Can You Name a US City for Every Letter of the Alphabet If We Give You a Fun Fact?

WORLD

By: Beth Hendricks

6 Min Quiz

Image: Juan Silva / Photographer's Choice RF / Getty Images

About This Quiz

What's this quiz all about? We're glad you asked! It's A Bountiful Collection (A, B, "C" what we did there?) of unique and interesting places, from one side of the country to the other. We have some pretty cool places to visit and things to see, wouldn't you agree? From cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway to climbing the Empire State Building to taking in the history of the country in Washington, D.C., there's no shortage of entertaining and educational activities from West Coast to East.

But it's not just the big cities (you know ... L.A., Dallas, New York) that are worth visiting. Hundreds of hidden gems are sprinkled throughout this nation. Stop in Wichita, Kansas, and see the Troll (they'll know which one you mean). Check out the Apache Death Cave in Winslow, Arizona. Jump off a steel arch bridge (with a parachute, of course) nearly 900 feet into the New River Gorge in West Virginia. Dive deep to see the United States' first underwater art museum in Grayton Beach, Florida.

See? We told you there are lots of exciting things to do! Now what you need to do is identify some of these locales — cities and towns from A to Z, remember? — where you can find cool things, people and places! Try your hand at matching the fun facts in this quiz with the appropriate location. You never know; you might just learn something new along the way ... like where actor Brad Pitt is from!

The largest bat colony in North America — 1.5 million strong — calls which of these cities home?

Maybe this is what they mean by "Keep Austin Weird." It's not every town that can boast a 1.5-million-member bat colony, but Austin, Texas, can. From March to October, they emerge from beneath the Congress Avenue Bridge early every evening. The bridge, built in 1980, just happens to be constructed in a way that bats appreciate.

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Step aside, Willy Wonka. Which of these cities was home to the country's first chocolate factory?

Surprised that Hershey, Pennsylvania, isn't on the list? That doesn't begin with a B, for starters. The first chocolate factory in the country, Walter Baker & Company, operated in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.

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The center of the football universe is in this town, where NFL football was born and the Pro Football Hall of Fame sits. Which city is it?

No trip to Canton, Ohio, would be complete without a little tour of all things football. Canton is home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and is considered the birthplace of what we know today as the National Football League.

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Despite being hundreds of miles south of the Appalachian Mountains, this beach town's white sand is said to be a result of ground quartz from the range. Which town is it?

If you've never been to Destin, Florida, you're missing out. The soft, white sand on its beaches is truly something to behold. It is said to have come from ground quartz residue carried from the mountains to the Gulf of Mexico via the Apalachicola River.

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If you want to visit the birthplace of Nike, you'd need to travel to which of these towns?

Eugene, Oregon, is famous for being the hometown of the University of Oregon Ducks and the sports giant Nike. Nike's cofounder, Phil Knight, took the Nike slogan "Just Do It" to heart, donating upward of $1 billion to the hometown team since the mid-1990s.

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This city has a movie named after it, but none of the movie was actually filmed there. What is it?

The movie "Fargo" was released in 1996 and named for the town of Fargo, North Dakota. It went on to win multiple awards, but we can't help but wonder how Fargo residents feel about a film named for their town but filmed elsewhere. Hmm ...

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Nearly 2,400 miles separate this town from a Civil War battle site in Vicksburg, Mississippi, but that didn't stop them from naming it after the victor. Which town is it?

Grants Pass, Oregon, is located almost 2,400 miles from Vicksburg, Mississippi, the site of a Civil War battle where General Ulysses S. Grant emerged victorious. The Oregon town of roughly 37,000 was subsequently named in Grant's honor.

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Stop in this locale and you'll find the only U.S. city that has its own royal palace. Where is it?

Honolulu's Iolani Palace is the only royal palace at home in the United States. The palace served as the official residence for King Kalakaua and his sister and successor, Queen Lili'uokalani, in the late 1800s. Sadly, the queen was overthrown.

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The lyrics to the song "Puff, the Magic Dragon" were written by a college student in this town. Where is it?

College student Leonard Lipton is credited with writing the words of the now-famous song "Puff, the Magic Dragon" on the typewriter of a friend's roommate at Cornell, in Ithaca, New York. That roommate? Peter Yarrow, from the group Peter, Paul and Mary, who popularized the song.

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This city, also a U.S. state capital, is the only one that shares a border with another country. Which one is it?

Alaska's capital city of Juneau shares its border with the Canadian province, British Columbia. It is the only state capital in the United States that borders another country. Juneau also sits at the foot of Mount Roberts.

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Known as the "City of Firsts," which of these towns earned that nickname for its inventions like stainless steel tableware and the tire-building machine?

