Monday, October 19, 2026

The tidbits, trivia answers and word pairs from Facts & Games on Monday, October 19, 2026. Play today’s games · All past days · All past tidbits

Six tidbits

Commonly confused words

temerity vs. timidity

temerity: Reckless boldness. timidity: A lack of courage. Timidity is timid.

economic vs. economical

economic: Relating to the economy. economical: Thrifty; giving good value. An economical car saves money.

pedal vs. peddle

pedal: A lever pushed with the foot. peddle: To sell goods, often door to door. Peddlers peddle their wares.

dual vs. duel

dual: Having two parts. duel: A fight between two people. Dual is about two; a duel is a contest.

precede vs. proceed

precede: To come before in time or order. proceed: To go forward or continue. Pre- means before.

Beatles trivia

1. Which Liverpool club, opened by Pete Best’s mother Mona, hosted many early Quarrymen shows?Answer: The Casbah Coffee Club. Mona Best opened the Casbah in the basement of her West Derby house in 1959.
2. Which record company turned the band down after an audition on New Year’s Day 1962?Answer: Decca. Decca auditioned them on January 1, 1962, and signed Brian Poole and the Tremeloes instead.
3. Who sings lead on “With a Little Help from My Friends”?Answer: Ringo Starr. Ringo sings it on Sgt. Pepper as the character Billy Shears.
4. Which single was the band’s first release on its own Apple label?Answer: Hey Jude. Hey Jude came out on Apple in August 1968.
5. Roughly how long is the single version of “Hey Jude”?Answer: About 7 minutes. It runs a little over seven minutes, very long for a single in 1968.
6. On “Eleanor Rigby”, who plays the instruments?Answer: A string section of session players. A double string quartet backs the vocals; none of the Beatles plays on it.
7. Which pop artists designed the Sgt. Pepper album cover with its crowd of famous faces?Answer: Peter Blake and Jann Haworth. Peter Blake and Jann Haworth built the collage set that was photographed for the cover.
8. Who drew the black-and-white cover of Revolver?Answer: Klaus Voormann. Klaus Voormann, a friend from Hamburg, drew it and won a Grammy for the design.
9. In what year was John Lennon killed in New York?Answer: 1980. He was shot outside the Dakota building on December 8, 1980.
10. In what year did George Harrison die?Answer: 2001. He died in Los Angeles on November 29, 2001.
11. Which George Harrison song opens side two of Abbey Road?Answer: Here Comes the Sun. Here Comes the Sun starts side two; Something is on side one.
12. Where did the band play its first concert in the United States, in February 1964?Answer: Washington, D.C.. They played the Washington Coliseum on February 11, 1964, two days after their Ed Sullivan debut.
13. Which drummer filled in for Ringo for part of the band’s 1964 world tour?Answer: Jimmy Nicol. Jimmy Nicol played several shows in June 1964 while Ringo was ill.
14. Which song’s famous opening chord also opens the band’s first film?Answer: A Hard Day’s Night. The ringing chord of A Hard Day’s Night starts the 1964 film.
15. What is the name of the traffic warden in a Sgt. Pepper song title?Answer: Rita. Lovely Rita, written by Paul, is about a meter maid.
16. John took the words for “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” largely from what?Answer: A Victorian circus poster. He bought an 1843 circus poster in an antique shop and borrowed much of its wording.
17. Where did John Lennon and Yoko Ono marry in March 1969?Answer: Gibraltar. They married in Gibraltar on March 20, 1969.
18. Which Beatle was the band’s lead guitarist?Answer: George Harrison. George played lead guitar; John mostly played rhythm guitar.
19. Abbey Road, the street that named their 1969 album, is in which city?Answer: London. It is in St John’s Wood, north-west London, home of the EMI studios.
20. Which keyboard instrument plays the flute-like opening of “Strawberry Fields Forever”?Answer: Mellotron. Paul played the intro on a Mellotron set to its flute sound.

