Are you a true Washingtonian?

Estimated Completion Time
4 min
Are you a true Washingtonian?
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About This Quiz

You know Washington State has the best coffee, microbrews and cedar plank salmon. And maybe you've heard that springtime means spider time (they bite!). But only native Washingtonians know where to go to meet Miss Seafair, where to find the best off-the-beaten paths and that we're the ones who gave the world "Dick and Jane." See if you're picking up what this state's putting down.
Which Washington college's nickname is pronounced "Wazzu"?
Gonzaga University
Washington State University
Eastern Washington University
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Wazzu" is the nickname for Washington State University, located in Pullman, in the southeastern part of the state.

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What do you call the Washington State Fair?
the Puyallup Fair
K-Days
Scone-Days
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Every year you go to Puyallup, Washington, to the Puyallup Fair, the original name of the Washington State Fair.

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What is the most popular type of crab served in the state?
Atlantic Rock Crab
Dungeness crab
Jonah crab
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sweet and tender Dungeness crab is super popular in the Pacific Northwest. In 2015 alone the Puget Sound Dungeness crab fisheries landed almost 12 million pounds of the crustaceans, but you can go crabbing yourself.

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Is it true the Washington State University mascot, Butch, used to be a live cougar?
yes, for about 50 years
no way!
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Beginning in 1927, when one was presented to the school, until 1978, the WSU mascot was a live cougar. Since then, Butch has been represented by a student in a cougar costume. Go Cougs!

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What was the nickname of the serial killer who preyed upon women in Washington state, from 1982 until he was caught in 2001?
the Green River Killer
the Killer Clown
the Zodiac Killer
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Gary Ridgway, known as the "Green River Killer" murdered at least 49 women -- and that number may be higher, from 1982 until he was caught in 2001.

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Seahawks fans are part of the ____ nation.
Cheeseheads
Black Hole
12th man
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Seattle Seahawks fans are known as the team's 12th man on the field (not literally, but kind of: Seahawks' fans have been known to throw down a game-changing Beast Quake when it's needed). In 1984, the Seahawks retired the No. 12 in honor of its fans.

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What's Washington's state nickname?
The Evergreen State
The Land of Enchantment
The Sunshine State
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Although it's never been adopted by the state legislature, Washington's known as The Evergreen State, because of its evergreen forests.

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What tax don't Washingtonians pay?
income tax
property tax
sales tax
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Washingtonians don't pay income tax, but there is a gross receipts tax on business revenue. Most of the state's revenue comes from sales tax.

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What do you call that strip of land between the sidewalk and the street?
hellstrip
parking strip
tree park
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While these are all names for that piece of land between the sidewalk and the street, it's most commonly called a "parking strip" in Washington (in the Northwest, really).

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What suspension bridge was nicknamed Galloping Gertie?
the Chow Chow Bridge
the Nutty Narrows Bridge
the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Galloping Gertie was the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which spanned the Tacoma Narrows strait between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula. When it opened in July 1940, it was the first suspension bridge in Washington. But even before it opened, the bridge moved vertically in windy conditions, and by November 1940, it collapsed.

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How do you pronounce "geoduck"?
"ee-oh-duck," with a silent "g"
"gee-oh-duck"
"gooey-duck"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The strange-looking Pacific geoduck isn't a duck at all -- it's a big edible saltwater clam that's native to the Pacific Northwest region. If you want to order it, ask for the "gooey-duck" (goo-ee-duhk).

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Washingtonians know the University of Washington in Seattle by what nickname?
Huskies University
U-Dawgs
U-Dub
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The University of Washington is known as "U-Dub." (The university also has a mascot, a real Husky dog, named Dubs.)

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What do you say if Mount Rainier is visible on the horizon?
"Look, it's not raining!"
“The mountains are calling and I must go.”
"The mountain is out."
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Local lingo for being able to see Mount Rainier on the horizon is, "the mountain is out."

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What's the name of the story about a furry creature called the Wheedle, who lives at the very top of the Space Needle?
"Good Night Seattle"
"S is for Salmon: A Pacific Northwest Alphabet"
"Wheedle the Needle"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Wheedle the Needle," a children's story written by Stephen Cosgrove, takes place in Washington (Mount Rainier and Seattle). Wheedle, the book's main character, has become a mascot for the city of Seattle over the years.

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The most famous burger option at Washington's own Dick's Drive-In is the Dick's Deluxe. What's on it?
two burger patties, cheese, lettuce, mayonnaise, pickle relish
one burger patty, cheese, ketchup, a small amount of mild mustard
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A Dick's Deluxe is made of: two grilled burger patties with melted cheese, lettuce, mayonnaise and pickle relish.

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Where can you usually see the Orcas and humpback whales, between mid-April through October?
Steamboat Island
San Juan Islands
Mercer Island
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

From mid-April through October, Washington's Orcas and humpbacks can usually be seen around the San Juan Islands.

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Where do wild horses roam in the state?
on the Navajo Nation Reservation
on the Turtle Mountain Reservation
on the Yakama Reservation
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

As part of the Wild Horse (K'u-see) Project, there are more than 12,000 wild horses of the Yakama Homeland (a 2010 estimate), living on the Yakama Reservation. None of the other tribal lands are located in Washington.

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What's the name of the border crossing from northern Washington into Vancouver (Canada)?
Sleater Kinney
Peace Arch
Front Street
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It's the Peace Arch border crossing that's between Blaine and Vancouver, British Columbia.

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If you're using an umbrella in Washington, you're probably what?
blocking the unrelenting sun from your face
protesting
not from Washington
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Washington gets about 30 inches of rain a year, over about eight months. But if you see a person using an umbrella, there from out of state.

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Every year someone is crowned the Daffodil ____ at the Daffodil Festival?
the Daffodil Princess
the Daffodil Duchess
the Daffodil Doll
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

To be eligible to be a candidate for Daffodil Princess, you need to be a senior in high school. There are 23 high schools around Pierce County that participate in the annual Daffodil Festival.

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Which is not an area code in the state?
206
360
541
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

541 is not an area code in Washington state. It's one of the area codes used in the neighboring state of Oregon.

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What is the name of the agricultural area that includes parts of southeastern Washington and north central Idaho (and, depending who you ask, parts of northeast Oregon)?
Goat Prairie
Little Missouri
the Palouse
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Palouse, which is comprised of southeastern Washington and north central Idaho, is a major agricultural region in the state. Farmers in the area produce legumes and wheat, mostly.

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What kind of mustard is impossible to find outside of the state?
AJ's Walla Walla Sweet Onion Mustard
Boar's Head Deli-Style Mustard
Keen's Mustard Powder
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There's a love affair with AJ's Walla Walla Sweet Onion Mustard in Washington, and Washingtonians have been known to order it from out of state.

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Get out the rye bread and mustard, Grandma, it's ... what time?
grand salami
Joltin' Joe
swung on and belted
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Every time the Mariners made a grand slam homerun, sportcaster Dave Niehaus would yell, "Get out the rye bread and mustard, Grandma, it's grand salami time!"

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What is the name of the '90s punk rock genre that was led by all-female bands like Bikini Kill, Babes in Toyland and L7?
punk nihilism
riot grrrl
stuckism
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Riot grrrls emerged from Olympia in the early 1990s. Although the raw sound of this punk rock feminist movement never met mainstream success like grunge, the legacy lives on.

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Washingtonians have a unique way of pronouncing some words. Which of these word pairs sounds the same in the Pacific Northwest accent?
"caught" and cot"
"don" and "dawn"
the words each of these pairs sounds similar or the same
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In the Pacific Northwest accent, which is pretty close to standard American English, some words sound the same or similar when you pronounce them -- linguists call that a merger. For instance, "caught" and cot," "don" and "dawn" and "pen" and "pin" can all sound similar to someone from out of state.

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Which Washington island is shaped like a horseshoe?
Fidalgo Island
Orcas Island
Sucia Island
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lopez Island may be known as the friendly isle, but it's Orcas Island, which is the largest of Washington's San Juan islands, that's shaped like a horseshoe.

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What's the name of the documentary film that chronicles the '80s music scene in Spokane?
"Muscle Shoals"
"SpokAnarchy!"
"Salad Days: A Decade Of Punk In Washington D.C."
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

If you want to relive Spokane's '80s punk and new wave scene, it's been chronicled in the documentary film "SpokAnarchy!"

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What kind of mountain bike trails will you find on Galbraith Mountain?
alleycat
fire road
singletrack
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Trails on Gailbraith, also known as North Lookout Mountain, are singletrack, which means they're just about the width of your bike.

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What's the name of the fairytale park, just beyond the historic fort in Point Defiance Park, in Tacoma?
Fairy Tale Forest
Never Never Land
Storyland
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Once upon a time, Tacoma's Never Never Land had about 100 fiberglass fairytale characters. After decades of fun, and then vandalism and overgrowth, this part of the park was closed.

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Where are the Channeled Scablands?
the coastal range
the eastern side of the state
the Columbia Plateau
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Known as the Channeled Scablands, this soil-free, barren and dry landscape on the eastern side of the state was created when a large glacial lake drained.

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What symbol is on the state flag?
the Olympic marmot
the state flower and state seal
the Western hemlock
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A few things have been on the flag, beginning unofficially with the state flower and state seal. Western hemlock, the state tree, has also been featured. In 2009, the flag was updated with the Olympic marmot, which is endemic to Washington.

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What's the state motto?
Alki
In God We Trust
Washington doesn't have a state motto
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Alki," a Chinook word meaning by and by, is the state motto (although it's not officially recognized by the state legislature as such). It's also the name of Alki Point in Seattle, among other destinations across the state.

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Grunge was born in Washington. Which of these Seattle bands was one of the first grunge bands?
Foo Fighters
Green River
Pearl Jam
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Although they didn't have much impact outside of Washington, Green River is considered one of the first, if not the first, grunge band. And they were the first band to release a record on the Seattle-based Sub Pop label that became influential in the grunge scene. Members of Green River would go on to Pearl Jam, Mudhoney and Mother Love Bone.

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