Name that Flyover City! — Apr 14, 2022
Here’s a review of this week’s questions:
- What midwestern city is the founding location and current corporate headquarters of Nationwide Insurance?
- What southern city is the birthplace of Academy Award-winning actress Kathy Bates?
- Despite being first erected in Chicago, the Ferris wheel was actually invented in this American city. What city was it?
And here are the answers:
- Columbus, OH. Formerly known as Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance, the organization that eventually became Nationwide Insurance got its start in Columbus in 1926. Ensuring businesses for farmers and ranchers in Ohio, the company expanded into West Virginia and into the northeast, ultimately changing its name to Nationwide. Today, the company employs over 25,000 people in Columbus.
- Memphis, TN. Kathy Bates won an Oscar in 1991 for playing “superfan” Annie Wilkes in the horror movie, “Misery.” It was her movie breakthrough, but the talented performer, born in Memphis in 1948, had been acting for two decades before winning the award. She attended Southern Methodist University in Texas before heading to New York and a series of stage successes. She was nominated for a Tony Award in 1983, and throughout her career has played spirited and often challenging characters. She has won two Golden Globes and two Emmy Awards in addition to her Best Actress Oscar.
- Pittsburgh, PA. Appropriately enough, the Ferris wheel was invented by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. The Pittsburgh engineer sketched the idea on a restaurant napkin and showed it to some of his skeptical engineer friends. He used his own money for the blueprints, and then he formed a joint stock company to attract the necessary wealthy investors. The monumental achievement was unveiled at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.