Easy Tour Europe Without leaving The U.S. Part 2 Trivia Quiz | Geography

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. If Kyle the Kennel Boy was hoping to get a pint of the black stuff direct from the brewery when he arrived in Dublin he was to be disappointed. This was not Dublin, Ireland, but Dublin, USA. In which state could Kyle have played golf at the Jack Nicklaus Country Club?

Answer: Ohio

Nine Dublins exist in the US, add two more for townships.

Dublin, Ohio, is a a suburb of the state capital, Columbus.

The earliest settlement dates to 1802. A new village began to emerge in 1810. One of the founders was John Shields, who named the place after his native town.

Dublin started to flourish in the latter part of the 20th Century when better road links brought several corporate headquarters to the town.

As well as the annual PGA Memorial Golf Tournament, the town hosts an annual Irish festival.

In 2020, Dublin, Ohio, had an estimated population of about 48,000.

2. One thing Kyle the Kennel Boy could never get his head around was the way Americans had cities with tiny populations. Here he was in Zurich - population of around 100 but boasting a fabulous yellow brick road. "I wonder if they have more gnomes than people he mused". Which state of the USA was he in?

Answer: Kansas

In the late 1870s, a group of French Canadian settlers arrived in Rooks County, Kansas. In 1880, the settlement was granted presidential approval for its own post office. The postmistress and postmaster had the right to name it and being natives of Zurich, Switzerland, that it is what they called it.

By the start of the 20th century it was a bustling small town. Then in 1918 fire destroyed several buildings and they were never replaced.

3. The apple blossoms were in their full glory and the northern mockingbirds were calling loudly as Kyle the Kennel Boy stepped off the bus in London. This was not London, England, but London in a US state that is spelt differently from the way it is pronounced. Which is it?

Answer: Arkansas

Apple blossom is the state flower and the northern mockingbird is the state bird of Arkansas.

So why is it spelt Arkansas and pronounced Arkansaw? It is all to do with the first French settlers who named it after the plural form of the name of a native tribe. Kansas, meanwhile, is pronounced after the singular form of that early people.

The settlement was developed in about 1860 when a man named Isaac Haddox arrived there from Tennessee. He brought with him his family and a number of slaves. He named the location Haddoxburg and that name remained until about 1880 when it was renamed London, allegedly by the local postmaster.

The town prospered with the arrival of the railway, but by the start of the 21st Century it was chiefly known as a dormitory town for nearby Russellville, with a population of around 1,000.

4. Kyle the Kennel Boy handed his ticket to the bus driver as he boarded the Greyhound bound for the promised land, sincerely hoping it would not leave him stranded en-route. He was heading towards the town of Lancaster, not in Lancashire in England, but in a golden state. Where is that?

Answer: California

Lancaster is one of the top ten urban areas in California by area.

The railways brought Lancaster into being in the 1870s. It became a popular place located between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The population in 2019 was about 160,000.

The origins of how it got the name are unclear, but the local city council favours it having being adopted when the Southern Pacific Railroad Company established a stop.

In the 21st Century, it is a commuter town for people who work in Los Angeles 50-odd miles away and in the California aerospace industry. Edwards Air Force Base is nearby.

All this fascinated Kyle the Kennel Boy, however he was a bit more worried about an FBI report that indicated the crime rate was higher than 83% of all urban areas in California.

5. If Kyle the Kennel Boy expected to see Wenceslas Square when he visited Prague, he was disappointed. This was not Prague in the Czech Republic, this was Prague in a southern US State. Which of these was it?

Answer: Oklahoma

The city traces its roots to the 1890s when land nearby was settled by a family from Bohemia who named it after Praha, Czechoslovakia. The spelling was later anglicised.

To mark the 50th anniversary in 1952, the first themed Kolache Festival was held.

In 2020, the population was estimated at a little over 2,000.

6. "I'm going home, to Swansea town..." sang Max Boyce in Kyle The Kennel Boy's earbuds as he looked around. The day was nearly dawning, but this was not Swansea, Wales, this was Swansea in a state noted for its clam chowder. Which of these was it?

Answer: Massachusetts

Swansea is an old town in Massachusetts, having been established in 1667 close to several much older native American trails.

The settlement was rebuilt after it was destroyed during the Indian Wars of the 1670s. In the years thereafter, agriculture and fishing provided the economic bedrock.

7. "One potato, two potato, three potato, four..." counted Kyle The Kennel boy as the bus rolled into a town called Moscow in the USA, rather than Moscow, Russia. He would have had to count a lot more if he wanted to reach the total number of potatoes harvested in the state where Moscow is located. Where is it?

Answer: Idaho

More than 11 billion pounds of potatoes are grown in Idaho annually.

In the 1870s, the wide open grassland and abundant timber brought settlers to the area. In 1877 a settlement there was named Moscow by the postmaster. Guess where he was born...

In the 21st Century it has a population of about 23,000.

8. Looking at his guide book as the bus crossed the state line, Kyle the Kennel Boy was interested to note the state he entered had once had more millionaires per head of population than any other. He stepped out in Belgrade, a busy town in the Treasure State. Which of these was it?

Answer: Montana

In today's money, the town of Helena, Montana, produced $3.6 billion worth of gold.

And it was not just gold: copper, lead, zinc, coal, oil, and sapphires made the state's fortune.

The town of Belgrade grew up around a railway siding in 1881. It was named in honour of Serbian investors who had financed a stretch of the rail line.

The development of the area grew apace, but was halted by the great depression of the 1930s. After WW2, Belgrade began to prosper again.

9. On his way to the town of Waterford, the man on the bus beside Kyle the Kennel Boy told him that the state they were driving through had 11,000 lakes. Which state is that?

Answer: Michigan

"In this state, you are never more than six miles from open water," boasted the old man, to Kyle's fascination.

The township of Waterford traces its history to 1834 when two families bought land. Pleasant surroundings made it popular as a holiday place with the coming of the railways.

By the early 21st Century, Waterford had a population of 78,000, with many of them working in Detroit. They also like to relax among the 34 nearby lakes.

10. "Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen" sang Kyle the Kennel Boy to himself but try as he might he could not find a statue of a little mermaid. He was not in Denmark, he was in Copenhagen in an eastern seaboard state in the USA. Which of these was it?

Answer: New York

Copenhagen is a village in Lewis County, with a population of around 800 according to the most recent estimated figures.

One website notes that Waterford has "only one stop light, one gas station, and one primary school." [mapquest.com].

It is a typical rural farming village, which also earns an income through its four-wheel drive trails and snowmobiling in winter.

Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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Tour Europe Without leaving The U.S. Part 2 Quiz

Tour Europe Without leaving The U.S. Part 2 In which we continue Kyle The Kennel Boy's Grand Tour of Europe without leaving the USA.

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