In honor of the upcoming Great Forest Park Balloon Race, to be held September 18-20, 2009, this week’s questions relate to hot air ballooning. The balloon race is an excellent family activity!

QUESTION 1: Who were the first passengers to fly in a hot air balloon, and which historical figures witnessed the event?

QUESTION 2: What are the three main parts of a hot air balloon?

QUESTION 3: Which St. Louis-based company regularly enters their balloon, “Popcorn Bag,” in the Great Forest Park Balloon Race?

QUESTION 4: How does a hot air balloon move up and down?

QUESTION 5: How do the balloons actually race during the Great Forest Park Balloon Race, when they don’t take off at the same time?

BONUS QUESTION: What is “Up in the Air,” and what does it have to do with St. Louis?

Check “St. Louis trivia #010”  for answers and new questions to ponder. (Don’t miss out – click “Subscribe to Email” near the top of this page.)

Following are answers to last week’s questions:

QUESTION 1: What unusual item was used in the construction of Eads bridge?
ANSWER 1: Eads had built a double-turreted gunboat, the Milwaukee, which sank during the Civil War in the Blakely River. He later purchased the boat from a junk dealer and used her iron hull in building the caissons of the Eads Bridge.

QUESTION 2: Jim White, the St. Louis talk show pioneer, passed away on September 2, 2009. For what two reasons did he choose “The Big Bumper” as his nickname?
ANSWER 2: Jim White picked his own nickname, "The Big Bumper, he who goes bump in the night," due to his size and his time slot. He was a staple of late-night radio, locally and around the country, on KMOX.

QUESTION 3: What successful fashion brand was created by St. Louis rap star, Nelly?
ANSWER 3: Apple Bottoms. On the company website, Nelly states, "A woman should not try to fit the clothes, the clothes should fit the woman!"

QUESTION 4: A dish called “Arrozo Con Pollo ‘Homerun Style’” is featured in the restaurant of which St. Louis celebrity?
ANSWER 4: The Cardinals' homerun king, Albert Pujols, of course! His restaurant is Pujols 5 Westport Grill, 342 Westport Plaza. According to the menu, Arrozo Con Pollo 'Homerun Style' is Pujols' favorite chicken dish, featuring Dominican-spiced, slow-cooked chicken thighs with cilantro.

QUESTION 5: Which singing superstar with St. Louis connections once said, “I heard stories from my mother's mother who was an American Indian. She was spiritual, although she did not go to church, but she had the hum. She used to tell me stories of the rivers.”
ANSWER 5: Tina Turner, who met Ike Turner and began her singing career in St. Louis.

For more St. Louis fun:

• St. Louis trivia #008
• St. Louis trivia #007
• St. Louis trivia #006
• St. Louis trivia #005
• St. Louis trivia #004
• St. Louis trivia #003
• St. Louis trivia #002
• St. Louis trivia #001

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