Taylor Swift trivia

1. At which Nashville venue did Scott Borchetta see Swift perform at a 2004 showcase?Answer: The Bluebird Cafe. She played the Bluebird Cafe on November 3, 2004, and signed with his new label soon after.
2. Which songwriter co-wrote "Tim McGraw" and many of Swift's early songs?Answer: Liz Rose. Liz Rose co-wrote seven songs on Swift's debut album.
3. Swift came up with the idea for "Tim McGraw" during which class at school?Answer: Math. She thought of it in math class and finished it with Liz Rose after school.
4. Which country group did Swift open for on its fall 2006 tour?Answer: Rascal Flatts. She opened shows on Rascal Flatts' Me and My Gang Tour in October and November 2006.
5. Who interrupted Swift's acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards?Answer: Kanye West. He took the microphone as she accepted Best Female Video on September 13, 2009.
6. Which video won Swift Best Female Video at the 2009 VMAs?Answer: You Belong with Me. "You Belong with Me" won the award in 2009.
7. In 2009 Swift became the youngest-ever winner of which Country Music Association award?Answer: Entertainer of the Year. She won the CMA's top prize, Entertainer of the Year, at 19 and won it again in 2011.
8. In which 2010 romantic comedy did Swift play a character named Felicia?Answer: Valentine's Day. She played Felicia Miller in the ensemble film Valentine's Day.
9. Which Speak Now song won two Grammys in 2012?Answer: Mean. "Mean" won Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance.
10. Which Red song features Ed Sheeran?Answer: Everything Has Changed. Sheeran duets with her on "Everything Has Changed," a 2013 single.
11. Swift sings "The Last Time" with the frontman of which band?Answer: Snow Patrol. Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol is her duet partner on the Red track.
12. Swift's Grammy-winning song "Safe & Sound" was written for which film?Answer: The Hunger Games. She recorded it with The Civil Wars for The Hunger Games (2012).
13. What is the album title 1989 named after?Answer: Her birth year. Swift was born in 1989 and saw the album as a rebirth.
14. Which producers made "Shake It Off" with Swift?Answer: Max Martin and Shellback. The Swedish team of Max Martin and Shellback produced the 2014 hit.
15. Which rapper joined Swift on the single remix of "Bad Blood"?Answer: Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick Lamar's remix went to No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 2015.
16. Which animal became the symbol of Swift's Reputation era?Answer: Snake. She turned the snake, once used to mock her online, into the album's main image.
17. "Look What You Made Me Do" borrows from a 1991 hit by which group?Answer: Right Said Fred. It interpolates "I'm Too Sexy," and the band's members got songwriting credits.
18. Which was the first Swift album whose master recordings she owned?Answer: Lover. Lover (2019) was her first album after leaving Big Machine, and she owns its masters.
19. What is the name of the 2020 Netflix documentary about Swift?Answer: Miss Americana. It takes its name from the Lover song "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince."
20. Which album did Swift surprise-release in July 2020?Answer: Folklore. She announced Folklore on July 23, 2020, about 16 hours before it came out.

