| #9385, aired 2025-07-25 | 20th CENTURY NAMES: According to one obituary, in 1935 he owned 13 magazines, 8 radio stations, 2 movie companies & $56 million in real estate William Randolph Hearst |
| #9384, aired 2025-07-24 | THEORIES: A version of this theoretical economic process was "horse & sparrow"; if you fed the horse enough oats, the sparrows fed afterwards trickle-down economics |
| #9383, aired 2025-07-23 | FAMOUS BUILDINGS: Opened in 1902, it's 87 feet in width on the 22nd Street side & less than 7 feet wide at its narrowest point on 23rd Street the Flatiron Building |
| #9382, aired 2025-07-22 | LANGUAGES IN HISTORY: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V is said to have quipped, "to God I speak Spanish, to women Italian, to men French, & to my horse" this German |
| #9381, aired 2025-07-21 | MYTHOLOGICAL PLACES: A 17th c. English translation of the "Aeneid" rhymes "my soul remains" & "perpetual pains" with this 2-word place the Elysian Plains |
| #9380, aired 2025-07-18 | SCIENCE WORDS: Expanding on a word created by a Czech playwright, Asimov coined this term in 1941 for a branch of science that didn't exist then robotics |
| #9379, aired 2025-07-17 | AMERICAN NOVELS: A critic described this novel as "A man from down South sitting in a manhole up north... & signifying about how he got there" Invisible Man |
| #9378, aired 2025-07-16 | U.S.A.: Its creator imagined it as a place for young & old, offering "nostalgia of the past with exciting glimpses into the future" Disneyland |
| #9377, aired 2025-07-15 | THEATER: The title of a Pulitzer-winning play from 2007 mentions this month, as does another winner 54 years prior August |
| #9376, aired 2025-07-14 | AWARDS: In the 50-year history of "Saturday Night Live", he's the only cast member to have won an Oscar--& it wasn't for a comedy Robert Downey Jr. |
| #9375, aired 2025-07-11 | HISTORIC OBJECTS: Described as both a "beautiful violet" & "French Blue" in the 1600s, this object went on tour in the 1900s before landing in the Smithsonian the Hope Diamond |
| #9374, aired 2025-07-10 | CHART TOPPERS: His mother named him after her dream car but he topped the charts in 2019 under this moniker Lil Nas X |
| #9373, aired 2025-07-09 | ANCIENT BUILDERS: A 2nd c. inscription in Northern England records that the gods imposed "the necessity of keeping intact the empire" on this man Hadrian |
| #9372, aired 2025-07-08 | 1950s LITERATURE: At the start of this tale, the title character is reminded he went turtling off the Mosquito Coast The Old Man and the Sea |
| #9371, aired 2025-07-07 | MOVIE MUSIC: The last 2 Best Song Oscar winners whose titles were the same name as the movie they were in had this man in the leading role Daniel Craig |
| #9370, aired 2025-07-04 | GEOGRAPHY: In 2023 these 2 nations agreed to redraw part of their border near the Matterhorn due to melting glaciers Switzerland & Italy |
| #9369, aired 2025-07-03 | TV: "Lord of the Flies" inspired this series as did the 1994 film "Heavenly Creatures", which starred one of the show's actresses Yellowjackets |
| #9368, aired 2025-07-02 | MEN OF MEDICINE: He told of a patient who "took hold of his wife's head, tried to lift it off, to put it on" Oliver Sacks |
| #9367, aired 2025-07-01 | BURIED AT WESTMINSTER ABBEY: In 1991 he became the first actor in over 85 years to be interred in Poets' Corner & rests near Shakespeare's memorial Laurence Olivier |
| #9366, aired 2025-06-30 | THE SUPREME COURT: In this case, "our consideration is limited to the present circumstances" about "equal protection in election processes" Bush v. Gore |
| #9365, aired 2025-06-27 | EUROPE: The EU has 5 metropolitan regions of more than 5 million people; this city is the only one on the Mediterranean Barcelona |
| #9364, aired 2025-06-26 | 20th CENTURY FIGURES: Ironic in light of her name, she was remembered in a eulogy as "the most hunted person of the modern age" Diana, Princess of Wales |
| #9363, aired 2025-06-25 | LITERARY ALLUSIONS: One of the first chatbots was named for this language-learning character from a 1913 play & 1956 musical Eliza Doolittle |
| #9362, aired 2025-06-24 | WEBSITES: A 2006 WSJ article described this website as having "row after row of blue... hyperlinks & nary another color or graphic in sight" Craigslist |
| #9361, aired 2025-06-23 | COLLECTIONS: In 1896 the Vassar-educated wife of this man wrote, "Thousands of dollars may be paid for a copy of Shakespeare" (Henry Clay) Folger |
| #9360, aired 2025-06-20 | CHEMICAL ELEMENT NAMES: Spanning the alphabet, they are the only 2 chemical element names that end with the letter "C" arsenic & zinc |
| #9359, aired 2025-06-19 | U.S. NATIONAL PARKS: Much of this 73-square-mile National Park is located beneath the Chihuahuan Desert Carlsbad Caverns |
| #9358, aired 2025-06-18 | FAMOUS AMERICAN HOMES: The name of this residence completed in 1895 combines part of the owner's Dutch name with an English word for an open expanse Biltmore |
| #9357, aired 2025-06-17 | THE 1960s: Following the Baptist Church bombing in 1963, MLK telegrammed him that the blood of 4 girls "is on your hands" George Wallace |
| #9356, aired 2025-06-16 | BOOK COVERS: In 1974 Allison Maher Stern posed horizontally on stools & pretended to swim for a cover of this book Jaws |
| #9355, aired 2025-06-13 | HISTORIC NAMES: Some 200 years after her birth, she was awarded the rank of General in Maryland's National Guard on Veterans Day 2024 Harriet Tubman |
| #9354, aired 2025-06-12 | BROADWAY CAST ALBUMS: In 2024, 21 years after it was first released, the original cast album for this show made the Top 40 for the first time Wicked |
| #9353, aired 2025-06-11 | U.S. BUSINESS: The "stencil" logo released in 1979 for this chain used only 2 colors, one of which emphasized "energy" & "value" The Home Depot |
| #9352, aired 2025-06-10 | U.S. CITIES: A character in "As You Like It" & a soldier in the Seminole Wars are cited as possible origins for the name of this city Orlando, Florida |
| #9351, aired 2025-06-09 | MOVIE TITLES: This title of a Hollywood blockbuster is a national symbol of Gabon Black Panther |
| #9350, aired 2025-06-06 | NAME THAT -ISM: This word first appears in English in a letter explaining that "Candide" is meant to ridicule the philosopher Leibniz optimism |
| #9349, aired 2025-06-05 | BRAND NAMES: Founded in 1972, this company got its name from a term meaning "hit the target" in the board game Go Atari |
| #9348, aired 2025-06-04 | AMERICAN HISTORY: He recalled that before an 1831 revolt, he had a vision of "white spirits & black spirits engaged in battle" Nat Turner |
| #9347, aired 2025-06-03 | FAMOUS STRUCTURES: In April 2018 an MLB game was postponed after ice falling from this structure punctured the roof of Rogers Centre the CN Tower |
| #9346, aired 2025-06-02 | SCIENCE FICTION: Referring to what's wrongly believed to be a meteorite, "The Falling Star" is the title of Chapter 2 of this 1898 novel The War of the Worlds |
| #9345, aired 2025-05-30 | NOVEL CHARACTERS: Likely a nod to the actor who first played him in 1962, this character was subsequently given Scottish ancestry by way of his father James Bond (007) |
| #9344, aired 2025-05-29 | PHRASE ORIGINS: An 1845 article called "Annexation" was the first appearance of this 2-word phrase implying inevitability manifest destiny |
| #9343, aired 2025-05-28 | CARS & THE MOVIES: A fake speedometer was used in this make of car from a 1980s movie since the actual car's speedometer didn't go high enough a DeLorean |
| #9342, aired 2025-05-27 | AMERICAN HISTORY: In 1847, a decade before making national news, he was the plaintiff in a Missouri case against Irene Emerson Dred Scott |
| #9341, aired 2025-05-26 | UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES: The first 12 sites added to the list in 1978 included Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado & this site 500 miles to the north Yellowstone (National Park) |
| #9340, aired 2025-05-23 | TIME: Eponymously named & in use for more than 1,600 years, it was based in part on concepts from the Greek mathematician Sosigenes the Julian calendar |
| #9339, aired 2025-05-22 | BORN & DIED: He was born in Fürth, Germany in 1923, shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, & passed away in Connecticut in 2023 (Henry) Kissinger |
| #9338, aired 2025-05-21 | WORLD NEWS 2024: Headlines read of the fall of Hama on December 5, Homs on December 7 & this city on December 8 Damascus |
| #9337, aired 2025-05-20 | NFL GEOGRAPHY: It's the state with the lowest population density that's home to an NFL team Nevada |
| #9336, aired 2025-05-19 | DRAMA: The first time a woman played a role on the professional stage in England, it was as this wife of a soldier in a play 50-some years old Desdemona |
| #9335, aired 2025-05-16 | NATIONAL MONUMENTS: Also called "great gray horn" & "bear's tipi", this site in the western U.S. was made a national monument in 1906 Devils Tower |
| #9334, aired 2025-05-15 | WOMEN OF HISTORY: Regarding the idea of "women first", she queried, "Women demand equal rights on land--why not on sea?" Molly Brown |
| #9333, aired 2025-05-14 | SOUTH AMERICAN CITIES: GPS technology has determined that a popular monument near this capital was built about 800 feet too far to the south Quito, Ecuador |
| #9332, aired 2025-05-13 | BROADWAY PREMIERES: To avoid licensing fees, this play used bits of "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush" in place of the Disney tune that inspired its title Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? |
| #9331, aired 2025-05-12 | TEXAS TECHNOLOGY: Just 27 in 1992, he's still the youngest-ever CEO of a company when it entered the Fortune 500 (Michael) Dell |
| #9330, aired 2025-05-09 | LITERARY NARRATORS: This work has 10 main narrators, 7 of them women, including Fiammetta & Lauretta The Decameron |
| #9329, aired 2025-05-08 | MOVIE DIRECTORS: As of 2025 this director has made just 4 feature films; 3 were Oscar nominated for Best Picture Greta Gerwig |
| #9328, aired 2025-05-07 | THE GRAMMYS: Best New Artist at the 7th annual Grammys, this band would be nominated the next 6 years but not again until the 39th & 67th events The Beatles |
