Random Trivia Game

[AuburnAttack21]

UPDATE: Carpet has reached the rank of "[color=#0000FF]??[/color]"

Question 3:

What is the official language of the United States?

[Carpet]

Do you know what is the official language of the United States? If you answered English, guess again. But don’t feel bad, the vast majority of people would answer that English is the official language of the United States of America. English is the de facto language since, at this point, it is the most widely spoken language in the nation. But Spanish is catching up with over forty million Hispanics speaking their native language at home, at work, and on their daily lives.

This brings another point: Why is the U.S., an English-speaking country (or so you think), catering not only to the Spanish language, but to many others that you don’t even know about? Because the U.S. as a nation has never declared an official language. Many people have tried it with no success. In 1780, John Adams proposed to the Continental Congress that English should be declared the official language of the United States. His proposal was deemed "undemocratic and a threat to individual liberty.” This type of debate has been going on for years, with people on both sides of the fence. And yet, the issue isn't any closer to a resolution than it was 200 years ago. This doesn’t mean that the individual states have not declared an official language because many already have. Twenty-seven states, to be exact, have officially declared English as their language.

Let’s not forget that since 1776 we have been—and continue to be—a multilingual nation. Back then, it wasn’t uncommon to hear up to 20 different languages spoken in daily life. Today, those numbers are more staggering. According to U.S. English Inc., an advocacy group that supports declaring English as our official language, 322 languages are spoken in the country, with 24 of those spoken in every state and the District of Columbia. California has the most languages, with 207, while Wyoming has the fewest with 56. So why won’t Congress declare an official language? Because we are a nation of immigrants and these numbers prove it. Because declaring an official language would abridge the rights of individuals with limited English proficiency, individuals who are paying taxes and who are entitled to the same rights as those who speak English.

To protect those rights, there is something called Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although twenty seven states have declared English as their official language, in order to receive federal financial assistance those states still have to comply with Title VI, which requires that vital materials be available in the language of everyone receiving benefits subsidized by the Federal Government.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 2000 Executive Order No. 13166 require that public entities receiving federal funds must have all vital documents available in every language that their clients speak; every language, not just Spanish. Why? Because the U.S. has never declared an official language and as such, the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 still applies.

Basically, Title VI was best described by President John F. Kennedy in 1963: “Simple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races [colors, and national origins] contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes or results in racial [color or national origin] discrimination.”

So, is this the reason why translation companies like Strictly Spanish are seeing so much translation activity? Yes and no. Yes, we are seeing activity from government entities, state, local and federal, because of Title VI and the 2000 Executive Order No. 13166, but we are seeing a lot of private activity as well for a variety of other reasons. These reasons include, but are not limited to, the following:

* Employers want to train employees in their native languages. When employees understand the tasks they are required to do without the language barriers, they do a better job and are more profitable for the employer, safety and morale are improved.
* Employers want their employees to fully understand the terms of their employment. Employee manuals are offered in the native language of the employees.
* Companies do business in other countries and all materials and labeling must be offered in the native language. This is a requirement of many countries so if a U.S. company wants to sell its products abroad, labels, manuals and other related materials must be translated.
* Companies and retailers want to reach the Spanish-speaking population of the U.S. With a purchasing power in excess of 800 billion, the U.S. Hispanic population constitutes the ninth largest economy in the world, larger than Brazil, Spain or Mexico! As an example, and to see the impact of Hispanics in this country, by the year 2020, it is projected that Hispanics will outnumber Anglos in Texas alone. Similar projections exist for other states.
* Hospitals want to attract Hispanic patients, and at the same time they have to comply with Title VI if they are taking Medicaid and Medicare money. So everything has to be translated.
* Publishers provide textbook materials in Spanish at the request of certain states, so many books are being translated.

At Strictly Spanish, we are seeing a staggering increase in requests for Spanish translations. These requests are coming from all of the scenarios described above, and although the vast majority of our work encompasses English-to-Spanish translations, the requests for Spanish-to-English are on the rise.