Football trivia

1. Which team plays its home games at Arrowhead Stadium?Answer: Kansas City Chiefs. Arrowhead has been the Chiefs’ home since 1972.
2. Which NFL team is owned by hundreds of thousands of fans as shareholders?Answer: Green Bay Packers. The Packers are a community-owned nonprofit, which helps keep the team in tiny Green Bay.
3. What is it called when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw?Answer: Sack. Sacks have been an official NFL statistic since 1982.
4. Who was the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft?Answer: Cam Ward. The Tennessee Titans chose the Miami quarterback with the top pick.
5. Which team lost four Super Bowls in a row in the early 1990s?Answer: Buffalo Bills. The Bills lost Super Bowls XXV through XXVIII.
6. What color is the flag officials throw to call a penalty?Answer: Yellow. Officials throw yellow flags; a coach throws a red flag to challenge a call.
7. Since 2023, the Pro Bowl Games have replaced the old all-star tackle game with what?Answer: Flag football. The all-stars now play flag football and compete in skills events.
8. Which NFL team has no logo on its helmets?Answer: Cleveland Browns. The Browns’ plain orange helmet is their best-known symbol.
9. Who holds the NFL record for career receiving yards?Answer: Jerry Rice. Jerry Rice piled up 22,895 receiving yards over 20 seasons.
10. Which stadium hosted the first Super Bowl?Answer: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Super Bowl I was played at the Coliseum in Los Angeles in January 1967.
11. Who was the first Black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl?Answer: Doug Williams. Doug Williams led Washington to win Super Bowl XXII and was named MVP.
12. In football slang, what is a “pick six”?Answer: An interception returned for a touchdown. A pick (interception) returned for six points is a pick six.
13. Which brothers have both been named Super Bowl MVP?Answer: The Mannings. Peyton won it in Super Bowl XLI, and Eli won it in XLII and XLVI.
14. Who is the only Super Bowl MVP from a losing team?Answer: Chuck Howley. The Cowboys linebacker won it in Super Bowl V, which Dallas lost to the Baltimore Colts.
15. Which team drafted John Elway first overall in 1983?Answer: Baltimore Colts. Elway refused to play for Baltimore and was traded to Denver days after the draft.
16. Deion Sanders played in a Super Bowl and in which other championship series?Answer: World Series. He played in the 1992 World Series for the Atlanta Braves.
17. Bo Jackson starred for the Raiders and was an All-Star outfielder for which baseball team?Answer: Kansas City Royals. Jackson was MVP of the 1989 MLB All-Star Game as a Royal.
18. Which coach led the Steelers to four Super Bowl wins in the 1970s?Answer: Chuck Noll. Chuck Noll’s Steelers won Super Bowls IX, X, XIII and XIV.
19. How many players does each team have on the field during a play?Answer: 11. Each side has 11 players; a 12th draws a penalty.
20. Which team did the Rams beat in Super Bowl LVI at their home stadium, SoFi Stadium?Answer: Cincinnati Bengals. The Rams won 23–20 in February 2022, their first title in Los Angeles.

Basketball trivia

1. Who holds the NBA record for career assists?Answer: John Stockton. Stockton finished with 15,806 assists, all for the Utah Jazz.
2. Who has the most career rebounds in NBA history?Answer: Wilt Chamberlain. Chamberlain grabbed 23,924 rebounds in 14 seasons.
3. Who holds the NBA record for career blocked shots?Answer: Hakeem Olajuwon. Olajuwon blocked 3,830 shots; blocks became an official stat in 1973–74.
4. Which minor-league baseball team did Michael Jordan play for in 1994?Answer: Birmingham Barons. Jordan hit .202 for the Barons, a Chicago White Sox farm team.
5. What number did Michael Jordan wear when he first returned to the Bulls in March 1995?Answer: 45. He wore 45, his baseball number, before switching back to 23 during the 1995 playoffs.
6. Which team ended the Lakers’ record 33-game winning streak in 1972?Answer: Milwaukee Bucks. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Bucks beat the Lakers on January 9, 1972.
7. Which coach won 11 NBA titles, six with Chicago and five with the Lakers?Answer: Phil Jackson. Jackson’s 11 coaching titles are the most in NBA history.
8. Which ABA team joined the NBA in 1976 along with the Nuggets, Pacers and Spurs?Answer: New York Nets. The Nets, now in Brooklyn, were one of four ABA clubs taken in when the leagues merged.
9. What colors was the famous ABA basketball?Answer: Red, white and blue. The red, white and blue ball was the ABA’s trademark from 1967 to 1976.
10. Which Hall of Famer was nicknamed “Dr. J”?Answer: Julius Erving. Erving starred in the ABA before leading the 76ers to the 1983 title.
11. Which college did Larry Bird play for?Answer: Indiana State. Bird led Indiana State to the 1979 NCAA final, where it lost to Magic Johnson’s Michigan State.
12. Who won three straight MVP awards from 1984 to 1986?Answer: Larry Bird. Bird joined Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to win three MVPs in a row.
13. Which arena is home to the New York Knicks?Answer: Madison Square Garden. The current Madison Square Garden, the fourth building with that name, opened in 1968.
14. Who was the first pick in the 2003 NBA draft?Answer: LeBron James. Cleveland took LeBron, a high school star from nearby Akron, Ohio.
15. Dikembe Mutombo was famous for what gesture after blocking a shot?Answer: Wagging his finger. Mutombo, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, made the finger wag his trademark.
16. Which franchise began as the Buffalo Braves?Answer: Los Angeles Clippers. The Braves became the San Diego Clippers in 1978 and moved to Los Angeles in 1984.
17. Who made the first three-point shot in NBA history in 1979?Answer: Chris Ford. Ford, of the Celtics, made it against Houston on October 12, 1979.
18. Which team drafted Shaquille O’Neal?Answer: Orlando Magic. Orlando took him first overall out of LSU in 1992.
19. Which team did Michael Jordan play for in his last two NBA seasons?Answer: Washington Wizards. Jordan came out of retirement to play for Washington from 2001 to 2003.
20. Which shot was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar famous for?Answer: Skyhook. Kareem’s skyhook, released high above his head, was nearly impossible to block.

Baseball trivia

1. Which team is nicknamed the “Bronx Bombers”?Answer: New York Yankees. Yankee Stadium is in the Bronx, and the team has long been known for its power hitters.
2. What is it called when a pitcher strikes out the side on just nine pitches?Answer: An immaculate inning. An immaculate inning means three strikeouts with every pitch a strike.
3. Which pitcher holds the record for most career strikeouts?Answer: Nolan Ryan. Nolan Ryan struck out 5,714 batters over 27 seasons.
4. Which position is number 2 in a baseball scorebook?Answer: Catcher. Scorers number the positions 1 to 9: pitcher 1, catcher 2, first base 3 and so on.
5. Which slugger was nicknamed “Mr. October”?Answer: Reggie Jackson. Reggie Jackson earned the name with his World Series heroics for the Yankees in the 1970s.
6. Which Negro Leagues star became MLB’s official career batting average leader in 2024?Answer: Josh Gibson. When MLB added Negro Leagues statistics, Gibson’s .372 average passed Ty Cobb’s .367.
7. The 1969 Seattle Pilots moved after one season and became which team?Answer: Milwaukee Brewers. The Pilots went bankrupt and moved to Milwaukee as the Brewers in 1970.
8. Who is MLB’s career leader in runs batted in?Answer: Hank Aaron. Hank Aaron drove in 2,297 runs from 1954 to 1976.
9. What interrupted Game 3 of the 1989 World Series between the A’s and Giants?Answer: An earthquake. The Loma Prieta earthquake struck just before the game at Candlestick Park, and the Series was delayed for 10 days.
10. After the 1968 “Year of the Pitcher,” how high could the pitcher’s mound be?Answer: 10 inches. To help hitters, MLB lowered the mound from 15 to 10 inches for 1969.
11. Which manager led the Yankees in five separate stints under owner George Steinbrenner?Answer: Billy Martin. Billy Martin was hired and fired by Steinbrenner again and again between 1975 and 1988.
12. Which team plays its home games at Petco Park?Answer: San Diego Padres. Petco Park opened in downtown San Diego in 2004.
13. Which broadcaster called Dodgers games for 67 seasons?Answer: Vin Scully. Vin Scully called his first Dodgers game in 1950 and retired after the 2016 season.
14. Which team ended an 88-year championship drought by winning the 2005 World Series?Answer: Chicago White Sox. The White Sox swept the Astros for their first title since 1917.
15. Who wrote the 1888 poem “Casey at the Bat”?Answer: Ernest Thayer. Ernest Lawrence Thayer’s poem about the Mudville nine first ran in a San Francisco newspaper.
16. What does the pitching stat WHIP measure?Answer: Walks plus hits per inning pitched. WHIP shows how many base runners a pitcher allows by walk or hit each inning.
17. Which Japanese pitcher, known for his “tornado” windup, was NL Rookie of the Year in 1995?Answer: Hideo Nomo. Hideo Nomo led the league in strikeouts as a Dodgers rookie.
18. Which team did Shohei Ohtani play for before he joined the Dodgers?Answer: Los Angeles Angels. Ohtani spent six seasons with the Angels, winning two AL MVP awards, before signing with the Dodgers in December 2023.
19. Who was the first player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season?Answer: Fred Lynn. Fred Lynn did it for the Red Sox in 1975; Ichiro matched him in 2001.
20. Louisville Slugger bats are made in which state?Answer: Kentucky. Hillerich & Bradsby has made the bats in Louisville, Kentucky, since the 1880s.

U.S. History trivia

1. Which colony was founded by William Penn?Answer: Pennsylvania. King Charles II granted Penn the charter for Pennsylvania in 1681.
2. Who made a famous midnight ride in April 1775 to warn that British troops were coming?Answer: Paul Revere. Revere rode toward Lexington on the night of April 18, 1775.
3. Which president issued the Emancipation Proclamation?Answer: Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln’s proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863.
4. Which Founding Father appears on the $100 bill?Answer: Benjamin Franklin. Franklin is on the $100 bill even though he was never president.
5. Who wrote the 1776 pamphlet Common Sense?Answer: Thomas Paine. Paine’s pamphlet, published in January 1776, argued for independence from Britain.
6. Which Shoshone woman helped guide the Lewis and Clark expedition?Answer: Sacagawea. Sacagawea traveled with the expedition as an interpreter and guide.
7. Which canal linked the Hudson River to Lake Erie?Answer: Erie Canal. The Erie Canal opened in 1825 and boosted New York City’s trade.
8. What nickname was given to the gold seekers who rushed to California?Answer: Forty-Niners. Most of them arrived in 1849, the year after gold was found at Sutter’s Mill.
9. Who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic?Answer: Amelia Earhart. Earhart flew from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland in 1932.
10. What is the name of the economic slump that followed the 1929 stock market crash?Answer: The Great Depression. It lasted through the 1930s, with unemployment reaching about 25%.
11. Which president resigned over the Watergate scandal?Answer: Richard Nixon. Nixon resigned in August 1974 and was succeeded by Gerald Ford.
12. Whose 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her bus seat sparked the Montgomery bus boycott?Answer: Rosa Parks. Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955.
13. Which state was the first to ratify the Constitution?Answer: Delaware. Delaware ratified on December 7, 1787, earning the nickname “The First State.”
14. What was the first permanent English settlement in North America?Answer: Jamestown. Jamestown was founded in Virginia in 1607; St. Augustine was Spanish.
15. Who flew the Spirit of St. Louis across the Atlantic?Answer: Charles Lindbergh. Lindbergh made the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in May 1927.
16. Which purchase did critics mock as “Seward’s Folly”?Answer: Alaska. Secretary of State William Seward arranged to buy Alaska from Russia in 1867.
17. Who gave the “I Have a Dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington?Answer: Martin Luther King Jr.. King spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963.
18. Who was the first Black justice of the Supreme Court?Answer: Thurgood Marshall. Marshall joined the Court in 1967.
19. Which 1777 American victory persuaded France to enter the Revolutionary War as an ally?Answer: Saratoga. Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga helped convince France to sign an alliance in 1778.
20. Who was president during the Cuban Missile Crisis?Answer: John F. Kennedy. Kennedy faced the 13-day standoff with the Soviet Union in October 1962.

