click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
GK 5
Quiz
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Tinian Island, from which Enola Gay took off en route to bomb Hiroshima, is part of which US territory? | Northern Mariana Islands |
What is 'The Sky At Night''s theme tune? | At The Castle Gate by Sibelius |
Who played the title character in 'Veronica Mars'? | Kristen Bell |
What are the start and end points of the Severn Valley Railway? | Kidderminster, Bridgnorth |
Which national trail runs between Ivinghoe Beacon and Overton Hill? | The Ridgeway |
Former PM Gordon Brown and Kenny Dalglish were both born in which city? | Glasgow |
Which London museum was founded by a tea magnate in 1901 in Forest Hill, and was designed in the Arts and Crafts style by Charles Harrison Townsend? | Horniman Museum |
On which horse did Lester Piggott first win the Derby, in 1954? | Never Say Die |
Which suffragette famously died at the 1913 Derby by running in the path of the horses? | Emily Davison |
In McManus's cartoon "Bringing Up Father", what was "father's" name? | Jiggs |
In McManus's cartoon "Bringing Up Father", to whom was father married? | Maggie |
Who painted "The Roses of Heliogabalus (1888)"? | Alma-Tadema |
Who wrote the novel "Angel Pavement"? | JB Priestley |
Which pig was the leader in "Animal Farm"? | Napoleon |
Who wrote "Anna Of The Five Towns"? | Arnold Bennett |
In criminology, what is an "inchoate offence"? | An offence (such as incitement or conspiracy) anticipating or preparatory to a further criminal act |
What is the alternative name for a wolverine? | Glutton |
Which disease causes the roots of brassicas (eg cabbage) to swell? | Club Root |
Which Indian-made car was unveiled in January 2008 as "the least expensive car in the world"? | Tata Nano |
Which white frothy liquid is produced on plants by the frog hopper insect? | Cuckoo spit |
How did Barnes Wallis assist the 'Dambusters' raid? | Designed the 'bouncing bomb' |
Which constellation bears the popular name 'Charioteer'? | Auriga |
Which is the biggest 'centaur' in the Solar System? | Chiron |
How is hydroxybenzene better known? | Phenol, or carbolic acid |
Who died on Loch Ness in 1952, trying to set a water speed record? | John Cobb |
What type of stamps first went on sale in the UK in 1966, and have been sold every year since? | Christmas stamps |
Which Mars canyon is over 4000km long? | Valles Marineris |
The TATA OneCAT is a car that runs on what? | Compressed air |
What is the legal term for someone authorised to stand in another's place? | Proxy |
What type of hat is traditionally worn by a town crier? | Tricorn |
What was the name of the dog sent into space in 1957? | Laika |
Which company used the slogan "more experienced than our name suggests"? | Virgin Atlantic |
Which spectacular comet was the brightest of the 20th century, best seen and passing perihelion in 1997? | Hale-Bopp |
What make of washers were used by Britain's first launderette, that opened in 1949? | Bendix |
Which shipyard built the QE2? | John Brown's |
Which fine-grained metamorphic rock can be split into thin layers and used for roofing etc? | Slate |
What do Americans call a flick knife? | Switchblade |
Which disease is also called lockjaw? | Tetanus |
Who set the record for the longest time continuously spent in space by an individual in human history by spending 437 days on 'Mir'? | Valeri Polyakov |
The spectacled bear is native to which continent? | South America |
Which is the last period of the Paleozoic Era? | Permian |
A member of CARD (1964-67) campaigned against what? | Racial Discrimination |
What is the inverse Tan of 1 in degrees? | 45 degrees |
What is the log base 10 of 100? | Two |
Which common metallic element has the atomic number 12? | Magnesium |
Who manufactured the 'Lincoln' aircraft? | Avro |
What is a 'wildcat well'? | Exploratory well for oil or gas |
In 2014, the Kurdish minority Yazidi group were surrounded by ISIS on which mountain in Iraq? | Sinjar |
Religious group the Yazidis generally refuse to wear which colour? | Blue |
Dabiq is the online magazine of who? | ISIL/ISIS (Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant) |
Of what are PANAS and SWANE measuring devices? | Well-being/happiness |
Almedalen Week is an important political forum in which country? | Sweden |
What is the capital of the Faroe Islands? | Torshavn |
Located on the Kamchatka peninsula, what is the highest active volcano in Eurasia? | Klyuchevskaya Sopka |
What is third most populous city in Russia after Moscow and St. Petersburg? | Novosibirsk |
Who wrote the 1884 novel 'A Rebours'? | Joris-Karl Huysmans |
Emile Bernard, Gustave Moreau and Pierre Puvis De Chevannes were all artists associated with which style or movement? | Symbolism |
What was 'Art Nouveau' called in Germany? | Jugendstil |
Give either of artist James Whistler's middle names. | Abbott or McNeill |
Give a year in the life of Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. | 1760-1849 |
Which genre of woodblock prints and paintings, with a name translating as 'pictures of the floating world', flourished in Japan from the 17th through 19th centuries? | Ukiyo-e |
Anton Karas, famous for his 'The Third Man' soundtrack, was an accomplished player of which instrument, perhaps best known for its use as the Harrly Lime theme? | Zither |
Who wrote the songs "Baby It's Cold Outside", "If I Were A Bell" and "A Bushel and A Beck"? | Fran Loesser |
In which year was the BBC Home Service radio station introduced? | 1939 |
What was Radio 2's original name, when it started broadcasting in 1945? | Light Programme |
Incorporated into Radio 3 in 1970, in which year did the BBC Third programme radio station start? | 1947 |
What was renamed Radio 4 in 1967? | BBC Home Service |
In which year did Radio Luxembourg launch its weekly 'hit parade', the first time such a concept had been trialled? | 1948 |
In which year was the BBC radio show "Pick Of The Pops" last broadcast? | 1972 |
Who composed the signature tune of "Pick Of The Pops", called "At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal"? | Bryan Fahey |
Who sang the famous version of "Singin In The Rain" in the eponymous 1952 film musical? | Gene Kelly |
On which radio station did 'Opportunity Knocks' start off life, in 1949? | Radio Luxembourg |
Who was the first winner of 'Opportunity Knocks' in 1949, who later went on to spend 10 weeks at No.1 in the UK with 'Cara Mia' in 1954? | David Whitfield |
What is the medical name for goosebumps? | Horropilation |
The Dorset Iron Age tribe the Durotriges had the largest capital in the whole of the British Isles at the time - what is it called nowadays? | Maiden Castle |
Their name deriving from a Celtic word meaning 'hill' which Iron Age tribe dominated Northern England? | Brigantes |
The legendary Finn MacCool belonged to which real historical group, whose task was to guard Celtic-era kings, and whose name was later appropriated for an independence movement? | Fenians |
The first British hit parade had 12 singles - who sung three of them? | Vera Lynn |
Who had a UK number 1 with "Dreamboat"? | Alma Cogan |
Elvis Presley's legendary first recordings were made in 1954 in which Memphis studios? | Sun |
What was the name of Elvis Presley's stillborn twin brother? | Jesse |
What was Jerry Lee Lewis' first hit? | Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On |
What was Jerry Lee Lewis' (possibly apt, given the mysterious circumstances of the death of one of his wives) nickname? | The Killer |
Who said that "rock n' roll is....the martial music of every sideburned delinquent"? | Frank Sinatra |
What was Little Richard's last name? | Perriman |
In which city was Chuck Berry born? | St Louis |
"Say Man" which got to No. 20 in the US, was the only Top 20 hit - in the US or the UK - for which legendary performer? | Bo Diddley |
What characteristic is shared by all actinide elements? | Radioactivity |
Name any 4 of the 6 elements that are collectively known as non-metals? | C, N, O, Se, S, P |
A radian is equal to how many degrees, to the nearest degree? | 57 |
Which elements, chemically very similar, occupy positions 57-71 on the Periodic Table? | Lanthanides |
The first two columns of the Periodic Table are occupied by elements that fill which type of electron orbital? | s-type |
The third to twelfth columns of the Periodic Table are occupied by elements that fill which type of electron orbital? | f-type |
The last six columns of the Periodic Table are occupied by elements that fill which type of electron orbital? | p-type |
The rare earth elements of the Periodic Table that fill which type of electron orbital? | d-type |
Element 100 (atomic number 100) Fermium belongs to which group of elements? | Actinides |
How was Terry Nelhams better known? | Adam Faith |
Who had No 1 hits in the UK with "Cumberland Gap" and "Gamblin' Man"? | Lonnie Donegan |
Who had a 1958 hit with "Move It"? | Cliff Richard |
What was Billy Fury's biggest UK hit, reaching No. 4 in the charts? | Halfway To Paradise |
What was the name of Vince Taylor's backing group? | The Playboys |
Which 1950s singer was reputedly the inspiration for David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust"? | Vince Taylor |
What was Hank Marvin's real name? | Brian Rankin |
Jet Harris and Tony Meehan were both members of which band? | The Shadows |
Which art group was formed in Dresden in 1905 and included Kirchner, Bleyl, Heckel and Schmidt-Rottluff? | Die Brucke (The Bridge) |
Filippo Marinetti's Futurist manifesto was published on the front page of which newspaper in 1909? | Le Figaro |
Kasimir Malevich was the originator of which artistic movement? | Suprematism |
The artists Arp, Tzara, Janco, Ball, Richter and Picabia all belonged to which movement? | Dadaism |
The artists Tzara and Janco were both of which nationality? | Romanian |
The artists Arp, Duchamp, Tzara, Dali, Magritte, Breton, Ernst and Crevel are all associated with which movement? | Surrealism |
The Dadaist movement was founded in which city? | Zurich |
What was the first publication of the Dadist movement? | Cabaret Voltaire |
Which Dali painting featured melting watches? | The Persistence Of Memory |
Who had US hits with both "Crying In The Chapel" and "It's Too Soon To Know"? | The Orioles |
Who had a massive 1956 hit with "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", selling 2 million copies? | Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers |
Who had a 1959 hit with "Since I Don't Have You", later covered by Guns N' Roses? | The Skyliners |
Who were Maurice Williams' backing group? | The Zodiacs |
Who had a hit with "Voice In The Wilderness" in the 1950s? | Cliff Richard |
What is the surname of the US singer-songwriter known as Dion? | DiMucci |
Which singer experienced double tragedy when his wife died in a motorbike accident in 1966, and his two eldest sons in a 1969 fire? | Roy Orbison |
Which singer, who committed suicide in 1990, had hits with "Keep Searchin'" and "Stranger In Town"? | Del Shannon |
The Yanomani people live on the border of which two countries? | Venezuela and Brazil |
Which biological phenomenon occurs when predators in a food web suppress the abundance or alter traits (e.g., behaviour) of their prey, thereby releasing the next level from predation? | Trophic cascade |
Manx and sooty are species of which bird? | Shearwater |
The Cantabrian Sea is part of which body of water? | Bay of Biscay |
What type of animal is the greater weever? | Fish |
Who had hits with "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me"? | The Crystals |
Which 1960s girl group had hits with "Be My Baby" and "Baby I Do"? | The Ronettes |
Which building, located at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan was reknowned for a flourishing songwriting industry? | Brill Building |
Which song reached No 5 in the USA for Dion And The Belmonts and No 2 in the UK for Marti Wilde? | Teenager In Love |
Who had the original hit with "The Locomotion"? | Little Eva |
Which geographical feature was named after the mythical father of Theseus? | Aegean Sea (Aegeus) |
What is the correct name of the Mendelssohn overture commonly known as "Fingal's Cave"? | The Hebrides |
From which larger work is Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight Of The Bumblebee" taken? | Tsar Sultan |
Which musician's real name was Ellas Otha Bates? | Bo Diddley |
How is Beethoven's Bagatelle No. 25 in A Minor better known? | Fur Elise |
Which musician wrote the song "Running Bear"? | The Big Bopper |
How does Schubert's "Die Forelle" translate? | The Trout |
Who had a 1970 Number 1 with "All Kinds Of Everything"? | Dana |
Which musical features the song "Sabine Women"? | Seven Brides For Seven Brothers |
What type of fruit or vegetable is a "Howgate Wonder"? | Apple |
What type of fruit or vegetable is a "Pentland Javelin"? | Potato |
Who was the daughter of Pasiphae, and the wife of the Greek God Dionysus? | Ariadne |
In some Greek myths, Poseidon married which sea-nymph? | Amphitrite |
What colour is peridot? | Greenish-yellow |
Which musical features the song "People Will Say We're In Love"? | Oklahoma |
Which Doors keyboard player released an album based on the Carmina Burana? | Ray Manzarek |
Give a year during the War of The Spanish Succession. | 1702-13 |
Which treaty concluded the War of The Spanish Succession? | Utrecht |
Madame de Pompadour was a mistress of which French king? | Louis XV |
Cardinal Richelieu was the trusted advisor of which French king? | Louis XIII |
What was the original name of Paris's Place De La Concorde? | Place Louis XV |
Where are the Petit and Grand Trianons? | Versailles |
Which area of France was nominally independent from 1737 to 1766, ruled by Stanisław Leszczyński, the former king of Poland ? | Lorraine |
Which Admiral commanded the British fleet at the 1759 Battle of Quiberon Bay? | Sir Edward Hawke |
What was referred to by Voltaire in 'Candide' as no more than 'a few acres of snow'? | Canada |
Which three 'critiques' did Kant publish between 1781 and 1790? | Of Pure Reason; Of Practical Reason; Of Judgement |
Where was Immanuel Kant born? | Konigsberg |
Who was Bertrand Russell's godfather? | John Stuart Mill |
Which British political economist (1772-1823) came up with the theory of comparative advantage? | David Ricardo |
Which French New Wave director directed Les Biches (1968), La Femme Infidele (1969), and Le Boucher (1970)? | Claude Chabrol |
The notorious 'Downtown Eastside' district, where serial killer Robert William Pickton picked up several of his victims, is in which city? | Vancouver |
In which country is Lake Mungo? | Australia (it is, incidentally, dry) |
What was the original name of the ship The Golden Hind? | The Pelican |
What is the largest town on the island of Elba? | Portoferraio |
What type of mineral are stalagmites and stalactites comprised of? | Calcium carbonate |
Which two shipping forecast areas border Scotland's East Coast to the west, and Forties to the east? | Cromarty, Forth |
Which two shipping forecast areas border Denmark? | Fisher, German Bight |
Which shipping forecast area lies due south of South Utsire? | Fisher |
Which shipping forecast area lies between Forth and Humber? | Tyne |
Which shipping forecast area lies due south of Forties? | Dogger |
Bouvet Island, the world's most remote island, is owned by which country? | Norway |
Which is the largest of the Aeolian Islands? | Lipari |
Which shipping forecast area lies between Shannon and Bailey? | Rockall |
Which shipping forecast area lies due north of Ireland? | Malin |
Which shipping forecast area contains the Isle of Man? | Irish Sea |
Which shipping forecast area lies due south of Ireland, between Shannon and Lundy? | Fastnet |
Which shipping forecast area lies north of Malin, and south of both Faeroes and Fair Isle? | Hebrides |
The US Vice-President's residence, in the US Naval Observatory Grounds, is on which road or street? | Massachussetts Avenue |
St Lucia and Dominica are both part of which group of islands? | Windward Islands |
What is the surname of Lucy from Peanuts? | Van Pelt |
Which 'Peanuts' character carries a blanket? | Linus |
Which cartoonist devised 'The Perishers'? | Dodd |
Who was the sheepdog in 'The Perishers'? | Boot |
Who wrote "Barchester Towers"? | Trollope |
What was Jackson Pollock's nickname? | Jack The Dripper |
In which country was the painter Arshile Gorky born? | Armenia |
Who painted "The Light Of The World"? | Holman Hunt |
In the cartoons, who is Modesty Blaise's trusty sidekick? | Garvin |
In 'The Perishers', Boot is whose dog? | Wellington |
How many fleches are there on a backgammon board? | 24 |
The infamous swimmer 'Eric the Eel' represented which country? | Equatorial Guinea |
Give a year in the life of Seneca. | 5BC - 65AD |
Pocahontas belonged to which Native Indian tribe? | Powhatan |
Which Englishman did Pocahontas marry? | John Rolfe |
All Pueblo infants are given what in tribute to legendary mothers? | Ear of corn |
The Nuu-chah-nulth, or Nootka, are Native Americans who inhabit which area? | Pacific North-West |
Which confederation are also called the Haudenosaunee? | Iroquois |
Which term is traditionally used to mean a person of combined European and Native American descent? | Mestizo/mestiza |
In which century did Adam Smith publish his "Wealth Of Nations"? | Eighteenth (1776) |
In which year was the notorious Salem witch hunt? | 1692 |
Which minister (February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was known for his voracious support for the Salem witch trials? | Cotton Mather |
What two-word term in law refers to a married woman protected legally by her husband? | Feme Covert |
Who wrote "Two Treatises On Government" in 1690? | Locke |
DNA evidence has, in modern times, suggested which US President fathered a child with the slave Sally Hemings? | Thomas Jefferson |
What was the forename of US President, John Adams' wife? | Abigail |
What was the forename of Thomas Jefferson's wife, who died aged just 34? | Martha |
Name any two of the five Native American tribes forcibly relocated by the Trail Of Tears. | Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw |
Keokuk and Black Hawk were famous leaders of which Native American nation? | Sauk |
Which Act adopted by Congress in 1887, authorized the President of the United States to survey American Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Indians? | Dawes Act |
Who wrote the 1309 treatise "On World Government"? | Dante Alighieri |
Which two Kings signed the 1502 "Treaty Of Perpetual Peace"? | James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England |
Which jurist in the Dutch Republic (10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645) helped to lay the foundations for international law, based on natural law? | Hugo Grotius |
Which musical features the song "When The Children Are Asleep"? | Carousel |
Plant, Page & Bonham were in which band before they became founders of Led Zeppelin? | The Yardbirds |
What type of rice is traditionally used to make a risotto? | Arborio |
Which musical features the tune "We're In The Money"? | 42nd Street |
What is apostasy? | The abandoning of faith |
The Reverend HF Lyte wrote what just three weeks before his death from TB? | Abide With Me (hymn) |
Give a year in the life of composer Alfred Schoenberg. | 1874-1951 |
Who wrote the oratorio "A Child Of Our Time"? | Michael Tippett |
Wes Montgomery achieved fame by playing which instrument? | Guitar |
Who had a big hit with "The Gambler", winning a Grammy, and reaching No. 22 in the UK? | Kenny Rogers |
Which composer (1885-1935) was a pupil of Schoenberg? | Alban Berg |
In the Bible, which Roman soldier pierced Christ's side? | Longinus |
On which traditional tune is "Danny Boy" based? | Londonderry Air |
Whose 2009 album was "Together Through Life"? | Bob Dylan |
A dish served "Du Barry" always contains what? | Cauliflower |
Yellow Leg, Amethyst Deceiver and Horn Of Plenty are all types of what? | Mushroom |
What is the rarely-used full name of the cello? | Violoncello |
Who narrated Jeff Wayne's 1970 album "The War Of The Worlds"? | Richard Burton |
Which massively-attended religious festival takes place in India's Madhya Pradesh once every 12 years? | Kumbh Mela |
Herb Alpert became famous for playing which instrument? | Trumpet |
Who had a hit in 1962 with "Nut Rocker"? | B Bumble And The Stingers |
Whose hit, often played at Halloween, was "Monster Mash"? | Bobby Picket And The Crypt Kickers |
Who was the BBC concert orchestra's first female conductor? | Ann Dudley |
Which two world-famous singers collaborated on "Disco La Passione"? | Chris Rea, Shirley Bassey |
Whose first hit, released in 1984, was "Your Love Is King"? | Sade |
Who composed the opera "Boris Gudonov"? | Mussorgsky |
What was the composer Mussorgsky's first name? | Modest |
Who provided words to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony? | Schiller |
Of what does Amaretto taste? | Almonds (tho it is made with apricots) |
Kirsch uses which fruit in its production? | Cherries |
Who said "Claret is for boys, port for men, but brandy for heroes"? | Samuel Johnson |
What were pillar boxes' original colour? | Green |
Which letter was the first to be sent in the first Transatlantic radio transmission? | S |
In which country were love letters sent in pink envelopes allowed a reduced postage rate? | Venezuela |
The first Royal Mail delivery ran between which two places? | Bath to London |
When was the UK's first telephone directory produced? | 1880 |
Who famously devised the 'Penny Post'? | Rowland Hill |
Which analogue television system was formerly used in most of the Americas? | NTSC (National Television System Committee) |
What does the computer language COBOL stand for? | Common Business Oriented Language |
Which element has the atomic number 50? | Tin |
A dodecahedron has how many plane faces? | 12 |
Which Platonic figure has exactly 20 plane faces? | Icosahedron |
In which UK town did Robert Thom pioneer water treatment? | Paisley |
Which element has the atomic number 31? | Gallium |
What name is given to a fox's home? | Earth |
What name is given to the place where a mole lives? | Fortress |
Which Trevithick locomotive travelled between merthy Tydfil and Abercynnon? | Pen-y-darren |
In 1825, Stephenson's locomotive "Locomotion" carried 450 people between which two places? | Stockton and Darlington |
In which year were the Rainhill Trials? | 1829 |