Many modern inventions can be traced back to Kokomo, Indiana, so much so that the town has earned the nickname "City of Firsts." Among the notable inventions to appear here are a tire-building machine for mass production, stainless steel tableware and even a mechanical corn picker.

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If you've ever wanted to participate in a giant "Thriller" reenactment, you can find one with 2,000-plus participants in this city. Where is it?

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is the quintessential Halloween song, spawning re-enactments all over the globe. The one in Lexington, Kentucky, however, may be hard to beat: More than 2,000 people dress up as zombies and dance down the city's Main Street.

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Second only to the White House, this city has the No. 2 most-visited residence in the country. Which city is it?

Memphis is home to the second most-visited residence in the United States, which is not shocking considering who that residence once belonged to — none other than the King of Rock 'n' Roll himself, Elvis Presley.

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One of this city's busiest streets was initially intended to be an artificial waterway, but construction never happened. Where is it located?

Have you heard of Canal Street in New Orleans, Louisiana? It's one of the city's busiest thoroughfares, but if the original plans for the city had been completed, you would've needed a boat to get down it. An artificial waterway was intended for the space but was never completed.

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You'll find more than 100 lakes in this town, many of which are attributed to sinkholes. Which of these is it?

It doesn't earn Minnesota's designation as "Land of 10,000 Lakes," but Orlando, Florida, does have 100 scattered throughout its limits. Many of them are attributed to sinkholes that formed and filled. Lake Eola, located downtown, is at least 80 feet deep!

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If you've ever used ;-) or ;-( in conversation, you can thank a computer scientist from this city. Which one is it?

:-o It's true! A computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is credited with developing emoticons, a precursor to emojis, which require you to tilt your head slightly to view correctly.

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The DEA and FBI both have training academies in which of these Q towns?

If you're headed to Quantico, Virginia, odds are you're involved in either military or government operations. The town is the site of training academies for the FBI and the DEA and also houses one of the Marines' largest bases.

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Take your photo with the world's largest freestanding manmade illuminated star in this town. You may not even need your flash on! Where is it?

"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" was definitely NOT written about the Roanoke Star in Roanoke, Virginia. It is considered the largest freestanding manmade star of its kind in the entire world, located at the peak of Mill Mountain.

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The first rule of this town is: Don't talk about this town's most famous son, Brad Pitt. Where is the "Fight Club" actor from?

Brad Pitt hails from Shawnee, Oklahoma, and can reportedly trace his family's existence in the area back to the Oklahoma Land Rush of the late 1800s. Pitts' family later relocated to Springfield, Missouri, where he went on to excel in his high school's athletic teams, debate club and — shocker — musicals.

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Two states found themselves in an all-out war over possession of this city. Which one are we talking about?

Michigan and Ohio have long fought on the football field, but they came to minor literal blows over the area now known as Toledo. The so-called "Toledo War" found both states trying to lay claim to what eventually became Ohio's northwest corner.

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Thirsty? You'll find the world's largest watering can in which of these cities?

Utica, New York, can help keep you — or your plants — hydrated, with the world's largest watering can, situated inside the Utica Zoo. The claim has been verified by the Guinness World Records folks, so you know it's legit.

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The "Shark Tooth Capital of the World" title belongs to this beach town in Florida. What is it called?

Caspersen Beach, in Venice, Florida, is a must-see if collecting shark teeth is on your vacation to-do list. Visitors to the area claim you can easily find the fossilized teeth by digging around in the sand.

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"You're not you when you're hungry." Thank this community for more than 75% of Snickers bars produced in the U.S. Where is it?

Waco, Texas, is home to many unique places and interesting facts — to us, the most important of which is its staggering rate of Snickers production. As much as 75% of the Snickers inventory in the United States is cranked out in Waco factories.

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This town's name was selected during a community meeting. Turns out, it means "hospitality." Which location is it?

There aren't many U.S. cities that start with "X" and even fewer where the town's name was selected during a community meeting. A pastor at that meeting suggested "Xenia" because of its meaning in Greek: hospitality.

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We've heard of the "Bridge to Terabithia," but the "Bridge to Nowhere"? Where can you find it?

Yuma's Bridge to Nowhere is located on U.S. Route 95 and was originally used as a thoroughfare over the Gila River in Arizona. The bridge is unsafe and no longer in use, although it remains on the National Register of Historic Places. Its official name is the McPhaul Suspension Bridge.

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You'd probably equate this location with salt water more than spring water, but it has earned the title of "City of Pure Water." Where is it?

You may have seen Zephyrhills bottled water at your local grocer. It comes from springs in Zephyrhills, Florida, earning the locale the title of "City of Pure Water." Zephyrhills is a suburb of the Tampa area.

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