U.S. Presidents trivia

1. Which president appears on the $1 bill?Answer: George Washington. Washington’s portrait has been on the one-dollar bill since 1869.
2. Which president delivered the Gettysburg Address?Answer: Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln gave the short speech at the Gettysburg battlefield cemetery in 1863.
3. Which president created the Peace Corps?Answer: John F. Kennedy. Kennedy set up the Peace Corps by executive order in March 1961.
4. What was the real first name of first lady “Lady Bird” Johnson?Answer: Claudia. She was born Claudia Alta Taylor; “Lady Bird” was a childhood nickname.
5. Which president is linked with the motto “speak softly and carry a big stick”?Answer: Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt used the phrase to describe his approach to foreign policy.
6. How many electoral votes does a candidate need to win the presidency?Answer: 270. 270 is a majority of the 538 electoral votes.
7. Who is the only president never elected as either president or vice president?Answer: Gerald Ford. Ford was appointed vice president in 1973 and became president when Nixon resigned.
8. Which president was assassinated in 1881?Answer: James Garfield. Garfield was shot in July 1881 and died that September.
9. Which president signed the law creating Yellowstone, the first national park?Answer: Ulysses S. Grant. Grant signed the Yellowstone act on March 1, 1872.
10. Who served as George W. Bush’s vice president?Answer: Dick Cheney. Cheney was vice president for both of Bush’s terms, 2001–2009.
11. Which future president was the Allied supreme commander for the D-Day landings?Answer: Dwight D. Eisenhower. General Eisenhower commanded the June 1944 invasion of Normandy.
12. Which president was the son of the second president?Answer: John Quincy Adams. John Quincy Adams was the eldest son of John Adams.
13. In which wing of the White House is the Oval Office?Answer: West Wing. The Oval Office has been in the West Wing since it was built in 1909.
14. Which president gave radio talks known as “fireside chats”?Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt began his fireside chats in March 1933.
15. Which president was born in Hawaii?Answer: Barack Obama. Obama was born in Honolulu in 1961.
16. Which first lady led the “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign?Answer: Nancy Reagan. Nancy Reagan promoted the campaign in the 1980s.
17. Which president was impeached by the House in 1868?Answer: Andrew Johnson. The Senate acquitted Johnson by a single vote.
18. In which city was the first presidential inauguration held?Answer: New York City. Washington was sworn in at Federal Hall in New York in 1789.
19. Who was the first Roman Catholic president?Answer: John F. Kennedy. Kennedy, elected in 1960, was the first Catholic in the office.
20. Which president was a peanut farmer from Georgia?Answer: Jimmy Carter. Carter ran his family’s peanut business in Plains, Georgia.

Geography trivia

1. What is the capital of Japan?Answer: Tokyo. Tokyo has been Japan’s capital since the 19th century; Kyoto was the old imperial capital.
2. Which river flows through Baghdad?Answer: Tigris. Baghdad straddles the Tigris; the Euphrates flows farther west.
3. What is the highest mountain in North America?Answer: Denali. Denali in Alaska rises to about 6,190 m.
4. Which country is said to have more lakes than any other?Answer: Canada. Canada holds hundreds of thousands of lakes, more than any other country.
5. Which U.S. state is nicknamed the Lone Star State?Answer: Texas. The nickname recalls the single star on the flag of the Republic of Texas.
6. The Atacama, one of the driest deserts on Earth, is mostly in which country?Answer: Chile. The Atacama stretches along northern Chile’s Pacific coast.
7. Which European capital stands on the River Seine?Answer: Paris. The Seine runs through the heart of Paris on its way to the English Channel.
8. Which country is both an island and a continent?Answer: Australia. Australia is usually counted as the smallest continent and the largest island-country.
9. What is the largest country in South America by area?Answer: Brazil. Brazil covers almost half of South America.
10. Which African country was once widely known as Abyssinia?Answer: Ethiopia. Abyssinia was the common older name for the Ethiopian Empire.
11. Which country has a square red flag with a white cross in the center?Answer: Switzerland. Switzerland’s flag is one of only two square national flags.
12. The Great Barrier Reef lies off the coast of which Australian state?Answer: Queensland. The reef runs for more than 2,000 km along Queensland’s coast.
13. The shore of which body of water is the lowest point on land?Answer: Dead Sea. The Dead Sea’s shore lies more than 400 m below sea level.
14. What is the capital of Brazil?Answer: Brasília. Brasília replaced Rio de Janeiro as Brazil’s capital.
15. Which mountain range separates Spain from France?Answer: Pyrenees. The Pyrenees run from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean.
16. How many U.S. states border Canada?Answer: 13. Thirteen states, from Alaska to Maine, border Canada by land or water.
17. Which country lies entirely inside South Africa?Answer: Lesotho. Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa.
18. Which river forms much of the border between the U.S. and Mexico?Answer: Rio Grande. The Rio Grande marks the Texas–Mexico border.
19. What is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea?Answer: Sicily. Sicily, off the toe of Italy, is the Mediterranean’s biggest island.
20. The Mekong Delta is in which country?Answer: Vietnam. The Mekong fans out into its delta in southern Vietnam before reaching the sea.