George Cayley (1773-1857) is credited with being the first man to develop what? | A glider |
How is ploytetrafluorethylene better known? | Teflon |
How many runs are scored in a baseball 'Grand Slam'? | Four |
Into which body of water does the River Trent flow? | Humber Estuary |
Which summer Olympic sport takes place on a piste? | Fencing |
Which composer wrote the operas "Der Freischutz", "Oberon" and "Euryanthe"? | Weber |
In "Pride & Prejudice", how many sisters did Elizabeth Bennet have? | Four |
What name is given to a lady's formal short jacket, without sleeves, worn over a blouse, not reaching the waist, nor meeting in front? | Bolero |
What is the capital of the US state Nebraska? | Lincoln |
The Pollack belongs to which fish family? | Cod or Gadidae |
What is the highest peak in the Cairngorms? | Ben Macdui |
From which tennis Grand Slam was John McEnroe expelled for swearing in 1990? | Australian Open |
Why was Mohammed Ali stripped of his World Heavyweight Boxing Title in 1967? | Refusing to do military service |
Who was the first snooker player to win all of the then-nine ranking tournaments? | Stephen Hendry |
For which football team did Jimmy Greaves make his debut in 1957? | Chelsea |
In which sport was Vera Caslavska a World and Olympic champion? | Gymnastics |
Which female athlete (1918-2004) was nicknamed "The Flying Housewife"? | Fanny Blankers-Koen |
Which athlete is, as of 2015, the only British track and field competitor to win medals at three different Olympic Games? | Steve Backley |
Which revolt occurred in Kenya between 1952 and 1960? | Mau Mau Uprising/Revolt |
Dolomite is used as an ore for which metal? | Magnesium |
In which town is Robert the Bruce buried? | Dunfermline |
Which are the three kingdoms in Africa? | Lesotho, Swaziland, Morocco |
Which of the prophets is said to have written the Biblical book of Lamentations? | Jeremiah |
Bedford Giant, Himalaya Giant and Oregon Thornless are all varieties of which fruit? | Blackberry |
Mark Knopfler was the lead singer of which band? | Dire Straits |
John Fogerty was the lead singer of which band? | Creedence Clearwater Revival |
What does ISDN stand for? | Integrated Digital Services Network |
What does ISBN stand for? | International Standard Book Number |
How many gates are there on the Thames Barrier? | Ten |
When was work on the Thames Barrier completed? | 1982 |
Luxor and Karnak stand on the site of which Ancient Egyptian city? | Thebes |
Japan's main port city, what is also the country's second-largest city after Tokyo? | Yokohama |
The football team Grampus (formerly Grampus Eight) are based in which city? | Nagoya |
In which city is the largest department store in the world? | Busan (South Korea) |
What was the largest department store in the world from 1924 to 2009? | Macy's (Herald Square, New York) |
Give a year in the life of William Blake. | 1757-1827 |
The football team Penarol pay in which country? | Uruguay |
What is the total value of the coloured balls in snooker, not including the reds? | 27 |
Where is the "Attila Line"? | Cyprus, dividing north and south |
What was both the first, and last, European colony in China? | Macau |
On a dartboard, which number lies between 18 and 13? | 4 |
Which is the only London borough to include land on both sides of the Thames? | Richmond |
Which English King's only legitimate son drowned when the 'White Ship' sank? | Henry I |
Which was the last musical to win a Best Picture Oscar before 'Chicago' won in 2002? | Oliver! |
Who was Mary, Queen of Scots' second husband? | Lord Darnley |
With reference to playing cards, how are court cards known in the USA? | Face cards |
Who did Jimmy Carter succeed as US President? | Gerald Ford |
What is the name of the bell used at Lloyd's of London? | Lutine Bell |
In which year did Mussolini invade Ethiopia? | 1935 |
Which group of people were subject to an 1829 British Emancipation Act? | Roman Catholics |
Who (1898-2001) established the Royal Ballet, the Royal Ballet School, and the Birmingham Royal Ballet? | Ninette De Valois |
What are the names of the two towers of the Palace of Westminister? | St Stephen's Tower and the Victoria (or Central) Tower |
How many imperial gallons are in a barrel of oil? | 35 |
How many gallons are in a US barrel of oil? | 42 |
What was presented to Louis XIV of France by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier in 1669? | Hope Diamond |
Whose first play was 1957's "The Room"? | Harold Pinter |
What is the name of the rake in Hogarth's "The Rake's Progress"? | Tom Rakewell |
What is 'papering the house' in the theatre? | Filling the theatre with guests on complimentary tickets |
What is the first book in Galsworthy's "Forsyte Saga"? | A Man Of Property |
What is the last book in Galsworthy's "Forsyte Saga"? | To Let |
Which real-life island is the setting for Conrad's "Almayer's Folly" and "An Outcast Of The Islands"? | Borneo |
Which mythological creature did DH Lawrence adopt as a personal symbol? | Phoenix |
Which work has the epigraph "only connect"? | Howards End |
What nationality was the sculptor and painter Alberto Giacometti? | Swiss |
Usually created out of wood, her sculptures appear puzzle-like, with multiple intricately cut pieces placed into wall sculptures or independently standing pieces, often monochromatic and 3-D - which US sculptor (1899-1988)? | Louise Nevelson |
What nationality was the female sculptor Germaine Richier? | French |
Which Austrian (1899-1957) illustrated works by Dostoyevsky and Edgar Allan Poe, and himself wrote Die andere Seite (The Other Side), a Kafkaesque novel? | Alfred Kubin |
Who wrote 1915's "The Golem"? | Gustav Meyrink |
Which Belgian-born poet, writer and painter wrote Miserable Miracle and The Major Ordeals of the Mind and the Countless Minor Ones? | HenrI Michaux |
What was the name of the daughter of Whitney Houston who was found unresponsive in a bathtub in 2015? | Bobbi Kristina Brown |
Who wrote The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, on which the famous ballet The Nutcracker is based? | ETA Hoffmann |
Which Von Eichendorff work sees the protagonist leaves his father's mill and become a gardener at a Viennese castle where he falls in love with the daughter of the duke? | Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts ( Of the Life of a Good-For-Nothing |
Der Blonde Eckbert was a fairytale by which German founder of the Romantic movement (1773-1853)? | Ludwig Tieck |
Madame d'Aulnoy was the first person to coin what term for a particular literary genre? | Fairy tale |
Who wrote "The Singing Bone"? | The Brothers Grimm |
What was the pseudonym of German philosopher Salomo Friedlander? | Mynona |
What is the surname of the family owners of Longleat? | Thynne |
In which city is Wren's Sheldonian Theatre? | Oxford |
On which island is Fingal's Cave located? | Staffa |
In which county is Papworth Hospital? | Cambridgeshire |
Foolow, a village famed for lead mining activities, is in which county? | Derbyshire |
Which Notts town claims to contain "The Original Bramley Apple Tree", with the first Bramley cooking apple seeded there by Mary Ann Brailsford in 1809? | Southwell |
In which county is Brodsworth Hall? | South Yorkshire |
Which Danish town is the nearest one to Legoland? | Billund |
Mannington, Horton and Heaton are all areas of which city? | Bradford |
Which famous person lived at Gad's Hill Place, also the location of his death? | Charles Dickens |
In which county is Tolpuddle? | Dorset |
Andover is in which English county? | Hampshire |
Which river is crossed by the famous Ironbridge at Coalbookdale in Shropshire? | Severn |
German-born US inventor Emile Berliner is most famous for which invention? | Disc record/disc record phonograph |
Who once sung with both 'The Hoboken Four' and 'The Pied Pipers'? | Frank Sinatra |
Of what were 78rpm records made, a product secreted by a near-namesake bug in Asia? | Shellac (bug is the lac bug) |
Who released 2013's "Where Are We Now?" from album "The Next Day"? | David Bowie |
Who released a 2012 album of greatest hits called "Grrr!"? | The Rolling Stones |
Romy Madley Smith and Oliver Sim are members of which band? | The xx |
Whose 17th studio album was entitled "Wrecking Ball"? | Bruce Springsteen |
Who released a debut album called 'Innerspeaker' and a follow-up called "Lonerspeak"? | Tame Impala |
How is singer Elizabeth Woolridge Grant better known? | Lana Del Rey |
Which two albums won Mercury Prize Awards for PJ Harvey? | Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000)and Let England Shake (2011) |
Which words appear on Brazil's flag? | Ordem e Progresso |
What colour flame is produced when copper is burned? | Blue |
What colour flame is produced when sodium is burned? | Yellow |
Who (1824-1887) coined the term 'black body radiation' and has two sets of laws - one in circuit theory, and one in spectroscopy - named after him? | Gustav Kirchhoff |
What was the first name of the man who devised the eponymous Bunsen burner? | Robert (Bunsen) |
Arsenic and lead both produce flames of which colour when burned? | Blue |
What name, after a German optician and chemist, is given to the dark absorption lines in the Sun's spectrum? | Fraunhofer lines |
Why do absorption lines appear in the Sun's spectrum? | Light emitted from inner part of the Sun as hotter than surroundings; outer part is cooler than middle and thus absorbs them |
In the Doppler effect, blueshift tells us that a body is travelling in which direction? | Towards the observer (blue light is of shorter wavelength than red) |
Measured in joules per second, which astronomical term is the total amount of energy emitted by a star, galaxy, or other astronomical object per unit time? | Luminosity |
How is the surface area of a sphere calculated from its radius? | 4pi x radius squared |
Which British-American astronomer (May 10, 1900 – December 7, 1979) first worked out the chemical composition of stars in her 1925 PhD paper? | Cecilia Payne |
Where is the Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring in the USA? | Yellowstone NP |
Which cave contains the world's oldest known cave art? | El Castillo, Spain |
What is the capital of Cantabria? | Santander |
What term is used for the oldest stone tool industry in prehistory, occurring in Africa 2.6 million years ago up until 1.7 million years ago, by ancient hominins? | Oldowan |
Why does cooking food make it easier to digest? | Breaks down proteins |
Who coined the phrase "a little learning is a dangerous thing"? | Alexander Pope |
The line in Shakespeare "the poor world is only 6000 years old", reflecting contemporary views, appears in which play? | As You Like It |
In which range of hills is Cheddar Gorge? | Mendips |
What now stands at the site of the former Tyburn gallows in London? | Marble Arch |
Which body of water separates New Guinea and Australia? | Torres Strait |
Which South African province was named on Christmas Day 1497 by Vasco Da Gama? | Natal |
Which long tunnel, that connects Switzerland and Italy, opened in 1905? | Simplon |
Which disused military installation in the sea off Suffolk declared independence in 1967? | Sealand |
The Humber estuary is formed by which two rivers? | Ouse, Trent |
