8th December
Specialist Round Questions
set by
The Knot Inn
1) Firsts
2) History
3) “Geography” – Fantasy Footfall
4) Sport – Famous Upsets and Unlikely Events
5) “Knot” Quite in Cheshire
6) Science
7) Art & Entertainment
8) Myths and Legends
Firsts
1) The first ready to eat breakfast cereal went on the market in 1893. What was it?
A: Shredded Wheat
2) The Murders in the Rue Morgue, published in 1841, is generally recognised as being the first detective story. Who was the author? A: Edgar Alan Poe
3) Of particular concern to motorists, which road safety measure was first introduced in
4) What was significant about the television advert for Birds Eye Peas first shown in Britain
5) In 1966, John Ridgway and Chay Blyth became the first to do what?
A: Row across the Atlantic
6) The first casino in
A: Brighton
7) In 1908, Alison Cargill became the first member of which worldwide organisation?
A: Girl Guides
8) Which annual sporting event was first televised live in Britain
A: F.A. Cup Final
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S1) In which year were zebra crossings first seen in Britain
A: 1951 - allow two years either way (ie. 1949 - 1953)
S2) Which is the first animal mentioned in Kenneth Grahame's book, The Wind in the Willows?
A: Mole
History
1) The Peterloo Massacre took place in Manchester
A: The Free Trade Hall
2) Whose dying words are reputed to be, “The executioner is, I believe, very expert; and my neck is very slender”? A: Anne Boleyn
3. What nationality was Marie Antoinette?
A: Austrian
4) Omar Khaiyam achieved fame after his death as a poet, thanks to English translations of his work. During his lifetime, however, he was famous as what?
A: Mathematician
5) Who famously said, “The ballot is stronger than the bullet”?
A: Abraham Lincoln
6) The four freedoms claimed for all men by Franklin D Roosevelt in his famous speech of 1941 were freedom from want, freedom from fear, freedom of speech and which other?
A: Freedom of religion
7) In 1934, ship number 534 was launched from John Brown's shipyard on the
A: Queen Mary
8) Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded at
A: Northamptonshire
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S1) What was famously discovered by Johann Gottfried Galle in 1846?
A: The planet Neptune
S2) What craft is pursued by a wainwright? A: Making and repairing wagon wheels
“Geography” - Fantasy Footfall
(All answers in this round will be places that are either fictional or based on real places.)
1) Arnold Bennett’s Anna of the Five Towns fictionalises which UK
A: Stoke-on-Trent
2) Name either of the real UK towns near which the events of Cheshire
A: Alderley Edge or Macclesfield
3) Comprising four “farthings” and based on rural England
A: The Shire
4) In which fictional country does Lemuel Gulliver wake to find himself imprisoned by a race of people “one twelfth the size of normal human beings”?
A: Lilliput (from Gulliver’s Travels)
5) What is the name of the fictionalised New York City
A: Liberty City
6) Devised by L Frank Baum, which location is largely divided into four “countries”, named Winkie Country, Gillikin Country, Quadling Country and Munchkin Country?
A: The Land of Oz (from The Wizard of Oz and its many sequels)
7) What is the name of the fictional suburb of Chester
A: Hollyoaks
8) What is the name of the fictional area of Salford that includes Coronation Street
A: Weatherfield
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S1) The name of a real medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom was taken by Thomas Hardy as the fictionalised setting for many of his novels, including The Mayor of Casterbridge – what is it?
A: Wessex
S2) A real ancient region covering parts of modern-day Croatia , Montenegro and Albania
A: Illyria
S3) Cair Paravel is a coastal seat of government in which fantastical land, accessed through a portal in the back of a wardrobe?
A: Narnia
Sport – Famous Upsets and Unlikely Events
1)Having entered the tournament as a 150-1 outsider, who beat Steve Davis 18-12 to win the 1986 Snooker World Championship in Sheffield? A: Joe Johnson
2) Subsequently called the Dirtiest Race in History, who initially won the Men’s 100 metres at the Seoul Olympics, but was later disqualified?
