Question: (Mental Floss) -- It's hard to walk down the aisle of a liquor store without running across a bottle bearing someone's name.

A costumed reveler at a Captain Morgan party celebrates the rum named after the 17th century privateer.

We put them in our cocktails, but how well do we know them?

Here's some biographical detail on the men behind your favorite tipples:

1. Captain Morgan

The Captain wasn't always just the choice of sorority girls looking to blend spiced rum with Diet Coke; in the 17th century he was a feared privateer.

Not only did the Welsh pirate marry his own cousin, he ran risky missions for the governor of Jamaica, including capturing some Spanish prisoners in Cuba and sacking Port-au-Prince in Haiti.

He then plundered the Cuban coast before holding for ransom the entire city of Portobelo, Panama.

He later looted and burned Panama City, but his pillaging career came to an end when Spain and England signed a peace treaty in 1671.

Instead of getting in trouble for his high-seas antics, Morgan received knighthood and became the lieutenant governor of Jamaica. Mental Floss: 5 drinking stories that put yours to shame

2. Johnnie Walker

Walker, the name behind the world's most popular brand of Scotch whisky, was born in 1805 in Ayrshire, Scotland.

When his father died in 1819, Johnnie inherited a trust of a little over 400 pounds, which the trustees invested in a grocery store.

Walker became a very successful grocer in the town of Kilmarnock and even sold a whisky, Walker's Kilmarnock Whisky. 1. Who is Captain Morgan's rum named after?
2. Were people afraid of him?
3. What was his nationality?
4. Did he have a wife?
5. Did he visit any islands in the Caribbean?
6. Which?
7. What did he do there?
8. Was he punished for that?
9. Then what happened to him?
10. Who is the most popular scotch named after?
11. Where was he raised?
12. When?
13. Was he poor?
14. Where did he get money?
15. What did he do with it? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers: 1. 17th century privateer
2. Yes
3. Welsh
4. Yes
5. Yes
6. Cuba
7. plundered
8. No
9. Morgan received knighthood
10. Johnnie Walker
11. Ayrshire, Scotland
12. unknown
13. No
14. inherited
15. the trustees invested in a grocery store

Question: The term Hispanic ( or ) broadly refers to the people, nations, and cultures that have a historical link to Spain. It commonly applies to countries once owned by the Spanish Empire in the Americas (see Spanish colonization of the Americas) and Asia, particularly the countries of Hispanic America and the Philippines. It could be argued that the term should apply to all Spanish-speaking cultures or countries, as the historical roots of the word specifically pertain to the Iberian region. It is difficult to label a nation or culture with one term, such as "Hispanic", as the ethnicities, customs, traditions, and art forms (music, literature, dress, culture, cuisine, and others) vary greatly by country and region. The Spanish language and Spanish culture are the main distinctions.

"Hispanic" originally referred to the people of ancient Roman Hispania, which roughly comprised the Iberian Peninsula, including the contemporary states of Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar.

The term "Hispanic" derives from Latin "Hispanicus" ('Spanish'), the adjectival derivation of Latin (and Greek) "Hispania" ('Spain') and "Hispanus"/"Hispanos" ('Spaniard'), ultimately probably of Celtiberian origin. In English the word is attested from the 16th century (and in the late 19th century in American English). 1. What did the word Hispanic refer to, first?
2. What does the word refer to now?
3. Should the word apply to any Spanish speaking country?
4. The roots of the word pertain to what region?
5. Does that one word easily name an entire culture?
6. What are the primary distinctions?
7. Was Andorra part of Roman Hispania?
8. Name another area that was part of that region.
9. When did the word Hispanic enter the English language?
10. The word applies to places once owned by with empire?
11. And where else? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers: 1. the people of Hispania
2. people, nations, and cultures that have a historical link to Spain
3. It could be argued
4. the Iberian Peninsula
5. no
6. the Spanish language and culture
7. yes
8. Portugal
9. the 16th century
10. Spanish
11. Asia

Question: Imagine that you are the first person ever to see Hawaii. What would be the first thing you would set foot on? The beach, naturally. There are hundreds of miles of beaches on the twenty islands of Hawaii. These islands cover 1,600 miles and are about 2,300 miles west of California. Most of them are covered with fine white sand. They are thought to be among the finest beaches in the world. Another wonderful thing about the beaches of Hawaii is the water temperature. The year-round average temperature of the water at the famous Waikiki Beach is 230C! The same is true of air temperature. In fact, there are no real seasons in Hawaii. There is a difference of only two or three degrees between the hottest day of summer and the coldest day of winter. That's why the Hawaiians don't have a word for weather in their language. Perhaps the nicest thing about Hawaiian beaches are the waves. The earliest settlers in Hawaii, the Polynesians, quickly learned how much fun it was to ride the waves. They developed a sport which is now very popular on the islands called body surfing. You go out into the ocean, wait for a big wave to come towards you, jump on it, and ride it all the way to the beach. Now imagine once again that you are the first person ever to set foot in Hawaii. What do you think would be the second beautiful thing you would notice? Would it be those strange triangles rising out of the water hundreds and hundreds of meters high? What are those beautiful things? They are volcanoes , of course. These volcanoes are not just a part of the islands. They made the islands at first. Because of them the islands are still growing. The most famous volcano on Hawaii is Mauna Loa. It is the world's most active volcano. It has been erupting for thousands of years. Even when it isn't erupting, smoke comes out of the earth from a thousand little holes. In 1950 Mauna Loa erupted for twenty-three days. That erupting produced the greatest amount of lava in modern history. In 1960 it erupted again. That time it added a kilometer of beach to the island. Because Mauna Loa has erupted so often, it has become the biggest (but not the tallest) mountain in the world. These volcanoes could be dangerous to the population of Hawaii. In fact, Hilo, the second largest city in Hawaii, is built just under Mauna Loa. The volcano could erupt at any time. Most people believe that it will erupt sometime in the next twenty-five years. But the people of Hilo do not seem worried. They live with the danger as part of their lives. 1. How many islands does Hawaii have?
2. How many miles of beaches?
3. how many miles west of California?
4. Do Hawaiian's have a word for weather?
5. who were the earliest settlers there?
6. are there strange circles coming out of the water?
7. What are the beautiful triangles?
8. How often does Mauna Loa erupt?
9. Is it the biggest mountain in the world?
10. Is it the tallest?
11. Are these volcanoes dangerous?
12. are the people of Hilo worried?
13. what do they live with as a part of their lives? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers:
1. 20
2. hundreds
3. 2300
4. no
5. Polynesians
6. no
7. volcanoes
8. 23 days
9. yes
10. no
11. yes
12. no
13. the danger