Know It All

One-third of the new homes built last year had four or more bedrooms. In the 1950s, only 1 percent of new homes had four bedrooms.

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Ranch, shingle, split level, Tudor, Cape Cod and bungalow are all styles of architecture for homes.

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Single women buy 20 percent of the homes sold nationwide.

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At the time of the 2000 census, there were 260,576 housing units in San Mateo County.

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Before being dubbed the White House by President Roosevelt in 1901, the mansion was known as President’s Palace, the President’s House and the Executive Mansion.

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The White House has 132 rooms on six levels. The presidential mansion has 412 doors, 28 fireplaces, eight staircases and three elevators.

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Handyman Bob Vila (born 1946) hosted the television show “This Old House” from 1979 to 1989. The show aired on PBS.

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This television sitcom was the story of a macho father of three boys who hosted a cable show called “Tool Time.” What was the name of the sitcom? Can you name the star of the show? See answer at end.

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Mobile homes typically come in two sizes. Single-wide mobile homes are 16 feet or less in width. Double-wide mobile homes are 24 feet or larger.

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Construction started on the Winchester Mystery House in 1884 and was continuous until owner Sarah Winchester’s death in 1922. The wealthy widow to the Winchester Rifle fortune, Sarah spent $5.5 million of her $20 million inheritance on constant construction of the San Jose mansion.

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There is a life-size replica of the home of the Simpsons. Based on the prime time cartoon “The Simpsons,” the four-bedroom house in Henderson, Nevada, is painted and decorated to look just like the cartoon house.

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The Simpsons home was given away in a contest in 1997. Barbara Howard, a 63-year-old retired factory worker from Kentucky, was the lucky winner.

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On the long-running family drama “Little House on the Prairie” (1974-1983), the Ingalls family lived in Walnut Grove, a fictional town in the 19th century American West. The television show was based on the “Little House” series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957).

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In 1992, 17-year-old Bryan Berg built the world’s tallest house of cards. The tower was 14 feet, 6 inches tall. Berg broke his own record in 1998 with a 25-foot tall tower built out of stacked playing cards.

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The historic Cliff House in San Francisco is preserved as part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

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The Cliff House, originally built in 1863, was rebuilt after being destroyed by fire in 1884, then rebuilt again after being destroyed by the 1906 earthquake.

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“Home on the Range” is the state song of Kansas.

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Answer: “Home Improvement” (1991-1999) starred comedian/actor Tim Allen (born 1953) as Tim Taylor. The sitcom was based on Tim Allen’s standup comedy routine.

Know It All is by Kerry McArdle. It runs in the weekend edition of the Daily Journal. Questions? Comments? Email knowitall(at)smdailyjournal.com or call 344-5200 ext. 128.