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AMERICANA
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$200
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This hero of a folk ballad says, "If I can't beat this steam drill down, I'll die with this hammer in my hand!"
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John Henry
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$400
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El Yunque on this Caribbean island is the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. national forest system
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Puerto Rico
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$600
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Santa Monica's Pacific Park has a taco stand punningly named "Whac-a-" this 2-syllable Mexican sauce
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mole
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$800
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Unusually, one building of the Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce in West Virginia is made of this flammable mineral
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coal
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$1000
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The USA's oldest continuously operating one, this building has linked Hinsdale, N.H. with the world since it opened in 1816
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post office
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STREET ART
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$200
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The Ecuador-born artist known as Lady Pink became famous for painting on these transports in New York City, 1979-1985
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subway cars
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$400
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Shepard Fairey got in a protracted lawsuit with the A.P. over a poster he created from a photo they took of this man
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Barack Obama
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$600
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The foundation started by street artist Keith Haring seeks to promote awareness of this illness that Keith died of in 1990
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AIDS
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$800
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Cities around the globe have pixel-style street art by Invader, whose name is inspired by this 1970s arcade game
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Space Invaders
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$1000
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This hip-hop artist got his 3-word name from his association with the Brooklyn street art crew the Fabulous 5
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Fab 5 Freddy
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CHECKING IN TO THE MOVIES
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$200
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This country's Ravla Khempur stands in as "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"
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India
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$400
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In "Lost in Translation" , Bill Murray meets Scarlett Johansson high above this city in the Park Hyatt Hotel
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Tokyo
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$600
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This iconic San Diego hotel was a setting for "Some Like It Hot"
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the Coronado
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$800
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Macaulay Culkin cons his way into a room at the Plaza Hotel in this sequel
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Home Alone 2
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$1000
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The secluded mansion where android Alicia Vikander is held captive is in this movie is really Norway's Juvet Landscape Hotel
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Ex Machina
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RESISTING A REST
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$200
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Just my luck--the North American yellow-bellied sapsucker is this kind of bird, & its noisy headbanging is keeping me up
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a woodpecker
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$400
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I'm trying to catch some ZZZs, but this feature on my alarm clock keeps telling me to wake up every 10 minutes
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the snooze button
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$600
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I took too many NoDoz, an oral tablet of this alkaloid, & now there's no sleep for me
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caffeine
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$800
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Machines making this "colorful" sound have been helping folks sleep since 1962, but mine isn't blocking out the jackhammers
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white noise
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$1000
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I'd love to get some shut-eye but these "equine" muscle spasms in my legs don't help, nor do my cries of agony
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charley horse
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WOMEN WHO WRITE
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$200
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It's the first name shared by bestselling authors Hoffman, Walker & Munro
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Alice
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$400
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Katharine Lee Bates was inspired to write the words to this patriotic anthem after climbing Pikes Peak
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"America The Beautiful"
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$600
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Journalist Maurine Dallas Watkins covered 1920s murder trials & wrote this play about Roxie & Velma that became a musical
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Chicago
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$800
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Her husband Scott told an editor not to praise her novel "Save Me the Waltz" too highly, as it would not be good for her mental state
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Zelda Fitzgerald
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$1000
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This activist & poet wrote "The New Colossus" to help raise money for the Statue of Liberty's pedestal
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Lazarus
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USE YOUR TWO "I"s
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$200
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It can mean a ghost or strong alcohol
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a spirit
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$400
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Save me some of this! Another word for cake frosting
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icing
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$600
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A period of intentionally staying awake to keep watch or to pray
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vigil
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$800
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The Egyptian god Thoth was often depicted with the head of this bird
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an ibis
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$1000
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After my bagpipes solo, I really had reason to say the catchphrase "everyone's a" this
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critic
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AFRICAN AMERICANS PRE-1860
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$400
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In an 1843 speech Henry Garnet told slaves to consider "the shedding of" this for freedom; Frederick Douglass disagreed
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blood
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$800
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Dave the Potter engraved his work with poetry but not in part of the 1840s when this ability was extra dangerous for the enslaved
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literacy
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$1200
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The first African American to fight in this corps, John Martin helped capture 5 ships in a Revolutionary War attack
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the Marine Corps
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$1600
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In 1838, 272 slaves were sold to keep this D.C. Jesuit U. going; now a building is named for one of them, Isaac Hawkins
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Georgetown
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$2000
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Richard Allen was honored on a 2016 stamp, 200 years after he founded the church commonly known by these three initials
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AME (African Methodist Episcopal)
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BEAUTIFUL VOCABULARY
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$400
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As a noun, it's a monetary penalty paid to a court; as an adjective, it describes a pleasing look
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fine
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$800
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Attractive, like Roy Orbison's "Woman"
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pretty
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$1200
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It's the "D" word often found preceding "tones" regarding a melodious voice
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dulcet
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$1600
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Tall & shapely, resembling a marble artwork
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statuesque
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$2000
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This Spanish word for really beautiful can end in -mo or -ma; the Italian word sounds the same
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bellisima
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THE HUMAN BODY
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$400
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The spleen & the thymus are part of the lymphatic system & this disease-fighting system
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immune system
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$800
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Sometimes done to treat cysts, an oophorectomy is the removal of this body part
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the ovaries
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$1200
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This ligament, the ACL for short, prevents the tibia from moving too far forward when the leg is bent
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anterior cruciate ligament
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$1600
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These wrist bones border a tunnel, through which a nerve runs
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the carpals
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$2000
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The "dur" in epidural refers to this 2-word tough lining of the spinal cord & the brain
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dura mater
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A WORLD TO KISS
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$400
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In Spanish churches, besamanos & besapiés are the customs of kissing these 2 parts of religious statues
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the hands & the feet
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$800
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Kissing this at a castle in County Cork will get you the gift of gab, or so they say
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the Blarney Stone
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$1200
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In the 1930s newly single women were known to kiss the Washoe County courthouse pillars in this divorce-friendly Nevada city
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Reno
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$1600
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In this French pilgrimage city, many have kissed the stone in the cave where St. Bernadette had her vision
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Lourdes
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$2000
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It's traditional at this venerable state university to streak across the space known as the Lawn & kiss the Homer statue
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University of Virginia
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HOLIDAYS & OBSERVANCES
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$400
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Carnival in Rio takes place just before this holy season, a period of fasting before Easter
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Lent
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$800
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A Halloween tradition began in 1950 when trick-or-treaters in Philadelphia sent $17 to this organization
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UNICEF
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$1200
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The Feast of St. Stephen, called Boxing Day in Commonwealth countries, is observed on this date
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December 26th
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$1600
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In Canada a royal birthday is celebrated on this day, the Monday preceding May 25
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Victoria Day
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$2000
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In 1996 the NYC parade for this fall day was down to 15 blocks & a few spectators; in 2009 30,000 participants marched 34 blocks
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Veterans Day
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ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME NICKNAMES
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$400
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This Doors frontman was "the Lizard King" as well as "Mr. Mojo Risin"', an anagram of his name
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Jim Morrison
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$800
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Smokey Robinson said this "Let's Get It On" singer's Motown nickname was "Dad" because he "used to walk like an old man"
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Marvin Gaye
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$1200
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The legendary Jerry Lee Lewis has this lethal nickname
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"The Killer"
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$1600
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This "Solitary Man" who's rocked many a jumpsuit is also known as "The Jewish Elvis"
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Neil Diamond
|
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$2000
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This Led Zeppelin drummer & wild man was "Bonzo"
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Bonham
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COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES
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N/A
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In 2019 this public university attempted to trademark the word "the" for use on clothing & hats
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(the) Ohio State University
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