| #9327, aired 2025-05-06 | WORD ORIGINS: Fittingly, this adjective describing a hit-you-in-the-gut kind of feeling goes back to a Latin word for internal organs visceral |
| #9326, aired 2025-05-05 | OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: Of the 4 independent nations of the Americas without English or Spanish as an official language, it's the smallest in area Haiti |
| #9325, aired 2025-05-02 | BOATS & SHIPS: Nearly a century after her 1851 sporting triumph, she was a rotting hulk finally scrapped in 1945 the America |
| #9324, aired 2025-05-01 | THE STAGE: Their show ended its off-Broadway run in 2025, after 34 years, 17,800 shows & 82,150 gallons of paint the Blue Man Group |
| #9323, aired 2025-04-30 | BUSINESS & TELEVISION: This TV show that debuted in 1960 licensed its name 8 years later to a childrens' health product that's still around today The Flintstones |
| #9322, aired 2025-04-29 | 20th CENTURY FIGURES: After studying business in Chicago in the 1920s, this man obsessed with Sherlock Holmes was an investigator for a credit company Eliot Ness |
| #9321, aired 2025-04-28 | CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS: At the start of his writing career, his wife told him, if it didn't work out, at 6'4", he could be a reacher in a supermarket Lee Child |
| #9320, aired 2025-04-25 | 1990s BESTSELLERS: In this 1995 book, Pilgrim is taken to Tom, whose job it is to utter secrets "softly into pricked and troubled ears" The Horse Whisperer |
| #9319, aired 2025-04-24 | HISTORIC NAMES: He was riding back from the conquest of Granada when he was summoned to a royal meeting that would change history (Christopher) Columbus |
| #9318, aired 2025-04-23 | 20th CENTURY HISTORY: A 1919 Punch cartoon titled "The Gap in the Bridge" showed Uncle Sam sleeping on the missing keystone of this the League of Nations |
| #9317, aired 2025-04-22 | IMAGES OF 2024: Item in common to a January 1889 self-portrait & several of those attending the 2024 Republican National Convention an ear bandage (ear bandages) |
| #9316, aired 2025-04-21 | THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE: This country has 2 capitals, is bounded by 5 other countries & has 37 official languages Bolivia |
| #9315, aired 2025-04-18 | PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEES: The year the Democratic nominee gave his "Cross of Gold" speech, the GOP nominee was this man who backed the gold standard (William) McKinley |
| #9314, aired 2025-04-17 | FICTIONAL CHARACTERS: This character's efforts in Africa to end an epidemic killing monkeys inspired Jane Goodall to do something similar Doctor Dolittle |
| #9313, aired 2025-04-16 | PLACES IN THE AMERICAN PAST: It's the building where the Stax Records classic "Knock On Wood" was written but it's remembered for other reasons the Lorraine Motel |
| #9312, aired 2025-04-15 | CITY NICKNAMES: The poet Albius Tibullus called a city this in the late 1st century B.C., some 700 years after its traditional founding the Eternal City |
| #9311, aired 2025-04-14 | AMERICAN AUTHORS: Like a character in one of his novels, this author hid in a meat locker during an Allied bombing Kurt Vonnegut |
| #9310, aired 2025-04-11 | SIBLINGS: They used some of their $65 million settlement to stockpile bitcoin & in 2014 they founded their own cryptocurrency exchange the Winklevoss twins (Cameron & Tyler Winklevoss) |
| #9309, aired 2025-04-10 | WORLD MUSEUMS: Located on Cromwell Road & home to more than 2.8 million objects, it bears in part the name of a cousin of a British queen the Victoria and Albert Museum (the V & A) |
| #9308, aired 2025-04-09 | AROUND THE WORLD: An online article about this landmark said, "The stones themselves look like they are crying" & mentioned "tears of ... pain, hope & joy" the Wailing Wall (the Western Wall) |
| #9307, aired 2025-04-08 | HONORS: Burt Lancaster & Joanne Woodward were among the first 8 honored at a 1958 ceremony held on this street Hollywood Boulevard |
| #9306, aired 2025-04-07 | AMERICAN LITERATURE: His 1821 novel was inspired by stories told to him by John Jay of Jay's experiences with spies during the Revolution James Fenimore Cooper |
| #9305, aired 2025-04-04 | THE NOBEL PRIZES: Only one man & one woman have won Nobel Prizes in 2 different categories, with this category in common Chemistry |
| #9304, aired 2025-04-03 | FICTIONAL CHARACTERS: Boq is one of these fictional people, "not as big as the grown folk... but neither were they very small" a Munchkin |
| #9303, aired 2025-04-02 | 21st CENTURY TELEVISION: The creator of this series that premiered in 2018 pitched it as "'The Godfather' in Montana" Yellowstone |
| #9302, aired 2025-04-01 | ITALIAN HISTORY: 3 mighty city-states roughly forming an equilateral triangle were Venice, Florence & this one where the Viscontis & Sforzas ruled Milan |
| #9301, aired 2025-03-31 | COMMUNICATION: Invented by a student in 1824, this system has a total of 64 combinations Braille |
| #9300, aired 2025-03-28 | GEOGRAPHIC NEIGHBORS: The "Hermit Nation" & the "Land of the Morning Calm" are nicknames for these 2 neighbors North Korea & South Korea |
| #9299, aired 2025-03-27 | LANDMARKS: This landmark features a relief of Agrippa approving the design of an aqueduct as well as Pietro Bracci's statue of Oceanus the Trevi Fountain |
| #9298, aired 2025-03-26 | SEAFARING BRITS: In 1804 an officer of HMS Warrior formally charged this captain with "calling me rascal, scoundrel & shaking his fist in my face" Captain Bligh |
| #9297, aired 2025-03-25 | MIGRATIONS: A biosphere reserve in Michoacán is named for these creatures that turn the forests orange & black every November monarch butterflies |
| #9296, aired 2025-03-24 | ACTING FAMILIES: After leaving a religious group, John & Arlyn Bottom changed their family's last name to this, to signify a rebirth Phoenix |
| #9295, aired 2025-03-21 | BESTSELLERS: It begins in the village of Juffure & ends in Arkansas more than 200 years & 7 generations later Roots |
| #9294, aired 2025-03-20 | U.S. CITIES: Named for a 1775 battle, this city contains the graves of John Breckinridge & Henry Clay Lexington, Kentucky |
| #9293, aired 2025-03-19 | HISTORICAL HORSES: Named for an 1807 battle & valiant in one 8 years later, Copenhagen was this man's steed; society ladies donned strands of his hair the Duke of Wellington |
| #9292, aired 2025-03-18 | CLASSIC TV SHOWS: Posted over the door of this show's setting was a notice reading, "Maximum room capacity 75 persons" Cheers |
| #9291, aired 2025-03-17 | TOYS & GAMES: Preparing for a course on descriptive geometry & researching the 5 Platonic solids led a professor to invent this Rubik's Cube |
| #9290, aired 2025-03-14 | 21st CENTURY BROADWAY: A review of this musical noted "sacrilege" & said it was "blasphemous" but "its heart is as pure as... a Rodgers & Hammerstein show" The Book of Mormon |
| #9289, aired 2025-03-13 | GAMES: This game inaugurated a craze that "scandalized the puritanical and drove chiropractors wild with delight" Twister |
| #9288, aired 2025-03-12 | AUTHORS' OTHER WORKS: In an 1833 story by her, an alchemist's assistant drinks a potion giving eternal life but ends up seeing all he loves die Mary Shelley |
| #9287, aired 2025-03-11 | EXPLORERS: Traveling in 1811 to an elevation of about 12,000 feet, Thomas Manning was the first Englishman to meet this figure the Dalai Lama |
| #9286, aired 2025-03-10 | WORLD FLAGS: A dark blue square in the upper left corner of the flag of this country represents the continent of Africa Liberia |
| #9285, aired 2025-03-07 | SCIENCE FICTION: Name shared by a groundbreaking magazine launched in April 1926 & a TV anthology series that premiered in September 1985 Amazing Stories |
| #9284, aired 2025-03-06 | BRITISH ROYALTY: In the 12th c. after walking barefoot, this man stripped down & allowed himself to be flogged by dozens of monks Henry II |
| #9283, aired 2025-03-05 | MEDIEVAL EUROPEANS: This mathematician of Pisa studied in Algeria & later wrote a book introducing Arabic numerals to a larger audience Fibonacci (Leonardo of Pisa) |
| #9282, aired 2025-03-04 | HISTORIC SCIENTISTS: A pair of discoveries by him in 1787 are named for stage characters, a new practice in his field (William) Herschel |
| #9281, aired 2025-03-03 | CABINET MEMBERS: In order of fame, the first Cabinet was Jefferson (later prez), Hamilton ("my shot" guy), Knox (of fort fame), this attorney general (Edmund) Randolph |
| #9280, aired 2025-02-28 | FAMOUS NAMES: As a young reporter in Appleton, Wisconsin, Edna Ferber interviewed this hometown celebrity originally from Hungary Houdini |
| #9279, aired 2025-02-27 | ART & ARTISTS: Born in Amersfoort in 1872, he helped found an art movement noted for the use of straight lines & primary colors (Piet) Mondrian |
| #9278, aired 2025-02-26 | PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: The only 2 Democrats to be elected president between James Buchanan in 1856 & FDR in 1932 Grover Cleveland & Woodrow Wilson |
| #9277, aired 2025-02-25 | WORLD GEOGRAPHY: Located on an island, in 2016 this world capital began following 2 different time zones Nicosia |
| #9276, aired 2025-02-24 | AMERICAN AUTHORS: Enlisting in the Army in 1917, he was sent to Camp Sheridan in Montgomery, where he met the woman who became his wife (F.) Scott Fitzgerald |
| #9275, aired 2025-02-21 | COMPOSERS: Yale takes credit for starting a commencement tradition when it gave this composer an honorary doctorate in 1905 (Edward) Elgar |
| #9274, aired 2025-02-20 | THE SOUTHWEST: The 4-syllable name of this city is almost identical to its namesake town in Spain, except that the Spanish one has an extra "R" Albuquerque |
| #9273, aired 2025-02-19 | THE ANCIENTS SPEAK: He wrote, "I must make the founder of lovely & famous Athens the counterpart... to the father of... glorious Rome" Plutarch |
| #9272, aired 2025-02-18 | SUPREME COURT DECISIONS: This landmark case was reported in the N.Y. Times not on the front page but in "News of the Railroads" Plessy v. Ferguson |
| #9271, aired 2025-02-17 | LITERATURE & SICKNESS: Still around today, this strep infection that causes a rash has terrible effects in "Little Women" & the "Little House on the Prairie" books scarlet fever |
