Summer Summary - Random Trivia Questions

As we've just crossed into summer here in the northern half of the world, this is a good to reflect on all that we know of my favorite season (and possibly yours too, especially if you're a student or a teacher). Although it's the longest season (at least by the astronomical reckoning of the solstices and equinoxes), it always seemed like the shortest when I was a kid. It's the season in which the Earth is the farthest from the sun (although the closest point is around July 6, not the summer solstice, the tilt of the axis is what heats us up). And it's the season whose name is in the most movie and television show titles (I just made that up, but checking IMDB shows that it's true: 837 [including translations] vs. 744 for autumn [147] and fall [597, including other meanings of "fall"] combined, 449 for spring, and 427 for winter).

So, what do you know about all things summery?

Summer Summary Questions

• Q1) True or false: in the continental U.S., the earliest sunrise and the latest sunset of the year always occur on the summer solstice.
• Q2) What volcano erupted in 1883 to cause the "year without a summer"?
• Q3) What television show included roommates whose last names were Grant and Summers?
• Q4) What Ivy League college named Lawrence Summers as its new president on March 11, 2001?
• Q5) What "holiday" do people celebrate each year on September 19 thanks to John Baur and Mark Summers?
• Q6) What song earned Donna Summer the only Grammy award ever given for Best Disco Recording?
• Q7) True or false: the dog days of summer were named for the time of year when dogs lay around all day.
• Q8) Which former member of the Eagles reached #5 on the U.S. pop charts with "Boys of Summer" in 1984?
• Q9) What chef opened the Summer Shack restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 22, 2000?
• Q10) What star in Cygnus completes the Summer Triangle asterism with Vega and Altair?
• Q11) What actress played Buffy Summers on television from 1997 to 2003?
• Q12) What author's 1940 novel was turned into the 1958 movie The Long, Hot Summer starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward?