were named for a wolf, a panther & a snake from a work published 2 years earlier by this man (Rudyard) Kipling |
| #8901, aired 2023-06-26 | 20th CENTURY EVENTS: It was immediately reported, "The flames are still leaping maybe 30, 40 feet from the ground the entire 811 feet length of" this the Hindenburg |
| #8900, aired 2023-06-23 | FEMALE AUTHORS: At age 9 in 1883 she moved west, where she met Annie Pavelka, a young pioneer on whom she would later model a title character Willa Cather |
| #8899, aired 2023-06-22 | THE 19th CENTURY: In 1823 he wrote, "In the war between those new governments and Spain we declared our neutrality" (James) Monroe |
| #8898, aired 2023-06-21 | WORLD OF WATER: The Bass Strait divides Tasmania & mainland Australia & hydrographers have disputed which of these 2 larger bodies it's part of the Indian & Pacific Oceans |
| #8897, aired 2023-06-20 | THE OLYMPICS: This sport that made its Olympic debut in 1988 has a playing surface of only about 45 square feet table tennis |
| #8896, aired 2023-06-19 | ENTERTAINERS: In 2022 Jeff Bezos awarded her $100 million to give to charitable causes because "she gives with her heart" Dolly Parton |
| #8895, aired 2023-06-16 | AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY: Native Americans called it Okwa-ta, or "wide water"; Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville would rename it for a countryman Lake Pontchartrain |
| #8894, aired 2023-06-15 | THE U.S. GOVERNMENT: Established in 1938, this congressional group was still issuing subpoenas in 1969 & finally ceased to exist 6 years later the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) |
| #8893, aired 2023-06-14 | TV & FILM CHARACTERS: He debuted on TV in 1967; the show's creator wanted someone from behind the Iron Curtain to be on "our side" Chekov |
| #8892, aired 2023-06-13 | ACTORS: He starred in the 2 films whose soundtracks were the top 2 bestselling albums of 1978 John Travolta |
| #8891, aired 2023-06-12 | WOMEN IN MYTHOLOGY: The name of this woman, the product of an incestuous union, means "against birth" Antigone |
| #8890, aired 2023-06-09 | BRITISH NOVELS: Midway through this 1928 novel, the title character briefly takes "their" instead of his or her Orlando |
| #8889, aired 2023-06-08 | BUSINESS HISTORY: What is dubbed "the world's first initial public offering" took place in 1602 in this current European capital Amsterdam |
| #8888, aired 2023-06-07 | EUROPEAN COUNTRIES: Of all the nations that border Italy, the one that didn't exist in 1990 Slovenia |
| #8887, aired 2023-06-06 | HISTORIC ORGANIZATIONS: A senator called the 1949 pact that formed this a "fraternity of peace" that "makes the obligation plain... for us & others" NATO |
| #8886, aired 2023-06-05 | ACRONYMS: It was originally a code word used by telegraph operators; Barack Obama used it in his Twitter handle POTUS |
| #8885, aired 2023-06-02 | 20th CENTURY AMERICA: In bold letters, it was the 2-word historic N.Y. Times headline for August 9, 1974, followed by "He urges a time of 'healing"' "Nixon Resigns" |
| #8884, aired 2023-06-01 | COUNTRY NAMES: The first current country to include its particular religion in its full name, it also has that religion in the name of its capital Pakistan |
| #8883, aired 2023-05-31 | SPORTS & THE MOVIES: A Geena Davis Institute study found shortly after a 2012 franchise film's release, women's participation in this sport rose 105% archery |
| #8882, aired 2023-05-30 | LITERARY GROUPS: Windermere, Thirlmere & Grasmere are 3 of the sites that helped give a 19th century literary group this name the Lake Poets |
| #8881, aired 2023-05-29 | MEMORIALS: The Vietnam War crypt at this memorial has been empty since the remains once there were identified & moved to St. Louis the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier |
| #8880, aired 2023-05-26 | GROUPS IN HISTORY: The third-most famous group that invaded Britain in the 5th century, they gave their name to the continental part of Denmark the Jutes |
| #8879, aired 2023-05-25 | ASIA: Trained as an engineer, premier Li Peng championed this in 1992; it would ultimately displace over a million people the Three Gorges Dam |
| #8878, aired 2023-05-24 | CLASSICAL MUSIC: When the opera "Lohengrin" premiered in 1850, this man, a future in-law of the composer, was the conductor Franz Liszt |
| #8877, aired 2023-05-23 | SHAKESPEARE'S CHARACTERS: Both of the names of these 2 lovers in a Shakespeare play come from Latin words for "blessed" Beatrice & Benedick |
| #8876, aired 2023-05-22 | CHILDREN'S BOOKS: The original 1900 printing of this book was in a pale green dust jacket stamped in a vivid jewel tone of green The Wizard of Oz (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) |
| #8875, aired 2023-05-19 | THE USA: People going north on this route say they're traveling "GAME", an acronym regarding their beginning & ending points the Appalachian Trail |
| #8874, aired 2023-05-18 | BILLBOARD NO. 1 HITS: Billy Joel said, "I think the one time I didn't write the music" before the lyrics was for this 1989 hit, "and I think it shows" "We Didn't Start The Fire" |
| #8873, aired 2023-05-17 | U.S. NATIONAL MEMORIALS: Efforts recently began to reintroduce 2 species of oyster to help restore the contaminated waters of this, a national memorial Pearl Harbor |
| #8872, aired 2023-05-16 | AUTHORS: In 1960 Jean-Paul Sartre wrote of this man's "victorious attempt... to snatch every instant of his existence from his future death" (Albert) Camus |
| #8871, aired 2023-05-15 | PUBLICATIONS: The co-founder of this magazine that began in 1967 said its name comes primarily from a song title but noted a band name as well Rolling Stone |
| #8870, aired 2023-05-12 | NEW WORDS IN THE 18th CENTURY: Describing these, Captain Cook wrote, "The manner in which" they're done "must certainly cause intollerable pain" tattoos |
| #8869, aired 2023-05-11 | HISTORY: His epitaph, in a church in England, reads, "Sometime general in the army of George Washington" Benedict Arnold |
| #8868, aired 2023-05-10 | INTERNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: In 1901 6 colonies joined together to form this nation, today the sixth largest in area Australia |
| #8867, aired 2023-05-09 | ACTRESSES & THEIR ROLES: She made her big screen debut as a teen named Laurie in a 1978 film & in 2022 she played that role for the 7th & last time Jamie Lee Curtis |
| #8866, aired 2023-05-08 | NUMERICAL BOOK TITLES: This 2007 bestselling novel takes its title from a line in the poem "Kabul" by the 17th century Persian poet Saib A Thousand Splendid Suns |
| #8865, aired 2023-05-05 | TEAM NAMES: An MLB team got this name in 1902 after some of its players defected to a new crosstown rival, leaving young replacements the (Chicago) Cubs |
| #8864, aired 2023-05-04 | BODIES OF WATER: Formed some 10,000-15,000 years ago & with an average depth of only about 150 feet, it's named for a man who sailed through it in 1728 the Bering Strait |
| #8863, aired 2023-05-03 | BUSINESS & SOCIAL MEDIA: On Twitter in 2023, this food franchise followed an exact total of 11 accounts that included Victoria Beckham, Mel B & Herb Alpert KFC |
| #8862, aired 2023-05-02 | MEDICAL HISTORY: A vaccine against this respiratory illness came out in the U.S. in 1914 & eventually combined with 2 other vaccines whooping cough (pertussis) |
| #8861, aired 2023-05-01 | 18th CENTURY LITERATURE: The first name of this title character is from Hebrew for "devoted to God"; his last name suggests he can be easily duped (Lemuel) Gulliver |
| #8860, aired 2023-04-28 | U.S. LANDMARKS: In April 1975, to symbolize the start of America's Bicentennial, President Ford lit a third lantern at this landmark the Old North Church |
| #8859, aired 2023-04-27 | HISTORIC FIGURES: Dante gives him, born to a Kurdish family in the 12th century, a place of honor in limbo along with the war heroes of Rome & Troy Saladin |
| #8858, aired 2023-04-26 | HOLLYWOOD HISTORY: Last name of 3 men who missed the 1927 premiere of "The Jazz Singer" because a 4th of that name had died hours before Warner |
| #8857, aired 2023-04-25 | TV HISTORY: The 1980s "Magnum, P.I." used a soundstage of this long-running drama that had just ended, & even referred to its lead character Hawaii Five-O |
| #8856, aired 2023-04-24 | U.S. GEOGRAPHY: Interstate 25 connects these 2 state capitals, 1st & 2nd in elevation, & in between runs through No. 3, Denver Cheyenne & Santa Fe |
| #8855, aired 2023-04-21 | HISTORIC GROUPS: Originally a term for security escorts for commanders, in 27 B.C. this group was designated an official imperial force the Praetorian Guard |
| #8854, aired 2023-04-20 | MODERN WORDS: Neal Stephenson coined this word in his 1992 novel "Snow Crash"; it was later shortened by a company to become its new name metaverse |
| #8853, aired 2023-04-19 | LIVES OF THE POETS: At a seminary that classified students' degree of faith, Emily Dickinson was "without" this, which she compares to a bird in a poem hope |
| #8852, aired 2023-04-18 | THE OSCARS: Born in 1932 & the son of a percussionist in the CBS Radio Orchestra, he's been nominated for 53 Oscars John Williams |
| #8851, aired 2023-04-17 | ENGLISH LITERATURE: It says, "The mind is its own place, & in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven. What matter where, if I be still the same" Paradise Lost |
