Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
Many of us had our sleep disturbed by the unruly gusts of wind Saturday night, and now wide swaths of California are on fire, prompting, for example, the largest evacuation on Sonoma County history.
I learned this today from the CalFire website: “CAL FIRE owns and operates over 3,000 fire and emergency response and resource protection vehicles. In support of its ground forces, the CAL FIRE emergency response air program includes 23 Grumman S-2T 1,200 gallon airtankers, 11 UH-1H Super Huey helicopters, and 14 OV-10A airtactical. From 13 air attack and nine helitack bases located statewide, aircraft can reach most fires within 20 minutes.”
Of these resources, currently more than 80 crews with over 4,000 personnel are confronting California fires, including those down south that have flared up just this morning. The Kincade fire alone has already torched more than 66,000 acres, all in Sonoma County. Around 200,000 people have had to evacuate their homes.
Having lived in California in three different counties over the last 30 years, I have friends and family in affected areas in the north and south of the state. I bet you do, too. Barbara Kingsolver once said this: “Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It’s the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost. And that someone else’s pain is as meaningful as your own.”
I’ve seen on Facebook and Twitter that many people in Yolo and Sacramento Counties have offered spare rooms to those escaping fires. I thank and honor such people, the best of our neighbors. Donations and volunteers are needed if you would like to help.
We will keep those escaping the firestorms in mind while gathering with friends tonight for some mindless distraction in the form of a pub quiz.
In addition to topics raised above, tonight expect questions on the following topics: Amazing robots, clever cows, California universities, acids, Chico exports, U.S. presidents, forces, Disney movies, Hugos, armed equality, the height of musicians, famous sons, clippers, the World Series, full titles, large scale gasses, reminders, intact medieval buildings, diasporas, odd couples, conversations, weights and measurements, optional footwear, satire, metrics, Joyce Carol Oates, famous albums!, criminal minds, ZIP codes, noses, unfortunate smoking, English noblemen that are relevant in America, final words, and Shakespeare.
Because of the fires, there will be no Halloween questions this evening. Instead, this: Boo!
See you tonight.
Your Quizmaster
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Here are three questions from last week’s quiz:
- Countries of the World. What country has the fourth-largest GDP in all of Asia?
- Neckties. Neckties originated during the 30 Years War (1618-1648), worn by mercenaries from what C country?
- Current Events – Names in the News. What prominent U.S. Senator has been using a secret Twitter account with the name “Pierre Delecto”?
P.S. “If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.” Henry David Thoreau