Once again, I revive a column schtick that nobody asked for: My almost annual Baltimore Winter Doldrums Quiz.
Some questions are multiple choice because, let’s be real, most people like multiple choice; it’s a user-friendly format. Two of my questions (and one subquestion) just ask straight-on for an answer. Answers appear at this link. But hey, no peeking and no Googling until you give all 15 a shot. Please proceed, and good luck.
1. How many steps are there to the top of the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon Place?
a. 119
b. 321
c. 227
2. Name the Baltimore County executive who went on to become Vice President of the United States.
3. How long is the Baltimore Beltway (Interstate 695)?
a. 51.46 miles
b. 72.3 miles
c. 78.9 miles
d. None of the above
4. The Great Baltimore Fire that destroyed much of downtown occurred in February of what year?
a. 1911
b. 1904
c. 1897
d. None of the above
5. What university did Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson attend?
a. Auburn
b. Alabama
c. Ole Miss
d. None of the above
6. In 1920, the famous journalist H.L. Mencken co-founded a pulp magazine, Black Mask, that serialized “The Maltese Falcon” by this Baltimore private eye.
a. John Dos Passos
b. Dashiell Hammet
c. Tess Monaghan
d. None of the above
7. What’s the connection between Mar-A-Lago and Columbia’s outdoor concert pavilion?
a. Marjorie Merriweather Post owned one; the other was named in her honor.
b. Same architect, Frank Gehry.
c. The Rolling Stones rented one, performed in the other.
d. None of the above
8. “I got really fat and hooked up with disgusting people. Basically I lived off crab dip and pretzel dogs.” Who shared that reminiscence of college days in Maryland?
a. Under Armour founder Kevin Plank on freshman year at College Park.
b. Comedian Amy Schumer on undergraduate days at Towson University.
c. Actress Kathleen Turner on senior year at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
9. As a teenager and student at the Baltimore School for the Arts in 1988, she got a role in a Center Stage production of an August Wilson play. Who was she?
a. Denise Koch
b. Jada Pinkett Smith
c. Tracie Thoms
10. “By the time I reached the second grade, I got tired of spelling all that out and had shortened it.” Who said that?
a. The late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, on changing his first name from Thoroughgood.
b. Former Maryland governor and Vice President Spiro Agnew on trimming his name from Spirodopoulos.
c. Former Oriole outfielder Al Bumbry on cutting his name from Alonza.
11. Michael Phelps, the great swimmer from Rodgers Forge, won more Olympic medals than any other athlete. A Baltimorean is supposed to know the count. How many did Michael win? Subquestion: How many of his medals were gold?
12. What is Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s regular pregame meal?
a. Shrimp alfredo pasta
b. Steak quesadillas
c. A tub of banana pudding.
13. “I came to Baltimore when I was 22. Drove my red Cutlass up from Nashville and … I had no idea that this was going to be the greatest growing period of my adult life.” Who said that?
a. Brooks Robinson, on signing with the Orioles in 1955.
b. Oprah Winfrey, on coming to WJZ-TV in 1976.
c. Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti
14. Author and Baltimorean Anne Tyler won a Pulitzer Prize for which one of her many novels?
a. Breathing Lessons
b. The Accidental Tourist
c. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
15. What was the name of the wife of the late Theodore R. McKeldin, Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor?
a. Tululu
b. Honolulu
c. Kamalulu
Missed 10, 11, 12