Month of the Year: February Trivia Quiz

Answer: Black History Month

Beginning with Negro History Week in 1926, the second week in February, there has been an emphasis on Black History in February for almost 100 years. That week was selected because of the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (12th) and Frederick Douglas (14th). Black History Month was first observed at Kent State University in 1970. Republican President Gerald Ford first recognized it nationally in 1976. The US and Canada keep this month in February; the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands in October.

Answer: the WW-II Japanese bombing of Australia

The full title of Grose's book is "An Awkward Truth: The Bombing of Darwin, February 1942." It describes the Japanese air attack on Darwin, Australia, on 19 February 1942. 242 Japanese carrier-borne aircraft attacked the city, the harbour and the airfields that day.

Another 100 air attacks on other parts of Australia were to follow but this was the largest. "An Inconvenient Truth" is Al Gore's 2006 book about global warming. "An Unreliable Truth" is Victor Methos' 2021 novel about a schizophrenic's false admission to a murder. "An Ugly Truth" is Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang's 2021 book about the fight for internal control of FaceBook.

Answer: a couple which has broken up

"Two Days in February" was released in 1990 on the Goo Goo Dolls third album "Hold Me Up." The song is subtitled "What I Learned About Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce" and is dedicated to "Chief Doug ... and the guy across the street." John Rzeznik sings that his former lover is "way out west" and "half a world away." He looks at her "picture on the wall" and wears out his fingers dialing phone calls to her.

He sadly concludes "Well, I'm sorry I ain't there with you but you ain't here with me." The group played the song consistently on tour and have recorded it several times.

Answer: amethyst

Amethyst is a purple (or violet-red) crystalline quartz. It has a hardness of 7 which makes it scratch resistant. Catherine the Great (Empress Catherine II of Russia, 1729-1796) had a huge collection of amethyst jewelry which is unsurprising in that much of the amethyst mined in the world was found in Russian until the 19th century.

It is now found in Brazil (especially Rio Grande do Sul), Zambia and Arizona. The name amethyst comes from the Latin "amethystus" which derives from the Greek "amethustos'' which meant "not drunken." Early wearers believed that the god Bacchus wore such a ring and that it prevented intoxication.

In the Western Christian tradition, a bishop is given an episcopal ring at the time of consecration, which ring is customarily amethyst set in gold.

Answer: French

Many Western European names for the second month of the year derive from the Latin "Februarius." For example, "Februar" in Danish, "Février" in French, "Febbraio" in Italian, "Febrero" in Spanish and "Fevereiro" in Portuguese. Both the Hawaiian "Pepeluali" and the Mandarin "èryuè" are phonetic equivalents. The Old English name for this month was "solmonað" which translates "mud month." This unfortunate name was replaced in the Old French by "Feverier" which entered Middle English as "Fevere."

Answer: heart disease

February is American Heart Month. This observance is established by law in 36 U.S.C. § 101. It has also been proclaimed annually by every President of the United States since Lyndon B. Johnson (himself a heart attack victim) in 1964. President Biden's 2021 proclamation not only named February as American Heart Month but also designated 5 February 2021 as National Wear Red Day to highlight the importance of women's cardiac health. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. November is American Diabetes Month. November is Crohn's and Colitis Awareness Month.

Answer: an opportunity to express his love

The song "February Stars" was recorded by the Foo Fighters on their 1997 album "The Colour and the Shape" but was written by/for Nirvana in 1994. The song describes a person who is romantically interested in another but is afraid to risk exposing those feelings. So the singer keeps "Hangin' on here until I'm gone / Right where I belong just hangin' on / Even though, watched you come and go." His hope is that a moment will come when he can go "all in" to express himself.

The lyrics were written by Pat Smear and David Grohl.

In an interview, Grolh stated that the song is about "hanging on by the tips of your fingers and hoping you don't slip and fall."

Answer: author is a circuit court judge

Barbara Levenson was a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney before she was elected to the circuit court bench in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Her protagonist, Mary Magruder Katz, is a criminal defense attorney who describes herself as "half Jewish, half Southern Baptist." The book describes a murder in which the press has already convicted the defendant of killing her husband; Katz is not so sure. The investigation is complicated by romance which intrudes into the attorney's life without being invited. The courtroom scenes are (expectedly) well done.

Answer: 28 or 29

"Countdown" is a long story about the consequences of an event which instantly kills six billion people, leaving only teenagers to survive. Adults and small children are reduced to puddles of "black goo." Each of the twelve volumes tells of the aftermath in one month of 1999. Daniel Parker is the pen name of Daniel Ehrenhaft, who writes lots of children's and YA books.

Answer: a festival of cleansing/purification

In Ancient Rome, a feast was held in late winter called Februalia, a festival of reflection, repentance, amendment and cleansing. The Latin "februum" signifies the means of purification. The Roman month of Februarius was named for this feast. And the modern month of February was named for that.