Which London Street, in Mayfair, is known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men? | Savile Row |
Which river flows into the Severn Estuary at Newport? | Usk |
The Equator passes through which two Asian countries? | Maldives, Indonesia |
What is the highest point on the Isle of Wight? | St Boniface Down |
Which educator founded Gordonstoun? | Kurt Hahn |
What is the capital of South Dakota? | Pierre |
What is the capital of Tennessee? | Nashville |
What is the capital of Texas? | Austin |
What is the capital of Utah? | Salt Lake City |
What is the capital of Vermont? | Montpelier |
What is the nickname of the US state of Virginia? | Old Dominion State |
What is the nickname of the US state of West Virginia? | Mountain State |
What is the nickname of the US state of Washington? | Evergreen State |
What is the nickname of the US state of Wisconsin? | Badger State |
What is the nickname of the US state of Wyoming? | Equality State |
What is the term used for rocks splitting in areas of natural weakness? | Cleavage |
The Wrekin is a hill in which English county? | Shropshire |
Which French headland lies closest to the English mainland? | Cap Gris Nez |
What, as of 2015, is the currency of Nicaragua? | Cordoba |
What, as of 2015, is the currency of Panama? | Balboa/US Dollar (both) |
What is the name of the currency used in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay? | Peso |
Which capital city lies on the river Daugava? | Riga |
Which city was the birthplace of both Charles de Gaulle and Henri Laconte? | Lille |
From 1928-48, which UK museum housed the 'Wright Flyer'? | London's Science Museum |
Where is the Wright Flyer today? | National Air & Space Museum, Washington DC |
Which London mainline station was once called "St Paul's"? | Blackfriars |
'The Road To The Isles' starts at Fort William and ends where? | Mallaig |
In which country is the Skeleton Coast? | Namibia |
In which two English counties is the Jurassic Coast? | Devon, Dorset |
What is the Ikkurina? | Basque Flag |
The A686, once voted one of the world's "Top 10 Scenic Roads" connects which two places? | Penrith, Haydon Bridge |
What is the capital of Languedoc-Rousillion? | Montpellier |
The rivers Steeping, Witham, Welland, Nene and Ouse all flow into which body of water? | The Wash |
Which building, completed in 1800, got its name from a contrast with nearby redbrick buildings? | The White House |
The Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, crosses which river valley? | Tarn (France) |
Run by communists from 1945-90, which is Italy's oldest university? | Bologna |
Where is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology based? | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
Where is the Devonshire Dome, the largest unsupported dome in Europe? | Buxton |
How many stars are there on the flag of Alaska? | Eight |
What name is given to a pattern of stars in the night sky that may or may not be part of a constellation? | Asterism |
Which sea lies between Russia and Alaska, North of the Bering Strait? | Chukchi Sea |
Possibly the last place on Earth where mammoths survived, which country owns Wrangel Island? | Russia |
Which two islands lie in the middle of the Bering Strait and are just 3.8km apart, although the 'Big' one belongs to Russia, the 'Little' one to the USA? | Diomede Islands |
After Texas and California, which is the third largest of the 'lower' 48 United States? | Montana |
In which 'sound' did the Exxon Valdez run aground in 1989, causing massive environmental damage from the resulting oil spill? | Prince William Sound |
Which inlet runs between the main part of Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula to Anchorage? | Cook Inlet |
In which US state is the greatest percentage of its inhabitants based in its most populous city? | New York State |
Discovered in 1968, which is the largest oil field in North America? | Prudhoe Bay Oil Field |
In 1960, where was the epicentre of the largest measured earthquake in world history? | Valdivia, Chile/Chile |
In which US state are the Chugach Mountains? | Alaska |
What species is Ursus Americanus, the North American continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear? | (American) Black Bear |
What name is given to the young of a fox, ferret and/or beaver? | Kit |
Which cetacean is the only member of the species monodontidae, bar the narwhal? | Beluga |
Which climate classification system was first published by a Russian German climatologist in 1884? | Köppen |
Where is Ted Stevens International Airport? | Anchorage |
In which century was Iceland's parliament, the Althing, founded? | Tenth (930AD) |
Which Berkshire stately home is the main filming location for Downton Abbey? | Highclere Castle |
Which National Park in Iceland was the original site of the Icelandic parliament? | Þingvellir (Thingvellir) |
Which Shakespeare play contains the line "There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so"? | Hamlet |
Who created the hypothetical "Library of Babel" in a short story? | Jorge Luis Borges |
Which Chinese philosopher (probably 372BC-289BC) is regarded as the most famous Confucian after Confucius himself, and devised the concept of the Four Beginnings (or Four Sprouts)? | Mencius/Meng Tzu |
Who wrote the New Testament book 'Epistle To The Galatians'? | St Paul |
What is the fifth book of the New Testament? | Acts |
Whose fourth album was entitled "...And Justice For All"? | Metallica |
In December 2014, which medical procedure was carried out successfully for the first time at Stellenbosch University in South Africa? | Penis Transplant |
Which German architect won the 2015 Pritzker Prize, shortly before his death? | Frei Otto |
What was the name of the cyclone that devastated Vanuatu in March 2015? | Cyclone Pam |
Which Seleucid Empire city and UNESCO World Heritage Site was destroyed by ISIS in March 2015, days after they had bulldozed Nimrud? | Hatra |
The battle of Garnett & Golding's Farm was part of which wider conflict? | US Civil War |
Which public holiday occurs on April 2nd in Argentina? | Malvinas Day |
The Despenser war was a baronial revolt against which monarch? | Edward II |
Samoset (c. 1590–1653) was the first Native American to make contact with who? | Pilgrims of Plymouth County |
In which year was the first F.A. Cup Final? | 1872 |
Where was the first F.A. Cup Final played? | The Oval, Kennington |
What is the name of the US-perpetrated atrocity that saw the mass killing of between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968? | My Lai Massacre (in Vietnam, the Son My Massacre) |
Which CIA station chief was kidnapped in Beirut in 1984, and died in the custody of Hezbollah in 1985? | William Buckley |
What is the general term for a variant of paintball in which the playing field is composed of bunkers, of the same location and number on each side of the field, that provide an equal playing field for each team competing? | Speedball |
Who was the main star of Britain's first comedy series, "How Do You View"? | Terry-Thomas |
What was the nationality of soprano Joan Sutherland? | Australian |
Who wrote the song "Doctor My Eyes" for the Jackson 5? | Jackson Browne |
Who wrote and performed the song "Positively 4th Street"? | Bob Dylan |
What is the main ingredient of calvados? | Apples |
What was the name of the Sun God of the Incas? | Inti |
Who wrote the song "David Watts" for The Jam? | Ray Davies |
In which year did "Puppet On A String" win Eurovision? | 1967 |
Which Central European, acid-set cheese is white, un-aged and similar to fromage frais; and is made by warming soured milk? | Quark |
Greg lake, Robert Fripp and Michael Giles were all founder members of which band? | King Crimson |
Richie Blackmore was a member of which two prominent bands? | Deep Purple, Rainbow |
"Here Comes The Bride" is taken from which opera? | Lohengrin |
Who wrote the short ballet "Dance Of The Hours"? | Ponchielli |
Who composed the "Danse Macabre"? | Saint-Saens |
"Rose-Marie" and "The Vagabond King" are the best-known pieces by which composer, upon whose work "The Donkey Serenade" was based? | Friml |
Which band released the albums "Fireball", "Machine Head" and "Who Do We Think We Are"? | Deep Purple |
Who was the Norse Goddess of fertility? | Freyja |
What was the Armageddon, or doom, of the Norse Gods called? | Ragnarok |
What was the name of Thor's thunder-hammer? | Mjollnir |
Who were Zeus' parents in Greek myth? | Cronos, Rhea |
The Welsh Felinfoel brewery were the first to introduce what to the UK in 1935? | Canned beer |
Bundaberg rum originates from which country? | Australia |
Which herb's name comes from the Greek for "joy of the mountain"? | Oregano |
A bellini cocktail consists of champagne or Prosecco and what else? | Peach juice |
Benny Goodman was most associated with which musical instrument? | Clarinet |
Andrew was the younger brother of which of the Apostles? | Simon Peter |
What are Northern Irish Fadge cakes made from? | Potatoes |
Who was the successor to Archbishop of Westminister Cormac Murphy O'Connor? | Vincent Nichols |
Giuseppe Cipriani was the founder of which iconic drinking establishment? | Harry's Bar, Venice |
With which musical instrument was Thelonius Monk chiefly associated? | Piano |
In which place was St Andrew crucified? | Patras, Greece |
What was the first US #1 song by a UK artist? | Telstar by The Tornados |
In which activity might you sparge your wort? | Beer brewing |
What ingredient, along with chickpeas, garlic and oil, makes hummus? | Tahini |
In which year did 10cc have a hit with "I'm Not In Love"? | 1975 |
Which popular Indian drink is made with yoghurt? | Lassi |
Which conductor said that he'd never heard Stockhausen, but that he might have stepped in some? | Beecham |
Whose 1540 Bible translation was also called "The Great Bible"? | Cranmer |
From a passage in Genesis, what nickname was given to the Geneva Bible? | Breeches' Bible |
Give a year in the life of church reformer 1505-72. | John Knox |
To what did Kraft foods change their name? | Mondelez International |
How many symphonies in total did Mozart compose? | 41 |
What is ISKCON? | The International Society for Krishna Consciousness |
How is triplumbic tetroxide better known? | Red Lead |
Which gas is the main component of air? | Nitrogen |
Which two metals comprise brass? | Copper, tin |
Which two metals comprise bronze? | Copper, zinc |
Which type of glass darkens in light? | Photochromic |
Which breed of dog has a name meaning 'dwarf'? | Corgi |
A lurcher is a cross between which two breeds? | Greyhound; collie |
Which breed of dog famously has a black tongue? | Chow-chow |
By what name is potassium nitrate better known? | Saltpeter |
By what name is potassium quadroxalate better known? | Salts of Lemon |
By what name is silicon carbide better known? | Carborundum |
What is the name of the place where a badger lives? | Sett; Earth |
Give year in the life of Humphry Davy. | 1778-1829 |
Humphry Davy discovered the anaesthetic properties of what? | Nitrous Oxide |
Which fuming yellow or red solution dissolves gold? | Aqua Regia |
Joseph-Marie Jacquard developed punched cards, an early programmable devise, for what purpose? | Silk weaving |
Which chemical element has the atomic number 60? | Neodymium |
Who devised the early submarine 'Nautilus', in 1800? | Fulton |
Zachalis Winzler, a Moravian, pioneered which invention? | Gas stove |
Russian, Osip Krichevsky, first made which foodstuff in 1802? | Powdered Milk |
What colour do acids and alkalis turn litmus paper? | Red and blue respectively |
What name is given to angles that add up to 90 degrees? | Complementary |
What name is given to angles that add up to 180 degrees? | Supplementary |
What is an angle greater than 180 degrees called? | Reflex |
Which mineral and chemical element is capable of being weaved into fabric? | Asbestos |
Who was Britain's first female cabinet minister? | Margaret Bondfield |
Mohamed Nasheed, sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2015 for terrorism, is a former president of which country? | Maldives |
Which soldier and later actor (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) received every military combat award for valor available from the U.S. Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism? | Audie Murphy |
Which actress, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Jean Craddock in the musical-drama Crazy Heart (2009), is married to Peter Sarsgaard? | Maggie Gyllenhaal |
How much is a US nickel worth? | Five cent |
A US nickel coin is actually comprised of 25% nickel and 75% of which metal? | Copper |
In which year was the Bradford City AFC fire disaster? | 1985 |
Upon which ship did Napoleon formally surrender to the British? | HMS Bellerophon |
How else was the 1794 naval action "Lord Howe's Action" known? | The Glorious First of June |
Who released the 2010 album "Loud"? | Rihanna |
David LaChapelle is a famous name in which field? | Photography |
What type of organism are the bolete family? | Mushrooms |
Who wrote the Herries Chronicle series of novels, set in the Lake District? | Hugh Walpole |
The term 'Christ' dervies from the Greek for what? | Anointed One |
By what name is the language Middle Aramaic, that once comprised the language of most of the Middle East between the 4th and 8th Centuries BC better known? | Syriac |
Which church is located on the supposed site of Jesus' burial and resurrection? | Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem |
Which church council was held from October 8 to November 1, AD 451, and marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separate establishment of the church in the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century? | Council of Chalcedon |
In Judaism, what name is given to the canon of the Hebrew Bible, roughly coterminous with the Christian 'Old Testament'? | Tanakh |
What was first produced by William Morgan in 1588 that had important consequences for a language's survival? | Welsh Bible |
What is the proper full name of the 'Mormons'? | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints |
Which church, centred in Nkamba, DRC, has an estimated 5.5 million followers, and is named after a Congolese religious leader (1887-1951) who is held to be Christ reincarnated? | Kimbanguism |
What is the proper name of the religious group known as the 'Moonies'? | Unification Church |
In which city is the Christian church worldwide with the largest congregation - it holds 26,000 people and often holds several packed services on a Sunday? | Seoul (Yoido Full Gospel Church) |
Who painted the 1601 "Supper at Emmaus"? | Caravaggio |
In Greek myth, who did Jason marry and have two children, Mermeros and Pheres, with? | Medea |
Which neuroscientist's ((born December 12, 1939) 1960s work on 'split-brain' patients provided advances in our understanding of functional lateralization in the brain and how the cerebral hemispheres communicate with one another? | Michael Gazzaniga |
How are the brain structures hypothalamus, hippocampus and amygdala collectively known? | Limbic system |
Which famous experiment in psychology was carried out in 1970 by Walter Mischel at Stanford University - it was later the title of a 2014 popular science book by him? | The Marshmallow Test |
What does SAT stand for in the UK version of the school test? | Standard Assessment Tasks |
What does SAT stand for in the US version of the school test? | Scholastic Aptitude Tests |
Which TV personality, who first gained celebrity on the Oprah Winfrey Show, is famous for his "Ten Laws of Life"? | Dr Phil McGraw |
Give a year in the life of Boethius. | 480-524AD |
Which body nervous system is responsible for the 'fight or flight' response? | Sympathetic |
Aaron T. Beck is widely credited with inventing which healthcare technique? | Cognitive Therapy |
Who won a Best Actress Academy Award in 1949 for "The Heiress"? | Olivia De Havilland |
Film "Forbidden Planet" was based on which Shakespeare play? | The Tempest |
What was the name of the 1957 Akira Kurosawa film that was loosely based on MacBeth? | Throne of Blood |
Who played Stephano in Derek Jarman's 1979 version of "The Tempest"? | Christopher Biggins |
What was the last film of Heath Ledger, directed by Terry Gilliam? | The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus |
Carl Fredrickson is the hero character of which animated film? | Up |
Which South Korean writer and director made "Thirst" and "I'm A Cyborg"? | Park Chan-Wook |
Which author adapted a screenplay for the film "An Education"? | Nick Hornby |
Who was Danny's second-in-command in the film "Grease"? | Kenickie |
Which acid-tongued "Grease" character was played by Stockard Channing? | Rizzo |
What were the names of the male and female gangs in the film "Grease"? | T-Birds and Pink Ladies |
"Are You Sitting Comfortably, Then We'll Begin" was the catchphrase of which show? | Listen With Mother |
Which comedian's catchphrase was "before your very eyes"? | Arthur Askey |
"Book Em Danno" was a catchphrase used in which TV show? | Hawaii Five-O |
For which film did Warner Baxter win a Best Actor Academy Award? | In Old Arizona (1930) |
For which For which film did Jeremy Irons win a Best Actor Academy Award? | Reversal of Fortune (1991) |
Which is the only film of just 4 letters to win a Best Picture Academy Award? | Gigi |
Who did Nicholas Lyndhurst play in "Butterflies"? | Adam Parkinson |
In 'Twin Peaks', which character was played by Kyle MacLachlan? | Dale Cooper |
Which fictional TV company had the telephone number 0161 7151515? | Streetcars of Coronation Street |
In October 2009, which politician appeared in Eastenders? | Boris Johnson |
What is the name of the local paper in Coronation Street? | Weatherfield Gazette |
In the original 1960s series, what is the prisoner's number? | Number Six |
In 'Twin Peaks', who killed Laura Palmer? | Her father (Leland Palmer) |
In which underwater city do most SpongeBob episodes occur? | Bikini Bottom |
On TV, who or what has at various times been owned by Jeff Miller, Timmy Martin, Cully Wilson and the Holden family? | Lassie |
Who directed the 1950 movie "Sunset Boulevard"? | Billy Wilder |
Which character does Robert Pattison play in the "Twilight" series of films? | Edward Cullen |
Which single word did Confucius say could act as a guide to one's entire life? | Reciprocity |
Which famous Rabbi, associated with the development of the Mishnah and Talmud, allegedly lived 120 years (110BCE-10CE) and said ""That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn."? | Rabbi Hillel/Hillel the Elder |
The immigrant Bonasera features in the opening scene of which famous film? | The Godfather |
What perecentage of an individual's genes, on average, are shared by their nephews and nieces? | 25% (One quarter) |
In which year was the current Welsh Assembly inaugurated? | 1999 |
What is the population of Wales, in 2015, to the nearest million? | 3 million |
In which capital city is St Fagans National History Museum located? | Cardiff |
Which town, thought to have been an inspiration for Llareggub in 'Under Milk Wood', was home to Dylan Thomas from 1949 to his 1953 death? | Laugharne |
Taken as the Mid-Wales area (ie not including Snowdonia, the Black Mountains or the Brecon Beacons) what is the highest point in the Cambrian mountains? | Plynlimon |
What was the first area in Britain to have been declared an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty? | Gower Peninsula |
Georgetown is the capital of which island group? | Caymans |
Which 19th century circular towers were built in Britain for coastal defence? | Martello Towers |
In which country is the source of the Zambezi? | Zambia |
What is the motto of the USA? | In God We Trust |
Snaefell is the highest mountain in which autonomous region? | Isle of Man |
To which place did the French Foreign Legion move its HQ in 1962? | Aubegne |
Where had the French Foreign Legion been based prior to 1962? | Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria |
Which is the largest lake wholly within Canada? | Great Bear Lake |
In which country is the Mayan site of Tikal? | Guatemala |
Which is the only major French river whose source is outside of France? | Rhone |
Which city is the 'Capital of the Gaidhealtachd'? | Inverness |
Other than the Chiltern Hundreds, which post can be used by resigning MPs? | Stewardship Of The Manor of Northstead |
Which US state is nicknamed the 'First State'? | Delaware |
The River Oder enters the Baltic Sea in which country? | Poland |
Which two cities are linked by the M11? | Cambridge and London |
The Grain (or Pepper) Coast is in which African country? | Liberia |
Which London street was the traditional home of the magazine 'Time Out'? | Tottenham Court Road |
In which town in England is there a famous crescent designed by John Carr? | Buxton |
Angel Falls lie on which river? | Churun |
What is the highest point on Fiji? | Mount Victoria |
Haymarket, regent Street and Shaftesbury Avenue meet where in London? | Piccadilly Circus |
When was the St Lawrence Seaway officially opened? | 1959 |
In which country is the major part of the Kalahari Desert? | Botswana |
Which city is nicknamed 'The City Of Sails' and has two large natural harbours? | Auckland |
What is someone from Halifax called? | Haligonian |
Which three colours appear on the flag of Rwanda? | Red, Yellow, Green |
What lies at the centre of the flag of Rwanda? | The letter 'R' |
Margaret River is a wine-producing area in which country? | Australia |
What is the proper name of 'Petticoat Lane' in London? | Middlesex Street |
What is the name of the bell in Manchester Town Hall? | Great Abel |
Which county cricket team's emblem is a white horse? | Kent |
Who was the first English football captain to lift the European Cup? | Bobby Charlton |
Which number in bingo is 'The Brighton Line'? | 59 |
Which stadium would have been used had paris been successful in bidding for the 2012 Olympics? | Stade De France |
Which county cricket club called their One Day side the 'Phantoms'? | Derbyshire |
What does 'AF' mean to a numismatist (coin collector)? | Almost Fine |
Llanelli Scarelts rugby union team play at which home ground? | Stradley Park |
Which event comes second (after the 100m) in a decathlon? | Long Jump |
The Horse of The Year Show moved to which venue in 2002? | Birmingham NEC |
Which city is the home of the NBA team the 'Pistons'? | Detroit |
What completes the name of the rugby union team: "Newport Gwent.."? | Dragons |
For which sport is the Harmsworth Cup awarded? | Powerboat Racing |
In the 2005 Rugby league Challenge Cup, which side did St Helens defeat 75-0? | Wigan |
Who coached the rugby union Lions in their 1983 tour of New Zealand? | Willie John McBride |
Manchester City's FA Cup win in 2011 was their first major trophy since which year? | 1976 |
Who scored the winning goal for Manchester City in the 2011 FA Cup final? | Yaya Toure |
Which piece of equipment was originally made with 'enough feathers to fill a top hat'? | A golf ball |
Five-time World Speedway champion Ove Fundin is what nationality? | Swedish |
Which boxer KO'd Lennox Lewis in 2001 to win the IBF, WBC and IBO heavyweight titles? | Hasim Rahman |
Which golfer (1882-1969) won exactly 11 majors in his career? | Walter Hagen |
Yabusame is a Japanese form of which sport? | Archery (on horseback) |
How many times, since they were restarted in 1896, have the Modern Olympics been cancelled? | Three (1916, 1940, 1944) |
What colour of cap does a water polo goalkeeper wear? | Red |
In which sport can one see a participant perform a 'crucifix'? | Men's gymnastics |
How many points are scored for a 'behind' in Aussie Rules Football? | One |
The Trans-Siberian Highway stretches over 11,000 km from Saint Petersburg to which city at the head of the Golden Horn Bay? | Vladivostok |
______-Müller tube. Which surname fills the blank to give the name of a piece of apparatus used for the detection of ionizing radiation? | Geiger |
In 1240, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich of Novgorod foiled the invading Swedish army’s plan to seize Novgorod’s primary trade route by defeating the Swedes on the Neva River. By what nickname did the prince become better known as a result of this victory? | Alexander Nevsky |
Between 1410 and 1415, towards the end of the Western Schism in the Roman Catholic Church, there were three men who each believed themselves to be Pope. They were Gregory XII in Rome, Benedict XIII in Avignon, and John XXIII in which other Italian city? | Florence |
This 5-letter word - literally meaning ‘martial hero’ - is now used to describe films, comics, & video games. Which genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists was introduced to Hollywood by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? | Wuxia |
Which famous touristic, tree-lined street in Barcelona connects Plaça de Catalunya in the centre with the Christopher Columbus Monument on the waterfront? | Las Ramblas |
Focussing on the life of Saul Goodman prior to becoming Walter White’s lawyer, Better Call Saul is a prequel to which American TV series? | Breaking Bad |
Which Gate marked the entrance to the original site of the Carlsberg brewery? | Elephant Gate |
Separated from the Andaman Islands by the brilliantly named Coco Channel, the Coco Islands - although allegedly leased to China since 1994 - belong to which country? | Burma |
What collective name, for the Portuguese navigator who first visited them in the early sixteenth century, is given to the island group consisting of Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodrigues that forms a distinct ecoregion with a unique flora and fauna? | Mascarene Islands |
The best-known work of the architect Maya Lin, is a memorial in Washington D.C., dedicated in 1982, that honours people who died during …. what? | Vietnam War |
Already considered one of the all time best exponents of his sport. The Frenchman Teddy Riner won an Olympic gold medal in 2012 in which sport? | Judo |
The reptilian order Squamata is divided into three suborders, two of which are Lacertilia (lizards) and Serpentes (snakes). Which legless reptiles comprise the third suborder? | Worm lizards (amphisbaenia) |
Gottfried Leibniz’s most important contribution to metaphysics is his theory of which indivisible, impenetrable units of substance that he views as the basic constituent element of physical reality? | Monads |
The Rolling Stones hits Brown Sugar and Wild Horses are taken from which 1971 album with cover artwork conceived by Andy Warhol? | Sticky Fingers |
UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld was killed in a plane crash in 1961 in the city of Ndola in which African country? | Zambia |
Upon first becoming Prime Minister in 2006, he was the youngest holder of the office since World War II. Who began his second stint as Japanese PM in December 2012? | Shinzo Abe |
From what Latin term does the word 'forensics' derive? | Forum |
Which three US cities have been the scene of "CSI" series? | Las Vegas, New York, Miami |
In the UK what is the FSS? | Forensic Science Service |
What is the DEA in the USA? | Drug Enforcement Agency |
What is the USFWS? | United States Fish and Wildlife Service |
What name is given to the study of behaviour? | Ethology |
Which part of the brain controls motivations and basic drives? | Hypothalamus |
Which part of the brain, involved with emotional responses, decision-making and memory, is named after the Greek for 'almond'? | Amygdala |
On which peninsula is Mycenae? | Peloponnese |
Around which date, to the nearest 100 years, did Mycenaean civilisation collapse? | 1200BC |
The shrine at Delphi, home to the famous Oracle, was a shrine to which God? | Apollo |
How many letters are used by the Hebrew alphabet? | 22 |
How many letters are used by the Greek alphabet? | 24 |
Which Athenian statesman (450 – 404 BC) changed sides numerous times during the Peloponnesian War, from Athens, to Sparta, to Persia and then back to Athens again? | Alcibiades |
To which philosophical school did Diogenes of Synope belong? | Cynics |
Give a year in the life of Aristotle. | 384-322BCE |
Give a year in the Peloponnesian War. | 431-401BCE |
Founded 478BCE, what was the name of an association of Greek city-states, members numbering between 150 to 173 under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Plataea? | Delian League |
Which US conservative political commentator and radio host once had an addiction to hydrocodone and oxycodone? | Rush Limbaugh |
Which person said "The great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearances...and are often more influenced by the things that seem than the things that are."? | Macchiavelli |
Who created the fictional town of Lake Wobegon? | Garrison Keiller |
Who wrote "Clair De Lune"? | Debussy |
From what larger work is the "Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy" taken? | Nutcracker Suite |
In myth, which son of Helios lost control of the Sun chariot? | Phaethon |
Which character in myth swam the Hellespont nightly to visit his lover? | Leander |
In Greek myth, which sorceress changed Odysseus' men into swine? | Circe |
Which Trojan priest argued against accepting the horse, but was overruled, in the stories of Homer? | Laocoon |
In myth, of whom was Damocles a courtier? | Dionysus |
Who is the 'good priest' in Mozart's "The Magic Flute"? | Sarastro |
In 'The Magic Flute', who is the daughter of the Queen Of The Night? | Pamina |
'Manon' is an opera by who? | Massenet |
What did MG stand for in the name of 'Booker T and the MGs'? | Memphis Group |
Whose first TV appearance was in a 1965 episode of 'Gadzooks!', and was a member, in his early days of bands 'The Konrads' and 'The Riot Squad'? | David Bowie |
What was the first UK Download Chart number 1? | Westlife's "Flying Without Wings" |
What was the family surname of 1980s pop group "Five Star"? | Pearson |
Who co-founded Gorillaz with Damon Albarn? | Jamie Hewlett |
What is the name of composer John Cage's infamous entirely silent piece? | 4'33" |
Who composed "The Threepenny opera"? | Kurt Weill |
La Traviata is based on which work by Dumas? | Camille |
By what name is sodium borate better known? | Borax |
By what name is sodium carbonate better known? | Washing soda |
What is the chemical name of caustic soda? | Sodium hydroxide |
Which is the lightest metal? | Lithium |
Which metal is the strongest-per-unit-weight? | Titanium |
Charcoal, sulphur and what else form gunpowder? | Potassium nitrate |
Which chemical element has the atomic number 10? | Neon |
A whippet is a cross between which two dog breeds? | Greyhound and a terrier or spaniel |
What is measured in farads? | Electrical Capacitance |
How many crystal systems exist? | Seven |
What are the first and second most common chemical elements on Earth? | Oxygen and Silcon |
Aldebaran is the brightest star in which constellation? | Taurus |
Arcturus is the brightest star in which constellation? | Bootes |
Betelgeuse is a star in which constellation? | Orion |
"Model White" and "Green Globe" are both varieties of which vegetable? | Turnip |
What is the collective name given to tigers? | Ambush |
What is the collective name given to apes? | Shrewdness |
What is the collective name given to monkeys? | Troop |
What name is given to a star in heraldry | Mullet |
What is the only purely land-based group of crustaceans? | Woodlice |
Where did Venetian blinds originate? | Japan |
Which is Europe's largest true wading bird? | Curlew |
What name is given to a day with equal periods of light and darkness? | Equinox |
What was first demonstrated by Joseph Swan in 1878? | Light bulb |
'Quercus Robur' is the Latin name of which tree? | Common (English) oak |
Who demonstrated the 'incompleteness theorem' in 1931? | Kurt Godel |
Which car maker operated a Luton plant from 1905 to 2000? | Vauxhall |
What is the single carriageway speed limit for a vehicle weighing more than 7.5 tonnes in the UK? | 40mph |
Whose yet-unproved theory states that every integer greater than 2 is the sum of 2 primes? | Goldbach's conjecture |
Loaghtan sheep are native to which place? | Isle of Man |
In the UK, which court hears summary appeals from summary trials held at Magistrates' Courts? | Queen's Bench Court |
What are civil court equivalents of the prosecution and defence in a criminal trial? | Plaintiff and Defence |
In the UK, what category of drug is LSD? | Category A |
What is made from erythroxylum coca? | Cocaine |
What does LSD stand for? | Lysergic acid dethylamide |
Who are the US DEA? | Drug Enforcement Agent |
What name is given to debris from a glacier? | Moraine |
Stranraer is at the southern tip of which sea loch? | Loch Ryan |
What name, of Afrikaans origin, is given to the grassland of Southern Africa? | Veldt |
What name is given to an elongated hill formed by a glacier? | Drumlin |
On which sea was the real ancient province of Colchis, the destination in myth, of Jason? | Black Sea |
Which discontinued 1960s project was designed to bore a hole into the Earth's crust? | Mohole Project |
What is the name given to a thin sheet of ice floating on an ocean? | Floe |
In which cardinal direction must you cross the International Dateline in order to gain a day? | East |
Which value is a measure of the diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface? (it is the ratio of reflected radiation from the surface to incident radiation upon it) | Albedo |
In navigation, what name is given to an arc crossing all meridians of longitude at the same angle? | Rhumb Line |
Beauty spot Aysgarth Falls lies within which British National Park? | Yorkshire Dales |
Which part of a map contains the scale and legend? | Cartouche |
West Bridgeford and Bulwell are both suburbs of which English city? | Nottingham |
In which Cumbrian castle was Henry VIII's wife Catherine Parr born? | Kendal |
Sizergh castle in Cumbria is the ancestral home of which family? | Strickland |
Which 'water', known for good fishing, lies between Coniston and Windermere? | Esthwaite |
What is the capital of Barbados? | Bridgetown |
As of 2015, what is the currency of Cuba? | Peso |
In which Cheshire village was Lewis Carroll born? | Daresbury |
In which English city would you find the Sir John Soames Museum? | London |
Of what type of natural feature is the 'Aletsch' Europe's largest example? | Glacier |
What is the lowest land point in the Western hemisphere? | Death Valley |
Where is the lowest point on land in the world? | Dead Sea |
Which of the two poles is colder? | South Pole |
Which Indian town holds the world record as the world's wettest? | Mawsynram (formerly Cherrapunji) |
To the nearest 5%, what percentage of the Earth's surface is water? | 70% |
Which is the world's oldest national park? | Yellowstone |
In which two US states is Monument Valley? | Utah and Arizona |
Which Kenyan gorge is known for its fossil finds, and was the site for the Leakey's digs in the 1930s? | Olduvai Gorge |
In which country are the Ajanta Caves? | India |
Which cave in Cantabria, Spain is famous for its Upper Palaeolithic art, having first come to public attention in 1880? | Altamira |
'Brown Willy' is the highest point where? | Bodmin Moor |
In which US state are the Carlsbad Caverns? | New Mexico |
The Coromandel Coast is part of which country? | India |
In which US state is the 'Craters Of The Moon National Monument'? | Idaho |
What is the highest point on Dartmoor? | High Willays |
On which island is the volcanic tuff cone, Diamond Head? | Oahu, Hawaii |
What three letter word is given to a broad, flat area of desert covered with wind-swept sand with little or no vegetative cover? | Erg |
Dunkery Beacon is the highest point of what? | Exmoor |
On which island is Fingal's Cave? | Staffa |
In which US State is the 'Garden of the Gods' national landmark? | Colorado |
Which French singer, born in Cairo in 1930, had his biggest hit when he wrote the classic chanson soundtrack of the 1960 motion picture, "L'Eau Vive"? | Guy Béart |
Which French actress and popular chanson singer (born 1927) was famous for her Bohemian lifestyle and had an affair with Miles Davis - she was releasing albums as late as 2013? | Juliette Gréco |
Which 19th Century French Romantic poet once walked through Paris with a lobster on a lead, but hung himself in 1855? | Gerard de Nerval |
What were the reputed last words of Oscar Wilde? | Either that wallpaper goes or I do |
Diane de Poitiers was the lover of which French monarch? | Henri II |
Which French dynasty reigned from roughly 486 to 752CE? | Merovingian |
The first person to call himself King of France (instead of King of the Franks) who ruled the country from 1180-1223? | Philip II (or Philippe-Auguste) |
Which French actress has won two Cesar awards, for her performances in François Truffaut's "Le Dernier Métro" (1980) and Régis Wargnier's "Indochine" (1992)? | Catherine Deneuve |
The US magazine 'Curve' is aimed at which readers? | Lesbians |
Which French artist painted "Dans Un Café (L'Absinthe)"? | Degas |
Which French artist painted "Joueurs Des Cartes"? | Cezanne |
Which French artist painted "Coquelicots" and "Femme a L'Ombrelle"? | Monet |
What does the French word "coquelicots" mean in English? | Poppies |
Which 13-ton bell in the Southern Tower is the only old one to have survived being replaced in Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral? | Emmanuel Bell |
Which 19th Century architect and artist remodelled Notre-Dame and added many of its famous gargoyles? | Viollet-De-Duc |
Which French King had the Sainte-Chapelle built to house supposed relics of Christ? | Louis IX |
Who led a revolt against the French monarchy in 1357, and was assassinated a year later? | Étienne Marcel |
What name is given to the targeted killing of Huguenots in France in August 1572? | St Bartholomew's Day Massacre |
Camille Chaudel was the lover of which prominent artist? | Rodin |
For which film did Michael Douglas win a Best Actor Academy Award (Oscar)? | Wall Street (1988) |
For which film did Lionel Barrymore win a Best Actor Academy Award (Oscar)? | A Free Soul (1932) |
For which film did Geoffrey Rush win a Best Actor Academy Award (Oscar)? | Shine (1997) |
Who won a Best Actor Academy Award for the film "Judgement at Nuremberg"? | Max Schell |
What is the name of the hero in Pixar's "Ratatouille"? | Remy |
Who voiced the critic "Anton Ego" in Ratatouille? | Peter O'Toole |
Arthur and Beryl Crabtree were characters in which 1980s TV series? | No Place Like Home |
What is the name of the bulldog in Tom and Jerry cartoons? | Spike (sometimes Butch) |
Which former Baywatch star also appeared in 2000's "Scary Movie" and briefly dated Simon Cowell? | Carmen Electra |
Gian Sammaranco notably played which literary character in a 1980s UK TV series? | Adrian Mole |
What was the name of the banjo-playing toad in "Bagpuss"? | Gabriel |
Which one of the four main female actresses who starred in "Sex and the City" was born in the UK? | Kim Cattrall |
In BBC's first post-war TV broadcast who said "Remember Me?" | Jasmine Bligh |
For which two films did Spencer Tracy win a Best Actor Academy Award (Oscar)? | Captains Courageous (1938) and Boys Town (1939) |
For which film did Charles Laughton win a Best Actor Academy Award (Oscar)? | The Private Life of Henry VIII (1936) |
Whose catchphrase is "How tickled I am"? | Ken Dodd |
Which character frequently said, in the Army Game, "I Only Arksed"? | Private Popplewell (Bernard Bresslaw) |
Which music-hall comedian used the catchphrase "I Thang Yew"? | Arthur Askey |
Which author, born in Manchester in 1917, used the pseudonym Joseph Kell? | Anthony Burgess |
Who painted "The Forge Of Vulcan" in 1630? | Velazquez |
Which Roman encyclopaedist is best known for his extant medical work, De Medicina, which is believed to be the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia? | Celsus |
Which ancient Greek writer wrote "Parallel Lives"? | Plutarch |
Which Ancient Roman wrote collections known as "Histories" and "Annals", and was the son-in-law of Agricola, the Roman general responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain? | Tacitus |
Which novel begins "Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again"? | Rebecca |
Who wrote the Almagest is a 2nd-century mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths? | Ptolemy |
What does 'eg' actually stand for, when denoting an example? | Exemplia gratia |
Who was the first English-born writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature? | Galsworthy (Kipling won it before him but was born in Bombay) |
Which poem's first line is "The curlew tolls the knell of the parting day"? | Gray's Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard |
Peter Pan's directions to Neverland were "Take the second on the right and carry straight on...." until what? | Morning |
How was the literary character Cedric Errol better known? | Little Lord Fauntleroy |
Which children's literary character was originally called "aschenputtel"? | Cinderella |
What was the name of the 'Last of the Mohicans' in Fenimore Cooper's book? | Uncas |
Colm Toibin's book "The Master" is about which writer? | Henry James |
Which Shakespeare play includes the line "All The World's A Stage"? | As You Like It |
Who wrote the play "The Man Who Had All The Luck"? | Arthur Miller |
Autolycus is a character in which of Shakespeare's plays? | The Winter's Tale |
Step pyramids of Ancient Mesopotamia, of which a famous example stands at Ur, are known by what general name? | Ziggurats |
Which was the first US State to ratify the country's constitution? | Delaware |
Which was the second US State to ratify the country's constitution? | Pennsylvania |
Which historian's reputation suffered greatly when he mistakenly authenticated 'The Hitler Diaries'? | Hugh Trevor-Roper |
'The Hitler Diaries' were originally published in which German magazine, prior to their unmasking as forgeries? | Stern |
"The Beggar's Opera" was a satire in part lampooning which prominent Whig politician? | Robert Walpole |
Which modern-day country was Josip Tito born in? | Croatia |
The last country that Britain formally declared war against was which one, in 1942? | Thailand |
Which English monarch was the only one to be succeeded by his sister-in-law? | William III |
Which prominent female communist was killed in 1919's 'Spartacus Uprising' in Germany and her body thrown into Berlin's Landwehr Canal? | Rosa Luxemburg |
The first atlas in many ways, who produced 1570's "Theatre Of The World"? | Abraham Ortelius |
Who took over Italy after the downfall of Mussolini, and was in office from 25 July 1943 to 18 June 1944? | Pietro Badoglio |
Which country sent 60,000 troops to assist the Allies in November 1943? | Brazil |
In which year did US troops forcibly remove Manuel Noriega from the leadership of Panama? | 1989 |
Who assassinated Spencer Percival? | John Bellingham |
Who was the last British Prime Minister to die whilst in office? | Lord Palmerston |
In which country were 63 people killed in a New Year's Eve nightclub fire in 2008? | Thailand |
Which uprising occurred in Russia in late 1825? | Decembrist |
Which monarch converted Versailles from a hunting-lodge into a palace? | Louis XIV |
Which Italian fashion house uses the head of Medusa as a trademark? | Versace |
Which shipping forecast area lies between the Irish Sea to the North, Fastnet to the west, and Plymouth to the South? | Lundy |
The ruins of which Cistercian abbey, founded in 1131, lie on the banks of the River Wye between Monmouth and Chepstow? | Tintern Abbey |
Falstaff's death is reported in which of Shakespeare's plays? | Henry V |
Which composer dedicated his Piano Sonata No 21 to Count Ferdinand von Walstein, who had generously supported him? | Beethoven |
Milanese opera house La Scala was built at the command of who, after an earlier building burned down in 1776? | Maria Theresa of Austria |
Which US director's films include "The Elephant Man" and "Dune"? | David Lynch |
Which Australian-born actor came to fame playing the title role in 1935's "Captain Blood"? | Errol Flynn |
"Soubise", named after an 18th-century French aristocrat, is a sauce made from which vegetable? | Onion |
Which Canadian city was originally named 'Bytown'? | Ottawa |
Which palace did Frederick the Great of Prussia have built at Potsdam between 1745 and 1747? | Sanssouci |
The Romanov dynasty ruled Russia from which century until 1917? | 17th (1613) |
In which Booker Prize winning novel does the hero, Nick Guest, dance with Margaret Thatcher? | The Line of Beauty |
Who writes the novels featuring the Chicago-based detective VI Warshawski? | Sara Partesky |
What is the last sign of the zodiac, covering the period from approximately 19 February to 20 March? | Pisces |
What is the primary metabolite of heroin? | Morphine |
In chemistry, what name is given to the measure of the tendency of a substance to vaporize? | Volatility |
What Latin phrase was used by Venetians to denote the land they controlled on the Italian mainland? | Terra Firma |
Which US state has been represented in the American senate by both John F Kennedy and his brother Edward? | Massachussetts |
Give a year during which Joe Louis held the World Heavyweight boxing title. | 1937-1949 |
Who scored the last goal at the old Wembley stadium, in the year 2000? | Dietmar Hamann |
In a TV series based on the novels of Elizabeth George, the Eighth Earl of Asherton is better known by what name in the police force? | Det Insp Lynley |
Which bravery award was originally made from the metal of guns captured during the Siege of Sebastopol during the Crimean War? | Victoria Cross |
What word of Dutch origin meaning something used as a lure originally meant a place where wild ducks were enticed and then trapped? | Decoy |
In which William Gibson novel of 1984 was the term 'cyberspace' popularised? | Necromancer |
Which English town was known as Durnovaria in English times? | Dorchester |
Which female crime writer's first novel was "Cover Her Face", published in 1962? | PD James |
For which 1945 film did Joan Crawford win her only Best Actress Oscar? | Mildred Pierce |
The ancient province of Bithynia is now a part of which modern-day country? | Turkey |
At which event was the first ever IMAX screening, in 1967? | Montreal Expo |
Which element has the atomic number 30? | Zinc |
Which area of the brain, in the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere, is linked to speech production? | Broca's Area |
What type of creature is an 'Aylesbury'? | Duck |
What name is given to an organism's complete set of genes? | Genome |
Which two members of the thrush family are winter visitors to the UK? | Fieldfares, Redwings |
What is the common name of plant 'viscum album'? | Mistletoe |
Which is the only UK bird that turns white in winter? | Ptarmigan |
What are the six deer species found wild in the UK? | Red, Roe, Chinese Water, Sika, Fallow, Muntjac |
The Lesser Celandine plant is also known by what name, based on the medical condition that it supposedly cures? | Pilewort |
Which crow has the scientific name 'corvus frugilegus'? | Rook |
The linnet is a member of which bird family? | Finch |
The young of which bird are called 'ringtails'? | Hen Harrier |
What is Britain's smallest falcon? | Merlin |
What is the literal meaning of the name of the dinosaur 'stegosaurus'? | Roof lizard |
What is the SE Asian gavial? | A fish-eating crocodile (also gharial) |
Cyomancy is the 'art' of telling the future using what? | Shadows |
SMART-1 was the first European space probe to achieve what feat? | Orbitting the moon |
How long does an individual have to apply for a driving licence after passing their test in the UK? | 2 years |
In business, what does 'CIF' stand for? | Cost, insurance, freight |
What name is given to the study of plant disease? | Phytopathology |
What metaphorical name is given to communication barriers that are put up to prevent the spread of price-sensitive information in business? | Chinese Walls |
What name is given to the process of combining nuclei to release energy? | Fusion |
What name is given to the cup or trumpet of flowers such as the daffodil or narcissus? | Corona |
How is 'A' represented in Morse Code? | Dot-dash |
Which Morse code letter is the reverse of how 'A' is represented? | N (dash-dot when A is dot-dash) |
What type of animal was the now-extinct 'Rodrigues solitaire'? | Flightless pigeon |
Who was the first British man to be knighted for scientific achievements? | Sir Isaac Newton |
The 'Golden Arrow' train linked which two cities? | London and Paris (or pedantically, London and Dover, with the Calais to Paris stretch being via the 'Fleche D'Or) |
What was the famous nickname of Joseph Hobson Jaggers? | The Man Who Broke The Bank At Monte Carlo |
Whose principle can be used to predict the effect of a change in conditions upon a chemical equilibrium? | Le Chatelier's Principle |
Whose 'paradox' states that in a static, infinite universe the night sky should be bright? | Olbers' paradox |
What was invented by John Harrison in 1735, after 31 years of persistent experimentation? | Marine chronometer |
What was the name of John Paul Jones' warship, that was blown in two and subsequently sank at the Battle of Flamborough Head? | Bonhomme Richard |
What name is given to a numbering system using Base 8? | Octal |
What does the educational acronym EAL stand for? | English (as an) Additional Language |
What does the educational acronym SEN stand for? | Special Educational Needs |
The original bullet train linked Tokyo with which other city? | Osaka |
What was the name of Sir Francis Drake's flagship in the 1587 raid upon Cadiz? | Elizabeth Bonadventure |
Who invented the cloud chamber? | Charles Wilson (a Scot) |
What is the world's largest monkey species? | Mandrill |
Which chemical element takes its name from the Greek for 'lead'? | Molybdenum |
A hexadecimal system uses which number as its base? | Sixteen |
In Ancient Britain, which tribe from modern East Anglia, had rulers called Addeddomanus, and Dubnovellanus? | Trinovantes |
To which Romanian town was the Roman poet Ovid exiled? | Constanta |
Which Roman Emperor was responsible for Ovid's exile? | Augustus |
Under which Germanic leader, who had acquired Roman citizenship and received a Roman military education, were 3 Roman legions massacred in the Teutoburg Forest in 9AD? | Arminius |
Who was the last person in the UK outwith the Royal family to have been awarded a hereditary title? | Denis Thatcher |
What does 'MHK' signify after a person's name? | Member of the House of Keys (IoM) |
Who was the mother of Constantine the Great? | St Helena |
What are the names of Barack Obama's two daughters? | Malia and Sasha |
How is Leo Bronstein better known to history? | Trotsky |
In what year were Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin and Felix Mendelssohn all born? | 1809 |
How did Mathias Rust create an international incident in 1987? | Landed his light aircraft in Red Square |
In which year was The Battle of The Falaise Gap? | 1944 |
Where did the Battle of The Falaise Gap take place? | Normandy, France |
Which Chinese Emperor had the Terracotta Army created? | Qin Huangchi |
Where in Kent did Julius Caesar's invading force land in 55BCE? | Deal |
The Terracotta Army was created in which century? | 3rd century BCE |
What regnal number was held by Prince Rainier of Monaco, who died in 2005? | III |
Who is the Prince of Monaco, as of 2015, having succeeded his father in 2005? | Albert II |
What is the family name of the Monegasque Royal Family? | Grimaldi |
Which King of Nepal was shot and killed by his son? | Birendra |
Who became the Grand Duke of Luxembourg in 2000, when his father Jean abdicated? | Henri |
Who was the last King of Portugal? | Manuel II |
Which battle of 338BCE was the culmination of the Macedonian campaign in Greece, and led to a decisive victory for Philip II over the Greek city-states? | Battle of Chaeronea |
What was Alexander the Great's regnal number? | III |
At what age did Alexander the Great die? | 32 |
Who was the first ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt? | Ptolemy I Soter (Saviour) |
From what original name is the Afghan city Kandahar's current name taken? | Alexandria |
The word 'stoic' derives from 'stoa' - the Ancient Greek for what structure? | Porch |
In which Shakespeare play does the line "things won are done, joy's soul lies in the doing" come? | Troilus & Cressida |
Manichaeism was founded by Mani (216-176CE) who lived in which Empire? | Sassanid |
Dying in 606CE, which Third Chinese Patriarch and Zen Buddhist, is best known as the putative author of the famous Chán poem, Xinxin Ming? | Sengcan (or Sen Ts'an) |
Which Greek philosopher was born a slave at Hierapolis, but became a Stoic; his teachings were written down and published by his pupil Arrian? | Epictetus |
Whose debut album Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor set a new all-time Dutch chart record on 20 August 2010, spending its 30th week at number one on the country's albums chart, beating the previous record set by 'Thriller' by one week? | Caro Emerald |
In most classification systems, which three basic types of fingerprint exist? | Loop, arch, whorl |
Fingerprints arise from which part of the skin? | Dermal papillae |
Superseded by the more individualising fingerprinting, what name, after its founder, was given to a late 19thC method of classifying criminals by their appearance, specifically the distance between parts of their body? | Bertillionage |
Which capital city was sacked by the Babylonians in 612BCE? | Nineveh (Assyrian capital) |
Give a year in the Jews' Babylonian Exile. | 586-539BCE |
What does IAFIS stand for in criminal investigations? | Integrated Automatic Fingerprint Identification System |
Which US state attained statehood in 1851, two years after gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill? | California |
Which region, located in the Western Pacific, contains Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, West Papua, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and the Maluku Islands? | Melanesia |
Which area of the Pacific, named by Jules Dumont D'Urbville, lies north of Melanesia and encompasses Kiribati and Palau among others? | Micronesia |
The Bab-al-Mandab or Mandab strait separates which two countries? | Yemen and Djibouti |
Sahul is an alternative name for which continent? | Australia |
Which biogeographical region of Southeastern Asia encompasses the part of the Asian continental shelf that was exposed during the last ice age? | Sundaland |
Which biogeographical designation stands for a group of mainly Indonesian islands separated by deep water straits from the Asian and Australian continental shelves? | Wallacea |
New Ireland and New Britain are both part of which archipelago, belonging to Papua New Guinea? | Bismarck archipelago |
Which is the only N-S pass through the mountains of Israel, giving its name to Armageddon? | Megiddo |
Which national capital city on the Danube was previously called Pressburg? | Bratislava |
Who were the first British football club to win a major European football competition? | Tottenham Hotspur |
Which country changed its name from a republic to an empire in 1977 but has reverted to being a republic? | Central African Republic |
Who wrote the words to the hymn Abide With Me? | Henry Francis Lyte |
Under which pseudonym did Cecil Day-Lewis write detective stories? | Nicholas Blake |
Which is the longest muscle in the human body? | Sartorius |
What is the surname of William in the Just William stories? | Brown |
What was the occupation of William Shakespeare’s father? | Glover |
Which English monarch was murdered at Berkeley Castle? | Edward II |
Ronald Ross won the 1902 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work on which disease? | Malaria |
To how many persons is membership of the Order of Merit limited? | 24 |
Which star of music hall was born George Edward Wade in Herne Hill in 1869? | George Robey |
Which product had the advertising slogan: “You’ll look a little lovelier each day”? | Camay Soap |