• Born in Kinderhook, New York, in 1782, Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the United States, was the first president to be born a citizen of the United States and not a subject of Great Britain. He’s also notable as the only president for whom English was a second language. His parents were of Dutch heritage and spoke Dutch at home, as many Dutch founding families in New York state did.

• In 1966, three years after Julia Child arrived on PBS stations to teach Americans about French cooking, chef-restaurateur Joyce Chen introduced the nation to Chinese cuisine on “Joyce Chen Cooks.” The two TV cooking show pioneers even shared a studio set at WGBH in Boston.

• When an elephant encounters an elephant pal he hasn’t seen in a while, they greet each other by entwining their trunks in an affectionate elephant-style handshake. Highly intelligent, with a huge capacity for logic, learning and emotion, elephants are famous for their prodigious memories. (That’s not a myth!) An elephant never forgets an old friend.

1. Which Dutch beer brand is named for a river in the Netherlands?

A) Amstel

B) Brand

C) Grolsch

D) Heineken

2. The fictional character Usagi Tsukino transforms into which superheroine?

A) Pink Power Ranger

B) Sailor Moon

C) Spider-Girl

D) Storm

3. What do Lake Kariba, Lake Mead and Lake Nasser have in common?

A) Deepest lakes on their continents

B) Highest concentration of fish per square mile

C) Human-made lakes

D) Saltwater lakes

4. Ketchup originated in Asia, where it was made not with tomatoes but with what main ingredient?

A) Fermented fish

B) Green plums

C) Pickled ginger

D) Rose petals

5. Before “Horton Hears a Who,” Dr. Seuss wrote a book in which Horton the elephant does what?

A) Hatches the egg

B) Helps the trees

C) Hibernates

D) Hides a treasure

6. Artist Cindy Sherman is known for her photographs of what?

A) Architecture

B) Crime scenes

C) Flowers

D) Herself

Answers

1) Amstel beer is named for the Amstel River, which flows through Amsterdam.

2) Usagi Tsukino is the ordinary schoolgirl who transforms into Sailor Moon.

3) Lake Kariba, Lake Mead and Lake Nasser are human-made lakes formed by dams.

4) Ketchup derives from ke-tsiap, a savory fermented fish sauce.

5) Dr. Seuss wrote “Horton Hatches the Egg” before “Horton Hears a Who.”

6) Cindy Sherman is known for photographing herself in various costumes and environments.

Email Leslie at triviabitsleslie@gmail.com.