1. According to the Book of Genesis, Abraham's first son was named Ishmael. Who was Ishmael's mother?
2. According to the Book of Exodus, Moses received the Ten Commandments on a mountaintop. Name that mountain.
3. According to Homer, the Trojan War was fought by the Greeks to force the Trojans to return a beautiful Greek woman who had been kidnapped by a Trojan prince. Name that famous beauty.
4. The expression "to fiddle while Rome burns" means to do something trivial, irresponsible or insensitive in the midst of an emergency. Name the famous Roman emperor who literally played on a fiddle while the city of Rome was actually in flames.
5. In which of the following fields did a man from Poland named Copernicus gain lasting fame? medicine; geography; astronomy; or mathematics.
6. Who, what, or where is a yarmulke?
7. According to Dr. Seuss, what is the name of the character who tries to serve up plates full of green eggs and ham?
8. Consider the verb in boldface in the following sentence. "Rocco had added a whole quart of vodka to the punch on the dining room table." Which of the following most accurately describes that verb? active voice and present tense; passive voice and past perfect tense; active voice and past perfect tense; or inactive voice and future tense.
9. Victor Hugo's famous novel entitled The Hunchback of Notre Dame is set in what European city?
10. Which of the following places is referred to by historians as "the cradle of civilization"? Mesopotamia; France; ancient China; or the United States.
11. Which of the following cities lies farthest to the north? Madrid; Paris; Rome; or Copenhagen.
12. What was the name of President Lincoln's 1863 declaration which announced that all the slaves in the Confederate States were free?
13. What name do economists and historians usually give to the great slowdown of the American and world economy which began in 1929 and lasted until the early 1940's?
14. Which of the following groups was the big loser in the 1890 Battle of Wounded Knee? the Mexicans; the Sioux Indians; the Seventh U.S. Cavalry; or the British Army.
15. What exactly does the acronym CIA stand for?
16. Who wrote the famous abolitionist novel Uncle Tom's Cabin?
17. Who was the President of Iraq when the first George Bush was President of the United States?
18. Name the city in Switzerland which is famous for banks which have secret, numbered bank accounts.
19. In which famous novel does a delusional old man with a spear and armor attack a windmill because he thinks the windmill is actually a giant?
20. Which of the following terms refers to goods illegally transported across state or national boundaries in order to avoid paying taxes on the goods? ballast; white elephants; contraband; or prohibition.
21. What is the common English name for the constellation known officially as Ursa Major?
22. Which of the following is the scientific term for light bouncing off a surface? diffraction; refraction; reflection; or polarization.
23. What is the singular form of the plural word bacteria?
24. Which of the following is the scientific name of the transparent outer covering of the front of the human eye? cornea; iris; pupil; or scintilla.
25. Actually the term sperm is a shortened version of a longer word. What is that longer, more learned word?