HISTORY TRIVIA GAMES

The "Good Old Days of History" Trivia

Read-and-Reveal Trivia!

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This item used to be delivered to your home before the sun came up, to be enjoyed with a cup of hot coffee before one started their day, well informed!

Newspaper

To go shopping in town, or to take someone to the doctor downtown, you had to go out behind the house and harness the horse up to this conveyance to get where you needed to go!

A Buggy or Wagon

In the days before telephone, an urgent message could be sent through Western Union to the person you desired the message sent to. What was the message sent called?

Telegram

Early in the morning, the dairyman came by one's house and left a food item on your front porch in an aluminum box, about a foot square, for the day's use by the family. What was the food item he delivered?

Bottled Milk

The lawn was cared for in a different manner in the old days. The lawn might be cut every two weeks instead of once a week as we do, today. A lush green lawn with a romantic look of windswept beauty, flowering shrubs and scented perennials wafting on the breeze created the desired effect. What kind of mower did people use before 1910?

A “Reel” Mower

Victorian homes had a lot of wooden trim that made the home a complicated thing to care for. Fretwork, fancy cut shingle work and spindle work on front porches was beautiful but was a nightmare to keep in good shape. Did the homeowner attempt this painting endeavor, or did most hire a painter at handyman prices?

Most homeowners hired a handyman

People did not always go to the store as they do today to obtain things to cook. One thing that was smiled upon was a country dinner on Sundays. The main feature, the chicken, was prepared by the mother. How did she kill the chicken before plucking the feathers and preparing it to fry?

Wringing its neck

To have bacon, a family raised a small shoat (baby pig) and fattened it all through spring and summer, putting weight on the animal until time to have a "butchering." This was something that needed to be done after the hard frosts had set in for the year, in late October or November. What was made from the head of the pig?

Headcheese or souce

When a patriotic holiday rolled around, the town band would parade through the streets playing stirring medleys while folks waved flags and jostled little children up and down on their shoulders so they could see. The band usually made two or three rounds and then proceeded to what structure on the town square to play longer?

The Band Stand

Once a year, an event was held in the local schoolhouse to demonstrate the skill of the 6th grade scholars. They stood up and were given words that got harder and harder. One by one they had to sit down till only one was left standing. What was this event called?

Spelling Bee

Once each year, churches sponsored what they called a homecoming. People came from near and far to attend the day long services at the church that had been attended by their ancestors, or still attended by them at present. What was the high point of midday, usually held out under the trees in the churchyard?

Dinner on the Grounds

In the winter, snow and ice came down from the skies and prohibited folks from participating in summertime sports. If one had a nearby pond, you waited for a really hard freeze to have a wintertime party doing what?

Ice Skating

Some towns had laws that enforced the drivers of buggies and wagons to provide an apparatus that looked like a black sling under the tail of the horse pulling the vehicle. What was the purpose of this sling in relationship to the street?

It kept the street cleaner

There was a way to signal an emergency in most towns or small communities. What was the method used to get the people's attention, (but was also used to call field hands in for a noon day spread when haying or plowing on the farm?)

A Bell

During harvest time, young men and women on or near farms would go to an event called a corn husking, where they pulled the green husks off the corn so the corn could be shelled and prepared for use as feed for animals, or for consumption by humans. If the boy found a purple ear of Indian corn in the field, what was he entitled to? (If he was smart he would have planted it and kept up with the location.)

Kiss His Girl

During a cold snap, when the snow fell, farmers who harvested maple syrup from their trees would host a party for friends and family where you would pour cooked maple syrup over pans of cold packed snow, and then eat it as sweet taffy like candy. A singing/sleighing evening would also accompany the candy party. What was the candy known as?

Sugar on Snow

In Europe, dances were also done "in the round". In frontier America, more modern dances were done "on the square." There were certain steps you had to learn, but once learned, anyone could promenade! This dancing required a certain number of men and women, in pairs. How many pairs did it take to do a square dance with couples?

Four

On the first day of the year, homeowners tried to be the first person to enter a house after midnight, in order to bring good luck to his family that resided therein during the rest of the year. What was this custom called in the long ago?

First Footing

Ice cream was a delicacy not eaten every day by the public. One went into town to the ice cream shop, where it was made fresh daily, or it was made at home, in an old time crank freezer, where the crank had to be turned for 20 or more minutes to create the dessert. What was used in the freezer that made the cream turn to a solid?

Ice and Salt

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