| #8850, aired 2023-04-14 | WRITERS' LESSER-KNOWN WORKS: Known for more philosophical works, he wrote the play "La Mandragola", in which Florentines are rewarded for immoral actions (Niccolò) Machiavelli |
| #8849, aired 2023-04-13 | EXPLORATION: James Cook's account of a 1774 visit here records an object "near 27 feet long, and upwards of 8 feet over the breast or shoulders" Easter Island |
| #8848, aired 2023-04-12 | THE BILL OF RIGHTS: England's "Bloody Assizes" & a 1685 life sentence for perjury were 2 main origins of this amendment to the U.S. Constitution the 8th Amendment |
| #8847, aired 2023-04-11 | NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNERS: At times they each lived on Vilakazi St. in Soweto, so it claims to be the world's only street home to 2 Nobel Peace Prize winners Nelson Mandela & Archbishop Desmond Tutu |
| #8846, aired 2023-04-10 | FAMOUS NAMES: In 1966, the year of his death, he shared plans for an experimental prototype community in Florida Walt Disney |
| #8845, aired 2023-04-07 | GEOGRAPHY: Of the 13 nations through which the equator passes, it's the only one whose coastline borders the Caribbean Sea Colombia |
| #8844, aired 2023-04-06 | FASHION HISTORY: These decorative items get their name from their origin in the port city of Strasbourg, on the border of France & Germany rhinestones |
| #8843, aired 2023-04-05 | MOVIES OF THE '80s: Based on an off-Broadway play with just 3 characters, it won the Best Picture Oscar & the actors in all 3 roles were nominated Driving Miss Daisy |
| #8842, aired 2023-04-04 | NOVELISTS: A 2012 book review noted subjects that "sparked his ire": capital punishment, big tobacco & "the plight of the unjustly convicted" John Grisham |
| #8841, aired 2023-04-03 | 20th CENTURY EPONYMS: A 1940 headline about this included "failure", "liability when it came to offense" & "stout hearts no match for tanks" the Maginot Line |
| #8840, aired 2023-03-31 | CITY HISTORY: Over 700 years after its traditional 1252 founding date, this port city became associated with a psychological response Stockholm |
| #8839, aired 2023-03-30 | BRAND NAMES: The success of this brand has its roots with a hydrotherapy pump its cofounder created for his son, who had arthritis Jacuzzi |
| #8838, aired 2023-03-29 | AMERICAN AUTHORS: In a periodical in 1807, he called New York City "Gotham, Gotham! most enlightened of cities" Washington Irving |
| #8837, aired 2023-03-28 | TRANSPORTATION USA: This public agency runs the USA's busiest bus terminal, opened in 1950 for commuters awed by its polished steel & stone the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey |
| #8836, aired 2023-03-27 | CHEMICAL NAMES: The name of this pungent gaseous compound is ultimately derived from the top god of the ancient Egyptians ammonia |
| #8835, aired 2023-03-24 | SYMBOLS: In math, it's a rotated V; in society, it's a feeling of some marginalized or underrepresented people less than |
| #8834, aired 2023-03-23 | MOVIE THEME SONGS: Monty Norman, the composer of this character's theme, said the staccato riff conveyed sexiness, mystery & ruthlessness (James) Bond |
| #8833, aired 2023-03-22 | AMERICAN NOVELISTS: He served with an airman named Yohannan in World War II & despite what readers might think, he said he enjoyed his service (Joseph) Heller |
| #8832, aired 2023-03-21 | MEDIEVAL PLACES: One of the participants in an 1170 event at this place said, "Let us away, knights; he will rise no more" Canterbury Cathedral |
| #8831, aired 2023-03-20 | COUNTRIES OF AFRICA: At one time a province of the Roman Empire, this kingdom is known to Arabic scholars as Al-Maghrib Al-Aqsa, "the far west" Morocco |
| #8830, aired 2023-03-17 | STATEHOOD: Congress relented in 1890 after this prospective state said it would wait 100 years rather than come in without the women Wyoming |
| #8829, aired 2023-03-16 | 1980s MOVIES: A writer & producer of this movie said he wanted it to be like a Western or James Bond film, "only it takes place in the '30s" Raiders of the Lost Ark |
| #8828, aired 2023-03-15 | ART EXHIBITIONS: In 1898 what's been called the first blockbuster art show was devoted to him & put on for Queen Wilhelmina's coronation Rembrandt |
| #8827, aired 2023-03-14 | COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD: Part of the largest contiguous land empire during the 1200s & 1300s, today it's the world's second-largest landlocked country Mongolia |
| #8826, aired 2023-03-13 | LITERATURE: A 2006 book was titled "The Poem That Changed America:" this "Fifty Years Later" "Howl" |
