Q: I love soccer, especially on the international level. I think the World Cup competition will soon begin. Who is the host country? — E.F., Buffalo, N.Y.

A: The FIFA World Cup is an international tournament of 32 men’s national teams in soccer (or football, as it’s known to the rest of the world). The championship has been held every four years since its introduction in 1930 (with the exception of 1942 and 1946 because of World War II). South Africa will host the 2010 tournament, and the 2014 World Cup is scheduled for Brazil. The World Cup is said to be the most widely viewed sporting event on the planet. During the 2006 final, an estimated 715 million people watched the game.

Q: I regularly get an e-mail of quotes supposedly written by Abraham Lincoln about the poor, the weak, workers, class hatred and prosperity. Here are three of them.

1. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

2. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

3. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.

They seem like sound principles, but I’m wondering if Lincoln actually wrote them. These don’t seem like issues of the 1860s. — H.L., Colorado Springs, Colo.

A: No, Abraham Lincoln did not write the “Ten Cannots.” William Boetcker, a Presbyterian minister and an influential public speaker, penned them in 1916. In 1942, a conservative political organization reprinted the leaflet that bore the title “Lincoln on Limitations,” which contained quotes from the former president. Since then, Lincoln has been incorrectly credited as the source of the list.

Q: I recently heard a song by Engelbert Humperdinck on an oldies radio station. Whatever happened to him? He had a beautiful voice. — D.B., Santa Rosa, Calif.

A: Engelbert Humperdinck, born Arnold George Dorsey in 1936, continues his singing career with regular album releases and a full concert schedule every year.

Q: My visit to the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming turned out to be a highlight of a recent trip. My husband and I were there for 10 days and hiked every day. (We are not mountain climbers.) Curiously, an Exum Ridge is listed on a topographical map of Grand Teton. What is Exum? — B.Z., Salem, Ore.

A: The ridge was named after Glenn Exum (1911-2000), considered one of the premier American mountaineers. While in his teens, he was the first to climb the exposed ridge to the summit of Grand Teton. This ridge now bears his name.

Q: During the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, Calif., there was a skier named Penny Pitou. Whatever happened to her? — M.K., Waco, Texas

A: Penelope Theresa “Penny” Pitou (1938-) became the first American to win an Olympic downhill medal. She graduated from Laconia High School in Laconia, N.H., in 1956, the same year she competed in her first Winter Olympics, held in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. In 1960, she won two silver medals in the downhill and giant-slalom events. In 1961, she married Austrian skier Egon Zimmermann. They had two children and settled in New Hampshire. In 1968, the marriage fizzled, and Zimmermann returned to Austria. She remains active in the skiing community. In 2001, she entered the New England Women’s Sports Hall of Fame. And in 2008, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claims Pitou taught her how to ski.

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