We got to wondering recently whether the cities in New Jersey and California named Menlo Park have any connection, and where the name came from. Our research revealed that Menlo Park, Calif., came first, founded around 1854 by two brothers from the Irish village of Menlough. New Jersey's Menlo Park was established about 20 years later, and took its name from the Golden State town.

H.B. Pemberton of Seattle asks, "What is the Major League record for the most consecutive hits in a baseball game?" For a team, the record is the 12 straight recorded by the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1920 game against the Boston Braves. For an individual player, it's seven, first done by Detroit Tiger Cesar Gutierrez in a 12-inning game in 1970.

According to "The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Cats and Dogs," which of these would be the best music to help relax a dog that has noise anxiety?
A) A Sinatra ballad
B) A Pavarotti aria
C) A Bach Brandenberg Concerto
D) A Rolling Stones tune

Previous answer: George Lucas, who created the Indiana Jones film character, got the name Indiana from his pet Alaskan malamute dog. More on the origin of Indiana Jones in a future column.

TRIVIA FANS: Send the trivia questions you've always wanted answered, or original TriviaBits ideas of your own, with your full name and hometown, to Stan Newman at StanTrivia@aol.com or on a postcard to P.O. Box 69, Massapequa Park, NY 11762.

Stanley Newman is the editor of the Newsday Crossword and author/editor of more than 125 books on crosswords, word games and trivia, including "15,003 Answers: The Ultimate Trivia Encyclopedia" (Random House). To find out more about Stanley Newman visit StanXwords.com, or e-mail him at StanTrivia@aol.com.
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