| #9270, aired 2025-02-14 | MYTHOLOGY: On an early book of Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator's maps, an image of this Titan holding the world was used Atlas |
| #9269, aired 2025-02-13 | GREEK MYTH: Panoptes, meaning all-seeing, was the byname of this legendary figure, slain by Hermes while standing guard over Io Argus (Argos) |
| #9268, aired 2025-02-12 | EUROPEAN ARTWORK: A rope around their leader's neck, the men depicted in this late 19th c. piece seem resigned to death, but in the end they survived The Burghers of Calais |
| #9267, aired 2025-02-11 | CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS: Asked by a student about the Loch Ness Monster, she said a time portal below could allow a prehistoric creature to pass through (Diana) Gabaldon |
| #9266, aired 2025-02-10 | MEN OF WAR: Robert E. Lee's victory at Chancellorsville has been likened to this Greek's victory at Asculum in 279 B.C. Pyrrhus |
| #9265, aired 2025-02-07 | EUROPEAN HISTORY: At his trial, revolutionaries referred to the deposed Louis XVI with this last name, one used previously for a dynasty Capet |
| #9264, aired 2025-02-06 | ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY: Wadi al-Malekat in Arabic, this site near a similar & better known location was the burial place of Nefertari & others the Valley of the Queens |
| #9263, aired 2025-02-05 | SCIENTISTS' NAMES: The first man to observe bacteria & protozoa had a name containing the Dutch word for this much bigger creature a lion |
| #9262, aired 2025-02-04 | COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD: About 80 miles from Vladivostok, its 11-mile land border with Russia is the shortest of that country's 14 neighbors North Korea |
| #9261, aired 2025-02-03 | PLACES OF DISASTER: In 1883 an old sailor didn't know what its name meant but believed the natives "named it from the sound" Krakatoa |
| #9260, aired 2025-01-31 | U.S. PLACE NAMES: Before 1867, this city that lends its name to a type of tree was known as Novo Arkhangelsk Sitka |
| #9259, aired 2025-01-30 | LATIN PHRASES: After Camillagate, a fire at Windsor Castle & marriage problems in her family, Queen Elizabeth II dubbed 1992 this annus horribilis |
| #9258, aired 2025-01-29 | ENGLISH LITERATURE: Part II of this 17th century work says, "I see myself now at the end of my journey; my toilsome days are ended" The Pilgrim's Progress |
| #9257, aired 2025-01-28 | PALINDROMIC DATES: This 7-digit date saw the premiere of Handel's "Water Music" 7/17/1717 |
| #9256, aired 2025-01-27 | WORLD CAPITALS: Home to more than 400,000, it's the only world capital in the "Roaring Forties" latitudes Wellington, New Zealand |
| #9255, aired 2025-01-24 | COMPOSERS: "Troll Hill" is the name of his country home, the grounds of which include a concert hall & a lakeside cabin where he worked Edvard Grieg |
| #9254, aired 2025-01-23 | WORLD GEOGRAPHY: In the Orenburg Oblast, a bridge over this 1,500-mile river has monuments labeled "Asia" & "Europe" the Ural River |
| #9253, aired 2025-01-22 | FROM REAL LIFE TO FICTION: These 2 British authors based characters--Dikko Henderson & Old Craw--on Richard Hughes, journalist & double agent Ian Fleming & John le Carré |
| #9252, aired 2025-01-21 | MYTHOLOGY: Some myths say the treasure of the Nibelung was hidden under a promontory called this, on the Rhine near St. Goarshausen Lorelei |
| #9251, aired 2025-01-20 | COLD WAR CRAFT: A U.S. Navy website says its journey from New London to Norway in 1957 opened up Arctic waters previously ruled by the Soviets the Nautilus |
| #9250, aired 2025-01-17 | HISTORIC STATEMENTS: He wrote of his intent "to reserve & throw away my first fire, & I have thoughts even of reserving my second fire" (Alexander) Hamilton |
| #9249, aired 2025-01-16 | TREES: Order Arecales, this tree gets its name from Roman times; a leaf from one was placed in a victor's hands after a contest was won a palm tree |
| #9248, aired 2025-01-15 | BOOKS OF THE 1960s: In 1962 the New York Times said the release of this controversial book "presages a noisy fall" Silent Spring |
| #9247, aired 2025-01-14 | COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD: "Bilady, Bilady, Bilady", its national anthem, replaced a more militaristic one following a 1979 peace treaty Egypt |
| #9246, aired 2025-01-13 | HISTORIC CURRENCY: Henry VII minted the first pound coin in 1489, which was called this, also a term for what Henry was a sovereign (coin) |
| #9245, aired 2025-01-10 | NOTABLE AMERICANS: Saying he fell in love with his country while a prisoner in someone else's, he dedicated the rest of his life to public service (Senator) John McCain |
| #9244, aired 2025-01-09 | ANIMALS IN SCIENCE: The first mammal species sent on a rocket to space, it's perhaps more famous for an antigen in its blood a rhesus monkey (rhesus macaque) |
| #9243, aired 2025-01-08 | AMERICAN HISTORY: The last claim awarded under this act was in 1988, 126 years after it passed, for a parcel of land in Alaska the Homestead Act |
| #9242, aired 2025-01-07 | FACTS ABOUT COUNTRIES: It has 40,000 people & a workforce of 42,000, more than half commuting from nearby, including Vorarlberg state in a neighbor country Liechtenstein |
