Missouri Trivia | Dorky Geeky Nerdy Trivia Podcast

Dorky Geeky Nerdy Trivia

187 | Missouri Trivia

00:00 / 14:11

We seem to be stuck in the south central part of the US. And that’s OK, because the food is so good. So, grab some BBQ and let’s dive into some Missouri Trivia for this week’s episode of Dorky Geeky Nerdy.

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Episode Intro

We’re at the gateway to the West, my friends. Got your covered wagon and supplies ready?

Hey gang, this is episode 187 of the Dorky Geeky Nerdy Trivia Podcast. I’m your host, Brian Rollins and this week, we’ve got Missouri Trivia for you. Thirty questions about the state’s history, famous people, and some geography.

If you’re new to the show, welcome. We’ve got rules and score cards at DorkyGeekyNerdy.com.

I want to give a shout out to listener Ghost Thief and his partner. Both of them pass the time in their ambulance playing along with the show. Thanks to you both for keeping folks safe and a shout out to all those first responders that are listening. Thank you for your service.

Let me know how you listen to the show at DorkyGeekyNerdy.com or leave a comment on social media or YouTube.

That covers the intro, so let’s dive into questions with…

The Dorky Round

What mail delivery system ran from Missouri to California in the 1860s?
The Pony Express. It lasted a little over a year and was shut down when the telegraph replaced it.
The largest beer-producing plant in the US is located in Missouri. Who owns it?
Anheuser-Busch Brewing
What singer/songwriter from Kennett, MO had hits titled, ‘All I Want To Do’, ‘If It Makes You Happy’, and the title song from 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies?
Sheryl Crow
What 630-ft monument stands in St. Louis, MO?
The Gateway Arch
What river forms the vast majority of Missouri’s eastern border?
The Mississippi River
What is the postal abbreviation for Missouri?
MO
What actor, born in Affton, MO, rose to national fame as the patriarch in the TV series, Roseanne?
John Goodman
What musician was known as the ‘Father of Rock and Roll’ and had hits like Roll Over Beethoven and Johnny B Goode?
Chuck Berry
How many Major League Baseball teams call Missouri home?
Two. The Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals
What actor, who passed away in 2021, was president of the Screen Actors Guild and played Lou Grant in both a comedy and a drama series?
Ed Asner

The Geeky Round

What writer, born in Florida, MO, got his pen name from a depth measurement used by river boats?
Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain
Born in Nevada, MO, who wrote the screenplay and made his directorial debut with the 1941 film, The Maltese Falcon?
John Huston
Who is the only US President from Missouri?
Harry Truman
What Missouri town was the epicenter of multiple waves of riots and unrest beginning in 2014?
Ferguson, MO
What actor and Missourian received his first Academy Award nomination for Hotel Rwanda?
Don Cheadle
A little tail on Missouri’s southeastern corner cuts a notch out of what other state?
Arkansas
What astronomer, born in Marshfield, MO, has a space telescope named after him and was one of the first people to observe that the universe was expanding?
Edwin Hubble
What animator discovered his love of art and drawing while growing up on a farm in Marceline, MO in the early 20th Century?
Walt Disney
Founded and based in Missouri, what agrochemical company brought us RoundUp, DDT, and Agent Orange?
Monsanto
What is the largest city in Missouri?
Kansas City

The Nerdy Round

What moved from Texas County, MO to Wright County, MO in 2020?
The population center of the US. It’s the mean center of the United States population and is updated every census.
What actress and dancer famously could do everything Fred Astaire could, but backwards and in heels?
Ginger Rogers from Independence, MO
What city was built at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers?
St. Louis
What is the capital of Missouri?
Jefferson City
What three states border Missouri to the West?
Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma
What aviation first occurred on March 1, 1912, above and at Jefferson Barracks?
The first parachute jump from a plane
How many states border Missouri?
Eight. It’s tied with one other state for the most shared borders.
What store, with over 5600 locations today, began in Springfield, MO in December 1957?
O’Reilly Auto Parts
In 1849, 4000 people were killed in St. Louis from what disease?
Cholera
Set in Missouri, what 1976 western was directed by and stars Clint Eastwood as the title character?
The Outlaw Josey Wales

Episode Conclusion

And that’s it for Missouri. Here are a few bonus facts about the state:

The University of Missouri is the first college in the world to offer a degree in Journalism.
The waffle cone was born in 1904 at the St. Louis World’s Fair. An ice cream vendor ran out of cups and a nearby waffle vendor helped him out by rolling his products into cones. It was a massive hit.
While it’s common for a state’s capital to not be the state’s largest city, Jefferson City is not even in the top 10 of cities in Missouri. It’s the 16th largest city in the state with only 43,000 people in it.
Missouri is the 24th state in the Union.
In population, it ranks 18th and in size it ranks 21st.

I’ve only been in Missouri for a few hours on layovers in Kansas City, but I’m eager to try out some BBQ and see the Gateway Arch at some point. What are my must-see and must-do events when I get to Missouri? Let me know at DorkyGeekyNerdy.com.

We’ll be back next week with another episode. Here’s a clue:

The purchase for the land that makes up what state was once known as Seward’s Folly?

It turned out, Seward made a really good purchase. I’ll see you back here next Wednesday.

This has been episode 187 of the Dorky Geeky Nerdy Trivia Podcast. The music was by Jason Shaw at Audionautix.com. I’m your host, Brian Rollins. You can find me at TheVoicesInMyHead.com.

Thanks for listening.