19th February

Specialist Questions


by The George & Dragon





HISTORY



Speeches in 20th Century

Q1. John F. Kennedy said in his inaugural speech in 1961: ‘Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country’. Who was JFK’s Vice-President?
A1. Lyndon B Johnson.

Q2. Nelson Mandela’s speech at his trial included the words: ‘I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die’. In what year was the trial?
A2. 1964, April 20th (accept +/- 1 year)

Q3. Who said in February 1960: ‘The wind of change is blowing through this continent, and, whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact.’?
A3. Harold McMillan

Q4. Which US president’s inaugural address included: ‘So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself – nameless, unreasoning unjustified terror which paralyses efforts to convert retreat into advance.?
A4. Franklin D. Roosevelt, on March 4th 1933

Q5. Who said in 1956: ‘Comrades! We must abolish the cult of the individual once and for all. We must correct the views connected with the cult in history, philosophy and sciences…..
A5. Nikita Khruschev (in a bitter attack on Stalin accusing him of massacre and torture)

Q6. ‘I have a dream that my 4 little children will one day live in a nation where they will be not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character’. These words were spoken by Martin Luther King in August 1963. Where was that speech delivered?
A6. Washington DC

Q7. Who said: ‘Whatever happens, the flame of French resistance must not and shall not die. Tomorrow, I shall broadcast from London’?
A7. Charles De Gaulle, (in June 1940)

Q8. Margaret Thatcher’s speech to a Conservative Party Conference included: ‘To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catch phrase the U turn, I have only one thing to say “You turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning”’
A8. 1980 (October 10th)

Supplementaries

Q9. Who said in August 1947: ‘Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially’?
A9. Jawaharlal Nehru (about Indian independence)

Q10. Who said in the House of Commons in December, 1956 ‘This government resorted to epic weapons for squalid and trivial ends, and that is why, all though this unhappy period, ministers…all of them….have spoken and argued and debated well below their proper form because they have been synthetic villains’.
A10. Aneurin Bevan (about Suez Canal fighting)

Q11. Who said: ‘It is a point to remember that, of all the ironies about Diana, perhaps the greatest was this: a girl given the name of the ancient goddess of hunting was in the end, the most hunted person of the modern age’?
A11. Earl Spencer, September 6 1997

Q12. Who said in November 1913: ‘We won’t do it ourselves, but we will put the enemy in the position where they will have to choose between giving us freedom or giving us death’
A12. Emmeline Pankhurst (on a US fund-raising tour related to Votes for Women in UK)








Some Wonders of the Industrial world:

Q1. Construction of the Bell Rock lighthouse was finished in 1811. In which body of water does it stand?
A1. Firth of Forth.

Q2. The ship the Great Eastern was designed by I. K. Brunel and in 1858 was by far the largest ship ever built (~12,000 tons). From which town was it launched ?
A2. Millwall (accept Isle of Dogs)

Q3. During the construction of the vertical supports for the Brooklyn Bridge between New York and Brooklyn in USA (opened in 1883), many construction workers died of a disease that at that time was called ‘Caisson Disease’. What do we call the same condition today?
A3. The bends (accept de-compression disease)

Q4. The engineer Joseph Bazalgette was in charge of construction of a large part of the London Sewer ‘system’ and the Thames Embankment. In which year was this ‘system’ officially opened?
A4. 1870 Accept ± 5 years (Bazalgette was knighted in 1874 for his work by Q. Victoria)

Q5. Which great historical event in transportation occurred at Promontory, Utah, USA on May 10, 1869 ?
A5. The laying of the last rail in the Transcontinental Railroad to join east & west coast USA by rail

Q6. The Manchester Ship Canal runs for 36 miles from Eastham on the Mersey estuary to Salford in Greater Manchester. Who officially opened it for traffic?
A6. Queen Victoria (in 1894)

Q7. The Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in USA was finally completed in 1935 under the engineer ‘Hurry Up’ Crowe. The project was started when Hoover was president of the USA but which President of the USA opened it officially?
A7. F D Rooseveldt,

Q8. What is the name of the ~115 mile long lake that is held back by the Hoover Dam?
A8. Lake Mead

Supplementaries

Q9. What nationality was Ferdinand De Lessops the engineer credited with the construction of the Suez Canal?
A9. French

Q10. Before the London Sewage system was built, sittings at the House of Commons had to be abandoned in 1858. What was the River Thames called in the Times newspaper at this time?
A10. The Great Stink

Q11. The 100 mile long Suez Canal was designed / constructed under aegis of the engineer Ferdinand De Lessops and opened in 1869. This joined the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. How many locks are used in the canal?
A11. None (No leeway !!)

Q12. During the construction of the Panama Canal in 1903, the canal zone was ceded to the USA. In which year was this zone finally given back to Panama?
A12. 1999 !!!

Q13. The Swing Bridge that spans the River Tyne from Gateshead to Newcastle in the north-east of England is the heaviest turning bridge in the world at ~900 tons. Who was the engineer in charge of this project?
A13. William Armstrong (it was completed in 1876)




Arts and Entertainment

1. Who played Al Capone in the 1987 film, The Untouchables?


A. Robert De Niro
2.Which character did James Stewart play in the 1952 film, The Greatest Show On Earth?


A. Buttons the Clown
3. Who wrote the novel On Chesil Beach?


A. Ian McEwan
4. Which instrument represents the duck in Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf? A. A. Oboe
5. Who played Richard Cunningham in the US TV show Happy Days?


A. Ron Howard
6. What is the name of the title character in Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman?


A. Willy Loman
7. What was mixed with water to make the rain more visible on screen in the 1952 film Singing in the Rain?


A. Milk
8. How many contestants' boxes feature in the (UK version) TV show Deal of No Deal? A. Twenty-two (eleven 'reds' and eleven 'blues')

Supplementaries



S1. In which year was the UK Comic Relief launched?


A. 1985
S2. Who played Domino in the 1983 Bond film Never Say Never Again?


A. Kim Basinger
S3. What was the title of George Michael's first solo album?


A. Faith (1987)
S4. Tall Dark and Gruesome is the title of whose autobiography?


A. Christopher Lee

SCIENCE

Numbers

1. The number of molecules in one mole of a substance is 6.023 x 1023 (SHOULD BE SUPERSCRIPT). What name is given to this number?
A. Avagadro’s number.

2. 9.81 m/sec2 is better known as what acceleration force?
A. gravity

3. How is -273°Celcius better known?
A. Absolute zero

4. Which planet has a diameter of 12756 km?
A. Earth

5. What travels at 2.998 x 108 (should be superscript)m/s.
A. light

6. 3.142 is commonly known as pi but one of the two alternative names that it is known by refers to a scientist who invented a famous screw mechanism, who was the scientist?
A. Archimedes - pi is also known as Archimedes’ constant or Ludolph's number

7. Two quantities are in what ratio if the ratio between the sum of those quantities and the larger one is the same as the ratio between the larger one and the smaller?
A. The golden ratio which is approximately 1.618

8. h is a physical constant that plays a central role in the theory of quantum mechanics, and is named after a German founder of quantum theory, what is the constant called?
A. Planck’s constant



Supplementaries


S1. The sequence of numbers is 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21 is known as what?
A. Fibinacci sequence

S2. In mathematics and computer science a numeral system is used to represent the binary code in a format easier for humans to read, and acts as a form of shorthand. What base is used for this system?
A. 16- hexadecimal





OLD MASTERS (PICTURE ROUND)

In this round yo will be given a picture of a famous painting, all you have to do is identify the artist.

(Sorry I don't have the pictures used available, but the work and artist are):



1. A Bigger Splash - David Hockney

2. At The Moulin rouge - Toulouse Lautrec

3. Self Portrait 1661 - Rembrandt

4. The Fighting Temeraire - Turner

5. Water Lillies - Monet

6. The Harvest Wagon - Gaomsbprpigh

7. The laughing Cavalier - Franz Hals

8 Vase with Sunflowers - Vincent Van Gogh

Supplementaries

S1. L'Absinthe - Degas

S2. Piazza San Marco - Cannaletto



GEOGRAPHY



Q1. How many countries border Africa’s Lake Victoria?
A1. 3 (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania)

Q2. Dunkery Beacon is the highest point in which British National Park?
A2.Exmoor

Q3. What is the capital of the Canadian province of Newfoundland & Labrador?
A3. St John’s.

Q4. On the Macclesfield Canal, how many individual locks make up the Bosley flight?
A4. 12.

Q5. What is the easternmost town in England?
A5. Lowestoft

Q6. What is the current name of Dutch Guiana?
A6. Suriname.

Q7 What is the current name of the Indian city previously called Madras?
A7. Chennai.

Q8. What is the capital of Papua New Guinea?
A8. Port Moresby

Supplementaries

Q9. The Bahamas lie off the coast of which US state?
A9. Florida.

Q10. On an Ordnance Survey Map, how steep is a hill when represented by two arrows?
A10. Greater than 1 in 5 (20%)

Q11. Which of the Great Lakes lies immediately above Niagara Falls?
Q12. Lake Erie.

Sport: the Use of Drugs:-

1. At the Seoul Olympics in 1988, which sprinter tested positive for the use of an anabolic steroid?
A. Ben Johnson

2. In 1994, which footballer was banned from competing in the World Cup after he was found to have taken a cocktail of 5 drugs?
A. Diego Maradonna

3. Which Irish swimmer, winner of 4 gold medals at the 1996 Olympics, was found to have “manipulated” samples in 1998 and banned from competing for 4 years?
A. Michelle Smith

4. In 2002, Alain Baxter, the British Skier, lost his Olympic Bronze medal after he used what?
A. A Vicks Inhaler

5. In 1992, 3 German sprinters submitted identical urine samples in out-of-competition tests; they escaped a ban on a technicality. Name one of the three:
A. Katrin Krabbe, Silke Möller and Grit Breuer



6. What was the name of the drug that, in 1999, caused controversy to break with British sprinters Linford Christie and Dougie Walker, Czech tennis player Petr Korda, plus French footballers Christophe Dugarry and Vincent Guerin, all having adverse findings ?
A. Nandrolone

7. What was the name of the leading British tennis player who in 2004 tested positive for Nandrolone?
A. Greg Rusedski

8. In 2001, four footballers playing in Italy were identified as having taken Nandrolone by the re-opened Acqua Acetosa Laboratory which in 1998 was found to have been destroying evidence of adverse findings; Name one of the four footballers?
A. Edgar Davids, Fernando Couto, Frank De Boer, Jaap Stam


Supplementary questions

9. In 2003 British sprinter Dwain Chambers tested positive for the new anabolic steroid tetra hydro gestrinone, how is this drug better known?
A. THG

10. In 1998 the Festina team were expelled from the Tour De France because their trainer Willy Voet was caught with how many vials of performance enhancing drugs?
A. 400 (accept +/- 50)


Duh! I shall say this only once: TV catchphrases:

Q1. In the TV series ‘‘Allo ‘Allo’ the line ‘Good Moaning’ was said by a French Policeman trying to speak English. The actor’s name was Arthur Bostram. What was the character’s name?
A1. Officer Craptree

Q2. TV series Monty Python’s Flying circus included a sketch with the catchphrase ‘nudge nudge, wink wink, you wife, does she go? This sketch was between 2 actors: Eric Idle was one, who was the other?
A2. Terry Gilliam (this was disputed)

Q3. The Kenny Everett show featuring such characters as Sid Snot, General Norm Bombthebastards and Cupid Stunt with lines like ‘all done in the best possible taste’ was on TV for a 4 year period. Name a year within this period.
A3. 1978 to 1981

Q4. What’s the name of the TV programme in which the Harry Enfield character ‘loads-a-money’ first appeared?
A4. Friday Night Live

Q5. ‘Are you free’ was one of the catchphrases from the TV series ‘Are you being served’. Which actor played Captain Peacock in this series?
A5. Frank Thornton

Q6. In the TV series ‘Dad’s Army’, one of Captain Mainwaring’s phrases was ‘You stupid boy Pike…’ Which actor played the part of Private Pike?
A6. Ian Lavender

Q7. In the TV series ‘Some Mothers do have ‘em’ Frank Spencer was played by Michael Crawford. What the name of the actress who played Betty, Frank’s wife?
A7. Michele Dotrice

Q8. In the TV series ‘Steptoe & Son’, young Mr. Steptoe called his Dad ‘… you dirty old man’. What was the name of the street where their dirty old yard was situated?
A8. Oil Drum Lane



Supplementaries

Q9. In Peter Kay’s TV series ‘Phoenix Nights’, what was the ‘taste of the Future’?
A9. Garlic Bread

Q10. In the TV series ‘Father Ted’, Mrs Doyle’s was the housekeeper and role was described as ‘violently hospitable’. Her catchphrase was ‘Ah Go on, Go on, Go on, Go on, Go on…..’ etc’. Which actress played the part?
A10. Pauline McLynn,

Q11. In the TV series ‘BlackAdder Goes Forth’, there was always a cunning plan. Which actor played the part of ‘Lieutenant The Honourable George Colthurst St Barleigh’?
A11. Hugh Lawrie

Q12. In the TV series Fawlty Towers, on of John Clees’ lines was ‘Don’t mention the war. (I did and I think I got away with it)’. The series was relatively short, but how many episodes were there in total?
A12. 12

Q13. ‘…and it’s Goodnight from me, and it’s Goodnight from him’ was a catchphrase from the TV series the 2 Ronnies. Ronnie Barker also wrote some of the material for these shows. What was his pen name?
A13. Gerald Wiley.

Q14. In Monty Python’s ‘The Meaning of Life’ an obese restaurant customer exploded after eating everything on the menu and finally ‘a wafer thin mint’. What was the name of the customer?
A14. Mr. Creosote

Q15. In the TV series ‘The fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin’ which actor played the role of CJ whose catchphrase was ‘I didn’t get where I am today without ….. ?
A15. John Barron









GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
questions by the Park Tavern


1) Which horse won the 2006 Grand National?
A) Numbersixvalverde

2)Who trained the 2007 Gold Cup winner Kauto Star?
A) Paul Nicholls

3)Which country’s national airline is named Varig?
A) Brazil

4)In which city was the 2008 African Cup of Nations final held
A) Accra

5)What is the capital of Azerbaijan
A) Baku

6) In which novel would you find the characters Becky Sharp and Andamleia Sedley?
A) Vanity Fair

7) Who wrote the novel Decline and Fall?
A) Evelyn Waugh

8) The Bolivar is the currency of which country?
A) Venezuela

9) Which countries currency is the Lek?
A) Albania

10) The painting ‘The Card Players’ was by which artist?
A) Cezanne

11) Rwanda gained independence from which country in 1962?
A) Belgium

12) Which football club play their home games at Millmoor?
A) Rotheram

13) Who directed the 1987 Michael Jackson video Bad?
A) Martin Scorsese

14) In which year was the first Star Trek film released?
A) 1979

15) Who directed the films ‘Crime of Passion’ and ‘Whore’?
A) Ken Russell

16) Which actor played the male lead in the BBC series Telford Changes?
A) Peter Berkworth

17) Who served as President of the United States between 1825-29
A) John Quincy Adams

18) Who wrote the poem ‘The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere’?
A) Henry Longfellow

19) What were the special police of Papa Doc Douvalier - the oppressive ruler of Haiti- called?
A) Tontons Macoutes

20) Which Irish King was killed driving the Vikings out of Ireland at the battle of Clontarf in 1014?
A) Brian Boru

21) What year did the demolition begin of the Berlin Wall.
A) 1989

22) What year were the first Christmas stamps issued.
A) 1966

23) Who did Sugar Ray Robinson KO for the middleweight title in 1955.
A) Carl Olsen

24)Who had a No. 1 hit with “Walking on the Moon”
A) The Police

25) Who was elected Pop Adrian IV in 1154.
A) Nicholas Breakspear

26) Which tax was imposed in Britain in 1695.
A) Window tax

27) Who had a No. 1 hit 1987 with “Always on my Mind”
A) The Pet Shop Boys

28) What did the “German workers Party” later become known as.
A) Nazi Party

29) What year was “Top of the Pops” first broadcast.
A) 1964

30) Who did Prime Minister Churchill meet in Casablanca in 1943
A) President Roosevelt

31) Who formed the British Labour Party in 1893.
A) Keir Hardie

32) Which Siege ended after 900 Days in 1944.
A) The Siege of Leningrad

33) Name one of the other two countries that joined the Common Market in 1972.
A) Ireland or Denmark

34) What returned to earth after 85 days in space in 1974.
A) US SKYLAB

35) Whose Airline collapsed with debts of £150m
A) Freddie Laker

36) What year were English football league games first played on a Sunday.
A) 1981

37) Which novelist was expelled from the USSR in 1974.
A) Alexander Solzhenitsyn

38) Who successfully tested a steam locomotive on rails in 1804.
A) Richard Trevithick

39) Which heavy weight boxer retired after 25 successful title defences in 1949
A) Joe Louis

40) Who was the first Communist ruler to visit Britain in 1953.
A) Tito

41) Barack Obama is the senator for which state?
A) Illinois

42) John McCain is the senator for which state?
A) Arizona

43) The Doctrine which forbids the surveillance of Members of Parliament was introduced by which Prime Minister?
A) Harold Wilson

44) Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in which Indian city?
A) Rawalpindi

45) The name of which Jewish Festival translates as ‘head of the year’?
A) Rosh Hashana

46) in which country is the pilgrimage site of Fatima?
A) Portugal

47) In Norse mythology Loki is the God of what?
A) Mischief

48) Helen of Troy was originally from which country?
A) Sparta

49) In which country would you spend the Florint?
A) Hungary

50) In which country would you spend the Colon?
A) Costa Rica

51) ‘Nothing on earth could keep them apart’ is the tag line from which 90’s film?
A) Titanic

52) Which 60’s thriller had the tag line ‘Don’t give away the ending, it’s the only one we have’?
A) Psycho

53) Who was voted Most Valuable Player at this years Superbowl?
A) Eli Manning

54) Who won the Men’s singles title at this years Australian Open?
A) Novak Djokovic

55) Whose recent no 1 album is called 19?
A) Adele

56) Who originally recorded the song Valerie recently in the charts for Amy Winehouse & Mark Ronson?
A) The Zutons

57)Which landmark can be found at the Plaza de Miracoli?
A) The leaning Tower of Pisa

58) Which countries flag features an Eagle with a Snake in its beak and Talon?
A) Mexico

59) ‘On Chesil Beach’ is a recent bestseller for whom?
A) Ian McEwan

60) ‘A Thousand splendid Sons’ is a recent bestseller for whom?
A) Khaled Hosseini

61) What does RAM stand for in computer speak?
A) Random access memory

62) What is the name of long john silver’s parrot.
A) Captain Flint

63) What bird do you associate with the shag?
A) The Cormorant

64) What is the most common name for a British Pub?
A) Red Lion

65) What is the colour of a Black Box on an aeroplane?
A) Orange.

66) Which Disney film does Drip Drip Drop little April showers come from?
A) Bambi

67)Jim Kerr was the lead singer of which band?
A) Simple minds.

68) What’s the name of Andy’s sit com in the comedy Extras?
A) When the whistle blows

69) What was the name of the computer on Red Dwarf?
A) Holly.

70) In what country was ice cream invented A) China

71) Love apple is the old name for which fruit?
A) Tomato.

72) Music Who thought modern life is rubbish in 1993?
A) Blur.

73) Which founding member of pink Floyd died on7th July 2006?
A) Syd Barett.

74) What is the most common atom in the universe.
A) Hydrogen

75) Banana oil is produced from what.
A) Coal

76) In which club would you find the chief barker
A) Variety club.

77) which breed of dog is associated with clement Freud
A)Bloodhound.
78) Which nation were the first to give women the right to vote.
A) New Zealand.

79) Balti is a style of food first devised and served in which UK city
A) Birmingham.

80) What is Murgh on an Indian restaurant menu.
A)Chicken.

81)Which classic movie of 1975 was based on a book by Peter Benchley?
A) Jaws

82) Which Irish novelist wrote The Sea the sea?
A) Iris Murdoch

83) Where would you find your metatarsals?
A) Your feet

84) What are the interlocking bones called that make up your spine.
A) Vertebrae.

85) Which is the only bird that can fly backwards?
A) Hummingbird.

86) Which hip hop band included Lauren hill and wyclef jean?
A) The Fugees

87) Natalie maines is the lead singer of which country group
A) The Dixie chicks.

88) Used in the production of nuclear weapons, a compound of oxygen and the hydrogen isotope deuterium produces what?
A) Heavy Water

89) What is the longest river in Australia?
A) Murray

90) Who were the last football team to win the old Division one before it became the Premiership?
A) Leeds United

91) Which oil tanker ran aground at Prince William’s Sound in Alaska in 1989, causing one of the worst man-made disasters ever?
A) Exxon Valdez

92) A funambulist is a person who participates in which death defying activity?
A) Tightrope walking

93) Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears were all products of which Disney made TV series which showcased teenage talent?
A) Mickey Mouse Club

94) Which Irish comedian played the part of Dougal Maguire in Father Ted and the role of thermoman in My Hero?
A) Ardal O Hanlon

95) The Anglo Saxon Chronicle was a collection of annals created during the reign of which English King?
A) Alfred the Great

96) Which 16th Century author wrote the novel Utopia?
A) Thomas More

Supplementary Questions

a) Which sprinter won the men’s 100m and 200m gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics before being embroiled in accusations of drug taking?
A) Justin Gatlin

b) Dendrochronology is a simple counting process used to determine the age of what?
A) Trees (counting the number of rings)

c) Who is the leading run scorer in test cricket history?
A) Brian Lara