Professional jealousy is nothing new in the world of stage and screen, but in 1727, a pair of operatic sopranos took their rivalry to new heights. Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni made no secret of the fact that they disliked each other, especially after they were cast in a production together. Audiences attended the performances less for the music and more to cheer for their favorite soprano. And the singers did not disappoint their fans: At one show, they actually wound up in a physical fight onstage.

Periodically, especially in late winter and early spring, massive dust clouds from the Sahara desert blow into Europe, turn the sky an ominous shade and leave a coating of red dust on everything. When the air is laden with dust and there’s a rainfall, it produces precipitation known as “mud rain.”

The Stars and Stripes was officially adopted for the American flag on June 14, 1777. That we now call June 14 Flag Day is largely down to Bernard J. Cigrand from Wisconsin. A dentist by trade and a historian at heart, Cigrand (1866-1932) wrote dozens of newspaper articles.

1. A Japanese TV series called “Sasuke” was the basis for what U.S. TV series?

A) “American Ninja Warrior”

B) “America’s Funniest Home Videos”

C) “Iron Chef America”

D) “Shark Tank”

2. Both Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench received Oscar nominations for portraying what woman?

A) Queen Elizabeth I of England

B) Eleanor Roosevelt

C) Margaret Thatcher

D) Queen Victoria

3. Which best defines a “chord” in geometry?

A) Distance around a circle

B) Line that connects two points on the circumference of a circle

C) Longest leg of a triangle

D) Sum of the angles in a triangle

4. Marshalsea debtors’ prison is a setting in “Little Dorrit” by which English author?

A) Jane Austen

B) Emily Bronte

C) Charles Dickens

D) Thomas Hardy

5. What Canadian city that is the provincial capital of Manitoba takes its name from Cree words meaning “muddy water”?

A) Flin Flon

B) Minnedosa

C) Neepawa

D) Winnipeg

6. The official 50-star American flag was raised for the first time in what year?

A) 1940

B) 1950

C) 1960

D) 1970

Answers

1) The Japanese TV series “Sasuke” was the basis for the “American Ninja Warrior” TV series in the U.S.

2) Queen Elizabeth I of England.

3) In geometry, a chord is a line that connects two points on a circle.

4) Charles Dickens wrote about Marshalsea debtors’ prison in “Little Dorrit.”

5) Winnipeg

6) The U.S. flag with a 50th star, symbolizing Hawaii’s statehood, was officially raised for the first time on July 4, 1960.