WEEK OF JAN. 27

• Mark Twain claimed to have been the first person in the world to produce a literary manuscript on a typewriter. That book was “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” which Twain said he’d had “type-copied” in 1874. He bought his first typewriter in Boston in 1873 for the sum of $125 and taught himself to type by repeating “The boy stood on the burning deck” (from the poem “Casabianca” by Felicia Hemans) until he mastered the skill.

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born Jan. 27, 1756, wrote his first opera, “Bastien und Bastienne,” at age 12. The one-act comic opera about a shepherdess and her love was commissioned by Franz Anton Mesmer, the German-born physician who popularized hypnotism (also known as mesmerism). It was performed for the first time at Mesmer’s home in 1768.

• About 99% of people in Japan choose to be cremated after they die. The decision is partly due to Buddhist practice and partly due to the fact that Japan doesn’t have a lot of available land for cemeteries.

1. Mark Twain’s hometown, Hannibal, Missouri, is named for a person best known as what?

A) Carthaginian military commander

B) Greek philosopher

C) Native American tribal leader

D) Roman emperor

2. Driving an Oldsmobile in 1959, Lee Petty became the first winner of which NASCAR event?

A) Brickyard 400

B) Daytona 500

C) Southern 500

D) Winston 500

3. What is the topping for a traditional shepherd’s pie?

A) Mashed potatoes

B) Meringue

C) Scrambled egg

D) Whipped cream

4. Which regal flower is most closely associated with the emperor of Japan?

A) Chrysanthemum

B) Gladiolus

C) Lilac

D) Rose

5. The world’s oldest surviving parliamentary legislature was founded in 930 in what country?

A) Iceland

B) India

C) Japan

D) Switzerland

6. In the 1940s, which physicist oversaw the building of the first nuclear reactor in the United States?

A) Albert Einstein

B) Enrico Fermi

C) Richard Feynman

D) Werner Heisenberg

Answers

1) Hannibal was a military leader from the ancient city-state of Carthage.

2) Driving an Oldsmobile in 1959, Lee Petty became the first winner of the Daytona 500.

3) Shepherd’s pie is a traditional savory dish topped with mashed potatoes.

4) The chrysanthemum.

5) The parliament of Iceland, known as the Althing, met for the first time in 930.

6) Enrico Fermi oversaw the building of the first nuclear reactor in the United States.

Email Leslie at triviabitsleslie@gmail.com.