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Trees with a story

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Trees with a Story — Daily trivia Monday, September 14, 2026: questions and answers

All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily

  1. Q 01A tiny owl turned up inside the giant Christmas tree delivered to which New York landmark?

    • ATimes Square
    • BCentral Park
    • CRockefeller Center
    • DGrand Central Terminal
    Show answer

    Rockefeller Center

    The brine

    Rockefeller Center. The saw-whet owl rode 170 miles in the tree from upstate, and the wildlife center that took her in named her Rockefeller and set her free.

  2. Q 02Which American folk hero grew trees whose sour fruit was mainly good for hard cider?

    • APaul Bunyan
    • BDavy Crockett
    • CDaniel Boone
    • DJohnny Appleseed
    Show answer

    Johnny Appleseed

    The brine

    Johnny Appleseed. John Chapman thought grafting was wrong, so he grew his trees from seed, and seedling apples are usually too sour to eat.

  3. Q 03In a tale a biographer likely invented, what does young George Washington say about the cherry tree?

    • AI can't tell a lie
    • BGive me liberty or give me death
    • CThe buck stops here
    • DRemember the Alamo
    Show answer

    I can't tell a lie

    The brine

    I can't tell a lie. Parson Weems added the tale to his biography years after Washington died, crediting an unnamed 'aged lady'.

  4. Q 04Why was a nearly 5,000-year-old pine cut down?

    • ATo make way for a road
    • BTo stop a beetle outbreak
    • CTo sell its rare wood
    • DTo count its rings
    Show answer

    To count its rings

    The brine

    To count its rings. Coring had failed, though accounts differ on why, and the count showed it was then the oldest known tree.

  5. Q 05In which desert did a truck hit a lone acacia with no other tree for 250 miles?

    • AThe Gobi
    • BThe Sahara
    • CThe Atacama
    • DThe Kalahari
    Show answer

    The Sahara

    The brine

    The Sahara. The Tree of Ténéré's broken trunk now rests in Niger's national museum, and a metal sculpture stands where it grew.

  6. Q 06Why did Washington, D.C., burn Tokyo's first gift of cherry trees?

    • AThey were infested with pests
    • BA row over Japanese immigration
    • CThe first lady disliked them
    • DCongress refused the gift
    Show answer

    They were infested with pests

    The brine

    They were infested with pests. Inspectors found insects and nematodes, Taft ordered the trees burned, and Tokyo sent 3,020 more in 1912.

  7. Q 07Which English pub name honors a king's hiding place from Roundhead soldiers?

    • AThe Red Lion
    • BThe Rose and Crown
    • CThe King's Head
    • DThe Royal Oak
    Show answer

    The Royal Oak

    The brine

    The Royal Oak. Charles II hid in an oak at Boscobel after losing the Battle of Worcester, and it is now among Britain's three most common pub names.

  8. Q 08Which Silicon Valley city is named after a redwood where Spanish explorers are said to have camped?

    • ACupertino
    • BMountain View
    • CPalo Alto
    • DSanta Clara
    Show answer

    Palo Alto

    The brine

    Palo Alto. Its name is Spanish for 'tall stick', and the 1,000-year-old redwood still stands, starring on Stanford's seal and as its band's mascot.

  9. Q 09Colonists are said to have hidden their royal charter in a tree that now appears on which state's quarter?

    • ARhode Island
    • BConnecticut
    • CNew Hampshire
    • DVirginia
    Show answer

    Connecticut

    The brine

    Connecticut. Evidence for the hiding is thin, but after an 1856 storm blew down the Charter Oak, its wood became desks and chairs now in the state Capitol.

  10. Q 10Vandals chainsawed the famous sycamore beside Hadrian's Wall that starred in which Robin Hood film?

    • AThe Adventures of Robin Hood
    • BRobin Hood: Men in Tights
    • CRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves
    • DRobin and Marian
    Show answer

    Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

    The brine

    Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. In 2025 the two men who felled the Sycamore Gap tree were each jailed for four years and three months.

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