A: Ben Johnson
3) In tennis, who became the first unseeded player to win the
A: Boris Becker
4) Which country upset Italy
A: North Korea (do not accept Korea
5) Which golfer nearly won an unlikely victory in the 1999 Open Championship before throwing the opportunity away on the last hole, memorably climbing into a burn?
A: Jean van de Velde
6) Which horse won the 1967 Grand National after coming from behind following a pile-up which included most of the remaining field?
A: Foinavon
7) In 1972, Hereford United caused one of the most famous FA Cup upsets, beating
A: Ronnie Radford and Ricky George
8) Who captained
A: Kapil Dev
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S1) Which football team knocked Charlton Athletic out in the first round of this season's FA Cup?
A: Northwich Victoria
S2) Which country was the unheralded winner of cricket's sixth World Cup, held in 1996?
A: Sri Lanka
“Knot” Quite in Cheshire
(All answers in this round will be places and landmarks located in the vicinity of Cheshire
1) In which town not far from Cheshire
A: St Helens
2) Known in the show as Royston Vasey, which Derbyshire village was used for much of the outdoor filming of the TV series The League of Gentlemen?
A: Hayfield (near Glossop) (Actually it is Hadfield)
3) Why is 20, Forthlin Road Liverpool a tourist attraction?
A: Childhood home of Paul McCartney
4) Which Welsh county is the only one to border Cheshire
A: Clwyd
5) Just after the reorganization of county boundaries in 1974, the Rugby League Challenge Cup had an all-Cheshire Final. Warrington
A: Widnes
6) The River Trent does not run through Cheshire
A: Biddulph (accept Biddulph Moor)
7) Market Drayton in Shropshire claims to be the home of which sweet delicacy?
A: Gingerbread
8) The Peak Cavern in Derbyshire was formerly called something else, but its name was changed to avoid upsetting Queen Victoria
A: Devil’s Arse
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S1) To get to the Knot Inn in Rushton Spencer, which A-road do you take from Macclesfield?
A: 523 (no leeway!)
S2) In which town, formerly in Cheshire, is the ‘Old 13th Cheshire Rifleman Corps Inn’, believed to be the longest pub name in England?
A: Stalybridge
Science
1) The JP Joule is a pub in Sale
A: Energy
2) Not to be confused with the Newton
A: Four (0th, 1st, 2nd and 3rd)
3) "Ursus Arctos Horribilis" is the Latin name for which animal?
A: Grizzly Bear (or Silvertip Bear)
4) What mathematical ratio is represented by the first letter of the Greek word for perimeter?
A: Pi
5) What are the elements in group 7 of the periodic table (chlorine, fluorine, bromine, iodine and astatine) collectively known as?
A: Halogens
6) Hailing from darkest Peru
A: Spectacled Bear
7) Millimetres of mercury (mmHg) is a unit of measurement used to measure what quantity?
A: Pressure (atmospheric pressure is equal to 760 mmHg)
8) The industrial scale synthesis of ammonia was developed by Fritz Harber and which other Nobel Prize winning Chemist?
A: Carl Bosch
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S1) The Sphygmomanometer measures what?
A: Blood Pressure
S2) What does a Hygrometer measure?
A: (Relative) Humidity
Art & Entertainment
1) Which French Impressionist painter created a famous garden at Giverny, which was a subject of some of his most famous works?
A: Claude Monet
2) Which American pop artist used cartoon-strip imagery to produce paintings such as Wham?
A: Roy Lichtenstein
3) Who designed the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome
A: Michelangelo
4) Who was the architect for No. 30 St. Mary Axe in London
A: Lord Foster
5) Which thriller by John Buchan is currently being performed as a comedy at the Criterion Theatre in
A: The Thirty Nine Steps
6) Kevin Spacey is artistic director of which London
A: The Old Vic
7) Of which competition can the finalists' work currently be viewed at Tate Britain
A: The Turner Prize
8) Concluding at the end of this week, the Royal Academy
A: Anish Kapoor
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S1) Which Hungarian composed only one opera - "Duke Bluebeard's Castle" - now being performed in
A: Bela Bartok
S2) "The Sacred Made Real", now showing at the National Gallery, focuses on which aspect of religious seventeenth century Spanish art?
