Tuesday, October 20, 2009

How Well Do You Know Illinois?

Recently, a high school friend sent me quiz, "How Well Do You Know Illinois?" I got most of them right, although I didn't know the original name of the Chicago Bears, and guessed at the state flower. So I wouldn't win a million. Also, if Peoria is the oldest town, there are four or five others ready to call her a liar, although it may be the oldest of the four listed. However, I also knew Ronald Reagan wasn't born in Dixon, Illinois, which means at least one answer was wrong--so maybe there were others--like the oldest town.

Could you go through these questions, not miss any and win a million dollars, if the opportunity arose.

1. $100 What is the Capital of Illinois?
a. Chicago
b. Champaign
c. Springfield
d. East St.. Louis
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2. $200 The State Motto is . . ..
a. Home of Ronald Reagan
b. Prairie State
c. Land of 100 Lakes
d. Land of Lincoln
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3. $400 - State that DOES NOT border IL?
a. Iowa
b. Missouri
c. Texas
d. Indiana
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4. $1000. Which is furthest down south?
a. Chicago
b. Decatur
c. Carbondale
d. Bloomington
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5. $2000 What is the State bird?
a. Chicken
b. Cardinal
c. Pheasant
d. Eagle
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6. $4,000 - Which community is oldest in Illinois?
A. Chicago
b. Peoria
c. Effingham
d. East St. Louis
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7. $8,000 - The Chicago Bears were known as...?
a. Always has been known as Chicago Bears
b. Decatur Bears
c. Sucky Bears
d. Decatur Staleys
***********************************************************
8. $16,000 - What town is home to Superman?
a. Harristown
b. Pana
c. Metropolis
d. Peru
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9. $32,000 - City that has never been the capital of IL?
a. Springfield
b. Peoria
c. Kaskaskia
d. Vandalia
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10. $64,000 - State Flower?
a. Corn Stalks
b. Yellow Dandelions
c. White Daisies
d. Purple Violets
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11. $125,000 - how do you pronounce "Moweaqua"?
a. Mo-we-qua
b. Mow-wee-aqua
c. Mowey-qua
d. Mow-aqua
***********************************************************
12. $250,000 - Jesse Jackson stuck his nose into the business of what town concerning the 6 criminal kids?
a. Springfield
b. Decatur
c. Peoria
d. Chicago
***********************************************************
13. $500,000- Going to the boat means?
a. Cruising Lake Decatur
b. Going to your mother-in-laws house
c. Riverside Gambling
d. Going to jail
***********************************************************
14. $1,000,000 - Which President was born in Dixon, IL?
a. Reagan
b. Clinton
c. Jefferson
d. Nixon
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ANSWERS ARE BELOW.....................
1. 100 C - Springfield
2. 200 D - Land of Lincoln
3. 400 C - Texas
4. 1000 C - Carbondale
5. 2000 B - Cardinal (even though hunters like to claim it as the pheasant)
6. 4000 B - Peoria -- Even though East St Louis looks as if it should be the oldest [others also claim to be the oldest, Cahokia, Palestine, Shawneetown]
7. 8000 D - Decatur Staleys --- Even though C (sucky bears) would work too:)
8. 16000 C - Metropolis (yep its a real city in southern IL)
9. 32,000 B - Peoria
10. 64,000 D - Purple Violets -- Even though (a) Corn Stalks should be.
11. 125,000 A - Mo-we-qua
12. 250,000 B - Decatur
13. 500,000 C. Riverside Gambling --- Better not mean (b) going to your mom in laws
14. 1,000,000 A - Reagan [wrong!]


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Murray sez:
I missed # 12, however I will admit that #6 and #9 were pure guesses. You are correct in saying that Reagon wasn't born in Dixon.

Anonymous said...

I missed # 6,thinking surely it was E. St. Louis for obvious reasons.shabby,decaying old city that it is. It probably looks worse now then when I saw it years ago. Had friends that did voter registration there in the mid-60's and told some horror stories. I'll keep my pretty, clean, small, hick town and be just so grateful.Interesting and fun to take a quiz like this...

Anonymous said...

What town do you think is older than Peoria? Every source I find tells me that it is...

Norma said...

It seems to depend on definition. Peoria wasn't continuously occupied.

1) Palestine http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/64176/be4c2/
"Palestine, incorporated in 1811, making it the oldest continuously incorporated town in the entire state."

2) Shawneetown
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM6FB3_OLDEST_Town_in_Illinois_Old_Shawneetown_Illinois

Stone historical marker commemorating Shawneetown, "Oldest Town In Illinois"

3) Governor says it's Cahokia
http://www.illinois.gov/facts/history.cfm

1699—Cahokia is founded, the oldest town in Illinois

4) or Kaskaskia
http://genealogytrails.com/ill/illinoishistorytimeline.html

"The discoveries in the Mississippi Valley were speedily followed by settlements in Illinois. As early as 1690, and possibly before, Kaskaskia and Cahokia were founded by French traders and Jesuit missionaries. The claim of precedence is generally awarded to the former, then known as the “Village of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin.”

There is no evidence that the fort near Peoria was occupied after its abandonment in 1680; otherwise that city might be regarded as the oldest settlement in Illinois, or west of the Allegheny mountains."

I don't have a dog in this fight since I live in Ohio. Don't remember what we were taught in school.