[AuburnAttack21]

o_O

I will take that as a "yes"

Question 4:

What was the last contiguous state to join the U.S.?

[Carpet]

The term contiguous United States refers to the 48 U.S. states located on the North American continent south of the U.S. border with Canada, plus the District of Columbia. The term excludes the states of Alaska and Hawaii, and all off-shore U.S. territories and possessions, such as Puerto Rico. Together, the 48 contiguous states and D.C. have an area of 3,119,884.69 square miles (8,080,464.25 km²). Of this, 2,959,064.44 sq mi (7,663,941.71 km²) is land, comprising 83.65% of U.S. land area. Officially, 160,820.25 sq mi (416,522.38 km²) is water area, comprising 62.66% of the nation's water area. Its 2000 census population was 279,583,437, comprising 99.35% of the nation's population. Its population density was 94.484 inhabitants/sq mi (36.480/km²), compared to 79.555/sq mi (30.716/km²) for the nation as a whole.

While coterminous U.S. and conterminous U.S. have the same precise meaning as contiguous U.S., other terms commonly used to describe the 48 contiguous states have some degree of ambiguity.

Because Alaska is also on the North American continent, the term continental United States, if interpreted literally, should also include that state, so the term is sometimes qualified with the explicit inclusion or exclusion of Alaska to resolve any ambiguity. The term was in use prior to the admission of Alaska and Hawaii as states of the United States, and at that time usually excluded outlying territories of the U.S. However, even before Alaska became a state, it was sometimes included within the "Continental US".

The term lower 48 may or may not include the District of Columbia (which is not part of any of the 48 states), and may or may not exclude Hawaii (which is the southern-most U.S. state). The National Geographic style guide recommends the use of contiguous or conterminous United States instead of "lower 48" when the 48 states are meant, unless used in the context of Alaska.

CONUS is a technical term used by the U.S. Military which is specifically defined as the 48 contiguous states but is silent on the District of Columbia.

Terms used in the non-contiguous states:
Both Alaska and Hawaii, because of their own location relative to the contiguous United States, have their own unique labels for it.

Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States on August 21, 1959. The Hawaiian Islands are about 2,200 miles (3,500 km) from the North American mainland. In Hawaii and overseas American territories, for instance, the terms "the Mainland" or "U.S. Mainland" are used to refer to the continental United States.

Alaska became the 49th state of the United States on January 3, 1959. Alaska is on the northwest end of the North American continent, but separated fom the rest of the United States by Canada. In Alaska, given the ambiguity surrounding the usage of continental, the term "continental United States" is almost unheard of when referring to the contiguous 48 states. Several other terms have been used over the years. Most Americans are familiar with the term "Lower 48", which for many years was the most common Alaskan equivalent for "contiguous United States". However, since the 1980s Alaskans have increasingly adopted the term Outside to refer to the rest of the United States. Alaskans will speak of going Outside to vacation or will refer to being born Outside.

# ? United States ? State ? Ratification‡ or Admission ? Preceding Entity ?
1 Delaware Delaware 01787-12-07 December 7, 1787 ‡ Lower Counties on Delaware, then sovereign state in Confederation
2 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 01787-12-12 December 12, 1787 ‡ Province of Pennsylvania, then sovereign state in Confederation
3 New Jersey New Jersey 01787-12-18 December 18, 1787 ‡ Province of New Jersey, then sovereign state in Confederation
4 Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia 01788-01-02 January 2, 1788 ‡ Province of Georgia, then sovereign state in Confederation
5 Connecticut Connecticut 01788-01-09 January 9, 1788 ‡ Connecticut Colony, then sovereign state in Confederation
6 Massachusetts Massachusetts 01788-02-06 February 6, 1788 ‡ Province of Massachusetts Bay, then sovereign state in Confederation
7 Maryland Maryland 01788-04-28 April 28, 1788 ‡ Province of Maryland, then sovereign state in Confederation
8 South Carolina South Carolina 01788-05-23 May 23, 1788 ‡ Province of South Carolina, then sovereign state in Confederation
9 New Hampshire New Hampshire 01788-06-21 June 21, 1788 ‡ Province of New Hampshire, then sovereign state in Confederation
10 Virginia Virginia 01788-06-25 June 25, 1788 ‡ Virginia Colony, then sovereign state in Confederation
11 New York New York 01788-07-26 July 26, 1788 ‡ Province of New York, then sovereign state in Confederation
12 North Carolina North Carolina 01789-11-21 November 21, 1789 ‡ Province of North Carolina, then sovereign state in Confederation
13 Rhode Island Rhode Island [and Providence Plantations] 01790-05-29 May 29, 1790 ‡ Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, then sovereign state
14 Vermont Vermont 01791-03-04 March 4, 1791 Province of New York and New Hampshire Grants (ownership disputed), Vermont Republic
15 Kentucky Kentucky 01792-06-01 June 1, 1792 Split off from Virginia with that state's consent. The former huge Kentucky County
16 Tennessee Tennessee 01796-06-01 June 1, 1796 formed from western land donated to the U.S. by North Carolina
17 Ohio Ohio 01803-03-01 March 1, 1803* The Northwest Territory, land donated to the U.S. by East Coast states |such as Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York
18 Louisiana Louisiana 01812-04-30 April 30, 1812 Territory of Orleans
19 Indiana Indiana 01816-12-11 December 11, 1816 Indiana Territory, formed from the Northwest Territory
20 Mississippi Mississippi 01817-12-10 December 10, 1817 Mississippi Territory, formed from land donated to the U.S. by Georgia
21 Illinois Illinois 01818-12-03 December 3, 1818 Illinois Territory, formed from the Northwest Territory
22 Alabama Alabama 01819-12-14 December 14, 1819 Alabama Territory, formed from land donated to the U.S. by Georgia
23 Maine Maine 01820-03-15 March 15, 1820 split off from Massachusetts with that state's consent (the former District of Maine)
24 Missouri Missouri 01821-08-10 August 10, 1821 Missouri Territory
25 Arkansas Arkansas 01836-06-15 June 15, 1836 Arkansas Territory
26 Michigan Michigan 01837-01-26 January 26, 1837 Michigan Territory, formed from the Northwest Territory
27 Florida Florida 01845-03-03 March 3, 1845 Florida Territory
28 Texas Texas 01845-12-29 December 29, 1845 Republic of Texas
29 Iowa Iowa 01846-12-28 December 28, 1846 Iowa Territory
30 Wisconsin Wisconsin 01848-05-29 May 29, 1848 Wisconsin Territory, formed from the Northwest Territory
31 California California 01850-09-09 September 9, 1850 Directly admitted from land taken/purchased from Mexico
32 Minnesota Minnesota 01858-05-11 May 11, 1858 Minnesota Territory
33 Oregon Oregon 01859-02-14 February 14, 1859 Oregon Territory
34 Kansas Kansas 01861-01-29 January 29, 1861 Kansas Territory
35 West Virginia West Virginia 01863-06-20 June 20, 1863 divided off from Virginia with the questionable consent of that state
36 Nevada Nevada 01864-10-31 October 31, 1864 Nevada Territory, with part of Arizona Territory added on later
37 Nebraska Nebraska 01867-03-01 March 1, 1867 Nebraska Territory
38 Colorado Colorado 01876-08-01 August 1, 1876 Colorado Territory
39 † North Dakota North Dakota 01889-11-02 November 2, 1889 Dakota Territory
40 † South Dakota South Dakota 01889-11-02 November 2, 1889 Dakota Territory
41 Montana Montana 01889-11-08 November 8, 1889 Montana Territory
42 Washington Washington 01889-11-11 November 11, 1889 Washington Territory
43 Idaho Idaho 01890-07-03 July 3, 1890 Idaho Territory
44 Wyoming Wyoming 01890-07-10 July 10, 1890 Wyoming Territory
45 Utah Utah 01896-01-04 January 4, 1896 Utah Territory
46 Oklahoma Oklahoma 01907-11-16 November 16, 1907 Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory
47 New Mexico New Mexico 01912-01-06 January 6, 1912 New Mexico Territory
48 Arizona Arizona 01912-02-14 February 14, 1912 Arizona Territory
49 Alaska Alaska 01959-01-03 January 3, 1959 Russian America, Department of Alaska, District of Alaska and then Alaska Territory
50 Hawaii Hawaii 01959-08-21 August 21, 1959 Kingdom of Hawai'i, Republic of Hawai'i and then Hawaii Territory

[AuburnAttack21]

So your answer is?