| #9241, aired 2025-01-06 | 21st CENTURY BUSINESS: An early version of this app was called Matchbox but that name was too similar to another company that offered the same service Tinder |
| #9240, aired 2025-01-03 | 19th CENTURY FICTION: In Chapter 9 of an 1851 work, a preacher in a New England port city delivers a sermon about this Old Testament prophet Jonah |
| #9239, aired 2025-01-02 | SCIENCE: THE ____ OF ____: 4 of these discovered in the early 1600s were given the names of lovers of a mythological deity the moons of Jupiter |
| #9238, aired 2025-01-01 | U.S. PRESIDENTS: According to his son Fred, this man first tried smoking just because it was against the rules at West Point Ulysses S. Grant |
| #9237, aired 2024-12-31 | THEATER ETYMOLOGY: A centuries-old type of performance, this word includes Greek roots meaning "imitator of all" pantomime |
| #9236, aired 2024-12-30 | GEOGRAPHIC NAMES: In 1492 Columbus visited this island that he named for the country whose flag he flew Hispaniola (Hispañola) |
| #9235, aired 2024-12-27 | FICTIONAL CHARACTERS: In his very first appearance by name, this character comes downstairs "bump-bump-bump on the back of his head" Winnie-the-Pooh (Pooh Bear) |
| #9234, aired 2024-12-26 | MOVIES & THEIR SOUNDTRACKS: "Catch It" was a tagline for this 1970s film whose iconic soundtrack became one of the bestselling albums of all time Saturday Night Fever |
| #9233, aired 2024-12-25 | U.S. PLACE NAMES: A trio including Andrew Jackson founded this city with a name that evokes a great city of the ancient world Memphis |
| #9232, aired 2024-12-24 | GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC AWARENESS: As individuals, only Santa Claus & this public service ad icon introduced in 1944 have their own ZIP codes Smokey Bear |
| #9231, aired 2024-12-23 | WORLD LEADERS: In 2009 this leader gave Barack Obama the book "Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent" Hugo Chávez |
| #9230, aired 2024-12-20 | MOVIES & THE LAW: "Drafters... have to have a little fun sometimes", said the author of this law when asked if he was inspired by 1931's "Little Caesar" the RICO Act |
| #9229, aired 2024-12-19 | SUPER BOWL HISTORY: It's the only team to play in the Super Bowl before Neil Armstrong's Moon walk that has not been back to the Big Game since the Jets |
| #9228, aired 2024-12-18 | ANTHEMS: The unofficial anthem of this U.K. territory mentions kelp, penguins & "the wind from the Horn" the Falkland Islands (the Falklands) |
| #9227, aired 2024-12-17 | FICTIONAL CHARACTERS: Dressed in white in her first scene, this play character says her name means "white woods" Blanche DuBois |
| #9226, aired 2024-12-16 | GEOGRAPHY: Jebel Musa in Morocco & Mount Hacho near Ceuta are candidates for the southern half of this pair the Pillars of Hercules |
| #9225, aired 2024-12-13 | AUTHORS: Following his unexpected death in 2001, he was referred to as the "Monty Python of science fiction" Douglas Adams |
| #9224, aired 2024-12-12 | TV PROPS: A prop central to the title character on this '60s sitcom began as a special Christmas edition whiskey decanter I Dream of Jeannie |
| #9223, aired 2024-12-11 | THE WORLD OF SCIENCE: nobelprize.org says some papers of this scientist "are stored in lead boxes", a "legacy that is literally untouchable" Marie Curie |
| #9222, aired 2024-12-10 | PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES: The running mates of this candidate included John Kern, Arthur Sewall & Adlai Stevenson I William Jennings Bryan |
| #9221, aired 2024-12-09 | ISLANDS OF EUROPE: In February 1793 the French were repulsed in an attack on this island from one just north that they controlled Sardinia |
| #9220, aired 2024-12-06 | TV CHARACTERS: On TV in the 1960s & the 2020s, this character has a first name that's partly from Latin for "death" Morticia Addams |
| #9219, aired 2024-12-05 | BRAND NAMES: They've been described as having the unique scent of "slightly earthy soap with pungent, leather-like clay undertones" Crayola (Crayons) |
| #9218, aired 2024-12-04 | THE 20th CENTURY: This country's national radio launched in 1925; 14 years later, it fell into a long silence following a piano nocturne Poland |
| #9217, aired 2024-12-03 | 19th CENTURY EUROPEAN LITERATURE: An early version of this novel was first published as a serial under the title "The Year 1805" War and Peace |
| #9216, aired 2024-12-02 | POETIC CHARACTERS: In an 1842 poem, it is said of this legendary character that his "quaint attire" is much admired the Pied Piper (of Hamelin) |
| #9215, aired 2024-11-29 | WORLD AIRPORTS: This city's international airport opened in 1942, just in time to be the destination of a flight at the end of a movie Lisbon |
| #9214, aired 2024-11-28 | U.S. BUSINESSES: In 2024 this company said only 4 of its 400+ locations will let Mr. Munch, Helen Henny, Jasper T. Jowls & its namesake still perform Chuck E. Cheese |
| #9213, aired 2024-11-27 | STATE SONGS: Its 15 official state songs include 2 that mention moonshine & 3 played in 3/4 time Tennessee |
| #9212, aired 2024-11-26 | SUPREME COURT JUSTICES: Born to immigrant parents, in 1916 he was the 1st Supreme Court nominee to undergo public Senate confirmation hearings Louis Brandeis |
| #9211, aired 2024-11-25 | 19th CENTURY NOVELS: The mention of a new railway section between Rothal & Allahabad in India leads to an argument & then a bet in this novel Around the World in Eighty Days |
| #9210, aired 2024-11-22 | MOVIES & PSYCHOLOGY: In this film Paula Alquist tells Gregory Anton, "Have you gone mad, my husband? Or is it I who am mad?" Gaslight |
| #9209, aired 2024-11-21 | INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITIES: Following student unrest in 1968, in 1970 the University of this city was divided into 13 smaller ones Paris |
| #9208, aired 2024-11-20 | FIGURES OF MYTH: Ovid says he "toppled, beating wild with naked arms the unsustaining air... shrieking for succour from his sire" Icarus |
| #9207, aired 2024-11-19 | SPORTS & THE CITY: At 800 West Main & 700 Central in this city are a company & a venue both involved in Triple Crowns Louisville, Kentucky |
| #9206, aired 2024-11-18 | AMERICAN WOMEN: In 1900 she told a Mr. Dobson, "Get out of the way. I don't want to strike you, but I am going to break up this den of vice" Carrie Nation |
| #9205, aired 2024-11-15 | 20th CENTURY TRANSPORTATION: A 1947 article read, its "wings were not clipped by the Senate fishermen & ghost hunters after all" the Spruce Goose |
| #9204, aired 2024-11-14 | SPORTS TEAMS: Fittingly, this team was born on November 1, 1966, the day the franchise was awarded New Orleans Saints |
| #9203, aired 2024-11-13 | POETRY & PLACES: It's the geographic word in the title of a Robert Burns poem about "the mountains... covered with snow... the straths & green valleys below" Highlands |
| #9202, aired 2024-11-12 | LITERARY MONUMENTS: A 112-foot-tall monument in a Madrid plaza depicts a writer seated above bronze statues of these 2 characters Don Quixote & Sancho Panza |
| #9201, aired 2024-11-11 | 19th CENTURY AMERICA: It caused rich amusement that the name of this president, whose wife didn't allow dancing, was similar to that of a dance James K. Polk |
| #9200, aired 2024-11-08 | RENAISSANCE MEN: In a letter he wrote, "On August 7, 1501... we determined that the new land was not an island but a continent" Amerigo Vespucci |
| #9199, aired 2024-11-07 | 1960s INVENTIONS: Poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide was 1st intended to reinforce radial tires but the lifesaving polymer aka this would have many uses Kevlar |
| #9198, aired 2024-11-06 | COUNTRIES: This country has the most time zones in the world, including its territories in South America & off the coast of Africa France |
| #9197, aired 2024-11-05 | PHRASE ORIGINS: In 1935 an article popularized this term for the part of the U.S. where residents were "depending on rain" the Dust Bowl |
| #9196, aired 2024-11-04 | 19th CENTURY LIT: All introduced in the same chapter of a novel, Grimaud, Mousqueton & Bazin are the servants of these men the Three Musketeers (Porthos, Athos & Aramis) |
| #9195, aired 2024-11-01 | HISTORY & THE MOVIES: This 1935 Best Picture Oscar winner tells of a 1789 event near the isolated Pacific volcano of Tofua Mutiny on the Bounty |
| #9194, aired 2024-10-31 | ANIMALS: The Aztecs called this animal ayotochtli, meaning a "turtle rabbit" for its rabbit-like ears & its turtle-like shell an armadillo |
| #9193, aired 2024-10-30 | ARTIFACTS: Roughly, 180 of these were made & 50 remain; the man who created them was given a pension by the Archbishop of Mainz in 1465 Gutenberg Bibles |
| #9192, aired 2024-10-29 | NEWS FROM THE STORK: One of the 10 or so babies born at Argentina's Esperanza Base in this place was fittingly named Marisa de las Nieves Antarctica |
| #9191, aired 2024-10-28 | STAGE MUSICAL SETTINGS: Turned into a Nazi headquarters in 1933, the nightspot Eldorado is said to have inspired this fictional place the Kit Kat Club |
| #9190, aired 2024-10-25 | U.S. HISTORY: The largest land deal in U.S. history was formalized in a building at this spot, now named for a military hero & president Jackson Square |
| #9189, aired 2024-10-24 | ON THE U.K. MUSIC CHARTS: "Candle In The Wind 1997" knocked this song that asked a title question from the top spot as the U.K.'s all-time bestselling song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" |
| #9188, aired 2024-10-23 | THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH: This day involving the Holy Spirit & the Apostles is sometimes described as the "birthday" of the Church Pentecost |
| #9187, aired 2024-10-22 | DETECTIVE AUTHORS: For much of the 1920s, he lived on Eddy Street in San Francisco's Tenderloin District (Dashiell) Hammett |
| #9186, aired 2024-10-21 | ITALIAN WORDS & PHRASES: This theme tackled in art by Bellini & Michelangelo isn't explicitly mentioned in the Bible, but is part of the "Seven Sorrows of Mary" the Pietà |
| #9185, aired 2024-10-18 | LITERARY GEOGRAPHY: A N.Y. Times article recognized Sands Point & Kings Point as the real "old-money" & "nouveau riche" settings in this novel The Great Gatsby |
