Yesterday’s question was: Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1863–1937) founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, which lead to the first modern Games in Athens, Greece, in 1896. The Games were held every four years, and were only cancelled during the World Wars, in 1916, 1940, and 1944, and postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 1924, the number of sports in competition expanded with the commencement of the winter Olympics (first held in Chamonix, France). The years of the winter and summer games were split following 1992, with the then-next winter Olympics held in 1994. So, the questions are: Which five countries hosted the most Olympic games? And how many different countries have hosted the Olympics? Bonus: which years were the Olympics held in the United States?

The answer is:

1. With eight already in the books and one planned, far and away the most popular country to host the Olympics is the USA. The summer games were held in St. Louis in 1904, Los Angeles in 1932 and 1984 (and planned for LA in 2028), Atlanta in 2002. The winter games were in Lake Placid in 1932 and 1980, Squaw Valley in 1960, and Salt Lake City in 2002.

2. France has hosted the games five times, with another one planned: Paris in 1900 and 1924 (and planned again for 2024), and winter games in Chamonix (1924), Grenoble (1968), and Albertville (1992).

3. Three countries are tied, hosting the Olympics four times. Germany in Berlin in 1916 and 1936, Munich (West Germany, during the Cold War) in 1972, and winter games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936.
Italy has hosted three times, with one more planned: Rome in 1960, and winter games in Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1956, Turin in 2006, and Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo planned for 2026.
Japan has hosted three times, with one coming up soon: Tokyo in 1964, winter games in Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998, and the 2020 Summer Olympics planned for Tokyo have been postponed due to the pandemic.

Twenty-three different countries have hosted Olympics: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany (and West Germany), Greece, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Russia (and the USSR), South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the USA.

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Today’s question is:

Currently, the US Mint produces and circulates six coin denominations: cent, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar. But those aren’t the only denominations the US has minted: in past years, there were several other denominations. How many others can you name? Bonus points if you know which years they circulated. (Remember, Tough Trivia takes the weekend off, so the answer will be posted Monday.)

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Ian’s Tough Trivia is a daily feature of this blog. Each day, I post a tough question, as well as the answer to the previous day’s question. At some point, I’ll offer a prize for whoever has the most correct answers, and another for whoever participates most often (I’ll take into account people coming in after the start: regular participation starting later is just as good as regular participation starting earlier). There may also be a prize for the funniest or most amusing wrong answer. Simply comment on this post with your answer. I’ll approve the comments after the next question is posted. Sure, you can probably find the answers by searching the web, but what’s the fun in that?

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