[Carpet]

Arizona and New Mexico were the last two to join the inner United States. Alaska and Hawaii were off the coast.

[AuburnAttack21]

I'm looking for the very last of the contiguous. Not the last 2

[Carpet]

Arizona joined February 14, 1912.
New Mexico joined January 6, 1912.

If you asked per date and you mean the inner United States, then it´s Arizona.

[AuburnAttack21]

UPDATE: Carpet has reached the rank of "[color=#0000FF]???[/color]"

We need more people to play, then maybe it'll get more exciting.

Question 5:

What country contains the world's tallest structure?

[Carpet]

The tallest currently-standing structure is the KVLY-TV mast near Mayville, North Dakota, at 629 m (2,063 ft). It is a transmission antenna, consisting of a bare metal structure supported by guy-wires. Transmission towers in excess of 600 meters (~2000 ft) are common in the American Midwest; similar structures exist near Alleman, Iowa and Rapid City, South DakotaRapid City is a city located in Pennington County, South Dakota. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 59,607. It is the county seat of Pennington County 6. Geography Rapid City is located at 44°4'34" North, 103°13'42" West (44. 076188.

The Warsaw radio mastThe Warsaw radio mast was the tallest structure ever built. However it only existed from 1974 to 1991. Designed by Jan Polak, it was 646. 38 meters (2,120 feet) tall and weighed 420 tons. Construction was finished on May 18, 1973 and broadcasts were offic near WarsawWarsaw ( Polish: see also other names in full The Capital City of Warsaw Polish: Miasto Stoleczne Warszawa is the capital of Poland and its largest city. It is located on the Vistula river roughly 350 km from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian M, PolandThe Republic of Poland a country in Central Europe, lies between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and Russia (in the form of the Kaliningrad Oblast exclave) t at 645 m (2,115 ft) was taller, but it collapsed in 19911991 like 2002, is a palindromic year. It also has the same calendar as 2002, including Easter on March 31. It is a common year starting on Tuesday. Events January January 2 Sharon Pratt Dixon is sworn in as mayor of Washington, DC becoming the first blac.

The main reason that these transmission antennas are not usually included with the world's tallest buildings is that they are not self-supported. Another example of a structure that's not self-supporting is a long rope tethered to the ground on one end and to a helium balloon on the other. If structures that are not self-supporting were counted then these would be the tallest in the world.

The Petronius PlatformThe Petronius Platform is a deepwater oil rig operated by ChevronTexaco and Marathon Oil in the Gulf of Mexico, 210 km South-east of New Orleans. A compliant piled tower design, it is 610 m (2,001 feet) high, the tallest free-standingstructure in the wor stands 610 m (2,001 ft) tall, making it the tallest freestanding structure in the world. However, as this oilOil is a generic term for fluids that are not miscible with water. The name comes from Latin oleum for olive oil. Oil is frequently used to refer to petroleum an "oil shortage" generally means an inadequate supply of petroleum rather than cooking oil. and natural gasNatural gas is a gas produced by the anaerobic decay of organic material. It is usually found in oil fields and natural gas fields, but is also generated in swamps and marshes (where it is called swamp gas or marsh gas , in landfill sites, and during dige platform is partially supported by buoyancy, some critics aruge that the below-water height should not be counted, in the same manner as the underground 'height' of buildings is not taken into account.

The CN Tower in Toronto stands 553.33 m (1,815 ft) tall, making it the tallest freestanding structure above ground.