Notes from the Newsroom NewsOK.com Blogging Community

It’s time to see how much attention you’ve been paying to the news in the past week or so. From The Oklahoman’s news copy editors and designers, here’s a quiz:

1. An Oklahoma businessman has purchased what California landmark with the intention of bringing it to his home state?
a) The Golden Gate Bridge.
b) The International Elvis Impersonator Museum.
c) The Santa Monica Pier Ferris wheel.

2. May 5, or Cinco de Mayo, is remembered for this historical event:
a) Mexican independence.
b) Battle of Puebla.
c) Battle of the Bulge.

3. State legislators are being asked to do something about thieves who steal:
a) Copper coils out of air conditioners.
b) GPS devices out of rental cars.
c) Flags from the south plaza at the state Capitol.

4. Some campgrounds in Wyoming and Colorado have been closed because stands of 60-foot trees have been killed by:
a) Bark beetles, although they are only a quarter-inch long..
b) Wildfires, some of which have covered 400 acres.
c) Illegal logging, which have claimed up to 4 million board-feet a year.

5. China is scouring the world for industrial-sized farmland to feed its growing economy and supply:
a) Rice and shrimp.
b) Rubber and corn.
c) Tobacco and gum.

6. Gov. Brad Henry signed Senate Bill 1186 into law, giving elementary school students more of this in the fall:
a) Ice cream choices during lunch.
b) Minutes in physical education classes.
c) Two more hours of homework in math and science.

7. A survey by AAA has named Tulsa as:
a) Most common destination for health tourists in a three-state area.
b) Best place for chicken-fried steak in the U.S. Midwest.
c) Cheapest city among 49 U.S. urban destinations for food and lodging costs.

8. Oklahoma State University running back Dantrell Savage will get an opportunity to make the NFL roster of which team?
a) Dallas Cowboys.
b) Baltimore Ravens.
c) Kansas City Chiefs.

9. The National Sleep Foundation’s most recent survey has found nearly half of Americans wake feeling:
a) Unrefreshed.
b) Ready for coffee.
c) Like they are flying.

10. Officials say a $55 million bond issue in Oklahoma County would help ensure the future of:
a) Public schools.
b) Tinker Air Force Base.
c) Light rail linking downtown and the Adventure district.

11. Child foster care advocates from across the state placed these on the steps of the state Capitol:
a) Shoes.
b) Candles.
c) Teddy bears.

12. The horse Denis of Cork, which came in third in the Kentucky Derby, was named after:
a) A family friend of the owner, Tulsa businessman William K. Warren Jr.
b) A chaplain at St. Francis Health System.
c) Its owner’s father.

13. After cutbacks in 2003, Oklahoma City-based Terex is going through international markets. What does Terex make?
a) Heavy equipment.
b) Boneless chicken patties.
c) Plastic dinosaur toys.

14. A report issued by the Oklahoma Policy Institute finds the state’s economy remains robust for:
a) Oil-field workers and filling station attendants.
b) Upper-income residents.
c) Real estate agents.

15. Some economic analysts from Goldman Sachs expect oil prices will:
a) Reach $150 to $200.
b) Plummet to less than $80.
c) Stay about the same for the duration of the summer driving season.

16. A consulting company says Oklahoma is the perfect location for data centers because of its:
a) Good educational system and low wages.
b) Lots of places to go fishing.
c) Low cost of living, land and power.

17. University of Oklahoma football fans will have this to cheer about in the fall:
a) A new high-definition video screen on the scoreboard.
b) Lower prices at the concession stand for hot dogs.
c) More space between seats.

18. A $60 million plant in Seminole expects to employ 200 people making:
a) 400,000 miles of computer cables and other power cords.
b) 400,000 puzzle pieces for the Jasmine Moran Children’s museum.
c) 400,000 pounds of hot dogs and ham every day.

19. Republican presidential contender John McCain has gotten some heat over his temper, which has earned him the nickname:
a) “Raising” McCain.
b) Senator Hothead.
c) Mr. Mouth.

20. According to a recent study by the Nature Conservancy, video games, the Internet and increasing oil prices account for:
a) A decline in visits to national parks.
b) A rise in obesity among younger Americans.
c) A leveling off of environmental interests.

How did you do on the quiz? Here are the correct answers:
1-C; 2-B; 3-A; 4-A; 5-B; 6-B; 7-C; 8-C; 9-A; 10-B; 11-A; 12-B; 13-A; 14-B; 15-A; 16-C; 17-A; 18-C; 19-B; 20-A.

Sometimes it’s easy to miss an event, so here’s a look back at the past week or so to help bring you up to date:

It’s time to see how much attention you’ve been paying to the news in the past week or so. From The Oklahoman’s news copy editors and designers, here’s a quiz.

1. Hugo residents are looking forward to the day they can sell this to Texas:
a) Water from the brimming Hugo Lake.
b) Scratch-off lottery tickets at sites just across the state line.
c) Abandoned circus equipment because there’s a sucker born ever minute.

2. How will 13 states allow overseas troops to vote in the presidential election this year?
a) By e-mail.
b) By telegraph.
c) Using an affidavit brought to the election board by a family member.

3. Researchers recently announced plans for a 1.5-square-mile plot of switchgrass in the Oklahoma Panhandle and smaller plots elsewhere. One acre of non-irrigated switchgrass could yield:
a) 60 bushels of cattle feed.
b) 600,000 gallons of biofuel.
c) 6 million feet of rope.

4. Why are experts saying social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace can pose a privacy risk?
a) Their options to make your profiles “private” don’t really work.
b) Hackers are multiplying with more generations growing up in the virtual world.
c) Downloaded applications built by third parties can see your contact information.

5. After coming under mortar fire during a USO tour stop in Afghanistan, Toby Keith did what?
a) Retired to a shelter to sign autographs and later picked up the concert where it was interrupted.
b) Wrote a song about the “Biggest, Baddest Combat Zone.”
c) Whipped out a handgun and fired back.

6. Dr. Kevin Moore, a scientist at Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, has done research that may lead to something unexpected:
a) A patch to release cardiac medicine.
b) An enzyme-based birth control for men.
c) An electronic weight loss capsule you swallow and it vacuums up the calories.

7. With a postal increase rapidly nearing, Americans are buying:
a) 30 million “forever stamps” a day.
b) Less gasoline and putting things in the mail instead.
c) More pre-paid FedEx pouches.

8. The Wrigley family is cashing out of the chewing gum business, selling out to:
a) Philip Morris, which is looking for the next big nervous habit.
b) Mars Inc., maker of M&Ms and Snickers.
c) Pfizer Inc., one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, which is looking for a new delivery system for its anti-cholesterol medicines.

9. Oklahoma State running back Thurman Thomas and one-time University of Oklahoma quarterback Troy Aikman will be among three people with Oklahoma ties inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December. Who is the third?
a) Former OU coach Gary Gibbs.
b) Former OSU coach Pat Jones.
c) Former Tulsa coach John Cooper.

10. The federal government has launched a blog at www.fastlane.dot.gov for:
a) Helping taxpayers get refunds more quickly.
b) Listing traffic congestion and alternative routes in the nation’s 100 largest urban areas.
c) Breaking news from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

11. The University of Oklahoma is warning students of:
a) A looming increase in tuition of almost 10 percent.
b) How global warming will affect degree programs – less work in petroleum engineering, more in green careers.
c) A shortage of football tickets for the 2008-09 season.

12. Oklahoma City police are looking to hire a downtown ambassador, whose $9-an-hour duties would include:
a) Meeting with conventioneers and others to explain the city’s curfew rules.
b) Passing out pamphlets in Bricktown listing nearby restaurants and sights.
c) Traffic control and crime reporting.

13. Country singer Trisha Yearwood has just published a:
a) Songbook with hits sung by husband Garth Brooks.
b) Cookbook with her mother and sister.
c) Children’s book about a dreamer who becomes a star.

14. The average cost of Oklahoma families’ health insurance increased 50 percent from 2001 to 2005. In the same period, the median income rose:
a) 5 percent.
b) 50 percent.
c) 500 percent.

15. The U.S. House honored Ponca Chief Standing Bear as:
a) A vigilant supporter of democracy.
b) An early businessman with a vision of prosperity for his tribe.
c) One of America’s original civil rights heroes.

16. Swiss chemist Albert Hoffmann died in Geneva at age 102. He was known for:
a) Formulating the first Swiss high-cocoa concentration dark chocolate.
b) Collecting masterworks, including the largest collection of paintings by Edvard Munch.
c) Inventing LSD while studying medicinal uses for a grain fungus.

17. It’s a leavener in baked goods, but what else can you do with baking soda?
a) Mix it with water to make play dough.
b) Plant it in moist soil to grow a garden of colaberry bushes.
c) Scrub your toilets, soften fabrics and prevent clogged drains.

18. College football Bowl Championship officials rejected a proposal to hold a one-plus game to decide the national champion because:
a) The current system is working so well.
b) No one could agree on where to hold it.
c) The television contracts have already been signed for the next 12 seasons.

19. In the seven years since the 2000 census, Oklahoma’s Hispanic population has increased about:
a) 4 percent.
b) 44 percent
c) 444 percent.

20. Maj. Andy Jordan, a Green Beret who has deployed twice to Iraq spoke at a convention in Oklahoma City. He credits his experience in this organization with helping him succeed in the military:
a) His church.
b) FFA
c) Public schools in Oklahoma.

How did you do on the quiz? Here are the correct answers:
1-A; 2-A; 3-B; 4-C; 5-A; 6-B; 7-A; 8-B; 9-C; 10-C; 11-A; 12-C; 13-B; 14-A; 15-C; 16-C; 17-C; 18-A; 19-B; 20-B.

Sometimes it’s easy to miss an event, so here’s a look back at the past week or so to help bring you up to date: