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Here are some Trivia questions about the Navy and the U.S. Naval
Academy. Don’t feel bad if you don’t
get them all right, the fun is in reading the answers! Enjoy! Please join in the fun - Send your Trivia Questions &
Answers - SPPA_WEBMASTER@yahoo.com |
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What is the origin of the term
“MIDSHIPMEN”? Answer In the British Navy during the days of wooden ships, young men training
to be naval officers were stationed in the middle of ships to relay orders.
They were called midshipmen. |
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Why did the U.S. Naval Academy begin its
own Dairy in 1911 and when did they shut down the USNA Dairy Farm? Answer The USNA Dairy Farm was created to provide safe milk to
midshipmen after a 1911 typhoid outbreak.
On the 6th of July 1998, the U.S. Naval Academy announced that it
would shut down its dairy farm, sell the cows and begin buying milk from a
dairy in Frederick, saving 25¢ per gallon or about 1½¢ per glass. |
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What is meant when a Midshipman is
called a “ROCK”? Answer The Midshipman is a terrible swimmer. |
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What is a “JUMPER FLAP”? Answer The collar of a sailor’s uniform. It originated as a protective cover for the
jacket to protect it from the grease or powder normally worn by seamen to
hold hair in place. |
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Who was the only “ADMIRAL OF THE
NAVY”? Answer There was only one "Admiral of the Navy" in the
history of the United States. That individual, Commodore Dewey (of Spanish
American War fame - "You may fire when ready, Gridley"), was
granted that title by act of Congress, and was valid only for his lifetime.
The rank was in recognition of his exploits in destroying the Spanish Fleet
at Manila Bay in the Philippine Islands. Dewey's success allowed the U.S. to
gain a foothold in the Far East, and to station peacekeeping forces close to China
(essential for relief during the Boxer Rebellion, and in WWII, slowing the
Japanese advance) |
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What is the origin of the term “COLD
ENOUGH TO FREEZE THE BALLS OF A BRASS MONKEY?
Answer During the civil war, cannonballs were stacked up in pyramids
called brass monkeys. When it got extremely cold, they would explode or
break, hence the term. |
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In 2006, how much money does King Hall
spend to feed each Mid per day? Answer The government-authorized individual ration allowance of about $4.75
a day is used to provide a nutritionally balanced daily diet of 3,500 - 4,000
calories per midshipman. All meat is
U.S. Choice; vegetables are Grade A Fancy; and dairy products, including
4,000 quarts of fresh milk, arrive each day. |
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What is the origin of the term
“CHIT”? Answer It is a carry over from the days when Hindu traders used paper called
“citthi” for money, so they wouldn't have to carry heavy bags of gold and
silver. British sailors shortened the word to chit and applied it to their mess vouchers. Its most outstanding
use in the Navy today is for drawing pay and a form used for requesting leave
and liberty. However, the term is currently applied to almost any piece of
paper from a pass to an official letter requesting some privilege. |
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What is the origin of the term “CROW’S
NEST”? Answer The crow, yes the bird, was an essential part of the early
sailor’s navigation equipment. These land-lubbing fowl
were carried on board to help the navigator determine where the closest land
lay when the weather prevented sighting the shore visually. In case of poor
visibility, a crow was released and the navigator plotted a course that
corresponded with the birds because it invariably headed toward land. The
crow's nest was situated high in the main mast where the look-out stood
watch. Often he shared this lofty perch with a crow or two since the crows'
cages were kept there; hence the crow's nest. |
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How long is a “FATHOM”? Answer A Fathom is six feet (1.83 meters). Fathom was originally a land measuring term
derived from the Ango-Saxon word "faetm" meaning to embrace. In those days, most
measurements were based on average size of parts of the body, such as the
hand (horses are still measured this way) or the foot (that's why 12 inches
are so named). A fathom was the length of the distance from fingertip to
fingertip of the outstretched arms of an average man
--- about six feet. Since a man
stretches out his arms to embrace his sweetheart, Britain's Parliament
declared that distance was called a "fathom" and it became a
standard unit of measure. |
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How did a GOAT become the USNA
mascot? Answer In early sailing years, livestock would travel on ships, providing
the crew the fresh milk, meats, and eggs. as well as
serving as ships' mascots. One pet, a goat named El Cid (meaning Chief) was
the mascot aboard the USS New York. When its crew attended the fourth
Navy-Army football game in 1893, they took El Cid to the game, a game which West Point lost!
