TASK DEFINITION: You will be given a trivia clue, and the category it belongs to. You should answer with the best answer that belongs in the category and is described by the clue. For simplicity, answers should be in all lower cased letters.
PROBLEM: Category: STATE CAPITALS 
Clue: While Portland is Maine's main city, this is the capital

SOLUTION: augusta

PROBLEM: Category: ACCORDING TO JIM 
Clue: A humorist: "Every person carries... the... scar, or the fresh wound, of some harrowing misadventure with a contraption"

SOLUTION: james thurber

PROBLEM: Category: KIDS IN THE 1960s 
Clue: ...read about the first 7 U.S. astronauts in this '60s NASA program named for the messenger of the Roman gods

SOLUTION:
mercury