A: Painted sculpture (accept painted carving / figures)
Myths and Legends
1) Which Roman god was the father of
A: Mars
2) In The Odyssey, Ulysses returns home to be greeted by his wife. What was her name?
A: Penelope
3) Who fired the arrow which struck Achilles in the heel and killed him?
A: Paris
4) In Robert Burns' poem "Tam O Shanter ", the hero escapes on horseback from a witch by using which legendary method?
A: Crossing a running stream - something witches cannot do
5) In Japanese legend, a young girl was told that her future husband would live for as many years as a flower has petals, so she divided each petal of a carnation into sections and created a new flower. Which flower did she create?
A: Chrysanthemum
6) What was the unusual diet of the legendary Lancashire witch Jinnie Greenteeth?
A: She was a cannibal (nb. this is somewhat unusual even in Lancashire )
7) In Greek mythology, King Minos of Crete demanded an annual tribute of 7 young men and 7 young women: what did he do with them?
A: Fed them to the Minotaur
8) Which legendary hero had a sword called Calibeorn and a spear called Ron?
A: King Arthur
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S1) In Celtic legend, what kind of creature was a silkie?
S1) In Celtic legend, what kind of creature was a silkie?
A: Half man, half seal
S2) The Egyptian god Anubis had the body of a man and the head of which animal?
A: Jackal
General Knowledge Questions
(set by the Royal Oak)
1) Whose autobiography is called "Oh, What A Lovely Pair"?
Answer: Ant and Dec (McPartlin and Donnelly)
2) In the opening credits of "The Royle Family", what is the first task that Jim Royle performs?
Answer: He switches on the TV
3) In World War 1, what were known as "Baby Killers"?
Answer: Zeppelins
4) Where were the "Wipers Times" distributed?
Answer: Along the WW1 trenches (accept Ypres)
5) "What about sunrise, what about rain, what about all the things, that you said we were to gain" are lyrics from which song?
Answer: "Earth Song" (Michael Jackson)
6) Which group of activists have demonstrated outside the Tate Gallery since the year 2000, by way of oppositon to the Turner Prize?
Answer: The Stuckists
7) What is the southern hemisphere equivalent of the Aurora Borealis?
Answer: Aurora Australis
8) Who has recently been elected as High Representative on Foreign Affairs & Security to the European Union?
Answer: Baroness Ashton (accept Ashton)
9) With regards to "kosher" food, what must be kept totally separately from meat?
Answer: Milk
10) Which book begins "It was a bright, cold day in April and the clocks were striking 13"?
Answer: “1984”
11) Which famous Swiss citizen said about nuclear bombs: "If I had known I would have become a watch maker"?
Answer: Albert Einstein
12) In the "The Lord of the Rings", where is the only place in Mordor where the "one ring to rule them all" can be destroyed?
Answer: Mount Doom
13) Which country on the European mainland is closest to Corfu?
Answer: Albania
14) Which country do the Faeroe Islands belong to?
Answer: Denmark
15) What is the name for a female ferret?
Answer: A jill
16) What is the title of Cheryl Cole's first single as a solo artist?
Answer: "Fight For This Love"
17) "Twas brillig, and the slithy toves, Did gyre and gimble in the wabe" is the start of which poem?
Answer: "Jabberwocky"
18) Which liqueur is added to brandy and lemon juice to create a sidecar cocktail?
Answer: Cointreau
19) In which famous musical does the song "Old Man River" appear?
Answer: "Showboat"
20) In which inland body of water are 80% of sturgeon, used for caviare, caught?
Answer: Caspian Sea
21) What have the following in common: Patch, Freda, Bonny, Lucy, Socks?
Answer: All 'Blue Peter' pets
22) What changes in the opening credits of each episode of Faulty Towers?
