Trivial pursuit brings a reward
The Post and Courier
Jan Dandridge, a media specialist at Stall High School, with some of the books she won from Scholastic books for her 10 South Carolina trivia questions.
Ten trivia questions about South Carolina won a local librarian a bunch of new books for her school and a chance to educate the rest of the country about some things that make this state special.
Jan Dandridge, a media specialist at Stall High School in North Charleston, submitted her questions for a contest by Scholastic, the children's book publisher.
The contest organizers asked the media wizards in school and public libraries to come up with "10 questions and answers that reveal the most wonderful and wacky facts that answer the question: What should everyone know about your state?"
The world's largest chicken dance, for instance. It's part of the annual Chicken Show in Wayne, Neb., according to the winning entry from that state.
For its part, South Carolina boasts the oldest living thing east of the Mississippi River, as well as the world's oldest minor-league baseball stadium, Dandridge noted in her entry.
Dandridge's questions, along with trivia questions from the 49 other states, will appear in the book "Fast Facts about the 50 States," part of Scholastic's "America the Beautiful" series.
Her library also will get the complete set of Scholastic's books about the states. Some have already been published and added to the library, with the rest due next year.
"I entered because I wanted the books for my media center," she said. "Every book that I had on any of the states was woefully out of date."
Dandridge has been at Stall since 1995; before that she was a librarian at Midland Park Elementary School. She grew up in West Ashley and graduated from Middleton High School.
She said she picked out the questions with her husband, Rick, a retired BellSouth worker and history buff.
Scholastic picked two winners from each state. The other S.C. winner was Lu Bickley of Leesville.
"Who better to fill a book full of fascinating state-by-state trivia than librarians from across the country?" Greg Worrell, president of the Scholastic Classroom and Library Group, said in a statement announcing the winners.
"Libraries are centers of information and learning for all of us."
South Carolina trivia
1. What is South Carolina's Congaree National Park best known for?
2. What is the oldest living thing east of the Mississippi that resides in South Carolina?
3. What Revolutionary War hero gave his nickname to the University of South Carolina's mascot, the Gamecock?
4. Even though neighboring Georgia has its state nicknamed after this delicious fruit, South Carolina actually sells more of them. What is the name of this fruit?
5. Sullivan's Island, an island off the coast of South Carolina, was the inspiration for what Edgar Allan Poe short story?
6. South Carolina's most famous entertainer is sometimes called "the Godfather of Soul." Who is he?
7. Who was one of history's most famous pirates who met his demise on the Battery at Charleston, South Carolina?
8. Why is Charleston called the "Holy City"?
9. Why was South Carolina, now known as the Palmetto State because of its state tree, formerly known as the Iodine State?
10. What is South Carolina's famous connection to minor league baseball?
Answers
1. It is the home of the largest, old-growth, flood-plain forest in the United States. It has several National Champion trees, including the Loblolly Pine, the Water Hickory and the Overcup Oak.
2. The Angel Oak on John's Island is a Southern live oak that could be as old as 1,500 years.
3. Thomas Sumter, nicknamed "the Carolina Gamecock" because of his fierce fighting tactics.
4. Peaches. South Carolina has more than 400 varieties and is second only to California in production and sales.
5. "The Gold Bug." Poe was stationed in the Army at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island.
6. The late James Brown, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
7. Stede Bonnet, "the gentleman pirate," was hanged in Charleston.
8. Charleston peninsula has many churches that dot the skyline, and it was also the only city in the original 13 colonies to grant religious tolerance to the French Huguenot Church, still in operation today.
9. Because of the large percentage of iodine found in the vegetation of the state. South Carolina has also been called "the Swamp State," "the Rice State" and "the Sandlapper State."
10. Duncan Park in Spartanburg is the oldest minor league baseball stadium in the world.
Reach Dave Munday at 745-5862 or dmunday@postandcourier.com.
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