• Blue whales are the largest and the loudest creatures on earth, but their voices are being drowned out by the sound of ships, offshore drilling and other human-made distractions. There was a time when blue whales could communicate with each other across a distance of more than 1,000 miles; today, it’s about one-tenth of that, and some whale species appear to be gradually going deaf because of underwater noise pollution.

• “Saturday Night Live” is aired live — but not always. On Oct. 25, 1986, the scheduled broadcast was delayed when Game 6 of the World Series between the New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox went into extra innings. Producers waited as long as they could before deciding that the show couldn’t go on that night. The studio audience waited, too, until 1:30 a.m., when the show was performed and recorded. That historic “Saturday Night Taped” episode aired on Nov. 8, 1986.

1. Which amendment to the U.S. Constitution says, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex”?

A) 18th

B) 19th

C) 20th

D) 21st

2. The corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum) earned its name because

A) It grows in cemeteries

B) It resembles a dead body

C) It smells like decomposing flesh

D) It is used in funeral wreaths

3. The Brooklyn Bridge spans which body of water?

A) East River

B) Harlem River

C) Hudson River

D) Spuyten Duyvil Creek

4. Which character is the narrator of Herman Melville’s novel “Moby-Dick”?

A) Ahab

B) Ishmael

C) Queequeg

D) Starbuck

5. The host of the first prerecorded “Saturday Night Live” episode was what star of the 1986 movies “8 Million Ways to Die” and “Nobody’s Fool”?

A) Rosanna Arquette

B) Rebecca De Mornay

C) Demi Moore

D) Molly Ringwald

6. Which nutrient is produced by the human body when it is exposed to sunlight?

A) Choline

B) Vitamin C

C) Vitamin D

D) Zinc

Answers

1) The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave women the right to vote.

2) The decomposing flesh smell of the corpse flower attracts insect pollinators.

3) The Brooklyn Bridge spans the East River in New York City.

4) “Call me Ishmael,” says the narrator of Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick,” because Ishmael is his name.

5) Rosanna Arquette hosted the first prerecorded episode of “Saturday Night Live.”

6) The human body produces Vitamin D from the cholesterol in skin when it is exposed to sunlight.