The Stuck-at-Home, Whaddaya-Know-About-Baltimore Quiz
While you’re homebound and waiting out the pandemic, here’s a quiz to test your knowledge of Baltimore and Maryland — a little history, a little trivia, some sports, a dash of politics and one mayoral moustache.
1. Which of these attractions on Baltimore’s waterfront opened first? a. Harborplace b. Maryland Science Center c. National Aquarium in Baltimore
2. A statue of the late Baltimore Mayor William Donald Schaefer stands along the Light Street side of the Inner Harbor. What was his mother’s name? a. Tululu b. Honolulu c. Lili‘uokalani
3. Muppets creator Jim Henson developed his puppetry skills while a student at the University of Maryland in the 1950s. What was Henson’s major at College Park? a. Art education b. Creative writing c. Home economics
4. After fire destroyed its original home in 1974, Baltimore Center Stage moved into its present location in Mount Vernon. What previously occupied the 19th-century buildings at North Calvert and Monument streets? a. Loyola High School and College b. Women’s College of Baltimore City c. Mercy Hospital
5. Michael Phelps is considered the greatest Olympian, with 28 medals, 23 of them gold, in five summer games. It’s now been 20 years since his first Olympics. Phelps was a 15-year-old Towson High School student in Sydney in 2000. How many medals did he win there?
a. One, a bronze in the 200-meter backstroke
b. None, finishing fifth in the 200-meter butterfly
c. Two, a bronze in the 200-meter freestyle; a silver in the 400-meter medley
6. Cal Ripken Jr., baseball’s Iron Man, played 21 seasons with the Orioles. He hit 431 home runs. How many bases did Cal steal in his Hall of Fame career? a. 98 b. 41 c. 36
7. On Sept. 6, 1995, Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s Major League record for most consecutive games. Exactly one year later, also at Oriole Park, something magical happened. What was it? a. Mike Mussina pitched a no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers
b. Rolling Stones brought their Voodoo Lounge Tour to Camden Yards
c. Eddie Murray hit his 500th home run
8. “I got really fat and hooked up with disgusting people. Basically, I lived off crab dip and pretzel dogs.” Who shared that charming reminiscence of college days in Maryland?
a. Under Armour founder Kevin Plank on his freshman year at College Park
b. Comedian Amy Schumer on her undergraduate days at Towson University
c. Actress Kathleen Turner on her senior year at the University of Maryland Baltimore County
9. “By the time I reached the second grade, I got tired of spelling all that out and had shortened it.” Who said that?
a. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, on changing his first name from Thoroughgood
b. Former Maryland governor and U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew on trimming his name from Spirodopoulos
c. Former Oriole outfielder Al Bumbry on cutting his first name from Alonza
10. What was Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport called when it first opened in 1950? a. Friendship International Airport b. Glenn L. Martin Field c. Latrobe Field
11. I was mayor of Baltimore for seven terms. I had an amazing moustache, and there’s a statue of me on North Broadway. I once said, “We have always had the most beautiful women and the finest oysters in the world.” Who am I?
a. J. Barry Mahool b. Ferdinand C. Latrobe c. Clarence H. “Du” Burns
12. Visitors put coins on my gravestone in Green Mount Cemetery. Who am I?
a. Arunah Abell, founder of The Baltimore Sun, a “penny paper,” in 1837 b. John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln assassin c. William Pinkney Whyte, Maryland tax collector
13. What is Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s regular pregame meal? a. Shrimp alfredo pasta b. Steak quesadillas c. A tub of banana pudding.
14. In Baltimore, what is the significance of the number 227?
a. Steps to the top of the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon Place
b. Ravens’ wins while Ozzie Newsome was general manager
c. Chicken wings consumed in one hour by competitive eater Joey Chestnut at Hooters of Harborplace
15. “I came to Baltimore when I was 22. Drove my red Cutlass up from Nashville and ... I had no idea that this was going to be the greatest growing period of my adult life.” Who said that?
a. Brooks Robinson, on signing with the Orioles in 1955
b. Oprah Winfrey, on coming to WJZ-TV in 1976
c. Laurie DeYoung, on starting as host at country radio station WPOC in 1985
(b) The Maryland Science Center opened in 1976, Harborplace in 1980, the National Aquarium in 1981. (a) Tululu was Schaefer’s mother, Honolulu was the wife of Mayor Theodore R. McKeldin. (c). (a).
(b) Phelps was the youngest swimmer to make the U.S. team in 68 years, but he did not win a medal. (c) (c) On 9/6/96, Murray hit his 500th home run. (b). (a) Marshall was named Thoroughgood by his parents when he was born in Baltimore on July 2, 1908. (a) The airport was constructed on land previously owned by the Friendship Methodist Church. It became BWI in 1973, and Marshall’s name was added to honor the late justice in 2005. (b) Latrobe served seven 2-year terms in the late 19th century. (b) Booth gets the penny treatment, usually with Lincoln facing up.
(a). (a). (b) Winfrey came to WJZ from a television station in Nashville and worked here seven years.