Sally forth! Trivia Quiz

Answer: In an American reader

Millions of American children learned to read using the books written by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp, and published by Scott Foresman. The familiar, repetitive text has been parodied in everything from commercials to "The Simpsons". My sister Sally was named by me when I was in the first grade and my parents asked me for a name that began with the letter "S". Sally is forever grateful that she was not named "Spot".

Answer: Jefferson publicly acknowledged the relationship in his lifetime.

The story of Thomas Jefferson and his slave-mistress, Sally Hemings, has aroused considerable debate and controversy over the centuries, and is one of the best examples of the complex relationship between slave and owner. Sally Hemings was daughter of Elizabeth Hemings, a slave on the plantation of John Wayles. John Wayles was widely believed to be Sally's father, although there is no absolute proof of this. Wayles' daughter, Martha, married Thomas Jefferson and bore him six children. Martha Jefferson died in 1782, after ten years of marriage.

When Thomas Jefferson was stationed in Paris as the United States ambassador, he sent for his daughter Polly. Sally Hemings escorted her on the voyage to France, and stayed there for twenty-six months. It was during this time that her relationship with Jefferson began, according to most historians. Hemings returned to the United States with Jefferson, and gave birth to six children. In keeping with the attitudes of the time, Jefferson never publicly acknowledged his relationship with Hemings or her children's paternity. He did, however, permit several of her children to "escape" from the plantation without pursuing them, and freed three of them in his will. DNA testing done on one of the Hemings descendants and compared to known descendants of Jefferson seem to indicate that Jefferson was indeed their common ancestor.

Answer: Not Without My Daughter

Sally Field was born in 1946 and began her acting career at the age of nineteen with the television show "Gidget". She is the recipient of two Academy awards; neither of them was for her 1991 film "Not Without My Daughter". The film tells the story of an American woman, Betty Mahmoody, who travels to Iran with her Iranian husband and their daughter. When life in the Islamic Republic becomes untenable and her husband refuses to let their daughter return to the US, Mahmoody turns to smugglers who take mother and daughter over a dangerous route to freedom. The film met with much criticism due to its negative depiction of life in Iran. Needless to say, the Iranian authorities did not permit filming in their country, so the Israeli city of Acco filled in for Teheran.

My sister Sally also lived in Israel for some time; however, this did not create controversy of any sort!

Answer: A mule

The lyrics go:

"I had a mule and her name was Sal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal.
She's a good ole worker and a good ole pal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal.
Low bridge, everybody down,
Low bridge, 'cause we're going through a town.
And you always know your partner and you always know your pal,
If you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal."

Answer: She began her career with NASA at the Robert Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Sally Ride was born in 1952 in California. She earned a PhD in physics at Stanford University. In 1978 she joined NASA, and in 1983 became the first American woman astronaut. Ride clocked over 300 hours in space before leaving NASA in 1983. One of her main interests is science education, particularly for girls. To this end, she launched a company called "Sally Ride Science" that designs science programs for elementary and middle-school pupils. Fittingly, two elementary schools, one in Texas and one in Maryland, have been named after her. In honor of her trail-blazing work, she was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2006.

Sally Ride joined NASA after answering a newspaper advertisement. She never worked at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. My sister Sally, who is anything but an astronaut, was born and raised in Greenbelt.

(Information for this question came from the Wikipedia.)

Answer: Marvin Gaye

Mack Rice, who wrote "Mustang Sally" and recorded it in 1965, originally wanted to call the song "Mustang Mama". Aretha Franklin suggested the name "Mustang Sally". Wilson Pickett recorded it in 1966 and made the song a hit. "All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride".

(Information for this question came from Wikipedia.)

Answer: The Cat in the Hat

Excerpt from the book:

"The sun did not shine.
It was too wet to play.
So we sat in the house
All that cold, cold, wet day.
I sat there with Sally.
We sat there, we two.
And I said, 'How I wish
We had something to do!'"
These are the opening lines in "The Cat in the Hat".

We never learn the name of the narrator, Sally's brother. My sister Sally does not have any brothers, but she has a family that adores her!

Answer: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Sally Ann Howes was born in 1930 in England to a show-business family. She first began performing while in her teens, and had an illustrious career that included work in London's West End and New York's Broadway, as well as numerous films and appearances on television shows. One of her best known performances was as Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", based on the book by Ian Fleming.

Answer: Fashion editor

Sally Kirkland was born in 1912 and died in 1989. After working as a manager at "Lord and Taylor's" and as an editor at "Vogue", she became the fashion editor at "Life" magazine, a post she held for twenty-five years. As fashion editor of "Life", Kirkland had considerable influence on fashion sensibility in the US.

Her daughter, Sally, was born in 1941 and began her acting career in 1962. She has a long list of film credits to her name.

Answer: The darling of my heart

The poem states:

"Of all the girls that are so smart
There's none like pretty Sally.
She is the darling of my heart,
And she lives in our alley".