El Cid (The Chief) was offered shore duty to become the Navy's mascot.
The Navy mascot’s name is Bill XXVIII
(28), there have been 2 cats, 1 dog, 1 carrier
pigeon as well. Goats have been the
official mascot since 1904. |
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Where did the ritual come from of firing
a “21 GUN SALUTE”? Answer In the days of cannon, it took a long time to load and fire a
gun. When a ship fired her guns in salute, she rendered herself powerless for
the duration. By emptying their guns, the ship's crew showed shore batteries
and forts that they were no threat. Over time, this gesture became a show of
respect, with both shore and ship gun batteries firing volleys. While many
people believe that the 21 gun salute was a tribute to the American
Revolution, a number determined as a result of
adding together the numbers 1+7+7+6, the truth is the 21 gun salute was an
effort to cut costs. The habit of firing salutes became wasteful, with ships
and shore batteries firing shots for hours on end. The British admiralty
first dictated the policies now in place as a practical matter to save
gunpowder. The rule was simple, for every volley fired by a ship in salute, a
shore battery could return up to three shots. The regulations limited ships
to a total of 7 shots in salute, so the 21
gun-salute became the salute used to honor the only the most important
dignitaries. Today, the U.S. Navy Regulations proscribe that only those ships
and stations designated by the Secretary of the Navy may fire gun salutes. A
national salute of 21 guns is fired on: ·
Washington's
Birthday ·
Memorial
Day ·
Independence
Day ·
To
honor the President of the United States ·
To honor heads of foreign states. Additionally, ships may, with approval from the office of the
Secretary of the Navy, provide gun salutes for naval officers on significant
occasions, using the following protocol: ·
Admiral
-17 guns ·
Vice
Admiral -15 guns ·
Rear
Admiral (upper half) -13 guns ·
Rear
Admiral (lower half) -11 guns All gun salutes are fired at five second intervals. Gun salutes
will always total an odd number. |
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How fast is a “KNOT” and why is it called that?
Answer A knot is one nautical mile per hour. Therefore, a ship traveling at five knots
is traversing five nautical miles per hour. OK, how long is a nautical
mile? A nautical mile is equal to
about 1.15 survey miles, or 6080 feet.
A nautical mile is the angular distance of one minute of arc on the Earth's
surface. That's
simple enough, but why is it called a knot?
In the ancient times, the only way to measure ship speed was to throw
a wood log into the water and observe how fast it moves away from the ship.
This approximate method of ship speed measurement was called 'Heaving the
Log' and was used until 1500-1600s when the 'Chip Log' method was invented
(both methods probably invented by Dutch sailors.) The 'Chip Log' apparatus consisted of a
small weighted wood panel that was attached to the reel of rope, and a time
measuring device: a half-minute sand glass.
The rope had knots tied at equal distances along the reel. Sailors
would throw the wood panel into the sea, behind the ship, and the rope would
start unwinding from the reel. The faster the ship was moving forward the
faster the rope would unwind. By counting the number of knots that went
overboard in a given time interval, measured by the sand glass, they could
tell the ship's speed. In fact, that is the origin of the nautical speed unit:
the knot. Today, sea navigators measure their ship's speed using modern
GPS (Global Positioning System) driven devices. Global Positioning System or GPS is a
network of satellites, currently over 24 satellites that constantly send
radio signals to the surface of the Earth. These signals contain the
satellite position and exact time (each satellite has an on board atomic
clock!). All satellite transmissions are synchronized to the U.S. Navy atomic
clock and occur the same instant. These signals, each traveling at the speed
of light, arrive to a GPS receiver at slightly different times due to
distance to satellites differences. After receiving signals from at least
four different GPS satellites, the receiver can calculate its position in all
three dimensions (based on time delays between signals). Once the receiver
knows exact position at any given time, the internal electronics tracks that
position in time and calculates ship's speed.
Current position accuracy of the GPS system is about 10-20 meters with
most standard receivers and can be as good as 1 meter or less with special
ground based repeaters. The GPS network is operated and maintained by the USA
Navy and Air Force, with the first of these satellites sent into orbit in
1978. |
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Why is it called a “PEA COAT”? Answer Sailors
who have to endure pea soup weather often don their pea coats but the coat's
name isn't derived from the weather. The heavy topcoat worn in cold,
miserable weather by seafaring men was once tailored from pilot
cloth - a heavy, course, stout kind of twilled blue cloth with the
nap on one side. The cloth was sometimes called P-cloth for the initial
letter of the word and the garment made from it was called a p-jacket - later
a pea coat. The term has been used since 1723 to denote coats made from that
cloth. |
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Where did the terms “STARBOARD” and
“PORT” originate? Answer The
Vikings called the side of their ship its board, and they placed
the steering oar, the "star" on the right side of
the ship, thus that side became known as the "star board." It's
been that way ever since. Because the oar was in the
right side, the ship was tied to the dock at the left side. This was known as
the loading side or "larboard". Later, it was decided that
"larboard" and "starboard" were too similar, especially
when trying to be heard over the roar of a heavy sea, so the phrase became
the "side at which you tied up to in port" or the "port"
side. |
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How many “WATCHES” are there in a 24
hour day? Answer Traditionally,
a 24-hour day is divided into seven watches. These are: midnight
to 4 a.m. [0000-0400], the mid-watch; 4 to 8 a.m. [0400-0800], morning watch;
8 a.m. to noon [0800-1200], forenoon watch; noon to 4 p.m. [1200-1600],
afternoon watch; 4 to 6 p.m. [1600-1800] first dog watch; 6 to 8 p.m. [1800-2000],
second dog watch; and, 8 p.m. to midnight [2000-2400], evening watch. The
half hours of the watch are marked by the striking the bell an appropriate
number of times. Striking
the Bell is the measure of time originated in the days when a half-hour glass
was used to tell off the four-hour watches. Each time the sand ran out, the
ship's boy, whose job it was to reverse the glass, struck a bell to show he
was attending to his business. Thus, eight times he turned the glass, and
eight times struck the bell. Dog
Watch is the name given to the 1600-1800 and the 1800-2000 watches aboard a
ship. The 1600-2000 four-hour watch was originally split even to prevent men
from always having to stand the same watches daily. As a result, Sailors
dodge the same daily routine; hence, they are dodging the watch or standing
the dodge watch. In its corrupted form, dodge became dog and the procedure is
referred as "dogging the watch" or standing the "dog
watch." |
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What was the first Navy ship named for
an enlisted man? Answer It
was the Osmond Ingram (DD-255) in 1919.
Osmond Kelly Ingram, born in Pratt City, Alabama, 4 August 1887,
entered the Navy, 24 November 1903. Serving on the USS Cassin
(DD43) when she was attacked by a German submarine off Ireland 16 September
1917, Gunner's Mate First Class Ingram spotted the approaching torpedo,
realized it would strike close by explosives, thus dooming the ship, and
rushed to jettison the ammunition. He was blown overboard when the torpedo
struck, thus becoming the first enlisted man killed in action in World War I
as he saved his ship and shipmates.
For his heroic deeds, Ingram was awarded the Medal of Honor and was
the first enlisted man to have a ship named after him. |
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What year were women first accepted into
USNA? Answer The
Naval Academy first accepted women as midshipmen in 1976, when Congress
authorized the admission of women to all of the service academies. Women comprise
about 20 percent of the entering Class of 2008. |
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When was the United States Naval Academy
established? Answer It
depends… Through the efforts of the Secretary of the Navy, George Bancroft,
the Naval School was established without Congressional funding, at a 10-acre
Army post named Fort Severn in Annapolis, Maryland, on October 10, 1845,
with a class of 50 midshipmen and seven professors. In 1850, the Naval School became the
United States Naval Academy. Congress
authorized the Naval Academy to begin awarding bachelor of science degrees in
1933. |
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Who authored and when was the first
“REEF POINTS” published? Answer In
1905, Chaplain H. H. Clark writes the first Reef Points, the "Plebe's
bible." It was published by the local YMCA. |
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What year was "NAVY BLUE AND
GOLD" first sung in public? Answer In
1926, "Navy Blue and Gold," composed by organist and choirmaster J.
W. Crosley, is first sung in public. It has become
a tradition to sing this alma mater song at the end of every football game,
and on Graduation Day. |
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For what important experiment is Albert
A. Michelson known? Answer Albert
A. Michelson (USNA 1873) first accurately measures the speed of light in 1878
with $10 worth of apparatus along the seawall of USNA. |
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Answer
A |
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