| #9184, aired 2024-10-17 | LETTERS OF THE ARTISTS: In 1896 he wrote, "My prices are 2000, 3000 & 4000 dollars for head & shoulders, 3/4 length & full-length respectively" John Singer Sargent |
| #9183, aired 2024-10-16 | COLLEGE TOWNS: 2 schools in the Southeastern Conference are located in cities with this same name but in different states Columbia |
| #9182, aired 2024-10-15 | PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION ACCEPTANCE SPEECHES: He talked of a "new Attorney General" 4 times, the end of a "long dark night for America" & "a gentle, Quaker mother" Richard Nixon |
| #9181, aired 2024-10-14 | CORPORATE MASCOTS: A 2014 tweet said that this mascot was the "embodiment of a milkshake or taste bud" Grimace |
| #9180, aired 2024-10-11 | WORLD POLITICAL HISTORY: William Whitelaw & John Peyton were also-rans in a 1975 leadership vote with this victor (Margaret) Thatcher |
| #9179, aired 2024-10-10 | MOVIES: More than 25 cast members from this 1990 film drama would later appear on an HBO series with a similar theme Goodfellas |
| #9178, aired 2024-10-09 | WORD ORIGINS: This word for one who cuts a trail comes from a name of a character in an 1840 novel pathfinder |
| #9177, aired 2024-10-08 | WORLD FLAGS: The 12 stars on its flag symbolize perfection, not geographic or political units the European Union |
| #9176, aired 2024-10-07 | BRAND NAMES: In 1886 this brand's bookkeeper came up with its name & flowing script logo, saying, "the two Cs would look well in advertising" Coca-Cola |
| #9175, aired 2024-10-04 | LITERARY CHARACTERS: A fragment from a nautical tool found on a Chilean island in 2005 was likely left by the Scot who partly inspired this character Robinson Crusoe |
| #9174, aired 2024-10-03 | 19th CENTURY NAMES: Shrunken auditory nerves were seen in his autopsy after his 1827 death in Vienna (Ludwig van) Beethoven |
| #9173, aired 2024-10-02 | SCIENCE: Physicist John Wheeler said he coined this term as a faster way to say "completely collapsed objects" black holes |
| #9172, aired 2024-10-01 | SITCOMS: The first British sitcom to win a Best Comedy Golden Globe, it was remade in a U.S. version that had almost 15 times as many episodes The Office |
| #9171, aired 2024-09-30 | BIBLICAL PLACES: The name of this, actually a not very tall hill, became a symbol of Jewish national aspiration & was used in spirituals & reggae Mount Zion |
| #9170, aired 2024-09-27 | LANDMARKS: At its dedication, Senator John Sherman said, "Simple in form... it rises into the skies higher than any other work of human art" the Washington Monument |
| #9169, aired 2024-09-26 | STARS OF THE 20th CENTURY: A 1927 N.Y. Times headline: "Witness testifies" this woman "rewrote play and insisted on the spicy scenes because city liked them" Mae West |
| #9168, aired 2024-09-25 | SHAKESPEARE: "Blood will have blood", says this title character, who is later told, "Be bloody, bold, & resolute" Macbeth |
| #9167, aired 2024-09-24 | 20th CENTURY AMERICA: In a state of shock, on November 27, 1978, she announced that "both Mayor Moscone & Supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot & killed" (Dianne) Feinstein |
| #9166, aired 2024-09-23 | 19th CENTURY AMERICANS: Among those who attended his 1864 funeral were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bronson Alcott & Franklin Pierce Nathaniel Hawthorne |
| #9165, aired 2024-09-20 | ISLAND CHAINS: Named for a Spanish queen, this Pacific island chain was a starting point for famous explorations of 1960 & 2012 the Mariana Islands |
| #9164, aired 2024-09-19 | NEW YORK MOVIES: Frank Sinatra got upset that a photo of him caught fire in a Brooklyn pizzeria in this film Do the Right Thing |
| #9163, aired 2024-09-18 | THE MOVIES: Hewlett-Packard's first big customer was Walt Disney, who purchased special sound equipment for the making & showing of this film Fantasia |
| #9162, aired 2024-09-17 | CHARACTERS IN BOOK SERIES: This 12-year-old began his first book saying, "Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood" Percy Jackson (Perseus Jackson) |
| #9161, aired 2024-09-16 | HISTORY: A 1976 report initiated by Admiral Rickover found it was an internal, not external, explosion that caused the destruction of this the (USS) Maine |
| #9160, aired 2024-09-13 | BRITISH KNIGHTS: A sir since 2018, he contracted TB as a teen in 1953 & spent years in a sanatorium, where he learned to play the drums Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) |
| #9159, aired 2024-09-12 | HISTORIC NAMES: In 1824, President Monroe invited him back to the adopted country of his youth, which has always cherished his "important services" the Marquis de Lafayette |
| #9158, aired 2024-09-11 | WORLD BORDERS: After Canada & the U.S., these 2 countries share the longest land border at more than 4,700 miles Russia & Kazakhstan |
| #9157, aired 2024-09-10 | SIGNS & SYMBOLS: Via a diplomatic conference in 2005, a diamond was added to supplement these 2 symbols, thought by some to have religious meaning a (red) cross & a (red) crescent |
| #9156, aired 2024-09-09 | FAMOUS WOMEN: Before her death in 2022, she pledged her collection of more than 200 pins to the National Museum of American Diplomacy (Madeleine) Albright |