Answer: The hotel sign (e.g. "Flowery Twats")
23) Give the unlucky number of runs scored in cricket that is known as a "Nelson"?
Answer: 111 (looks like 3 stumps with missing bails)
24) What score in darts is known as "bed and breakfast"?
Answer: 26
25) Who is currently the First Lord of the Treasury, and the Minister of the Civil Service?
Answer: Gordon Brown
26) Who is the current Secretary General of the United Nations?
Answer: Ban Ki-moon
27) What is the term for a castrated cockerel, reared for eating and killed at 6 - 9 months old?
Answer: Capon
28) What is the brand name for "sidenafil citrate"?
Answer: Viagra
29) Which celebrity retired from the current series of Strictly come Dancing after a knee injury?
Answer: Jade Johnson
30) If you are suffering from "phlebitis", what is inflamed?
Answer: Veins
31) What date does Burns Night fall on each year?
Answer: 25th January (no leeway!)
32) Which celebrity has children called: Poppy and Daisy and Petal Blossom Rainbow?
Answer: Jamie Oliver
33) Who played Mavis Wilton in "Coronation Street", and also featured in "Dinnerladies"?
Answer: Thelma Barlow
34) On what date does the grouse-shooting season begin in Great Britain?
Answer: 12th August (no leeway!)
35) Who was Romeo's best friend who was murdered?
Answer: Mercutio
36) Which British architect is famous for his design of the Crystal Palace?
Answer: Sir Joseph Paxton
37) Which book begins "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect"?
Answer: Metamorphosis
38) At which university were Coldplay studying at when they formed the band?
Answer: University College, London (accept UCL)
39) Who founded Buddhism in 500 BC?
Answer: Siddharta Gautama (accept either name)
40) Matebeleland is an area of which African country?
Answer: Zimbabwe
41) How old was Mozart when he wrote his first symphony?
Answer: 8 years old (no leeway)
42) At Sunderland-Liverpool football match on 17.10.09, an object distracted the goalkeeper leading to Sunderland's goal. What was it?
Answer: Beach ball (accept 'red ball')
43) In the well-known nursery rhyme, what does "pop" mean in the line "Pop Goes The Weasel"?
Answer: Pawn (as in pawn-broker)
44) What was Morcambe and Wise's theme tune in their long-running TV show?
Answer: "Bring Me Sunshine"
45) If in Germany, what would you do with your "handy"?
Answer: Make phone calls (mobile)
46) Which word for a violent criminal derives from a Hindu sect?
Answer: Thug
47) In which Dickens novel does Abel Magwitch appear?
Answer: "Great Expectations"
48) What is the name of Amazon's wireless reading device (electronic book)?
Answer: The Kindle
49) Currently, in the turbine hall of the Tate Modern is what has been described as a "black hole". Name either the artist or the work.
Answer: Miroslaw Balka or "How It Is"
50) What does the musical term "scherzo" mean?
Answer: A musical joke
51) Who won 2009's "Let's Dance" for Comic Relief with a routine from the musical "Flashdance"?
Answer: Robert Webb
52) Name the small Russian pancake made of buckwheat flour, often served with smoked salmon or caviar?
Answer: Blinis
53) In the long-running comedy, and the film, "MASH", what does this abbreviation stand for?
Answer: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
54) In the Wallace and Grommit adventure, "The Wrong Trousers", what specific type of creature was the villain Feathers McGraw?
Answer: Penguin
55) What is the only bird with nostrils at the tip of its beak?
Answer: Kiwi
56) Which organ of the human body would be affected if you had "Bright's Disease"?
Answer: Kidneys
57) In the Tennyson poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade", how many British horsemen actually charged?
Answer: 600
58) To which World War 2 campaign does "A Bridge Too Far" allude?
Answer: Arnhem
59) The name of which country is formed when you put the chemical symbols for copper and barium together?
Answer: Cuba
60) How many keys are there on a modern piano?
Answer: 88 (allow 87 or 89)
61) Which artist first developed the technique of "pointillism"?
