THE FINAL
I have not yet managed to get hold of the semi-final questions but am publishing the final questions now
1
What is the name given to the 280-odd peaks in Scotland over 3000 feet in height?
Munros
2
Which baseball star married Marilyn Monroe in 1954?
Joe DiMaggio
3
The Brazilian footballer Jô is currently on loan from Manchester City to which other club?
Everton
4
Everton Weekes was a renowned player in which sport?
Cricket
5
The Crickets were the backing group for which singer / songwriter?
Buddy Holly
6
Holly Johnson was the lead singer for which 1980’s group?
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
7
Who had a Number1 UK hit single with the song Frankie in 1985?
Sister Sledge
8
On the South Downs in East Sussex you will find the Seven Sisters. What are they?
Cliffs (A series of chalk cliffs between Seaford and Eastbourne)
9
In which country was Cliff Richard born?
India (Born as plain old Harry Webb in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in 1940)
10
What is the name of India’s largest private company, which now owns both Jaguar and Land Rover, and is India’s largest vehicle manufacturer?
Tata
11
What part of the body is affected by Bell’s Palsy?
The Face (paralysis of the facial nerve resulting in inability to control facial muscles on the affected side
12
Which town (and County) in Ireland shares its name with a fictional TV doctor?
Kildare
13
Which chemical element takes its name from a Greek word meaning strange or foreign?
Xenon
14
Who invented the wind-up or clockwork radio in the 1990s?
Trevor Baylis
15
“The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder” is the subtitle to which 20th Century novel?
Brideshead Revisited
16
The animated film Chicken Run was a spoof version of which 1960’s film?
The Great Escape
17
Perhaps better known as a football venue, where do the Saracens Rugby Union club play their home games?
Vicarage Road, Watford
(Accept either)
18
The Black Cats is the nickname of which English Premier League club?
Sunderland
19
Which artist was nicknamed “Jack the Dripper”?
Jackson Pollock
20
What is the name of the Barber of Seville in Rossini’s opera of that name?
Figaro
21
William Oliver Wallace was a noted magician and latterly President of the Magic Circle before his death in March this year. By what stage name is he better known? Ali Bongo
22
TV drama The Wire is primarily set in which American city?
Baltimore (in Maryland)
23
Who composed the piece 4’ 33’’, which consists of three movements in which no notes are played at all?
John Cage
24
Together Through Life is which singer / songwriter’s latest album?
Bob Dylan
25
“I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey…” is the narrator’s opening line to which 1975 cult film?
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
(Accept anything with Rocky Horror” in it!)
26
Which artist and polymath was born in Florence on the 15th of April 1452?
Leonardo da Vinci (Painter, sculptor, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, architect, botanist, musician, writer and all round smarty-pants)
27
Which war was fought between 1936 and 1939?
Spanish Civil War
28
Which famous English writer was named by his parents after a lake in Staffordshire?
Rudyard Kipling
29
In the Old Testament, who was eaten by dogs?
Jezebel
30
Who wrote the plays Equus and Amadeus?
Peter Shaffer
31
Which American novelist wrote The Naked and The Dead?
Norman Mailer
32
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end" is a line in which book of the Bible?
Revelation
33
Cape York is the northernmost point of which Commonwealth country?
Australia
34
Which war was fought between 1950 and 1953?
Korean War
35
What were discovered in the Wadi Qumran in 1947?
The Dead Sea Scrolls
36
Which movie character said “I shall stay until the wind changes”?
Mary Poppins
37
Fork in the Road is which singer / songwriter’s latest album?
Neil Young
38
Who wrote the “tone poem” Also Sprach Zarathustra inspired by Nietzsche's philosophical treatise of the same name?
Richard Strauss
39
Which children’s TV character lives at 52 Festive Road, London?
Mr Benn
40
Which comedian is credited with making the first ever mobile phone call in the UK on the 1st of January 1985 when he rang Vodafone’s offices in Berkshire from Central London?
Ernie Wise
41
Who wrote the epic poem the Aeneid?
Virgil
42
Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie often bill themselves as "Formerly New Zealand's fourth most popular folk parody duo”. What is the name of both their Act & TV Series?
Flight of the Conchords
43
Which word can mean a Governmental body or a piece of furniture?
Cabinet
44
Which Scottish City stands on the River Tay?