| #8825, aired 2023-03-10 | INVASIONS: Backed by 14,000 troops, he invaded England to restore, in his words, its "religion, laws, and liberties" William of Orange |
| #8824, aired 2023-03-09 | LANDMARKS: After its completion in the late 19th c., it was called a "truly tragic street lamp" & a "high & skinny pyramid of iron ladders" the Eiffel Tower |
| #8823, aired 2023-03-08 | GEOGRAPHIC NAME'S THE SAME: The busiest passenger port in the U.K., it shares its name with a capital of one of the original 13 states Dover |
| #8822, aired 2023-03-07 | NAMES IN THE BOOKSTORE: This man made lists, perhaps to cope with depression; a set of lists he published in 1852 made his name synonymous with a type of book (Peter Mark) Roget |
| #8821, aired 2023-03-06 | U.S. HISTORY: An 1869 presidential pardon was granted to this man, due in part to a plea by the Medical Society of Harford County, Maryland Dr. Samuel Mudd |
| #8820, aired 2023-03-03 | AMERICAN LITERATURE: Letters, pocket knives, C rations & steel helmets are among the tangible items referred to in the title of this modern war classic The Things They Carried |
| #8819, aired 2023-03-02 | NONFICTION: It has the line, "The discovery of America... opened up fresh ground for the rising bourgeoisie" The Communist Manifesto |
| #8818, aired 2023-03-01 | LAWS IN U.S. HISTORY: A Radical Republican championed this 1875 act but the Supreme Court struck it down in 1883; a new version was passed 81 years later the Civil Rights Act |
| #8817, aired 2023-02-28 | NAMES OF MYTH: Her brothers, Castor & Pollux, saved her after Theseus stole her away as a kid; a larger force would seek her later in life Helen of Troy |
| #8816, aired 2023-02-27 | AFRICAN COUNTRIES: Once Africa's largest country in area, it dropped to third in 2011 when a portion of it declared independence Sudan |
| #8815, aired 2023-02-24 | THE ANCIENT WORLD: The ancient writer Galen said books on ships arriving to this city's port were seized, originals kept & copies returned Alexandria |
| #8814, aired 2023-02-23 | FAMOUS NAMES: For a special 1970s cookbook, he provided one simple recipe--a can of Campbell's tomato soup & 2 cans of milk Andy Warhol |
| #8813, aired 2023-02-22 | PEOPLE & PLACES: Thought to descend from people of Southeast Asia, the Chamorro make up this U.S. territory's largest ethnic group Guam |
| #8812, aired 2023-02-21 | CURRENT WORLD LEADERS: In office from 2022, the president of this country has taken so many foreign trips a play on his name is "Ferdinand Magellan Jr." the Philippines |
| #8811, aired 2023-02-20 | WRITERS & THE SOUTH: In 1939 he lived on Toulouse Street in the French Quarter & chose the professional name that bonded him to the South Tennessee Williams |
| #8810, aired 2023-02-17 | NATIONAL PARKS: It's named for a river indigenous people called Mi tse a-da-zi, translated by French-speaking trappers as "Pierre Jaune" Yellowstone |
| #8809, aired 2023-02-16 | SPORTS: In 2010 they introduced the 4-point shot, 35 feet from the basket the Harlem Globetrotters |
| #8808, aired 2023-02-15 | THE U.S. MILITARY: Losses over Asia in the 1960s led to the establishment of the program known as this at a San Diego naval base in 1969 Top Gun |
| #8807, aired 2023-02-14 | ART & SCIENCE: A craft that visited it was named for Giotto, based on the story that 680 years earlier, the painter depicted it as the Star of Bethlehem Halley's Comet |
| #8806, aired 2023-02-13 | WORDS FROM WORLD WAR I: "Cistern" & "reservoir" were suggested names for a secret invention, but the British preferred this less clumsy monosyllable a tank |
| #8805, aired 2023-02-10 | EUROPEAN HISTORY: Until 1806, some German nobles included among their honors the title of "Elector" for their role in selecting this personage Holy Roman Emperor |
| #8804, aired 2023-02-09 | THEATER HISTORY: In 1904, wearing a harness, actress Nina Boucicault became the first to play this character onstage Peter Pan |
| #8803, aired 2023-02-08 | EUROPEAN CITIES: Alphabetically the first German city in encyclopedias, it was also the first one taken by the Allies in World War II Aachen |
| #8802, aired 2023-02-07 | WORD ORIGINS: This Sanskrit word referring to a spoken word or phrase comes from a word for "to think" mantra |
| #8801, aired 2023-02-06 | INVENTIONS: 1917's "Elements of Trench Warfare" said this Old West item was "difficult to destroy" & "difficult to get through" barbed wire |
| #8800, aired 2023-02-03 | WORLD WAR II: Mimi Reinhard, who never learned to type using more than 2 fingers, produced this with 1,100 names, including hers Schindler's List |
| #8799, aired 2023-02-02 | MYTHOLOGY: Poseidon carried off the maiden Theophane & turned her into a ewe; their offspring was the source of this mythical object the Golden Fleece |
| #8798, aired 2023-02-01 | LITERATURE: Published in 2011, P.D. James' final novel, "Death Comes to Pemberley", was a sequel to this novel from 200 years earlier Pride and Prejudice |
| #8797, aired 2023-01-31 | U.S. STATE NAMES: 5 U.S. states have 6-letter names; only these 2 west of the Mississippi River border each other Oregon & Nevada |
| #8796, aired 2023-01-30 | WORD ORIGINS: Originally relating to a story of suffering, this word now more commonly refers to strong emotion of any kind passion |
| #8795, aired 2023-01-27 | WORLD CINEMA: The 2007 biopic called "La Môme" in France, meaning "The Kid", was released in the U.S. under this other French title La Vie en rose |
| #8794, aired 2023-01-26 | HISTORY: Returning home in 1493, Columbus stopped in the Azores at an island with this name, also something he'd lost off the Haiti coast Santa Maria |
| #8793, aired 2023-01-25 | LANDMARKS: Pskov & Nizhny Novgorod are 2 of the cities that have a fortress called this the Kremlin |
| #8792, aired 2023-01-24 | FOREIGN-BORN AUTHORS: In the 1950s the New York Times said this author "is writing about all lust" & his lecherous narrator "is all of us" (Vladimir) Nabokov |
| #8791, aired 2023-01-23 | ASTRONOMY & GEOGRAPHY: At the winter solstice, the Sun is in Sagittarius; it once appeared in this constellation, giving a geographic feature its name Capricorn |
| #8790, aired 2023-01-20 | TELEVISION: Mike Post combined the sound of a slamming jail door, an anvil & 100 men stomping on a floor for this series that debuted in 1990 Law & Order |
| #8789, aired 2023-01-19 | BRITISH LANDMARKS: Like Sir Thomas More, 3 16th century English queens are buried at this location the Tower of London |
| #8788, aired 2023-01-18 | EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY: In 1692 Increase Mather wrote, "It were better that ten suspected" these "escape, than that one innocent person... be condemned" witches |
| #8787, aired 2023-01-17 | GEOGRAPHY MNEMONICS: MIMAL, sometimes said to be the silhouette of a chef or elf, stands for Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, these 2 states Arkansas & Louisiana |
| #8786, aired 2023-01-16 | BUSINESS MILESTONES: These were first sold in 1908, at a price equivalent to about $27,000 today Ford Model T |
| #8785, aired 2023-01-13 | IN THE BOOKSTORE: The name of this author dead since 2013 now appears on books written by a former U.S. marshal & a former Apache helicopter pilot Tom Clancy |
| #8784, aired 2023-01-12 | HISTORIC ART: The artwork once known in France as "la tapisserie de la reine Mathilde" is better known as this the Bayeux Tapestry |
| #8783, aired 2023-01-11 | POP STARS: In 2022 she became the first woman to have a Billboard Top 10 album in 5 decades starting with the 1980s Madonna |
| #8782, aired 2023-01-10 | CLASSIC TALE CHARACTERS: In one 19th century translation, she "perceived the dawn of day and ceased" speaking nearly 1,000 times Scheherazade |
| #8781, aired 2023-01-09 | USA: Ironically, though this company founded in the 1860s is Moore county, Tennessee's largest employer, Moore is a dry county Jack Daniel's |
| #8780, aired 2023-01-06 | HISTORIC PEOPLE: After a 1789 event, he wrote, "My first determination was to seek a supply of... water at Tofoa, & afterwards to sail for Tongataboo" (Captain) Bligh |
| #8779, aired 2023-01-05 | THE MOVIES: Laurence Olivier & Ernest Borgnine were considered for the lead role & Sergio Leone to direct for this film that turned 50 in 2022 The Godfather |
| #8778, aired 2023-01-04 | CONTINENTAL GEOGRAPHY: Until a 1903 secession, this country's contiguous territory spanned 2 continents Colombia |
| #8777, aired 2023-01-03 | FOREIGN-BORN AUTHORS: Early in her career she translated romance novels into Spanish, often changing the dialogue to make the heroines smarter (Isabel) Allende |
| #8776, aired 2023-01-02 | HISTORIC CRIMES: Saying it was stolen by Napoleon, self-styled Italian patriot Vincenzo Peruggia took it in 1911 the Mona Lisa |
| #8775, aired 2022-12-30 | U.S. BODIES OF WATER: Continuing a downward trend, in July 2022 it was at 27% capacity, its lowest level since 1937 when it was first being filled Lake Mead |
| #8774, aired 2022-12-29 | GODS & GODDESSES: Each morning she began her ride in her chariot across the sky ahead of her brother Sol, or Helios Eos (Aurora) |
| #8773, aired 2022-12-28 | AMERICA AT WAR: Until the Civil War, the January 8 date of this battle of dubious military importance but big morale value was a national holiday the Battle of New Orleans |
| #8772, aired 2022-12-27 | CHILDREN'S BOOKS: Its title character is told "By the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off... your eyes drop out & you get... shabby" The Velveteen Rabbit |
| #8771, aired 2022-12-26 | TV FINALES: In a reunion over 40 years in the making, Dolly Parton appeared as an angel named Agnes in the final episode of this comedy in 2022 Grace and Frankie |
| #8770, aired 2022-12-23 | AMERICAN POEMS: In an 1847 poem this character sees her town of Grand-Pré burned, but finally reunites with her beau for a kiss before his death Evangeline |
| #8769, aired 2022-12-22 | FAMOUS NAMES: In 2001 he published a book called "Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall"; in 2002, "Existencilism" Banksy |
| #8768, aired 2022-12-21 | CHILDREN'S LIT: The title object of this book "never looked more beautiful... each strand held dozens of bright drops of early morning dew" Charlotte's Web |
| #8767, aired 2022-12-20 | CLASSIC SONGS: The shouts of excited children at a 1946 holiday parade are said to have inspired this perennial favorite "Here Comes Santa Claus" |
| #8766, aired 2022-12-19 | BRAND NAMES: Unable to make these candies perfectly round, the confectioner embraced this flawed name for the product Milk Duds |
| #8765, aired 2022-12-16 | COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD: It's home to 58 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, more than any other country; the sites include a volcano & a lagoon Italy |
| #8764, aired 2022-12-15 | ACTION MOVIES: Its last line is "If this is their idea of Christmas, I gotta be here for New Year's" Die Hard |
| #8763, aired 2022-12-14 | PRESIDENTIAL FACTS: Only 3 presidents have married while in office--John Tyler was the first & he was the last (Woodrow) Wilson |
| #8762, aired 2022-12-13 | 19th CENTURY AMERICANS: Demonstrating the dignity & humanity of Black Americans, he sat for 160 known photographs, the most of any American in the 19th century Frederick Douglass |
| #8761, aired 2022-12-12 | LATIN PHRASES: Originally, this 3-word phrase referred to when a doctor or apothecary substituted one medicine for another quid pro quo |
| #8760, aired 2022-12-09 | 1970s MOVIES: A 1975 premiere of this comedy advertised free coconuts for the first thousand in the audience Monty Python and the Holy Grail |
| #8759, aired 2022-12-08 | NAME'S THE SAME: A cocktail, an island & a WWII venture originally called "Development of Substitute Materials" all bear this name Manhattan |
| #8758, aired 2022-12-07 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: He was sworn in twice as president within 2 years, first by his father & then later by a former U.S. President (Calvin) Coolidge |
| #8757, aired 2022-12-06 | PLAYS: A 1609 story in which an exiled king of Bulgaria creates a sea palace with his magic may have inspired the plot of this play The Tempest |
| #8756, aired 2022-12-05 | LANDMARKS: In 2009, during a 20th anniversary celebration, it was called "an edifice of fear. On November 9, it became a place of joy" the Berlin Wall |
| #8755, aired 2022-12-02 | WORLD CAPITALS: Among its nicknames are the "City of Classical Music" &, possibly in honor of a famous resident from 1860 to 1938, the "City of Dreams" Vienna |
| #8754, aired 2022-12-01 | LANGUAGE & ITS MEANINGS: Now meaning someone with nocturnal habits, it catches a sleeping dove in Shakespeare's "The Rape of Lucrece" a night owl |
| #8753, aired 2022-11-30 | FLAGS OF OUR HEMISPHERE: The stars on this country's flag represent states, 26 of them; unlike the USA's, its "federal district" gets its own 27th star Brazil |
| #8752, aired 2022-11-29 | NAMES IN U.S. HISTORY: This father was the only man among the 13 plaintiffs in a class-action case filed in 1951 Brown |
| #8751, aired 2022-11-28 | CHILDREN'S AUTHORS: Reversing the story of this heroine she created, Patricia MacLachlan was born on the prairie but spent much of her life in New England Sarah (Wheaton) |
| #8750, aired 2022-11-25 | STATES & THE CENSUS: The 2020 Census gave Montana a second U.S. House seat; its most populous county, this one that attracts tourists, grew 11% Yellowstone |
| #8749, aired 2022-11-24 | SOUTHERN COLLEGES: To aid transport in poorer nations, in the 1920s grads of this college built makeshift buggies celebrated in their fight song Georgia Tech |
| #8748, aired 2022-11-23 | SECONDS IN HISTORY: The Fortune, the 2nd ship to land at this harbor, disappointed those already there, carrying 35 new residents & "not so much as bisket-cake" Plymouth |
| #8747, aired 2022-11-22 | MUSICAL THEATER: The pair at the center of tumult in this long-running show were originally to be a Jewish girl & a Catholic boy West Side Story |
| #8746, aired 2022-11-21 | PLAYS: The January 12, 1864 Washington Evening Star reported on a performance of this "dashing comedy" to "a full and delighted house" Our American Cousin |
| #8745, aired 2022-11-18 | ENGLISH CITIES: William the Conqueror's son built a fortress on a key northern river in 1080, giving this city its name Newcastle (upon Tyne) |
| #8744, aired 2022-11-17 | MOVIES & LITERATURE: Ridley Scott's first feature film, "The Duellists", was based on a story by this author to whom Scott's film "Alien" also pays tribute Joseph Conrad |
| #8743, aired 2022-11-16 | THE NEW TESTAMENT: Paul's letter to them is the New Testament epistle with the most Old Testament quotations Hebrews |
| #8742, aired 2022-11-15 | NAME'S THE SAME: Name shared by a Victorian novelist & an 1805 flagship captain whose name is heard in a famous phrase (Thomas) Hardy |
| #8741, aired 2022-11-14 | GEOGRA-FLEE: In July 2022 the ousted president of this country fled west across the Indian Ocean to the Maldives Sri Lanka |
| #8740, aired 2022-11-11 | LONDON LOCALES: To fight malaria, this former royal estate helped move quinine-producing cinchona plants from South America to India Kew Gardens |
| #8739, aired 2022-11-10 | GEOGRAPHIC PAIRS: By ferry, the distance between these 2 paired Mediterranean islands is about 40 miles from Alcudia to Ciutadella Mallorca (Majorca) & Menorca (Minorca) |
| #8738, aired 2022-11-09 | CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS: A trip to El Paso with his young son & wondering what the city might look like years in the future inspired a novel by this author Cormac McCarthy |
| #8737, aired 2022-11-08 | CHEMICAL ELEMENT NAMES: The 3 elements whose names begin with 2 vowels are iodine & these 2, one synthetic & one natural einsteinium & europium |
| #8736, aired 2022-11-07 | PHRASES FROM THE ANCIENT WORLD: Cicero wrote that a tyrant ordered this to be hung from the ceiling "by a horse-hair"; his guest begged to leave the sword of Damocles |
| #8735, aired 2022-11-04 | WORLD CITIES: The name of this city may come from "dur", meaning water, a reference to the Helvetian people's settlement on a lake Zurich |
| #8734, aired 2022-11-03 | NOVEL LOCALES: This place from a 1933 novel lies in the Valley of Blue Moon, below a peak called Karakal Shangri-La |
| #8733, aired 2022-11-02 | PHRASES IN AMERICAN HISTORY: Andrew Johnson vetoed a bill that gave reparations to formerly enslaved people, hence this phrase for an unfulfilled promise forty acres and a mule |
| #8732, aired 2022-11-01 | POETS: Inspired by stories from his grandfather, his "Battle of Lovell's Pond" appeared in the Portland Gazette in 1820 when he was 13 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow |
| #8731, aired 2022-10-31 | PLACES IN AMERICAN HISTORY: A Native American story says this creek got its name from an injury suffered by a Sioux warrior in a fight with the Crow Wounded Knee |
| #8730, aired 2022-10-28 | ARTISTS: Sabena Airlines commissioned a painting by this artist, "L'Oiseau de Ciel", a bird whose body is filled with clouds in a blue sky René Magritte |
| #8729, aired 2022-10-27 | AMERICAN COMPOSERS: He turned to opera with the 1903 work "Guest of Honor", likely inspired by Booker T. Washington's dinner at the White House (Scott) Joplin |
| #8728, aired 2022-10-26 | CHARITY: A Catholic charity called Caritas Rome is the beneficiary of money collected from here, over the years averaging about $3,500 daily the Trevi Fountain |
| #8727, aired 2022-10-25 | BODIES OF WATER: The Kattegat & Skagerrak Straits separate these 2 seas the Baltic & North Seas |
| #8726, aired 2022-10-24 | AUTHORS: When Esquire began as a men's lifestyle magazine in the 1930s, he was asked for manly content & wrote in 28 of the first 33 issues (Ernest) Hemingway |
| #8725, aired 2022-10-21 | 19th CENTURY LITERARY CHARACTERS: This character from an 1859 novel symbolizes the Fates, who in mythology spin the web of life, measure it & cut it off Madame Defarge |
| #8724, aired 2022-10-20 | INTERNATIONAL BORDERS: 2 of the 3 countries that share land borders with Russia & China (2 of) Kazakhstan, Mongolia, or North Korea |
| #8723, aired 2022-10-19 | AMERICAN HISTORY: Ben Franklin, John Adams & John Jay succeeded as a trio in this city, though Adams wrote of fearing the other 2 would gang up on him Paris |
| #8722, aired 2022-10-18 | LANDMARKS OF SCIENCE: Clones of an original one of these grow outside the math faculty at Cambridge University & in the President's Garden at M.I.T. an apple tree |
| #8721, aired 2022-10-17 | FAMOUS ANIMALS: In September 1964 the New York Times announced the passing of this pet, a gift, "used as symbol of honesty in 1952" Checkers |
