Put Your UA IQ to the Test in New Trivia Book

TUSALOOSA, Ala. – Are you a tried and true Bama Fan? If so, what is your University of Alabama IQ?

Before you answer that, you may want to check out the facts and figures on UA found in “The University of Alabama Trivia Book” (2007, Hill Street Press) written by Jessica Lacher-Feldman, associate professor and public and outreach services coordinator for the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library at UA.

The newly published book features more than 650 questions (with answers) and quotations spanning more than two centuries of Tide history and lore.

Lacher-Feldman said the book took a great deal of time to research and compile, but the experience was both rewarding and helpful.

“It was actually an excellent exercise in building my knowledge about The University of Alabama. My job as public and outreach coordinator at the Hoole Special Collections Library requires me to know as much as I can about any and all aspects of UA life and history.

“Any university Special Collections Library should be considered the heart and very epicenter of university history – the first place to look for information about any and all that relates to that place. Hoole is loaded with incredible collections and materials that reveal the past and help to chart the future. And from those holdings, it was easy to cobble together some great questions and quotes for students, alums and fans to share with each other,” she said.

The new book is available at the UA Supply Store and can be ordered online from numerous sources including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, or through the publisher at www.hillstreetpress.com.The UA book is part of a series of college trivia books covering several Universities, including many SEC schools published by the Hill Street Press, located in Athens, Ga.

Though Lacher-Feldman came to UA from her native New York in 2000, she wasted no time in building upon her knowledge of the University.

“Shortly after arriving, I was appointed to the local arrangements committee for The Society of American Archivists’ annual meeting in Birmingham. Part of what we did to entice over 1,000 archivists from all over the world to come to Alabama in August was to give them 101 reasons – this list, which was not unlike building a trivia book, helped to build my interest in the interesting facts about the state, and also the University.”

PUT YOUR UA IQ TO THE TEST

Packed with the fun, the significant, the bizarre and the informative, “The UA Trivia Book” is described by the publisher as the “quintessential source of information about UA” designed to test and possibly improve your UA IQ. Some of the questions posed and answered include:

Student Life and Tradition

Q – Where did UA’s colors come from?
A – They were adopted after their use in the 1885 New Orleans Exposition competitive drill by UA’s cadet class Company E, which won first place.

Q – In 1956, how many date nights were freshman women allowed weekly?
A – Three: Friday, Saturday and one other night of their choice

Q – What prestigious honor society was first established at UA in November 1850 in secret?
A – Phi Beta Kappa

Q – Who was the first woman on the UA faculty?
A – Amelia Gayle Gorgas, who stepped in as University Librarian upon the death of her husband, Josiah.

Q – What former UA professor was knighted by the King of Sweden?
A – Hudson Strode, professor of creative writing

Q – What UA professor served as a consultant for Stephen Spielberg’s film Amistad?
A – Dr. Howard Jones, a professor of history at UA since 1974. His book Mutiny on the Amistad received wide critical acclaim.

Alumni

Q – What UA alum wrote a book which was voted “the best novel of the century” by librarians across the United States?
A – Harper Lee. Her novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” won her a Pulitzer Prize and has been translated to more than 40 languages.

Q – What UA cheerleader and homecoming queen went on to win two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe, in addition to writing a New York Times best-seller?
A – Sela Ward (class of 1977)

Q – Who was the only UA alum to have won two Pulitzer Prizes?
A – Dr. E.O. Wilson, UA graduate (BS 1949, MS 1950), both in the non-fiction category. He won in 1979 for his book “On Human Nature” and in 1991 for “The Ants.”

Q – What UA alum and famous composer’s nephew went on to invent the teleprompter, revolutionizing television?
A – Irving Berlin Kahn, class of 1939

Q – What 1906 UA Law School grad served on the U.S. Supreme Court?
A – Hugo L. Black (1886-1971)

Sports

Q – Who is credited with bringing football to the University?
A- W.G. Little of Livingston in 1892

Q – What UA football legend appeared as himself on “The Simpsons” and “The Brady Bunch,” proving both a lasting power and his place as an American icon?
A – Former UA quarterback Joe Namath – as recognizable today as when he played for the Tide in the 1960s.

Q- How many national championships in football has the Crimson tide won? Name the years.
A – Twelve – in 1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1941, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979 and 1992 – the most championships by any SEC team and among the most of any in the country.

Lacher-Feldman holds graduate degrees in history and library and information science from The University at Albany in Albany, N.Y. She lives in Tuscaloosa with her husband, Thomas Little, manager of area computing services for the UA Capstone College of Nursing, and her dog Astro.