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. Oklahoma is the first state to ban:
a) Driving while talking on a cell phone.
b) Donations from one political action committee to another.
c) Lobbyist gifts to elected officials.

2. Washington state has moved to stop drivers from using hand-held cell phones. Most likely to benefit are:
a) Motorists in the next lane.
b) Highway construction workers.
c) Those who sell hands-free phone accessories.

3. Saudi Arabia is building this in the desert:
a) A huge oil field that will produce 1.2 million barrels a day.
b) A 100-acre water park.
c) Disney Saudi Arabia.

4. South Korean police have refused to allow more candlelight vigils over:
a) U.S involvement in Iraq.
b) U.S. bases in the region.
c) U.S. beef imports.

5. Anchorage police say a teenage girl was injured in a 24-hour bicycle race when:
a) She collided with others on a steep hill.
b) She was mauled by a grizzly on a park trail.
c) She was struck by a car while using her cell phone.

6. In what is being described as one of the weirdest baseball games in recent years, the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Los Angeles Angels 1-0 despite:
a) Committing 14 errors.
b) Not getting a hit.
c) Losing the ball in a sand trap.

7. A $1 billion Texas plant to be built by SandRidge Energy and Occidental Petroleum will process this:
a) Ethanol created from switchgrass.
b) Methane gas.
c) Carbon dioxide-rich natural gas.

8. An Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation study has found this common substance may help protect against multiple sclerosis:
a) Caffeine.
b) Vitamin C.
c) Ibuprofen.

9. Some residents near the Mississippi River are learning it’s not a good idea to cancel your flood insurance if you’ve already lived through a 100-year flood because the term actually means:
a) Flooding so high it’s only seen once a century. 
b) Century-old buildings have no chance of survival. 
c) It has a 1 percent chance of happening in any given year.

10. In terms of fatalities, a 2005 Centers for Disease Control study has found that gun owners most often use their weapons on:
a) Themselves.
b) Intruders in the night.
c) Criminals on the street.

11. Farmers are planting less cotton — acreage is at a 25-year-low — and more:
a) Corn and soybeans.
b) Corn and hemp.
c) Corn — just corn.

12. Changes are brewing at Starbucks. The company said it will:
a) Introduce a new chocolate-based drink.
b) Close 19 percent of its company-operated stores in the U.S.
c) Join with Wal-Mart to offer in-store breakfasts.

13. A study of retirement saving reports four out of five workers aren’t saving enough to maintain their lifestyle. A worker must save this much of his income over the course of his career: 
a) 10 to 12 percent.
b) 20 to 22 percent.
c) It doesn’t matter because winning the lottery is easy. 

14. Fireworks are banned in most Oklahoma municipalities for safety reasons. Often mistakenly considered children’s toys, sparklers can reach temperatures of:
a) 180 to 200 degrees.
b) 1,800 to 2,000 degrees.
c) 18,000 to 20,000 degrees.

15. With an average 18-gallon tank of gas, and EPA average 21 mpg, an average driver can go: 
a) 358 miles.
b) 378 miles.
c) 398 miles.

16. The Phoenix Lander may be finished analyzing Martian soil because:
a) The craft is stuck in the mud of the melting icecap. 
b) The craft’s instruments are single use, disposable and recyclable.
c) It has a short circuit, perhaps because somebody shook it to break up the dirt clods.

17. Archaeologists digging around what may be George Washington’s childhood home at Ferry Farm, Va., have found:
a) Artifacts including pieces of a tea set, wig curlers and bone toothbrush handles.
b) Nothing but a burned shell as the building materials already were looted.
c) A hatchet and cherry limbs labeled and enshrined for posterity.

18. Watermelon researchers say a slice of melon contains a chemical called citrulline that can trigger the same results as this:
a) Ibuprofen.
b) Viagra.
c) Alka-Seltzer.

19. The Winchester Drive-In has entertained moviegoers for 40 years. In the past 15 years, this has been unchanged:
a) The price of admission: Two or three movies for $5 per adult.
b) The feature film: It’s still packing them in.
c) The concession-stand menu, including filet mignon.

20. Bargain-hunting consumers are doing more of this for the first time in 16 years:
a) Eating from the dollar menu at McDonald’s.
b) Clipping coupons, including online versions.
c) Buying sport utility vehicles because they’re a really good deal these days.

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