click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
GK 1
Quiz
Question | Answer |
---|---|
What does 'Beijing' mean when translated into English from Chinese? | Northern capital |
Robert Maxwell's Pergamon Press specialised in what type of journal? | Scientific |
Who wrote 'Totem And Taboo' in 1913? | Sigmund Freud |
Which alphabet system using Roman letters is used to transcribe Chinese? | Pinyin |
What was author William Sydney Porter's pseudonym? | O Henry |
Which 1946 Terence Rattigan drama was based on the Archer Shee case? | The Winslow Boy |
Who is the clown in 'The Merchant Of Venice'? | Lancelot Gobbo |
Which animals were the houygnhnms in Gulliver's Travels? | Horses |
Speed is whose servant in Shakespeare's 'The Two Gentleman of Verona'? | Valentine |
What was Rosie's surname in 'Cider With Rosie'? | Burdock |
What is the direct English translation of the Latin 'Stabat Mater'? | The mother stood |
What was the surname of 'The Railway Children' in Edith Nesbit's novel? | Waterbury |
Which artist painted 'Resurrection in Cookham Churchyard'? | Stanley Spencer |
Fernand Khnopff painted 'Listening to.....' who in 1883? | Schumann |
Klimt, Loos and Otto Wagner belonged to which movement, part named for a capital city? | Viennese Succession |
What was the German equivalent of Art Nouveau? | Jugendstil |
Famed for painting masked figures, who painted 'Christ's Entry Into Brussels 1889'? | Ensor |
Whose 1969 autobiographical account was 'Papillon'? | Henri Charriere |
Who wrote poem 'For Johnny' that appeared in 1945 film 'The Way To The Stars'? | John Pudney |
Which 1939 Richard Llewellyn novel is about Welsh coal-mining family the Morgans? | How Green Was My Valley |
Which painting technique, Italian for 'dough' or 'mixture', lays paint on thickly so brushstrokes are visible? | Impasto |
Who wrote WW2 poem 'The Naming Of Parts'? | Henry Reed |
Which almanac was published 1732-1758 by Benjamin Franklin? | Poor Richard's |
Which almanac, also called Vox Stellarum, was first published 1697? | Old Moore's |
What was 'Uncle Vanya''s real name in Chekhov's play? | Ivan (Petrovich) Voinitski |
Which French word refers to a scale model of an unfinished sculpture? | Maquette |
Mark Tapley and Tom Pinch appear in which Dickens novel? | Martin Chuzzlewit |
What name is given to a preparatory study for a fresco? | Cartoon |
What is Finland's national epic, compiled by Elias Lönnrot in the 19th century from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology? | Kalevala |
Who won a Pullitzer Prize for poem collection 'For The Union Dead'? | Robert Lowell |
Palawan Island is part of which country? | Philippines |
What is the world's second largest lake? | Lake Superior |
What is the world's biggest lake entirely within one country? | Lake Michigan |
What is the biggest lake island in the world? | Manitoulin Island |
In which US state is Wupatki National Monument? | Arizona |
Which Scottish geologist (1726-1797) advanced the priniciple of uniformitarianism or gradualism, which is that slow geological processes occurring today have also occurred throughout time? | James Hutton |
Which promontory in Berwickshire was important in providing geologist James Hutton's 'proof' of the geological theory of uniformitarianism? | Siccar Point |
Which element, atomic number 77, is unusually abundant in the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary? | iridium |
What was the occupation of Galileo's father? | Lutenist/lute player |
On which island was Pythagoras supposedly born? | Samos |
"When viewed in an inertial reference frame, an object either remains at rest or moves at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force" is which physical law? | Newton's first law of motion |
Which component of the space shuttle Challenger did Richard Feynman famously find fault with, showing it at a press conference, believing its failure to have caused the disaster? | O-Ring |
Which historically shadowy character was supposedly the teacher of Democritus? | Leucippus |
Who wrote 'The Assayer' (1622)? | Galileo |
Give a year in the life of Tycho Brahe. | 1546-1601 |
Which 1986 musical's opening scene is set at an auction? | Phantom Of The Opera |
Who composed 'The Sabre Dance'? | Khachaturian |
'The Sabre Dance' comes from which opera? | Gayane |
Which 1967 pop song was based on Bach's 'Sleepers Awake'? | A Whiter Shade of Pale |
Who sung 1977's UK and US hit 'Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue'? | Crystal Gayle |
What was the Rolling Stones' first UK top 10 single? | Not Fade Away |
Which Bee Gee married Lulu? | Maurice Gibb |
What name is given to the letters that the Pope sends to his archbishops? | Encyclicals |
Who had a 1962 comedy number 1 'Come Outside'? | Mike Sarne and Wendy Richard |
In which town or city was Buddy Holly born? | Lubbock, Texas |
Who gave up his seat to The Big Bopper in the Feb 1959 plane crash that also killed Buddy Holly? | Waylon Jennings |
Fedor and Marina Mnishek are characters in which opera? | Boris Gudonov (by Mussorgsky) |
John Claggart, Master-at-arms and Captain Vere appear in which opera? | Billy Budd |
Arbroath Smokies are made from which fish? | Haddock |
'Hoover Hogs', eaten in the US Depression, were actually which animal? | Armadillos |
Under what name did Jeanne Deckers have a hit with 'Dominique'? | The Singing Nun |
In the nursery rhyme, which bells said 'you owe me five farthings'? | St Martin's |
Who had a 1954 UK number 1 with 'This Ole House'? | Rosemary Clooney |
How is Thomas Woodward (born 7th June 1940) better known in the pop and singing world? | Tom Jones |
In the 1905 song what follows 'there is an old mill by a stream...'? | Nellie Dean |
Gateau des Rois is traditionally eaten in France upon which Christian occasion? | Epiphany |
Aaron belonged to which Biblical tribe? | Levites |
Who co-wrote the musical 'Tallulah Who?' with Suzi Quatro? | Willie Rushton |
What type of musical instrument is a tabor? | Small drum |
What nationality were pop act 2 Unlimited? | Dutch |
Amoretto & Amaretti biscuits come from which Italian town? | Saronno |
Bob 'The Bear' Hite & Al 'Blind Owl' Wilson formed which band in 1966? | Canned Heat |
What is the singer Dido's real name? | Florian Cloud De Bounevialle Armstrong |
In Homeric myth, who was the Trojan leader in the Trojan War? | Hector |
Who composed the music for oratorio 'Belshazzar's Feast'? | Walton |
In Homeric myth, who was king of Troy at the time of the Trojan War? | Priam |
In which town in Denbighshire, on the River Dee, does the musical International Eisteddfod take place? | Llangollen |
In which town did Elgar's father have a music shop? | Worcester |
Who completed Elgar's unfinished 3rd symphony? | Anthony Payne |
Who was the lead singer of Herman's Hermits? | Peter Noone |
What is in a screwdriver cocktail? | Vodka and orange juice |
Which Britten comic opera is set in an East Suffolk market town called Loxford, and features a couple called Sid and Nancy? | Albert Herring |
What was pop star Chubby Checker's real name? | Ernest Evans |
Who was the Greek God of sleep? | Hypnos |
A 'Brahmin' has become a term for the educated elite of which US City? | Boston |
Who was the Greek God of wine? | Dionysus |
What is the alcoholic ingredient of cocktail 'Horse's Neck'? | Brandy |
How was singer Eleonara Fagan (or Eleonara Harris) better known? | Billie Holliday |
Which Group had a 1975 number 1 in the UK with "Barbados"? | Typically Tropical |
"March Of The Toreadors" comes from which opera? | Carmen |
Who composed "Pictures At An Exhibition"? | Mussorgsky |
Which number piano sonata is Beethoven's "Pathetique"? | 8 |
Which is the second part of Wagner's "Ring Cycle" called? | The Valkyrie |
Musical "The Chocolate Soldier" was based on which GB Shaw play? | Arms And The Man |
Whose operetta was "The Merry Widow"? | Lehar |
In which country was singer Eddy Grant born? | Guyana |
Who was Pope throughout World War 2? | Pius XII (Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli) |
What papal name did the 'British Pope', Nicholas Brakespear,(reigned 1154-59)take? | Adrian IV |
According to Judaism, who was Adam's first wife? | Lilith |
How are Franciscan monks also known, from the colour of their habits? | Greyfriars |
Traditionally which angels are at the highest rank in the Christian angelic hierarchy and in the fifth rank of ten in the Jewish angelic hierarchy? | Seraphim |
Whose backing groups have included the Hot Band, The Nash Ramblers and Spyboy? | Emmylou Harris |
Which band's 1994 tour was titled 'Hell Freezes Over'? | The Eagles |
Mozart's final 41st symphony is known by what name? | Jupiter symphony |
What was Barry Maguire's biggest UK hit song in 1965? | Eve Of Destruction |
'Old Pirates, Yes They Rob I' is a line from which Bob Marley song? | Redemption Song |
Who recorded the original version of the song 'Desperado', in the 1973 album of the same name? | The Eagles |
In Greek myth, which goat-nymph raised Zeus on Crete? | Amalthea |
In Greek myth, which 2 races of men were made prior to the current one? | Golden and silver men |
In Greek myth, who were the parents of Prometheus? | Iapetos & Clymene |
In Greek myth, of which town or city was Oedipus the king? | Thebes |
Pontus was an ancient pre-Olympian Greek personification of what? | The sea |
In Greek myth, how many children did Cronos swallow before Zeus was born? | Five |
Which spice (Curcuma longa) is commonly used as a cheap substitute for saffron? | Turmeric |
Heidi Range joined which band in 2001? | Sugababes |
In Greek myth, whose skin - his foster mother - did Zeus make into a powerful shield after her death? | Amalthea |
What are gamberoni on a Mediterranean menu? | Large prawns |
Which herb is an essential ingredient in gravlax? | Dill |
Who wrote 1934 musical work 'Fantasia On Greensleeves'? | Vaughan Williams |
What is December's birthstone? | Turqoise |
Which Hungarian physicist did studies on the equivalence of gravitational and inertial mass, and invented the torsion pendulum? | Eotvos |
Which ship was, in 1914, the first to transit the Panama Canal? | SS Ancon |
What colour is a peridot gem? | Green |
The African Openbill belongs to which bird family? | Stork (Ciconiidae) |
Named after an Irish scientist, and sharing its name with a place in Scotland, what is the most commercially important nickel ore? | Pentlandite |
Launched 21st March 2003 by Cunard, what became the UK's largest passenger ship? | RMS Queen Mary 2 |
Who first flew across the Pacific in 1928? | Kingford Smith |
Which waves on the electromagnetic spectrum have the shortest frequency? | Gamma rays |
Which law of thermodynamics precludes perpetual motion machines? | Second |
Which is the only gem of animal origin? | Pearl |
Which birds (family Bucerotidae) barricade themselves into tree cavities in order to lay eggs? | Hornbills |
How was the mineral Uraninite formerly known? | Pitchblende |
Which plant family is formally called 'apiceae'? | Carrots |
What type of ship, a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts, was Shackleton's 'Endurance'? | Barquentine |
Which undertaker (1839-1902) devised the automated telephone exchange in order to help his business, after discovering a rival undertaker's wife worked at the exchange and was diverting his calls? | Strowger |
Which bird, plectrophenyx nivalis, is an Arctic specialist sometimes colloquially called the 'snowflake'? | Snow Bunting |
Which airline flew the 'Skytrain' in the 1970s? | Laker Airways |
William Addis invented what aid to hygiene while in jail? | Toothbrush |
Now a tourist attraction at Greenwich, what was the last tea clipper to be built? | Cutty Sark |
Which was the first plane to exceed 1000mph in flight, on 10 March 1956, setting a new world speed record of 1,132 mph during a test flight? | Fairey Delta 2 |
What is Tuvalu's capital? | Funafuti |
In which city is the art gallery known as the Galleria D'Accademia? | Venice |
Koli National Park is in which country? | Finland |
In which city is Italy and Europe's oldest university? | Bologna |
Walden Pond, made famous by Thoreau, is nearest to which town in Massachussetts? | Concord |
Which famous archaeologist worked at Giza's Great Pyramids from 1880-3? | Flinders Petrie |
Which town at the north end of Cape Cod was the site of a famous Eugene O'Neill playhouse, and is now a well-known vacation destination for the LGBTQ community? | Provincetown |
Chard is a town in which English county? | Somerset |
Which New York street is officially called 'Avenue Of The Americas'? | Sixth Avenue |
Which US state separates Ohio from Tennessee? | Kentucky |
Santiago de los Caballeros is the second largest city in which country? | Dominican Republic |
Antigua and Anguilla are both part of which Lesser Antilles island grouping? | Leeward Islands |
Which Venetian island is famous for glassmaking? | Murano |
Isla de la Juventud belongs to which country? | Cuba |
Which city is home to England's second-oldest cathedral (i.e. date of completion of present building)? | Rochester |
What is England's oldest cathedral? | Canterbury |
What are France's four overseas regions (ROM)? | Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion |
Which British zoo is second only to London in number of animals? | Chester |
Tripoli is the second largest city in which country? | Lebanon |
Padua sits on which river? | Brenta |
What is Belgium's second largest city by population? | Antwerp |
What was the venue for 2002's Winter Olympics? | Salt Lake City |
'Sir Wattie' was a noted horse of which famous equestrian, born in Galashiels in 1954? | Ian Stark |
For which team did Nayim score for 50 yards in the 1995 European Cup-Winners' Cup Final, against Arsenal? | Real Zaragoza |
Earl Anthony was a highly successful exponent of which sport? | Tenpin bowling |
Which baseball player, nicknamed the Commerce Comet, broke the record for the most World Series home runs, RBIs, runs, walks and bases? | Mickey Mantle |
Who did Mickey Mantle play for throughout his baseball career? | New York Yankees |
The ITTF control which sport? | Table Tennis |
When did Nagano host the Winter Olympics? | 1998 |
Referring to his birthplace, in County Monaghan, what was Barry McGuigan's nickname? | The Clones Cyclone |
Billy Boston was associated with which sport? | Rugby League |
What is the surname of the rugby league playing brothers Tom, Luke, Sam and George, active in the 21st Century? | Burgess |
Which Crystal Palace 'fan' was kicked by Eric Cantona in January 1995? | Matthew Simmons |
Beryl Burton dominated which sport in the early 1960s? | Cycling |
Which golfer captained Britain's winning 1957 Ryder Cup team? | Dai Rees |
Roland Matthes went unbeaten for 7 years, from 1967 to 1974, at which swimming stroke? | Back |
Who beat Herbie Hide in Hide's first defence of his WBO heavyweight title in 1995? | Riddick Bowe |
Which Swedish rally driver (1929-2015) was nicknamed 'Mr Saab'? | Erik Carlsson |
Which Swiss driver won the 2013 GP2 series, but never raced in Formula 1? | Fabio Leimer |
Who was the 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 World Rally Champion? | Sebastien Ogier |
Which Belgian finished second in the 2013 World Rally Championship, despite never having won a round of the championship in his career up until then? | Thierry Neuville |
Which basketball player was nicknamed 'Goliath', 'The Stilt' & 'The Big Dipper'? | Wilt Chamberlain |
Who finished in the Top 3 of BBC Sports Personality Of The Year 5 times between 1981 and 1989? | Steve Davis |
Roland Gardens won which classic horse race in 1978? | 2000 Guineas |
Who became the Premier League's then-youngest goalscorer in 2002, scoring for Leeds versus Sunderland? | Milner |
In 2010, who became only the second F1 driver in 30 years to score points in his first 2 Grands Prix? | Paul Di Resta |
'Dry Salvages' is the title of the third part of which literary work? | Eliot's 'Four Quartets' |
In 1673, who died during a performance of his own play 'The Imaginary Invalid'? | Moliere |
On 20th November 1910, which author, like one of his fictional characters, died at a railway station? | Tolstoy |
Bacon's 'Three Screaming Popes' painting is based on Velazquez's portrait of which Pope? | Innocent X |
What word describes a publisher's logo, a brief description of the manuscript or book to which it is attached, or a stag beetle? | Colophon |
Who wrote 1978 novella 'The Cement Garden'? | Ian McEwan |
Which sheets of paper connect the cover of a book to its first and last pages? | Endpapers |
Which photographer's 1990 homoerotic photography exhibition caused a furore in Cincinnati? He had died in 1989 of HIV/AIDS. | Robert Mapplethorpe |
Who wrote the 1956 novel 'Peyton Place'? | Grace Metalius |
What is the name of the 2-headed llama in the Dr Doolittle books? | Pushmi-pullyou |
Which children's character was first created by Barbara Eliphan Todd? | Worzel Gummidge |
Which art movement began in 1905 at the Salon D'Automne? | Fauvism |
Give a year in the life of Hieronymous Bosch. | 1450-1516 |
Who wrote Booker Prize winner 'The Life And Times of Michael K'? | JM Coetzee |
Which of Jane Austen's novels was published posthumously? | Persuasion |
Who wrote, in 1933, 'The Expanding Universe'? | Arthur Eddington |
In which classic novel does Miss Havisham appear? | Great Expectations |
Alistair Burnet is a former editor of which weekly magazine, from 1965 to 1974? | The Economist |
What nationality was the artist Gustav Klimt? | Austrian |
Roger Alton was editor of which newspaper from 2008-2010, during which time its circulation dropped by 20%? | Independent |
'Dream Catcher' is a memoir by which author's daughter? | JD Salinger |
Which Australian publisher founded Virago publishing in 1973? | Carmen Calill |
"My Father's Daughter" is a book by which entertainer's daughter, Tina, released in 2000? | Frank Sinatra |
Which US author (1925-2012) was Al Gore's cousin? | Gore Vidal |
Which architect designed Buckinghamshire mansion Cliveden? | Charles Barry |
Fawkes & Lewis created which cartoon strip that ran from 1949 to 1984 in the Daily Mail? | Flook |
Who is the heroine of Jane Austen's novel Persuasion? | Anne Elliott |
Who drew The Fosdyke Saga? | Bill Tidy |
Who drew The Gambols cartoon strip? | Barry Appleby |
What were the first names of The Katzenjammer Kids in the cartoons? | Hans and Fritz |
Who wrote "Anne of Green Gables"? | LM Montgomery |
in which province of Canada is "Anne of Green Gables" set? | Prince Edward Island |
Which character narrates 'The Arabian Nights'? | Scherezade |
Who made a famous translation of The Arabian Nights into English in 1885? | Sir Richard Burton |
In which modern-day country was Joseph Conrad born? | Ukraine |
What is the Japanese 'hina matsuri', which occurs every 3rd May? | Festival of the Dolls (accept Girls Day) |
In which year was the British East India Company established? | 1599 |
In 1637 a speculative bubble burst on which flower causing many investors to lose everything? | Dutch tulips |
Thomas Aquinas was born on which island? | Sicily |
Under which famous monk (1200-80) did Thomas Aquinas study in Paris? | Albert the Great |
Used as trading currency, what name was given to traditional shell beads of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans? | Wampum |
What type of money has an intrinsic value of its own (eg coins made of gold), as opposed to fiat money which has no instrinisc value except that assigned by government? | Commodity money |
In which year did the US dollar become no longer convertible to gold? | 1971 |
The stuiver was a pre-decimal coin used in which country? | Netherlands |
Elephantine Island is located on the Nile near which town? | Aswan, Egypt |
Which physics centre and particle accelerator is located in Batavia, Illinois? | Fermilab |
What two word terms refers tobodies larger than dwarf lanets in the solar system forming from particles and debris orbiting the sun? | Planetary accretion |
A large object, believed to be a meteor, exploded over which place in Siberia in 1908, giving its name to the explosion? | Tunguska |
Which planets are collectively the 'inferior planets'? | Venus and Mercury (closer to the Sun than Earth) |
The conversion to Hydrogen to Helium in the Sun occurs by what process? | Fusion |
The Norwegian mineralogist Morten Thrane Esmark discovered which element in 1828? | Thorium |
Which layer of the Earth runs from the core-mantle boundary at 2900km to 350km deep? | Mesosphere |
Which relatively weak layer of the Earth lies between 350km and 100km of the surface? | Asthenosphere |
A closed system in science allows the exhnage of energy but not of what? | Matter |
From the Greek for 'blanket rock', what name is given to the loose, uncemented rock that covers Earth's surface? | Regolith |
Which natural objects prevent the Earth from being a closed system? | Meteorites |
In which US state is the Hubbard Glacier? | Alaska (and a small part in the Yukon) |
Part-analagous to perspiration, what name is given to the return of water to the atmosphere via plants' leaves? | Transpiration |
Igneous rocks form from which substance, a term for liquid rock? | Magma |
Which 16th Century Spanish explorer was briefly enslaved in Texas by Karankawa Indians - returning to Spain in 1537, he wrote an account, 1st published in 1542 as La Relación "The Account", which in later editions was retitled Naufragios or "Shipwrecks"? | Cabeza de Vaca |
The Miami Nation of Native Americans in fact mainly inhabited which current US state? | Indiana |
Which 1565 colony, now the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement within the borders of the continental United States, was founded by the Spanish in Florida? | St Augustine |
Which Canadian city was founded by the Frenchman Samuel de Champlain, in 1608? | Quebec City |
The Mayan numerical system was based on which number? | 20 |
Which Aztec Sun God, god of war and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan, had to be appeased by daily human sacrifice? | Huitzilpochili |
The Mesa Verde and Pueblo Bonito settlements belonged to which group of Native Americans? | Anasazi (or more politically correct - Ancestral Pueblans) |
What was the Aztec capital from the 14th century until Spanish conquest in 1521? | Tenochtitlan |
What method of killing trees involves stripping a layer of bark off, 3-4 feet above the ground? | Girdling |
The Hopewell Native Americans' 'Great Serpent Mound' is in which US state? | Ohio |
What English cognate name was given to Algonquin and Iroquois chief leaders? | Sachems |
Which Portuguese sailor of the 15th Century (1394-1460), born in Porto, and Duke of Viseu, made an exploration of the Atlantic coast of West Africa? | Henry the Navigator |
Which cape, also called Abu Khatar, in the Western Sahara was, until the 15th Century, the furthest south on the West African coast that Europeans had travelled? | Cape Bojador |
The problem of longitude was only finally resolved in which century? | 18th |
In shipping lateen sails are which shape? | Triangular |
Which African empire successfully challenged the Malian empire in the 15th Century and then dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th century? | Songhai |
Which King of Mali made a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 with 60,000 people and 80 camels? | Gonga-Mussa |
The Songhay/Songhai Empire was centred on which city? | Gao |
The island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea has what, alternate, European name, from a 15th century explorer? | Fernando Po |
The African slave trade began when the Portuguese transported slaves to sugar plantations on which island, considered to be the first territorial discovery of the exploratory period of the Portuguese Age of Discovery? | Madeira |
Give a year in the life of Evangelista Torricelli, the barometer inventor. | 1608-1647 |
Who was US President when Hawaii joined the USA? | Eisenhower |
In which modern day nation was physicist Robert Boyle born? | Ireland |
Boyle's Law of gases is occasionally given which other name, from a French physicist who independently formulated it 20 years after Boyle? | Mariotte's Law |
Which philosopher believed that two forces he named 'love' and 'strife' united or disunited substances, which were composed of the four elements of Earth, Air, Wind and Fire? | Empedocles |
Whose 1787 work 'Methode De Nomenclature Chemique' helped standardise the names of chemical compounds? | Lavoisier |
Colcothar is an old name for which chemical compound? | Iron (III) Oxide |
What are the four stages of a 4-stroke engine cycle? | Induction, compression, exhaust, power (or ignition) |
What is missing in a 4-stroke diesel engine that is present in a petrol equivalent? | Spark |
How did a Westland Wallace biplane make aviation history on 3rd April 1933? | First flight over Everest |
Burnett moths contain which toxic substance? | Cyanide |
In biology, what is a 'honey locust'? | A tree |
Which tree has the scientific name 'aesculus'? | Horse chestnut |
Launched in April 1910, what was then the Navy's largest battleship, she was the only dreadnought from the main body of the Grand Fleet to be hit during the Battle of Jutland, although she suffered only minor damage? | Colossus |
Which submarine sank during trials in Liverpool Bay in 1939 with the loss of 99 lives? | HMS Thetis |
Who was the architect who designed the Eden Project in Cornwall, and was President of the Royal Academy from 2004 to 2011? | Nicholas Grimshaw |
In which city is Gladstone's Land? | Edinburgh |
Lecoq de Boisbaudrin discovered which element in 1875? | Gallium |
Rhodium, the element, takes its name from what? | A rose |
What type of creature is a bobolink? | Bird (specifically, a blackbird) |
Which chemical element gets its name from the Greek from green? | Chlorine |
What sort of creature is a bluetongue? | Lizard |
Malta's WW2 defence planes, Faith, Hope and Charity, were what make and model? | Gloster Gladiators |
What are listed in Messier's catalogue? | Galaxies |
Which astronomer first proposed the Big Bang theory, which he called his "hypothesis of the primeval atom" or the "Cosmic Egg"? | Lemaitre |
Which astronomer discovered 'redshift' which proved the known universe is expanding? | Hubble |
Who did Southey call "The Colossus of Roads"? | Telford |
On a 3-masted sailing ship, what is the aftermost mast called? | Mizzen mast |
The Planta Genista (from which - Plantagenet) is which plant? | Broom |
Wadi El Natrun in Egypt gave its name to which chemical element? | Sodium |
From where did Marconi make his first Transatlantic radio broadcast? | Cape Cod |
Which German (1858-1947) was instrumental in propounding quantum theory? | Max Planck |
Who discovered the 4 blood groups in 1900? | Landsteiner |
To which shape does the adjective 'cordate' apply? | Heart-shaped |
What does EPOS stand for, in commerce? | Electronic Point of Sale |
In internal combustion engines, which pin locates a piston into a connecting rod? | Gudgeon pin |
Name either British bird whose name contains a place in Kent. | Dartford Warbler, Sandwich Tern |
What is Scotopic vision better known as? | Night vision |
Which car maker's emblem features a raging bull? | Lamborghini |
What was the first British jet bomber, introduced to the RAF in 1951? | English Electric Canberra |
What does 'Hyundai' mean in English? | Modern/modernity |
Name any of the 4 Northern Irish banks that issue banknotes. | Ulster Bank/Allied Bank/Bank of ireland/Northern Bank |
What is someone who analyses dreams called? | Oneirologist |
Zonular fibres are found in which bodily organ? | Eye |
Which plant, found frequently in hanging baskets, is tradescantia albiflora? | Wandering Jew |
The North American Killdeer is what sort of bird, of the subfamily Charadriinae ? | Plover |
Where does a female shard-beetle lay her eggs? | Dung |
What is the popular name of plant Sanjevieria Trifasoata? | Mother-in-law's tongue |
The Brighton Belle train, that ran from 1933 to 1972, departed from which London station? | Victoria |
How is the General Dynamics F16 jet better known? | Fighting Falcon |
Which table, whose name comes from both Greek and Latin for 'diary' or 'journal' is used to show the predicted position of celestial bodies at a given time? | Ephemeris |
From which aircraft carrier did WW2 bombers take off on the Doolittle raid, an air raid by the USA on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on the island of Honshu during World War II, the first air strike to strike the Japanese Home Islands? | Hornet |
A glass chemical instrument used by Lavoisier shares its name with which large bird, characterised by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey? | Pelican |
Who (1766-1844) resurrected Democritus' term the 'atom' to apply to chemical atoms? | Dalton |
Which (September 9, 1737 – December 4, 1798) Italian physicist made early forays into bioelectricity and has a measuring device named after him? | Luigi Galvani |
Which Dane (1777-1851) discovered the link between electricity and magnetism? | Oersted |
Who invented the torsion balance in 1777? | Charles-Augustin de Coulomb |
Which law, named for a European scientist, states that the mutual action of two lengths of current-carrying wire is proportional to their lengths and to the intensities of their currents? | Ampere's law |
Which process uses electrical current to reduce dissolved metal cations so that they form a coherent metal coating on an electrode? | Electroplating |
What name is given to a naturally magnetized piece of magnetite? | Lodestone |
Who discovered benzene? | Michael Faraday |
Which Scottish scientist presented the first durable colur photograph in 1861? | James Clerk Maxwell |
What name is given to the top mathematics graduate at the University of Cambridge? | Senior Wrangler |
The University of Aberdeen was founded by the merger of which two colleges? | Marischal and Kings |
Which body awards the Rumford medal? | Royal Society |
What is the view that the social realm may not be subject to the same methods of investigation as the natural world; that academics must reject empiricism and the scientific method in the conduct of social research? | Antipositivism |
After radio waves, what are the next longest waves on the electromagnetic spectrum? | Microwaves |
Whose epitaph reads "hereabouts died a very gallent gentleman"? | Captain Oates |
Which US President did Giuseppe Zangara attempt to assassinate? | FD Roosevelt |
Which container ship sank on the same day as HMS Coventry in the Falklands Conflict, hit on 25 May 1982 by two Argentine air-launched AM39 Exocet missiles? | Atlantic Conveyor |
Who was 1st monarch of the house of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha? | Edward VII |
Who was the first monarch to be born in Buckingham Palace? | William IV |
Where did Cromwell defeat the Royalists on 3rd September 1651, ending the Civil War? | Worcester |
Which designer was appointed as dressmaker to the royal family in 1938? | Norman Hartnell |
Which Irish writer, poet and barrister was one of the main leaders of the Easter Rising? Following his execution along with fifteen others, Pearse came to be seen by many as the embodiment of the rebellion. | Patrick Pearse |
Who seized Bengal for the British in 1757, then becoming Governor of the Presidency of Fort William, Bengal? | Robert Clive |
Whose monarch's son was Edward I of England? | Henry III |
Edward II of England nicknamed which Earl 'Burstbelly'? | Earl of Lincoln |
In which year did Edward III declare himself the King of France? | 1340 |
Where is 'Gaunt' as in 'John of Gaunt'? | Ghent, Belgium |
Who did Edward IV of England take as his consort? | Elizabeth Woodville |
Which man, son of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, was instrumental in the deposition of two kings, a fact which later earned him his epithet of "Kingmaker" to later generations? | Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick |
Which Home Secretary resigned after the 'Poulson Affair'? | Reginald Maudling |
Who commanded the forces that defeated the French on the 'Glorious First of June' 1794? | Lord Howe |
Which British armed robber, kidnapper and murderer, was in 1975 convicted of murdering Lesley Whittle? | Donald Neilson |
What title did George Thomas (1909-1997), the former Commons speaker, take on elevation to the peerage? | Viscount Tonypandy |
Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Coburg married which English king? | William IV |
Whose dying words, on October 12th 1872, were supposedly 'strike the tent'? | General Robert E Lee |
In 1935, which Minister of Transport introduced the UK's first - then voluntary - driving test? | Leslie Hore-Belisha |
What was Harold Wilson's actual first given name? | James |
At The Battle of Waterloo, who commanded the Prussians? | Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher |
Napoleon commanded Marshall Michel Ney, the 'Prince' of which city? | Moscow |
Who founded the 'Marylebone Dispensary For Women and Children'? | Elizabeth Garrett Anderson |
Sidney and Beatrice Webb were prominent members of which society, formed in 1884, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow? | Fabian |
Henry Wallace was Vice-President to which US President? | FD Roosevelt |
Which nation had the 'Kwantung Army' in the first half of the 20th century? | Japan |
Oswald Mosley led which British political party, formed in 1932? | British Union of Fascists |
Which river did Nazi forces cross in 1941 to begin the invasion of the USSR, it now forms part of the border between Ukraine and Poland for 185 kilometres (115 mi)? | Bug |
Under whose command did the Soviets reach Berlin in 1945? | Zhukov |
In which city was the United Nations inaugurated at the 'conference on international organisation'? | San Francisco |
Which conference between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill was held in November 1943? | Tehran |
In which year was Italy unified? | 1870 |
What was a market called in Ancient Greece? | Agora |
Eretria and Chalcis (on the modern island of Evia) fought which war of the early Archaic period, between c. 710 and 650 BC? | Lelantine War |
Lycurgus laid the foundations of which city's system? | Sparta |
What were agricultural slaves or at best, subjugated peoples called in Ancient Sparta, that formed the main population of Laconia and Messenia, the territory Sparta controlled? | Helots |
What physical value was first measured in 1849 by Armand-Hippolyte-Louis Fizeau? | Speed of Light |
George Johnstone Stoney coined which scientific term? | Electron |
CTR Wilson won the Nobel Physics Prize for inventing what? | Cloud chamber |
What went with "Apple Blossom White" in the title of a Prado & Calvert UK No 1? | Cherry Pink |
Who had a hit in the 1950s with "What Do You Want?"? | Adam Faith |
Who had UK hits with "Green Door" and "The Garden Of Eden"? | Frankie Vaughan |
Which German violinist, composer, conductor and musical impresario invited Haydn to London twice in the 1790s? | Johann Peter Salomon |
In 217AD Hippolytus became the first person to hold which role in history? | Antipope |
What was Pope Benedict XVI's given name? | Joseph Ratzinger |
What title did Pope Benedict XVI receive on resigning the papacy? | Pope Emeritus |
What is the Hindu and Buddhist principle of non-violence called? | Ahimsa |
Which 12th-13th century order took their name from the Greek for 'pure'? | Cathars |
Who, considered the twenty-fourth Tirthankara, founded Jainism in the 6th Century BC? | Mahavira |
Wilson Carlile founded which evangelistic organisation founded in the Church of England and now operating in many parts of the Anglican Communion in 1882 in London's slums? | Church Army |
Which Buddhist festival celebrates the birth of Buddha? | Vesak |
"June Is Busting Out All Over" comes from which musical? | Carousel |
Who composed the song "A Couple Of Swells"? | Irving Berlin |
In Wagner's Ring Cycle, which dwarf brings up Siegfried? | Mime |
Whose opera is 'Der Rosenkavalier'? | Richard Strauss |
Who was vocalist for rock act "The Band Of Gypsies"? | Jimi Hendrix |
Who stole from the Greek Gods and was thus condemned to live in Eternity hungry, with food agonisingly just out of reach? | Tantalus |
Who was the 8th incarnation of Vishnu? | Krishna |
Who composed "Prelude A La Apres-Midi D'Un Faune"? | Debussy |
With which wood are violins traditionally made? | Maple |
What is a muslim who has memorized the Koran called? | Hafis |
Who was the first black bishop to be consecrated in Rhodesia? | Abel Muzorewa |
Who was Archbishop of Canterbury at the time of Edward VIII's abdication? | Cosmo Lang |
Who founded the Mormon Church when he published the Book of Mormor? | Joseph Smith |
Who founded the Salvation Army, and became its first General (1878–1912)? | William Booth |
Who released the 2007 album 'X'? | Kylie Minogue |
Who wrote the opera "A Masked Ball" ("Un Ballo In Maschera")? | Verdi |
Marsala wine comes from which island? | Sicily |
What were Beethoven's only two ballets? | Ritterballet; The Creatures of Prometheus |
Esau was, Biblically, the first born son of which man? | Jacob |
In which opera does Rodolfo finish writing an article while his friends go out? | La Boheme |
Where do Sack wines come from? | The Canary Islands |
Who was Cain's firstborn son in the Bible? | Enoch |
Which female singer has released autobiographies called "If Only" and "Just For The Record"? | Geri Halliwell |
In cooking, what name is given to vegetables cut into fine strips? | Julienne |
Biblically, who was Jacob's youngest son? | Benjamin |
In concert pitch, to which note are orchestral instruments tuned? | A |
In Greek myth, who swam the Hellespont nightly to visit his lover? | Leander |
The word 'cuneal' applies to which shape? | Wedge-shaped |
What is the metric weight of one carat, in milligrams? | 200mg |
Whose Antarctic exploration ship was the 'Endurance'? | Shackleton |
Which car company made the Lanos model? | Daewoo |
Which motorway runs from Rotherham to Goole? | M18 |
The bittern belongs to which family? | Heron (Ardeidae) |
What is Britain's smallest native mammal? | Pygmy shrew |
Who first flew across the Channel in 1909? | Louis Blériot |
Which element takes its chemical symbol from the Latin for 'mrk'? | Antimony (Sb - 'stibium') |
What is the most abundant chemical element in the oceans? | Sodium |
Which class of animals has a name meaning 'scaled wings'? | Lepidoptera |
What is the UN organisation, the IMO, short for? | International Maritime Organisation |
What type of computer stores files and controls access to a network? | Server |
An RC circuit features which two pieces of electronic equipment, by definition? | Resistor and capacitor |
What type of creature is an ornamental orfe? | Fish |
Which shipping line ran the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth? | Cunard |
Who was Governor-General of Australia from 2008-14, the first woman to hold the position? | Quentin Bryce |
What element is atomic number 13? | Aluminium |
What did Otto Von Guericke invent in 1654? | Air pump/vacuum pump |
Who invented the aqualung during WW2 along with engineer Émile Gagnan? | Jacques Cousteau |
Who invented the motorcycle in 1885? | Gottlieb Daimler |
Rouen and Khaki Campbell are both types of which creature? | Duck |
How did Cathay Pacific flight 889 make history on 6th July 1998? | First flight into Chep Lap Kok Airport, Hong Kong |
What term is used for electronic instruments used in aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft? | Avionics |
How was the B-52 plane that first flew in 1952 nicknamed? | Stratofortress |
What sort of fruit tree is a gean? | Wild cherry |
How many yards are in a furlong? | 220 |
The minnow is the smallest member of which fish family? | Carp |
A greek vase of 500BC shows a boy playing with which toy, which may have originated even earlier in China or the Phillipines? | Yo-yo |
On a geological time scale, how long is a 'myr'? | One million years |
What is the name of the world's largest bell, on display on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin - it has never been in working order? | Tsar Kolokol |
What did Georges de Mestral invent in 1941? | Velcro |
Which two bodies amalgamated to form the RAF? | Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) & Royal Flying Corps (RFC) |
How is 'wool sorters disease' more commonly known? | Anthrax |
The first French railway went from St Etienne to which other city? | Lyon |
Fibroin coated with seroin is better known by what name? | Silk |
In which year were front seatbelts made compulsory in the UK? | 1983 |
Which tree is traditionally used in making archer's bows? | Yew |
What is the correct title to give to the daughter of an Earl? | Lady |
Which substance, also called phenol, did Joseph Lister use to improve surgical hygiene? | Carbolic acid |
What was the first country in the world to use number plates on cars? | France |
Australia produces around 97% of the world total of which precious stone, a hydrated amorphous form of silica? | Opal |
Which long-running London musical debuted on 8th October 1985 at The Barbican? | Les Miserables |
Who wrote the opera "The Man With 3 Wives"? | Franz Lehar |
Which keys on a computer keyboard have raised marks on them acting as 'rest keys'? | F and J |
The first session of the UN after its founding was convened in which city in 1946? | London |
The pyramid shaped Ryugyong Hotel is a distinctive feature of which city's skyline? | Pyongyang |
Who gave the short acceptance speech "It was my privilege. Thank you." on winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1991? | Joe Pesci |
The Bank of England was founded in which century? | 17th |
Which patron saint was supposedly crucified on an X-shaped cross? | St Andrew |
Travelling directly East from Lecce, which country would you hit? | Albania |
In which city was Tony Blair born? | Edinburgh |
The Panama Hat actually originated in which country? | Ecuador |
Which Oscar-winning actress, born October 28th 1967 in Smyrna, Georgia, has an older actor brother called Eric? | Julia Roberts |
Which hormone, produced by the posterior pituitary gland, is important in the later stages of pregnancy, released in response to stretching of the cervix and uterus during labour and with stimulation of the nipples from breastfeeding? | Oxytocin |
Blue points and wellfleets are varieties of which food? | Oysters |
John Louis Emil Dreyer created the catalogue NGC in 1888- for what does NGC stand? | New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars |
Adamstown is the largest settlement on which Pacific island? | Pitcairn Island |
Ramadan is which number month in the Islamic calendar? | Ninth |
Whose paintings (1863-1944) include "The Dance of Life" and "Ashes"? | Munch |
Which atmospheric layer lies directly above the stratosphere? | Mesosphere |
Which atmospheric layer lies directly above the mesosphere? | Thermosphere |
The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution that ended slavery was made in which year? | 1865 |
Which fashion house made both the fabric gabardine, and the material in the tents used on Captain Scott's Antarctic expedition? | Burberry |
In which city was Boris Johnson born? | New York City |
What colour is the icing on a Tottenham cake, traditionally? | Pink |
Humility Cooper and Oceanus Collins were passengers on which famous ship? | The Mayflower |
Who wrote 1920's "Beyond The Pleasure Principle"? | Sigmund Freud |
Who directed the film "Sicko" in 2007? | Michael Moore |
How old was Chopin when he died? | 39 |
Which three are Canada's 'maritime provinces'? | New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia |
Anarchist Martial Bourdin accidentally detonated a bomb near which building in 1894, killing only himself? He may have formed the inspiration for Conrad's "The Secret Agent". | Royal Observatory, Greenwich |
Who founded the SAS? | David Stirling |
Which US president owned a dog called Checkers in the 1960s? | Nixon |
Who became Chinese President in 2013? | Xi Jinping |
Tolanaro, Toamasina and Fianarantsoa are cities in which country? | Madagascar |
The g-factor describes which property of an electron? | Magnetism |
Who said "Anyone not shocked by quantum theory doesn't understand it"? | Nils Bohr |
Who discovered radioactivity in 1896? | Henri Becquerel |
Which is a unit of length equal to 10−10 m (one ten-billionth of a metre)? | Angstrom |
Lake St Clare lies east of which US city? | Detroit |
In which Great Lake is Isle Royale National Park? | Lake Superior |
Referencing Greek myth, how are Ceuta and Gibraltar collectively known? | Pillars of Hercules |
What is the capital of Grenada? | St Georges |
Tingwall airport serves which town or city? | Lerwick |
Inishmor is part of which island group? | Aran Islands |
Who was appointed dressmaker to the Queen in 1955? | Hardy Amies |
Where is the Eden Project located? | Bodelva, near St Austell, Cornwall |
Eccentric centanarian Jane Lewson probably inspired which literary character? | Miss Havisham (Great Expectations) |
Where is the seat of the Marquis of Bath? | Longleat, Wiltshire |
Gled is Scots for which bird? | Kite |
What does LIBOR stand for? | London Inter-Bank Offered Rate |
What is Ecuador's current currency? | US Dollar |
What was Ecuador's currency prior to 2000? | Sucre |
What is Paraguay's currency? | Guarani |
What does a dashed line on an OS Map represent? | Bridleway |
What does a flag on an OS Map represent? | Golf course |
Which term refers to the side of a mountain that is away from the prevailing wind? | Lee side |
What is reclaimed land in the Netherlands called? | Polders |
What adjective means referring to a river bank? | Riparian |
From the Latin for 'to wash against'. what are the sediments of a river called? | Alluvium |
What is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde? | Arran |
What name is given to a downward fold in rock, a fold with younger layers closer to the centre of the structure? | Syncline |
What name is given to an upward fold in rock, a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core? | Anticline |
Which US state was the 14th to join the Union, after the original thirteen? | Vermont |
Stalin was born in which town or city? | Tbilisi |
Churchill said the Iron Curtain ran from which city in the North to which in the South? | Stettin, Trieste |
How many red stripes are on the US flag? | Seven |
Belgrade lies at the confluence of the Danube with which river? | Sava |
Which UK City's hallmark on metal etc is a castle? | Edinburgh |
In which range is Spain's highest mainland mountain? | Sierra Nevada |
What is the USA's second smallest state? | Delaware |
In which English county is Thetford? | Norfolk |
In which country is the capital only the 27th largest city? | USA (Washington DC) |
At which airport is the company FedEx based? | Memphis |
Who did Paul Mccartney marry in 2011? | Nancy Shevell |
Which German physicist (1824-87) coined the term 'black body radiation' and investigated spectral lines? | Gustav Kirchhoff |
What does COBE mean in the name of the satellite? | Cosmic Background Explorer |
Whose epitaph is ""Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare, To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones,And cursed be he that moves my bones."? | Shakespeare |
In which (then) country was Catherine The Great born? | Prussia (Stettin) |
Flatford Mill appears in which famous painting? | The Haywain, Constable |
What is the name of Cornwall's flag, referencing the county's saint? | St Piran's flag |
Durham House in London was whose home from 1583 until the 17th Century? | Walter Raleigh |
In which county was the former Nonsuch Palace? | Surrey |
In which country are the Zagros mountains? | Iran |
Which Indian state surrounds Mumbai and contains Pune? | Maharashtra |
What is India's Western coast called? | Malabar Coast |
In which city is India's largest temple, Rajarajeshwara? | Thanjavur (or Tanjore) |
Ancient Babylonian city Ur stood on which river? | Euphrates |
Which city is virtually on the site of ancient Nineveh? | Mosul |
Phrygia was an ancient area in which modern country? | Turkey |
In which decade did Surtsey emerge from off the coast of Iceland? | 1960s (1963) |
Dondra Head is the southern point of which island? | Sri Lanka |
Dilmun was the ancient name for which country? | Bahrain (although it may also have encompassed a larger area) |
How is Mount Horeb more famously known? | Mount Sinai |
In which city in the UK are the Holywell Concert Rooms? | Oxford |
In which city is the Gewandhaus, home of a famous old orchestra? | Leipzig |
In which city was the Walt Disney Concert Hall opened in 2003? | Los Angeles |
In which city is the University of Canterbury? | Christchurch, New Zealand |
What was Caravaggio's real name? | Michelangelo Merisi |
Ujiji is a town on which lake? | Lake Tanganyika |
Who released the albums "Impossible Princess" and "Aphrodite"? | Kylie Minogue |
Which newspaper published photos of Prince Harry naked in a Las Vegas hotel room, arguing that they were in the 'national interest'? | The Sun |
How many furlongs are in one mile? | Eight |
Which mammalian body structure takes its name from the Greek for 'flat cake'? | Placenta |
Which city will be the 2017 UK City of Culture? | Hull |
Who was the last man to renounce a peerage upon becoming UK Prime Minister? | Douglas-Home |
What is the Pope's twitter account named? | @pontifex |
Who painted 'Dance Me To The End Of Love'? | Jack Vettriano |
Singapore means 'Lion City' in which language? | Sanskrit |
Who was the subject of a Francis Bacon work sold for £89 million in 2013? | Lucien Freud |
Who provided the voices for Baloo, Littlejohn and Tom O'Malley in Disney films? | Phil Harris |
What name is given to a single-headed Celtic drum, played with a 'tipper'? | Bodhran |
Who says in The Tempest "Be not afeared, the island is full of noises"? | Caliban |
Which website did David Karp found in 2007? | Tumblr |
Who is the Duke of Rothesay (as of Apr 2014)? | Prince Charles |
Which art form takes its name from the French for 'cutting out'? | Decoupage |
What was Adele's first UK Number 1? | Someone Like You |
To which peoples did Delilah betray Samson in the Bible? | Philistines |
Which sports team were the supposed victims of the 86-year long 'Curse of the Bambino'? | Boston Red Sox (didn't win the World Series for that long, after selling Babe Ruth) |
Who had the first UK number 1 (of a few) with 'Unchained Melody'? | Jimmy Young |
Which James Blake album won the 2013 Mercury Music Prize? | Overgrown |
Who wrote 'Finches of Mars' in 2012? | Brian Aldiss |
Who directed 'Requiem For A Dream', 'The Wrestler' and 'Black Swan'? | Darren Aronofsky |
The dynamic equinox is more commonly called what? | Vernal Equinox |
Charles X of France succeeded which other monarch? | Louis XVIII |
Which UK capital is named after a 6th century hermit? | St Helier |
Which town or village was Nelson's birthplace? | Burnham Thorpe |
Earl Scruggs was a US musician famed for his distinctive 3-finger picking style on what? | Banjo |
Which Kenyan woman (1940-2011) won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize? | Wangari Maathai |
Both Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro won Academy Awards for playing the same character - who? | Vito Corleone |
In 1917, which King changed the name of the Royal Family to Windsor? | George V |
Which is the penultimate letter in the Greek alphabet? | Psi |
Which British post-impressionist artist was born in Tenby in 1878? | Augustus John |
Which horse did Zara Phillips ride at the 2012 London Olympics? | High Kingdom |
Which members of the daisy family, held to be effective agsinst the common cold, are also called coneflowers? | Echinacea |
Which book is the sequel to Joseph Heller's "Catch 22"? | Closing Time |
Between 1920 and 1927, Charles Drummond Ellis established that which physical process is continuous? | Beta decay |
Which physicist said "All science is physics or stamp collecting"? | Rutherford |
In which city is McGill University, founded 1821? | Montreal |
The Cavendish Laboratory was inaugurated in 1874 at which university? | Cambridge |
Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov is considered to have laid the modern basis for which theory, earlier explored by Pascal? | Probability Theory |
John Eccles won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work on which structures within the body? | Synapses |
Which Russian-born American mathematical psychologist (1911-2007) contributed to general systems theory, mathematical biology and to the mathematical modeling of social interaction and stochastic models of contagion? | Anatol Rapaport |
The Avars are the most prominent ethnic group in which disputed region or province, capital Makhachkala? | Dagestan |
The shrubs and trees called wattles also have what name? | Acacias |
Willows, sallows and osiers belong to which genus of plants? | Salix |
The Venetian year traditionally began on what date? | 1st March |
Which type of fabrics take their name from the Italian for "embossed cloth"? | Brocade |
Which igneous rock was the hardest known in antiquity, and much prized, as its purple-red colour also signified royalty? | Porphyry |
Which group of tectosilicate minerals make up as much as 60% of the Earth's crust? | Feldspars |
Which explorer first found a sea route to India from Europe, landing at Calicut on 20th May 1498? | Vasco Da Gama |
A prominent leader of the catastrophic Fourth Crusade, and sounding like a Coronation Street character, who was the first emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, albeit reigning for just 1 year before being deposed? | Baldwin I of Constantinople |
Which chef named 'Tournedos Rossini'? | Escoffier |
Which traditional Swedish soup contains pea and ham? | Artsoppa |
Avgolemono, a Mediterranean soup or sauce, probably of Sephardic origin, also goes by what name, referencing two of its ingredients? | Egg-lemon |
Babka is a cake traditionally originating in which country? | Poland |
Which composer married Clara Wieck? | Schumann |
Which composer's Toccata is the subject of a Robert Browning poem? | Galuppi |
Which famed composer led Amsterdam's Concertbegouw from 1895-1941? | Willem Mengelberg |
Which Russian composer was also a Professor of Chemistry? | Borodin |
Who composed "Hamlet - A Fantasy Overture After Shakespeare"? | Tchaikovsky |
Which composer walked all the way from Arnstadt to Lubeck just to hear an organist? | JS Bach |
Sir Thomas Beecham founded which two London orchestras? | Royal Philharmonic and London Philharmonic |
Who composed "Harold In Italy" in 1834? | Berlioz |
Who composed "Invitation To The Dance" in 1819? | Weber |
Who composed "Jesu Joy Of Man's Desiring" between 1716 and 1723? | JS Bach |
Whose 7th symphony is the "Leningrad"? | Shostakovich |
How is Beethoven's Piano Concerto Number 5 in E Flat better known? | Emperor |
Who won the 2009 Mercury Music Prize with "Speech Therapy"? | Speech DeBelle |
Zurga and Nadir feature in which opera? | The Pearl Fishers |
How does Peter Grimes die in Britten's opera? | He drowns himself |
Which eponymous character in an opera is a hunchbacked jester? | Rigoletto |
What is the first part of The Ring Cycle? | Das Rheingold |
What item does Alberich make with the stolen Rheingold in Wagner's opera? | A ring |
Members of "My Morning Jacket", "Bright Eyes" and "M Ward" formed which 'supergroup' in 2004? | Monsters of Folk |
A West African Ngoni resembles which Western instrument? | Lute |
Which Rachamaninov work is based on Pushkin's "Little Tragedies"? | The Miserly Knight |
Who were the first winners of the Mercury Music Prize, in 1992? | Primal Scream (for Screamadelica) |
How does "La Traviata" translate into English? | The Fallen Woman |
Which number 'Pimms Cup' is/was based on vodka? | Number 6 |
Who had a May 1961 UK Number 1 with "You're Driving Me Crazy"? | The Temperance Seven |
Who composed "Overture Of The Wasps"? | Vaughan Williams |
Who wrote "Let Your Love Flow", used in a 2008 Barclaycard advert? | The Bellamy Brothers |
Which composer (1824-96) disowned his second written symphony such that it was renamed "Symphony Number 0"? | Bruckner |
Which pop star said "I don't anything about music. In my line, you don't have to."? | Elvis Presley |
In Greek Myth, what did Zeus transform Io into? | White heifer/cow |
Who wrote "Is This The Way To Amarillo"? | Neil Sedaka |
Who wrote "Rockin All Over The World", later covered by Status Quo? | John Fogerty |
Between 1967 and 1972, John Fogerty was the lead singer of which band? | Creedence Clearwater Revival |
Which girl did Athena turn into a spider, according to Greek myth? | Arachne |
Which dish is a fillet steak in a white wine and shallot sauce? | Chateaubriand |
"Go Your Own Way" is a song from which album, which has sold over 45 million copies worldwide? | Rumours (Fleetwood Mac) |
Invented in 1928 by Maurice Martenot, what is an 'Ondes Martenot'? | A musical instrument |
Bands called 'bagadou' are traditionally found in which region of France? | Brittany |
Ahura Mazda is the creator God in which religion? | Zoroastrianism |
A Balalaika has how many strings? | Three |
In which musical does a song wax lyrical about 'Hernando's Hideaway'? | The Pajama Game |
What kind of instruments dominate a Brazilian 'batucada' ensemble? | Drums |
Which musical is part set in the 'Three Cripples' tavern? | Oliver! |
Who was "on vibes" in the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band's "The Intro And The Outro"? | Adolf Hitler |
Munster cheese originates in which country? | France |
Which four words follow "Abide With Me..." in the hymn? | Fast Falls The Eventide |
Singer-songwriter Natasha Khan is better known by which stage name? | Bat For Lashes |
Which ewe's milk French cheese is made with mould found in local caves? | Roquefort |
Who wrote an opera about Shakespeare's character 'Falstaff'? | Verdi |
What is the old name for ammonium carbonate? | Sal volatile |
What is the old name for calcium hydroxide? | Slaked lime |
How is dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane more succinctly known? | DDT |
In mathematics, if the Y co-ordinate is formally termed an ordinate, what is the X co-ordinate? | Abscissa |
What unit of paper corresponds to 25 sheets of the same size and quality: 1⁄20 of a ream of 500 sheets? | Quires |
Where in the UK was there a 1974 chemical disaster in Lincolnshire? | Flixborough |
Fuel and air mix in which vehicle engine component? | Carburettor |
Who is credited with inventing bifocals? | Benjamin Franklin |
Permalloy is an alloy of which two metals? | Iron and nickel |
What is the 'standard' number of bones in the human body, excluding accessory ossicles and the like? | 206 |
'Genal' is an adjective that applies to which part of the body? | Cheeks |
What is the more common name for the disease 'herpes zoster'? | Shingles |
What is the more common name for sternutation? | Sneezing |
Which printing technique involves engraving an image onto a cylinder? | Gravure |
What is the result of a division in mathematics called? | Quotient |
In which country was the now-defunct Duesenberg car company based? | USA |
Which country launched its first lunar probe/orbiter in October 2008? | India |
Flong is a type impression made originally with a mould of which material? | Papier-mache |
Chester Carlson is frequently credited as the 'inventor' of what? | Photocopier/Xerox |
What name is given to the study of animal behaviour? | Ethology |
Bees, wasps and ants all belong to which order of insects? | Hymenoptera |
Which was the very first jet aircraft, a prototype flown in 1939? | Heinkel He178 |
Which aircraft was the first passenger jet plane? | De Havilland Comet |
Buran, Russian for 'snowstorm', was the Soviet equivalent of what vehicle - it was only used once, albeit successfully? | Space shuttle |
A four stroke engine cycle also has what name, sharing it with a Germanic male forename? | Otto cycle |
Which British-Australian mining and metals company was founded in 1873, when it purchased a mine complex in Spain? | Rio Tinto |
What does the mathematical symbol consisting of three parallel horizontal lines (≡) signify? | "is identically equal to" |
Inventing it as early as 1679, who devised the pressure cooker? | Papin |
What is limnology the study of? | Lakes |
On which date is the Winter Solstice? | December 21st |
The petrous bone is actually part of which bone, that is in turn part of the human skull? | Temporal bone |
What is psephology the study of? | Elections |
Who singlehandedly invented the turbojet engine for aircraft? | Frank Whittle |
Which of the 'Italian Wars' was fought between 1508 and 1516, involving France, the Papal States and the Republic of Venice? | War Of The League Of Cambrai |
Which mineral is a microcrystalline variety of silica, chiefly chalcedony, characterised by its fineness of grain and brightness of color? | Agate |
Which Christian ascetic saint who achieved fame for living 37 years on a small platform on top of a pillar? | Simeon Stylites |
Emilio Vedova (1919-2006) is an Italian painter who was associated with which movement, a type of abstraction in which form became less important than that of the expressive impulses of the artist? | Arte Informale |
Which Venetian playwright wrote the play "Servant Of Two Masters" upon which "One Man, Two Guvnors" was based? | Goldoni |
The Republic of Ragusa, that existed from 1358 to 1808, was centred on which city? | Dubrovnik |
Who wrote the original commedia dell'arte play "Turandot" (1762)? | Gozzi |
Which Venetian patriot, scholar, scientist and church reformer discovered the contractility of the iris, and survived being stabbed 15 times in an assassination attempt? | Paolo Sarpi |
Which crusade was intended to capture Jerusalem, but instead ended with the sack of Constantinople? | Fourth Crusade |
Which Greek island group, NE of Euboea, includes Alonnisos, Skiathos, Skopelos and Skyros? | Sporades |
Which blinded Venetian Doge led the sack of Constantinople during the 4th crusade, aged nearly 90? | Enrico Dandolo |
This ₰ was the symbol for which obsolete coin? | Pfennig |
An axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft, which two-handed pole weapon came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries? | Halberd |
Henry III, ruling from 1574-1589, was the last French king of which dynasty? | Valois |
Henry IV, assuming the throne on Henry III's murder, was the first French king of which royal house? | Bourbon |
Which Pope (1903-14), canonized in 1954, published the first Code of Canon Law, which collected the laws of the Church into one volume for the first time? | Pius X |
Which Pope(1958-63) , Patriarch of Venice, was so unexpectedly elected that he had booked a return train ticket to Venice - he called the Second Vatican Council? | John XXIII |
Which honorific is used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis? | Righteous Among the Nations |
Which Pope's embalming process was botched, his body decomposing so rapidly that the viewing of the faithful had to be stopped? | Pius XII |
Which the term refers to the highest person of a household staff, who acts on behalf of the (often absent) owner of a (typically) large or significant residence? | Major-domo |
Zazu is what kind of animal in The Lion King? | Hornbill |
The extant Catholic patriarchies are Jerusalem, Venice and which two others? | Lisbon, East Indies |
How was painter Paolo Caliari better known? | Paolo Veronese |
In which year was the Holy Roman Empire formally dissolved? | 1806 |
Which vessel, also known as ostensorium, is used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic and Anglican churches to display the consecrated Eucharistic host? | Monstrance |
What name is given to a framed altarpiece, raised slightly above the back of the altar or communion table, on which are placed the cross, ceremonial candlesticks and other ornaments? | Retable |
Europa was seduced by Zeus while he was in what form, according to Greek myth? | (White) bull |
What name is given to an exclamation mark and question mark together (eg ?!)? | Interrobang |
According to Ovid, into what did Zeus transform himself to seduce Io? | Cloud |
Which usually red form of chalcedony is, with bloodstone, a traditional birthstone for March? | Jasper |
Who, more famed for something else, is the Patron Saint of epileptics? | St. Valentine |
Who was Pericles' mistress, in ancient Greece - together they had a son called Pericles the Younger? | Aspasia |
In Hinduism, how many stages of life, or 'Ashrama' are there? | Four |
How does 'Bhagavad Gita' translate? | Song Of The Lord |
In which city was the first McDonalds restaurant founded? | San Bernardino |
What type of brain waves are evident in the deep stage 3 of NREM sleep? | Delta waves |
In Greek myth who was Thanatos' twin brother? | Hypnos |
Which 'moral code' did US film companies voluntarily abide by from the 1930s to the 1960s? | Hays Code |
Who was Holy Roman Emperor in 1000AD? | Otto III |
Who painted 'Napoleon Enthroned in Majesty' or 'Napoleon I on His Imperial Throne' in 1806? | Ingres |
At which battle did Edward IV defeat Margaret, wife of Henry VI? | Tewkesbury |
Which Lancastrian heir to the throne was killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury? | Edward, Prince Of Wales |
Which earl burned down Edinburgh in 1544? | Earl of Hertford |
Who was Edward VII of England's wife and consort? | Alexandra of Denmark |
Who was Henry VIII's only son? | Edward VI |
Who is the shortest-reigning male monarch in English history? | Edward V |
Who ousted Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset as protector of Edward VI? | Dudley, Duke of Northumberland |
Which future king was invested as Prince of Wales at Caernavon in 1911? | Edward VIII |
Who released a book of common prayer in 1549? | Thomas Cranmer |
Richard, Duke of York, was killed in which 1460 War of The Roses Battle? | Wakefield |
The 6 year interdict occurred in whose reign? | King John |
Who was the first Plantagenet king of England? | Henry II |
What was Calamity Jane's real name? | Martha Jane Canary |
What was the 'Birdman of Alcatraz''s real name? | Robert Francis Stroud |
In the 19th century, what was the meaning of "to be stabbed with a Bridport dagger"? | To be hanged |
In which year was the Royal British Legion founded? | 1921 |
Who was England's Lord Chancellor from 1529 to 1532? | Thomas More |
Who became West Germany's first chancellor in 1949? | Adenauer |
In which year was the Battle of Marengo? | 1800 |
Which ancient vessel, used in Roman times, had five banks of oars? | Quinquereme |
Which Battleship was sunk at anchor in Scapa Flow in 1939? | Royal Oak |
Which German battleship was sunk in 1943's Battle of The North Cape? | Scharnhorst |
Who was England's last Catholic monarch? | James II |
Which of the Seven Wonders was destroyed by a 1375 earthquake? | Lighthouse (Pharos) at Alexandria |
Who was the only US President to serve non-sequential terms? | Cleveland |
Who was PM at the time of the Edward VIII abdication crisis? | Stanley Baldwin |
Give a year in the life of Alexander The Great. | 356-323BC |
What relation was George III to Queen Victoria? | Grandfather |
Who was Queen Victoria's father? | Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent |
What was the Christian name of Queen Victoria's mother? | Victoire |
Which Emperor moved the Olympics to Constantinople in 393AD? | Theodosius I |
Possibly 20,000 died when a stadium collapsed in the 1stC AD at which location just north of Rome? | Fidenae |
Which King of Scotland married Henry VII's daughter? | James IV |
Which English King was nicknamed 'Old Rowley' after a favourite horse? | Charles II |
In which decade was cockfighting banned in the UK? | 1840s |
On what date was Bastille Day, now commemorated annually? | 14th July 1789 |
Where in the USA did the British, under Cornwallis, surrender in 1781, prompting independence for the US? | Yorktown |
What relation was Louis XVI to Louis XV of France? | Grandson |
What profession did Jacques Necker have in pre-revolutionary France? | Banker |
Who was US President on 1st January 1800? | John Adams |
In which country was president Manuel Zelaya arrested and exiled in 2009? | Honduras |
Who was the only UK PM born outside of the British Isles? | Bonar Law |
Which 1905 treaty ended the Russo-Japanese War? | Portsmouth |
In which year was the Treaty of Utrecht signed? | 1713 |
Which train was the subject of 'The Great Locomotive Chase' in the US civil war? | The General |
What was the principal pursuit steam locomotive that chased The General in the 'Great Locomotive Chase' in the US Civil War? | Texas |
Puccini's opera 'Manon Lescaut' was based on whose book? | Abbe Prevost |
What flavour does Kahlua have? | Coffee |
Which utensil is placed furthest right in formal table-setting? | Soup spoon |
What is the world's most expensive spice per gram? | Saffron |
What is the highest rank in the Eastern Orthodox Church? | Bishop of Istanbul |
Reuben Mattus created which ice-cream brand? | Haagen-Dazs |
Who had a 1985 hit with 'Solid'? | Ashford & Simpson |
What does ARCO after a person's name mean? | Associate of the Royal College of organists |
In 2000, who became the first US female trio to have a UK number 1 since 1974? | Destiny's Child |
Which figure allegedly guided Mohammed on his night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem? | Angel Gabriel |
What was the name of the Virgin Mary's father? | Joachim |
Which 1992 hit did Cher's 'Believe' overtake as the UK's best ever selling single by a female? | I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston |
How is food garnished with cauliflower described? | Dubarry |
What is the Highlands' oldest whisky distillery, located in Keith? | Strathisla |
Give a year in the life of Franz Liszt. | 1811-86 |
Whitsunday is how many weeks after Easter Day? | Seven |
Aeneas was the son of which Greek God or Goddess? | Aphrodite |
Which hymn is named from the Latin for 'My Soul Magnifies The Lord'? | Magnificat |
Who is the Hindu God of fire? | Agni |
Percy Grainger was noted for playing which instrument? | Piano |
How were musicians who studied at the Hoch conservatory in the 1890s known? | Frankfurt Group |
In which city was Lloyd Webber musical 'The Beautiful Game' set? | Belfast |
Which country is Lake Rudolf, or Lake Turkana, predominantly in? | Kenya (northern end in Ethiopia) |
What name is given to the time when a female animal is 'in heat'? | Estrus/Oestrus |
Which is the longest of the three divisions of the Stone Age? | Palaeolithic |
Cultivated plants and agriculture first appeared in which continent? | Asia |
What is the world's oldest continuously inhabited settlement, inhabited since 9000BC? | Jericho |
What was probably the first metal to be exploited by early man, atomic number 29? | Copper |
Iron that is melted and moulded into shape (rather than beaten like wrought iron) is called what? | Cast iron |
Who was chief God of the Babylonians? | Marduk |
Nineveh and Nimrod stood on which river? | Tigris |
Called the "Polish Pompeii" which Iron Age site lies c.56 miles NE of Poznan? | Biskupin |
What is emmetropia, medically? | Perfect Vision |
The young or fry of herring or sprat are called what? | Whitebait |
What shape are the 20 faces of an icosahedron? | Triangular |
Mouflon and Argali are types of what animal? | Sheep |
Silk worms mainly feed on the berries of which two plants? | Mulberry and Osage Orange |
How many shillings were in a guinea? | 21 |
What, in the animal world, is a dexter? They originated in Ireland. | Small cattle breed |
What name is given to a drug that makes one sweat? | Sudorific/Diaphoretic |
Transuranic elements have an atomic number above what? | 92 |
When was Concorde's maiden flight? | 1969 |
Ombrophobia is the morbid fear of what? | Rain |
An assemblage of owls is called what? | A parliament |
What fallacy is the false belief that human emotions exist in non-human things? | Pathetic |
Which spoon size lies midway between teaspoon and tablespoon? | Dessert spoon |
A British paratrooper wears what colour of beret? | Red |
Daisy wheel and dot matrix are old fashioned types of what tech item? | Printer |
Which car maker makes Smart cars? | Daimler Chrysler |
What are the seven base units of the SI system? | Kilo, Second, Ampere, Candela, Kelvin, Mole, Metre (KSACKMM) |
Which named Mexican tree has the world's stoutest trunk? | El Arbol Del Tule |
What was created 1946 by Louis Reard and Jacques Heim? | Bikini |
Which motor manufacturer owned Scania? | Saab |
Unopordum Acanthium is which flowering plant? | Thistle |
What is a tall, cyclindrical, visored military cap called? | Shako |
Suffolk pink is a colour made by mixing whitewash with what? | Pig's blood |
Eastern-style squat toilets are also called what, named after a famous river? | Nile pans |
Who was the first woman to qualify as a dentist in the UK? | Lillian Lindsay |
Which colour is produced by burning strontium? | Red |
What is the imperial weight of a gallon of fresh water in pounds? | Ten pounds |
Which are the only two letters not to feature in the Periodic Table? | J, Q |
Named for a French physicist, what type of lens is used in overhead projectors? | Fresnel |
Which primitive, shrew-like mammal lives only on Cuba & Hispaniola? Its name means 'slot-tooth'. | Solenodon |
Which Hangzhou-based eCommerce company is bigger than eBay and Amazon combined? | Alibaba |
Jung coined what phrase for a daughter's unconscious desire for her father? | Electra complex |
Auguste Deter, a German housewife, was the first person ever to be diagnosed with what? | Alzheimer's Disease |
Which Mathematical term, from the Arabic for 'deaf' applies to roots which cannot be written as a common fraction? | Surds |
According to a 2013 study, what caused a mass extinction c. 201 million years ago? | Volcanic Eruption |
What name is given to expressing a number as a product of primes only? | Prime Factorisation |
Which Japanese man invented Bitcoins? | Satoshi Nakamoto |
Palestine takes its name from which people? | Philistines |
Who anointed the Biblical Kings Saul and David? | Samuel |
In around the 10th Century BC, Israel split into a northern section called Israel, and a southern section with a capital at Jerusalem called what? | Judah |
The Kingdom of Israel that resulted from the split of Israel and Judah c 930BC, had a capital where? | Samaria |
What became the capital of Assyria around 700BC, after the death of Sargon II? | Nineveh |
In 729BC the Assyrians took which then-major city? | Babylon |
Which Assyrian king (668-626BC) was reknowned for his love of learning, amassing a large cueniform library that is now at the British Museum? | Ashurbanipal |
Which Iranian people sacked Nineveh in 612BC, ending the Assyrian Empire? | Medes |
Cyrus and Darius of persia belonged to which Empire? | Achaemenid |
What is the main collection of sacred Zoroastrian texts? | Avesta |
Which ancient king united Lower and Upper Egypt and founded Egypt's First Dynasty, putative dates vary but generally say around 3100-3000BCE? | Menes |
Give a year in Egypt's Old Kingdom period. | 2644-2155BC |
What was the capital of Egypt's Old Kingdom? | Memphis |
Which river flows through Zaragoza? | Ebro |
Including areas of modern Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey and the cities of Istanbul, Plovdiv and Alexandroupoli, which historical area lies north of the Aegean? | Thrace |
Athens lies on which peninsula? | Attic peninsula (Attica) |
In Ancient Greece, what name was given to a resident alien without citizenship rights? | Metic |
What name was given to citizen-soldiers of ancient Greece, whose tactics included forming a phalanx? | Hoplite |
What other name was used by the Ancient Greeks for the city of Troy? | Ilium (hence Iliad) |
What name was given to an early Classical Greek statue, typically upright and rigid in the Egyptian manner, depicting a male youth? | Kouros |
What were the female followers of Dionysus, part of his retinue (the thiasus), and reknowned for thrir debauched revelries, called? | Maenads |
To which Greek God was the Oracle at Delphi dedicated? | Apollo |
In Homeric myth, which Greek god or goddess held a grudge against Odysseus and dogged him throughout his travels? | Poseidon |
Which river does Rome stand on? | Tiber |
What year did the Romans (erroneously) give as the year in which Rome was traditionally founded? | 753BC |
Which naval battle took place simultaneously with the Battle of Thermopylae in 480BCE? | Artemisium |
After the Battle of Thermopylae, at which naval battle were the Persians decisively defeated by the Greeks, turning the Second Persian Invasion of Greece in the Greeks' favour? | Salamis |
What was the profession of Aesop? | Slave |
'History' derives from the Greek word 'istorie', meaning what? | Enquiry |
How is ancient Corcyra now known? | Corfu |
Which satrap of Darius III killed his ruler after he was defeated by Alexander the Great, only to be executed himself by Alexander the following year? | Bessus |
Which famed four letters meant 'The Roman Senate and People'? | SPQR |
Rome captured Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia in 241BC from which people? | Carthaginians |
In what year was Julius Caesar assassinated? | 44BC |
What relation was Augustus's successor as Roman Emperor, Tiberius, to him? | Step-son |
In which decade of the 18th Century was Easter Island discovered? | 1720s (1722) |
What does the word 'Christ' actually mean in the original Hebrew? | Anointed |
Who succeeded Vespasian (his father) as Roman Emperor? | Titus |
In Buddhism, which 'Saints' achieve enlightenment via others' teaching? | Arhats |
Which band were originally called Polka Tulk, and then Earth? | Black Sabbath |
Which type of dessert can be made from just caster sugar and egg whites? | Meringue |
Whose only UK Number One was 'Under The Moon Of Love'? | Showaddywaddy |
Which order of monks are also called Whitefriars? | Carmelites |
Who composed chamber opera 'Mr Emmet Takes A Walk'? | Peter Maxwell-Davies |
Which folk group, active 2004-16, won a record 5 BBC2 'Best Live Act' Folk Awards? | Bellowhead |
Who composed 'Miraculous Mandarin' in 1919? | Bela Bartok |
In Buddhism, what name is given to the monastic code laid down by Buddha? | Vinaya |
Which famous work did George Gershwin compose, on commission from the conductor Walter Damrosch, in 1928? | An American in Paris |
Which singer died in 1997 when his plane crashed into Monterey Bay? | John Denver |
What was Charles Asnavour's 1974 UK No 1? | She |
Which Cantonese dish of barbequed pork is coated in honey, spices and soy? | Char Siu |
Which rockstar (d. 1971) survived Eddie Cochran's fatal 1960 car crash? | Gene Vincent |
What was Dusty Springfield's real name? | Mary O'Brien |
Jazz musician Wally Fawkes also worked as a cartoonist under what name? | Trog |
A Bartlett is a variety of which fruit? | Pear |
The Porta Nigra is a large Roman city gate in which German city? | Trier |
In which French city is there a roman amphitheatre, built around 70AD, but remodelled in 1863 to serve as a bullring? | Nimes |
Which is the largest of Spain's 'autonomous regions'? | Castile and Leon |
Which actor (1890-1982) popularised many monologues, including 'Albert and The Lion'? | Stanley Holloway |
Who is traditionally regarded as the first martyr of Christianity, being stoned to death around AD36? | St Stephen |
Whose three major works were the Protrepticus (Exhortation), the Paedagogus (Tutor) and the Stromata (Miscellanies)? | St Clement of Alexandria |
Ruling approximately 240-272AD, who was the greatest Sassanid ruler, who captured the Roman Emperor Valerian? | Shapur I |
Which Roman Emperor ruled the greatest amount of territory at the time of his death - he is remembered for his campaigns in Dacia particularly? | Trajan |
Which numbers of Roman Legions were never used again after being wiped out at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest? | 17, 18, 19 |
What is traditionally given on the 5th wedding anniversary? | Wood |
What is traditionally given on the 15th wedding anniversary? | Crystal |
What is traditionally given on the 55th wedding anniversary? | Emerald |
Which element, atomic number 12, was discovered by Humphry Davy in 1808? | Magnesium |
Which 2D shape has twelve sides? | Dodecagon |
Which date in the previous millenium is the longest when written out in Roman numerals? | 1888 |
What is the algebra of set theory called, technically branch of algebra in which the values of the variables are the truth values true and false, usually denoted 1 and 0 respectively? It is named for the man who introduced it in 1847. | Boolean algebra |
Which element, atomic number 75 is named after one of europe's longest rivers? | Rhenium |
How many points are there on the Star of David? | Six |
What type of triangle has 3 sides of differing length? | Scalene |
William Withering discovered which medicinally useful drug in 1785? | Digitalis |
Who (1749-1823) pioneered vaccination againist smallpox? | Jenner |
By what one-word name is carbolic acid also known? | Phenol |
Who discovered X-rays (accidentally), an achievement that garnered him the first Nobel Physics Prize in 1901? | Wilhelm Roentgen |
What is the common name of plant 'Hedera Helix'? | Ivy |
What does MS-DOS stand for? | Microsoft Disc Operating System |
How many wheels does a Pacific Steam Locomotive have? | Twelve |
'Did Mary Ever Visit Brighton Beach' is a mnemonic for what? | Order of nobility |
What is the collective name for all three of: bitterns, cranes and herons? | Siege |
Ambroise Paré (1510-90) was an early pioneer in which field? | Surgery |
Which German clockmaker invented the mainspring around 1505? | Heinlein |
What did US chemist Spencer Silver invent in 1970 while working for 3M? | Post-it Notes |
Which class of birds, of the infraclass Palaeognathae, are flightless? | Ratites |
Where is the HQ of the UN International Civil Aviation Organisation? | Montreal |
Tooth enamel is largely made of which compound? | Calcium Phosphate |
Which planet is orbited by the moon Proteus? | Neptune |
Which cigarettes were advertised in the UK as being 'cool as a mountain stream'? | Consulate |
How is the 'maidenhair tree' also known? | Gingko biloba |
Which manufacturer made the first mass-produced 4WD saloon car? | Audi |
What was the first ecumenical council of the Church, in 325? | Nicaea |
Augustine's 'City Of God' was a response to which historical event? | The 410 Sack of Rome |
Which 451 battle saw the Huns defeated in their attempts to take Gaul? | Battle of Chalons |
Troyes satnds on which river? | Seine |
Who wrote 'The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz'? | L Frank Baum |
In which year did Rudyard Kipling win the Nobel Prize for Literature? | 1907 |
In which magazine was 'The Hound of The Baskervilles' serialised? | The Strand |
Kate Croy, Merton Densher and Milly Theale all appear in which novel? | The Wings of the Dove |
Which artist won the 2002 Turner Prize, with work that often includes equations? | Keith Tyson |
Who wrote the play 'England People Very Nice' in 2009? | Richard Bean |
Who wrote the play 'An Inspector Calls', first performed in 1945? | JB Priestley |
Give a year in Picasso's 'Blue Period'. | 1901-4 |
What was the nickname of Pieter Breughel the Elder, referring to his background? | Peasant |
Which one of the artist Breughels was nicknamed 'Velvet'? | Jan the Elder |
Where is the Kunsthistoriches Art Museum,on the Ringstraße? | Vienna |
Who painted "Garrick as Richard III" and "The Shrimp Girl"? | William Hogarth |
Who painted both "The Morning Walk" and "The Artist's Daughter Chasing A Butterfly"? | Gainsborough |
What did the JMW in Turner's name stand for? | Joseph Mallord William |
Who painted "Bubbles" or "A Child's World" in 1886? | John Everett Millais |
Who painted 'Flatford Mill" (1816-7)? | Constable |
Whose Churchill portrait was destroyed, allegedly by Mrs Churchill? | Graham Sutherland |
Which architect designed the replacement for New York's destroyed World Trade Center? | Daniel Liebeskind |
Who painted 'The Death of Chadderton' in 1856? | Henry Wallis |
"I was born in the year 1632" are the opening words of which novel? | Treasure Island |
Which Shakespeare play contains the line "all that glisters is not gold"? | The Merchant of Venice |
To which historic figure (1769-1852) is the first use of the phrase "Publish and be damned" often attributed? | The Duke of Wellington |
Which trees are of the genus Picea? | Spruce |
Which architect (1898-1976) was known as the 'Father of modernism', his works include the Nordic House, in Reykjavík, Iceland? | Alvar Aalto |
Which major European playhouse, located in a capital city, burned down in 1951? | Abbey Theatre, Dublin |
Whose play caused 1907's 'Playboy Riots'? | Synge (the play was 'The Playboy of The Western World') |
Rover Thomas was a well-known exponent of art in which tradition? | Australian Aboriginal |
Which female American artist (1887-1986) is famous for being inspired by, and often taking as her subjects, New Mexico? | Georgia O'Keeffe |
Franz Kline was an American painter mainly associated with which art movement? | Abstract Expressionism |
Which Arabic poet (756-814), born in Ahvaz is considered one of the greatest classical Arabic poets? | Abu Nuwas |
Cardinal Richelieu was chief minister to which king from 1624 until his own death in 1642? | Louis XIII |
What was Cardinal Richelieu's nickname? | The Red Eminence |
What name is given to a word spelled out from the initial letters of lines (eg in a poem) or sentences? | Acrostic |
Which Chinese dynasty is said to have lasted from 1046-256BC, although it is divided into 'Western' and 'Eastern' periods? | Zhou |
Although no concrete evidence for its existence has yet been found, traditionally which Chinese dynasty, apparently ruling from around 2100-1600BC, was the first dynasty according to ancient sources such as the 'Bamboo Annals'? | Xia |
Believed to have been compiled in the Warring States period, how is the work called the 'Lunyu' better known in the West? | Analects of Confucius |
Which rugby union team defeated Saracens to win the final Heineken Cup in 2014? They also won in 2013, and the first edition of the replacement Champions Cup in 2015. | Toulon |
What is the equivalent of a Marquis in Germanic countries? | Margrave |
Which British regiment were originally called Monks Regiment of Foot when they were formed in the mid-17th Century? | Coldstream Guards |
Which screen tough-guy won a Best Actor Oscar for the 1953 film 'Stalag 17'? | William Holden |
Mount Rainier is the highest peak of which North American range? | Cascades |
Which former hostage wrote the book 'An Evil Cradling' in 1991? | Brian Keenan |
Before moving to Metropolis, where did Superman grow up? | Smallville |
Who played the leading role of Jason McCord in the TV Western series 'Branded'? | Chuck Connors |
Which golfer won the US Masters in both 2012 (his first major) and 2014? | Bubba Watson |
What is your profession if you have M.I.C.E. after your name? | Civil Engineer |
In which city are the headquarters of the WHO? | Geneva |
What was the Daily Star called prior to 1966? | Daily Worker |
Which dance troupe did the English dancer Margaret Kelly found in 1932? | The Bluebell Girls |
What are oysters called on a French menu? | Huitres |
Which former hostage co-wrote 'Some Other Rainbow' in 1993? | John McCarthy |
Which mythological river was the river of Forgetfulness? | Lethe |
Who wrote the 1961 play 'The Night Of The Iguana' and the 1948 short story upon which it was based? | Tennessee Williams |
For which film did Lee Marvin win a Best Actor Oscar in 1966? | Cat Ballou |
Which European war of 1701-14 approximately coincides with the reign of Queen Anne? | War Of The Spanish Succession |