Answer: Georges Seurat
62) Which Formula 1 team will Jensen Button race for in 2010?
Answer: McClaren
63) In which city is the United Nations Climate Change Conference currently being held?
Answer: Copenhagen
64)Dr Who's favoured mode of transport is the "TARDIS". What does TARDIS stand for?
Answer: Time and Relative Dimension In Space
65) With regards to the disease, what does SARS stand for?
Answer: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
66) In Irish legend, what is the usual occupation of a leprachaun?
Answer: Shoemaker
67) The Brenner Pass connects Italy with which other country?
Answer: Austria
68) What would you study if you were a "herpatologist"?
Answer: Amphibians & reptiles (accept either)
69) Which Spanish wine grape's name means "little early one"?
Answer: Tempranillo
70) "And Another Thing" is a recent sequel to what well-known series of books?
Answer: "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
71) Which mountains lie in Morocco and Algeria, running parallel to the Mediterranean?
Answer:Atlas Mountains
72) In theatre, what is the more common name for the job of "visagist"?
Answer: Make-up artist
73) Who was the last Hanoverian monarch in England?
Answer: Queen Victoria
74) What is the common name of the Rorschach Test in Psychology?
Answer: Inkblot Test
75) What was the MP Nicholas Winterton in trouble for in November 2009?
Answer: Slapping the bottom of a lady MP
76) Marc Bolland will be Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer's, starting in 2010. Where is he currently Chief Executive?
Answer: Morrisons
77) In which river was Achilles dipped in order to make him immortal?
Answer: Styx
78) What name is given to potatoes, which are cut to the size of matchsticks and fried?
Answer: Pommes alumettes
79) What is the title of the Black Eyed Peas latest album?
Answer: "The End"
80) Who wrote "There was a little girl who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead"?
Answer: Henry Longfellow
81) The UK's oldest public museum recently reopened after a £61 million redevelopment. What is its name?
Answer: Ashmolean Museum (Oxford)
82) What is a Talbot, often seen in heraldic design?
Answer:A dog
83) Who wrote "An Inconvenient Truth"?
Answer: Al Gore
84) During the wet summer of 2009, which pests have notably been feasting on the contents of Royal Mail postboxes?
Answer: Slugs/snails (accept either)
85) Who in football are the "Toffee Men"?
Answer: Everton
86) Who in football are the "Black Cats"?
Answer: Sunderland
87) In a bottle of wine, what is the space between the cork and the wine called?
Answer: Ullage
88) Which post-impressionist painter is often called the father of modern art?
Answer: Paul Cezanne
89) Who was the Ancient Egyptian god of earth and vegetation, who when he died, became god of the underworld?
Answer: Osiris
90) Which creature volunteered to dig Cock Robin's grave?
Answer: Owl (with my pick and shovel)
91) Which girl band was Alysha Dixon with before going solo?
Answer: Misteek
92) In the opera "Carmen", where did Carmen work?
Answer: In a cigarette factory
93) Who explored the River Orinoco in South America in 1595?
Answer: Sir Walter Raleigh
94) At the recent, major West End launch of the computer game "Modern Warfare Two", what sort of carpet replaced the traditional red one?
Answer: A camouflaged carpet
95) A focus for recent celebrations, what is the name of the checkpoint on the Berlin Wall that was first to be breached in 1989?
Answer: Bornholmer Bridge (accept Bornholmer)
96) What do you call a young pigeon, which gives its name to a pie?
Answer:Squab
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS
97) Which current Cabinet Member shares his name with an Australian river?
Answer: Alistair Darling
98) In tennis, what is a Golden Slam?
Answer: Grand Slam + Olympic Gold
99) RICE is an acronym for the steps in the treatment of minor sports injuries? What does 'E' stand for?
Answer: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation
100) What is bought traditionally for a couple celebrating 15 years of marriage?
Answer: Crystal
101) What amber globe was named after a 1930's Minister of Transport?
Answer: Belisha Beacon
102) Who was the Greek goddess of insanity?
Answer: Mania
posted by Nick at
3:03 PM
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