| #8720, aired 2022-10-14 | AUTHORS: Featuring a statue of a man escaping his grave, his tomb in Amiens contrasts with the title of his 1864 adventure novel (Jules) Verne |
| #8719, aired 2022-10-13 | DOCUMENTARIES: In this 1970 film, Max Yasgur says, "I'm a farmer... I don't know how to speak to 20 people... let alone a crowd like this" Woodstock |
| #8718, aired 2022-10-12 | 20th CENTURY LEADERS: In a September 3, 1939 speech, he said, "Everything that I have worked for... has crashed into ruins" Neville Chamberlain |
| #8717, aired 2022-10-11 | FAMOUS SHIPS: Its wreck was discovered in 1989, 48 years after it had been sunk & 91 years after the man it was named for had died the Bismarck |
| #8716, aired 2022-10-10 | BRAND NAMES: A neighbor's charcoal drawing of Ann Turner Cook at age 4 or 5 months won a 1928 contest to appear in ads for this brand Gerber |
| #8715, aired 2022-10-07 | COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD: It has the most water area of any country, nearly 350,000 square miles, about 9% of its total area Canada |
| #8714, aired 2022-10-06 | NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNERS: He served as Bishop of Lesotho from 1976 to 1978 (Archbishop Desmond) Tutu |
| #8713, aired 2022-10-05 | TRAVEL: The 1948 edition of this publication said, "There will be a day... in the near future when this guide will not have to be published" the Green Book |
| #8712, aired 2022-10-04 | ASIAN COUNTRY NAMES: Like the T-U-V in Tuvalu, this landlocked country has 3 consecutive letters in its English name in alphabetic sequence Afghanistan |
| #8711, aired 2022-10-03 | 20th CENTURY POEM ENDINGS: These 5 words that end a poem are also a proverb; one citation across the centuries includes a reminder not to make the wall too high Good fences make good neighbors |
| #8710, aired 2022-09-30 | BEFORE THEY WERE AUTHORS: While working for British naval intelligence during World War II, he was code-named 17F Ian Fleming |
| #8709, aired 2022-09-29 | INNOVATIONS: Seen by a worldwide audience in 1970, black pentagons were added to these to help viewers follow them better on TV soccer balls |
| #8708, aired 2022-09-28 | WORLD RIVERS: These 2 rivers share the names of countries, end with the same 4 letters & both join up with the Paraná River Paraguay & Uruguay |
| #8707, aired 2022-09-27 | WORLD AIRPORTS: Africa's 2 busiest passenger airports are in these 2 countries; it's an 8-hour flight between them Egypt & South Africa |
| #8706, aired 2022-09-26 | MAGAZINES: A now-annual issue of this magazine was inspired by the high society parties of Caroline Astor, whose ballroom fit about 400 people Forbes |
| #8705, aired 2022-09-23 | LITERARY CHARACTERS: In a later part of the epic named for him, this character becomes king after his cousin Heardred dies in battle Beowulf |
| #8704, aired 2022-09-22 | POP CULTURE: In 2011 Leland, Mississippi, where Jim Henson grew up, honored Henson & his Muppets by renaming a bridge this, also a song title Rainbow Connection |
| #8703, aired 2022-09-21 | FAMOUS NAMES: Perhaps the most famous picture of him was taken in New Jersey in 1951 as he was annoyed by paparazzi on his 72nd birthday (Albert) Einstein |
| #8702, aired 2022-09-20 | AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: Delivered on January 8, 1790, the first of these was also the shortest, at 1,089 words the State of Union Address |
| #8701, aired 2022-09-19 | HISTORIC DOCUMENTS: The governor of Massachusetts wrote, it "is a poor document, but a mighty act... wrong in its delay till January, but grand & sublime after all" the Emancipation Proclamation |
| #8700, aired 2022-09-16 | DISNEY SONGS: "We Don't Talk About Bruno" from "Encanto" is the first song from an animated Disney film to hit No. 1 since this duet in 1993 "A Whole New World" |
| #8699, aired 2022-09-15 | U.S. COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES: Founded as a technical institute in 1900, its sports teams are the Tartans & its official mascot is a Scottish Terrier Carnegie Mellon |
| #8698, aired 2022-09-14 | ARTISTS: He said, "The Seine! I have painted it all my life, at all hours, in all seasons, from Paris to the sea" (Claude) Monet |
| #8697, aired 2022-09-13 | THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY: Prince Philip's titles included Baron Greenwich & Duke of Edinburgh, but not Prince Consort, last used by this royal Prince Albert |
| #8696, aired 2022-09-12 | 19th CENTURY NOVELS: "This bell was named Marie... alone in the southern tower, with her sister Jacqueline, a bell of lesser size", says this novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame |
