Local questions

Washington Dulles International Airport is named after John Foster Dulles, the United States Secretary of State under President Dwight D Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. The airport was under construction when John Foster Dulles died in 1959, and US Senator Homer Capehart introduced a bill to posthumously name it in his honor. The airport, located some 26 miles (or 42 Read more...

For the TigerTown Shopping Center in Opelika, Alabama, on Interstate 85 take Exit #58 for US-280 West toward Opelika. From the exit ramp, turn on to Gateway Drive towards Opelika. The TigerTown Shopping Center is located adjacent to the intersection. The million-square-foot outdoor shopping mall opened in 2004 and is anchored by retailers such as Kroger, Home Depot, Target, and Read more...

Fox Island, Washington was given its present name in 1841 by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, commander of the United States Exploring Expedition, after the expedition’s assistant surgeon, Lieutenant John Laurence Fox. Long before white settlers arrived at Fox Island in the mid-19th century, Native Americans had used the island seasonally, calling it Bu-ta-u or Bu Teu. Read more...

The bridge to Fox Island, Washington, crosses the Hale Passage between the island and mainland at Artondale on the Kitsap Peninsula. Opened on August 28th, 1954, the 1,950-foot-long bridge replaced a ferry service across the channel and provides the only road access on to and off Fox Island, with an estimated average of 6,800 vehicles crossing daily. The bridge is Read more...

The annual La Vaquilla del Ángel festival in the city of Teruel, Spain, is celebrated over the weekend closest to July 10th, continuing until late on the Monday evening. Part of the wider Fiestas del Ángel celebrations in Teruel, dedicated to the patron saint of the city, Santo Ángel Custodio (or Holy Guardian Angel), La Vaquilla, draws large crowds to Read more...

Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy, requires visitors to wear clothing appropriate for a place of worship. This means modest dress with no exposed shoulders, upper arms and midriff. Skirts, dresses, and shorts should extend below the knees. Large bags, backpacks and luggage cannot be taken into the basilica. Read more...

The Washington Capitals NHL ice hockey team plays its home games at Capital One Arena (formerly Verizon Center) in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, DC. They moved to the newly-built arena in 1997, having previously played at the now-demolished Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland. The Capitals played their first game at the new arena on Read more...

Toronto Pearson International Airport is named after Lester B Pearson, the 14th Prime Minister of Canada. Officially known as Toronto – Lester B Pearson International Airport, it is Canada’s largest airport and was renamed in honour of Pearson in January 1984, having previously been simply Toronto International Airport. Pearson, who was born in York, Ontario, won the Noble Peace Prize Read more...

Stanford University’s athletic teams are named the Cardinal after the teams’ main color, cardinal red. Reference to the Cardinal started around Stanford football team’s victory over Cal in the first Big Game on March 19th, 1892. Later, Stanford adopted the name Indians in 1930 along with a depiction of a native American as a mascot, often in stylized cartoon form. Read more...

Train services on the New York City subway carry a white number or letter in a colored circle or diamond, called a bullet, identifying the route that the train service takes along the various lines. Those lines are grouped by color denoting that at some point on their route they share a common section of track, but they do not Read more...

Leavenworth, Washington, was a former logging town in decline when, in 1962, a committee of local business people and residents sought to revitalize the community by remodeling the downtown area in the style of a traditional Bavarian village, with the aim of turning around its fortunes with tourism income. While Leavenworth had no real historical connections to Germany, its location Read more...

The Elephant and Castle district of London is named after an 18th century public house and coaching inn of the same name that became a notable landmark because of its location near a major road intersection in the area. The inn was rebuilt in 1816 and in 1898, and ultimately demolished in 1959. A new pub called the Elephant and Read more...

The New Orleans Saints NFL football team plays its home games at Caesars Superdome (formerly Mercedes-Benz Superdome) in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. The Superdome has been home to the Saints since 1975, having previously played for eight seasons at Tulane University’s now-demolished Tulane Stadium. The Saints played their first regular-season game of the 1975 NFL season Read more...

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, or WHOI, is an American private, non-profit marine science research facility that undertakes studies of the physical, chemical, and biological features of the ocean environment. It was established in 1930 on Cape Cod, in the village of Woods Hole near Falmouth, Massachusetts, from where it operates laboratories, oceangoing research vessels, and runs marine science post-doctoral research Read more...

Gyllyngvase Beach in Falmouth has a seasonal ban on dogs from 15 May to 30 September between the hours of 10 am and 6 pm daily, but is dog-friendly at all other times. Cornwall Council enforces the ban and may issue a £100 fixed penalty notice to people found in charge of a dog on the beach during prohibited periods. Read more...

The Butchart Gardens floral display gardens in Brentwood Bay on Victoria Island, British Columbia, were started in 1906 by Jennie Butchart on the site of a former limestone quarry operated by her husband, Robert Pim Butchart. Read more...

Vancouver’s Stanley Park is named after Lord Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, the British politician who served as Governor General of the Dominion of Canada from 1888 to 1893. After Vancouver was incorporated as a city in 1886, the city council negotiated to lease what was then a 405-hectare (or 1,001-acre) military reserve from the Dominion government to create Read more...

The townsite of Banff, Alberta, has an elevation of 1,383 metres (or 4,537 feet) above sea level. Located in the Rocky Mountains, its elevation makes Banff the highest town in Canada. However, while not technically a town, the hamlet of Lake Louise, Alberta, is higher at 1,540 metres (or 5,053 feet). Read more...

The New York Islanders NHL ice hockey team plays its home games at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, some 20 miles (or 32 kilometers) east of Manhattan. Situated next to the Belmont Park horse racing facility, the newly-built arena opened in November 2021 and the Islanders played their inaugural home game there against the Calgary Flames. Previously, the they Read more...

The Monument to the Sardana in Barcelona’s Sants-Montjuïc district is by Spanish sculptor Josep Cañas, located at plaça de la Sardana near Montjuïc castle. It depicts eight dancers carved from Ulldecona limestone, holding hands held aloft in a circle, performing the traditional Catalan dance la sardana. In the centre, a rock from Montserrat mountain symbolises personal belongings such as bags Read more...