Perth
45
Lady Londonderry, Green Gunpowder, Oolong and Pekoe are all varieties of what?
Tea
46
Microsoft are planning to replace the Windows Vista computer operating system sometime this year. What is the current proposed name of its replacement?
Windows 7
47
In which sea is the island of Heligoland?
North Sea
48
Who wrote the General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money in 1936?
John Maynard Keynes
49
Richard Timney came to public attention this year for being the husband of which politician?
Jacqui Smith
(He is pornography-loving other half of the Home Secretary)
50
Who was the first Astronomer Royal?
John Flamsteed
(1675 – 1719)
51
Who was the first official Poet Laureate?
John Dryden
(1668 – 1688)
52
Which British actress died after a skiing accident in March this year? Natasha Richardson
53
Which politician introduced the first form of National Insurance in the UK under the slogan Ninepence for Fourpence, the idea being to pay four pence in to get nine pence back?
David Lloyd George
(Whilst Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1908 – 1915)
54
Which town in Virginia is home to the FBI Academy and US Marine Corps Officer Training School?
Quantico
55
In computer terms, what does the letter R in the acronym RAM stand for?
Random
(Random Access Memory)
56
Lonsdales, Coronas and Churchills are varieties of what?
Cigars
57
Which is Scotland’s oldest University?
St Andrews
58
Which word can mean contemporary or refer to the flow of a river?
Current
59
Which US comedy programme is set in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company?
The Office (The US version)
60
Which classic poet wrote the Metamorphoses?
Ovid
61
What name is given to the home of a badger?
Sett
62
Who was the founder of the Church of Scientology? L. Ron Hubbard
63
How many operas make up Wagner’s “Ring Cycle”? Four
(Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried & Götterdämmerung)
64
If all the US states were placed in alphabetical order, which would come first?
Alabama
65
By what name is the toy figure Action Man known in the USA?
G.I. Joe
66
Which element has the chemical symbol Pt?
Platinum
67
Who was King of Macedonia between 336 and 323 BC?
Alexander the Great
68
Take My Breath Away by the group Berlin was a UK hit song after featuring in which 1980’s action movie?
Top Gun
69
The Greek dip tzatziki consists of what mixed in yoghurt?
Cucumber
70
Paris’s abduction of which Greek female triggered the Trojan War?
Helen
(Then Helen of Sparta, later Helen of Troy)
71
Who was King of Troy at the time of the siege?
Priam
72
What kind of fish is a kipper?
Herring
73
Which song by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes was the theme tune to the film An Officer and a Gentleman?
Up Where We Belong
74
What is the name of the Inca fortress which sits on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru?
Machu Picchu
75
Which element has the chemical symbol Pd?
Palladium
76
By what nickname did Mary Mallon become known in the USA early in the 20th Century?
Typhoid Mary
(The first person in the USA to be identified as a healthy carrier of typhoid fever)
77
Name the only US state beginning with the letter “D”
Delaware
78
To whom did Beethoven dedicate his Third Symphony before renaming it Eroica?
Napoleon Bonaparte
79
Who was the Minister of Transport responsible for the introduction of the breathalyser in 1967? Barbara Castle
80
What name is given to a female adult swan?
Pen
81
What is the name of the traditional Scandinavian dish of raw pickled salmon in a mustard or dill sauce?
Gravlax (or Gravad Lax)
82
Which French Post-Impressionist painter was once a successful stockbroker?
Paul Gauguin
(He of the did he / did he not cut off Van Gogh’s ear fame)
83
What was the name of Tonto’s horse in The Lone Ranger?
Scout
84
Which type of bird might be garganeys, gadwalls, pintails or goosanders?
Ducks
85
In Roman mythology who was the father of Romulus and Remus?
Mars (Their mother being the Vestal Virgin – a likely story! – Rhea Silvia)
86
In the USA, if you were given a quarter, two dimes and a nickel, how many cents would you have?
50 cents
(quarter=25, dime=10, nickel=5)
87
According to the Beatles’ song, who was “wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door”?
Eleanor Rigby
88
“All the news that’s fit to print” is the slogan of which newspaper?
The New York Times
89
Adelaide was the Queen of which UK Monarch?
William IV (Fourth)
90
Which commentator would you primarily associate with Saturday afternoon wrestling on World of Sport?
Kent Walton
("Have a good week... till next week")
91
Which noted Darts commentator also created the children’s TV series Jossy’s Giants?
Sid Waddell
92
By what nickname was William II (Second) of England known?
William Rufus
93
Which is the oldest British national Sunday newspaper?
The Observer
(First published in 1791)
94
According to the Beatles’ song, who “left his home in Tucson, Arizona, for some California grass”?
Jojo
(from Get Back)
95
What is the number of the Unit that appears in the TV series of M*A*S*H?
4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
96
In Norse mythology, whose chariot was drawn across the sky by two horses named Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder?
Thor
(The horses are also called Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr, but that is harder to pronounce…)
97
What is the alternative English name for the Hedge Sparrow?
Dunnock
98
In Oliver Twist, what was the name of Bill Sikes’ dog?
Bull’s Eye
99
What was the title of a series of engravings by Hogarth which inspired a Stravinsky opera of the same name?
A Rake’s Progress
100
Which vegetable is commonly known in North America as rutabaga?
Swede
Cross between a cabbage and a turnip)
101
Which company’s motto is Don’t be Evil?
Google
102
In the Sherlock Holmes story, what sort of animal was The Speckled Band?
Snake
103
Napoleon named his favourite horse after one of his battles. Which one?
Marengo
104
Natalie Maines is the lead singer of which all-female group?
The Dixie Chicks
105
Which decisive battle of The Crimean War took place on the 5th of November 1854?
Battle of Inkerman
106
At the "Gunfight at the OK Corral", Wyatt Earp was accompanied by two of his brothers. Name either.
Virgil or Morgan
107
At the same Gunfight, the Clanton brothers were amongst those on the opposing side. Name either of them.
Ike or Billy
108
Which Staffordshire-born comedian presents the BBC radio and Television show Genius?
Dave Gorman
109
What name is given to a traditional Arab sailing ship with triangular sails?
Dhow
110
In which County would you find Corfe Castle, Milton Abbey and the Cerne Giant?
Dorset
111
In which County would you find Beaulieu Motor Museum, HMS Victory and the birthplace of Jane Austen?
Hampshire
112
In World War II, what was the operation codename for the evacuation of Dunkirk?
Operation Dynamo
113
By what name is Staffordshire-born heavy metal musician Ian Fraser Kilmister better known?
Lemmy
(From Hawkwind / Motorhead etc)
114
Paramaribo is the capital city of which South American country?
Suriname
115
The Malagasy are the inhabitants of which country?
Madagascar
116
In which country did the Contras battle the Sandinistas?
Nicaragua
117
Miley Cyrus is a singer best known as the star of which Disney Channel TV series named after the character she plays?
Hannah Montana
118
Who was imprisoned and later executed at Fotheringhay Castle in 1587?
Mary, Queen of Scots
119
Which car manufacturer has made the Éclat and the Excel?
Lotus
120
Which company’s current advertising slogan is Impossible is Nothing?
Adidas
Supplementary Questions
1
Which is the only muscle in the human body that is only attached at one end?
The Tongue
2 Before being used as a word to describe very tall buildings, what were (and still are) skyscrapers?
Sails
(A small triangular sail set above the skysail on ships/boats)
3
Which element has the lowest melting point?
Helium
4
Which unit of nautical measurement was devised by Richard Norwood in 1673? Knot
5
According to the Bible, on which day of
Creation did God make the sun, moon and
the stars?
Fourth
6
What word can be a drink, a trap and a card game?
Gin
7
Which is the longest river in Europe?
Volga
8
In clothing care labels, what does a circle with a cross through it mean?
Do not dry clean
9
Which practice takes its name from the Sanskrit word for "union"?
Yoga
10
In which novel would you find the characters Bathsheba Everdene and Gabriel Oak?
Far From the Madding Crowd
(by Thomas Hardy)
TIEBREAKER (God forbid…)
Add together the following numbers:-
The height in feet of Mount Kilimanjaro
The Gross Tonnage weight of the QE2
The length in miles of the River Thames
The number of Test Match runs scored by Sir Garfield Sobers
The area in square miles of Wales
Nearest to the correct total wins!
Answer
Kilimanjaro = 19,330 feet
QE2 = 70,327 Gross Tonnage
Thames = 215 miles
Garry Sobers = 8,032 runs
Wales = 8,014 square miles
Total = 105,918
posted by Nick at
12:38 PM
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