Which US City Matches the Claim? Quiz

Answer: Los Angeles

Los Angeles hosted their first Olympics in 1932 during the Great Depression. Despite the small turnout due to the expense of travel to California, there were several firsts during the 1932 games. The first Olympic Village for athletes occurred at the games as did the first photo finishes. Due to the quality of the new track, several world records were recorded in the racing events.

The second Olympic games in Los Angeles were held in 1984. Since the US had boycotted the Moscow games in 1980, the eastern block boycotted the Los Angeles games. Despite this, the games were considered a huge success especially financially.

Answer: Philadelphia

Dr. William Camac was inspired by his visit to the London Zoo and came back to Philadelphia wanting to build one for the city. The legislature approved the charter for the zoo in 1859, but the American Civil War broke out and delayed the project by 15 years.

The Philadelphia Zoo was America's first, opening its gates on July 1, 1874. The Philadelphia Zoo has many proud firsts including the first zoo in the world to have an animal care center and the first to have food tailored to each animal's natural diet.

Answer: Houston

Since July 1969, it has been frequently stated that the first word spoken on the moon was "Houston," however there were several other technical words spoken about the touch-down and readouts. The first significant words spoken by Neil Armstrong were, "Houston, Tranquility Base." The astronauts actually slept for 8 hours before they left the Eagle. Once Armstrong stepped on the Moon's surface he said the famous, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Answer: New York

George Washington was inaugurated on Thursday, April 30, 1789, at Federal Hall in New York City. Interestingly, the Constitution had Washington start his term as president two months earlier on March 4 - the same date Congress convened for the first time.

However, the House of Representatives did not have a quorum until April 1st, and the Senate did not have a quorum until April 6th. As a result, Washington did not receive official notice that he had been selected as president until April 14th. He then had to travel from Mount Vernon to New York City, and, of course, he had to stop at every city for a celebration along the way. John Adams was officially sworn in as vice president nine days before Washington because he needed to lead the Senate.

Answer: Seattle

On June 7, 1926, Bertha Eithel Knight Landes became the mayor of Seattle making her the first lady to serve as mayor of a major city. Landes first became a member of the city council in 1922 and then became the president in 1924. When then-current Mayor Edwin Brown left town to attend the Democratic convention of 1924, Landes stepped in as acting mayor for the city.

While Brown was gone, Landes fired the corrupt police chief and worked to clean up the town. In 1926 Landes ran on a platform of cleaning up the city which was popular enough for her to win in a landslide.

Answer: Phoenix

For a short time in the 1860s, the settlement where Phoenix sits today was called Pumpkinville because wild pumpkins commonly grew in the area. As the area became a town, a more dignified name was needed. On May 4, 1868, Darrell Duppa suggested the name Phoenix as the city had emerged from the ruins of a previous Hohokam civilization.

By the end of the year the town had a post office and was attracting many new settlers to the region.

Answer: Chicago

There is huge debate and disagreement about the actual origin of the name Chicago. However, "Checagou," an Algonquin word, is seriously considered by many scholars. As for the meaning of the Algonquin word, the best guess is a variety of onions that grew in the area. There was also a river and a chieftain named Checagou. So any of those possibilities could have inspired the name.

Answer: St. Louis

St. Louis became a major city long before it became a part of the United States. In 1764 Pierre Liguest received a land grant from France. He selected the current spot for St. Louis because it was close to where the Missouri and Mississippi rivers met and was high enough in elevation to avoid flooding.

The original city was designed to be a fur-trading post and Liguest named the city for King Louis IX of the 13th century. St. Louis changed hands a few times between the French and the Spanish before President Jefferson bought the area in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

Answer: Boston

The first underground subway system in the US was opened in Boston in 1897. Due to the heavy congestion the trolley system caused, the city moved the busy section underground. The five-mile stretch was dug out below Tremont Street with several stops for passengers. During construction, there was one accidental above-ground explosion when released gas vapors caught fire from a trolley spark. Tragically, six people died from the explosion, but the tunnel was not damaged so construction was able to continue.

Answer: Atlanta

Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport is one of the busiest in the world with over 100 million passengers arriving and departing each year. The airport first opened in 1925 as Candler Field on the original site of the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The airport quickly gained business and by the 1930s was the third busiest behind New York City and Chicago.

The central location on the eastern seaboard of the US makes Atlanta the perfect spot for connecting flights. Delta Airlines and Eastern Airlines first established their hubs in Atlanta in the 1930s. Hartsfield-Jackson has five landing strips lined up in an east-west direction with one of them actually going over the I-285 bypass!