12th October – The Questions

 

Specialist questions set by Waters Green Rams.

General knowledge questions set by Church House, Bollington.

All vetted by Harrington Academicals.

SPECIALIST ROUNDS-

1. SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE

2. SCIENCE

3. SPORT

4. GEOGRAPHY

5. TIME FOR THE KIDS

6. POLITICS

7. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

8. HISTORY

 

ROUND ONE - SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE – News stories of the summer

1. Which actor, born Bernard Schwartz in 1925, died in September 2010?

TONY CURTIS

2. In June, Princess Victoria married her former personal trainer Daniel Westling. Of which country is she a princess?

SWEDEN

3. Which 74 year-old singing Dame received poor reviews when she appeared on a UK stage for the first time in 30 years at the London O2 in May?

JULIE ANDREWS

4. What name was given to the tent city that was set up at the top of the San Jose pit shaft in Chile, where 33 miners were trapped?

CAMP ESPERANZA (original Spanish name) or CAMP HOPE

5. Goodluck Jonathan became President of which country in May?

NIGERIA

6. The Savile Enquiry finally delivered its findings on which event of 38 years ago?

BLOODY SUNDAY (January 1972 in Derry)

7. Why was Mary Bale in the news in August?

She was filmed on CCTV putting a CAT into a WHEELIE BIN in Coventry.

8. Which major New Zealand city was hit by an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale?

CHRISTCHURCH

Supp 1 Which company, with its head-quarters in Windermere, was declared the UK’s best retailer by Which? Magazine?

LAKELAND

Supp 2 Why was Terry Jones of Gainesville, Florida in the news in September?

He planned to BURN copies of the KORAN outside his church.

ROUND TWO – SCIENCE

1. Which scientist was born in Shrewsbury in 1809 and died at Down House in Kent in 1882?

CHARLES DARWIN

2. Which acid was traditionally known as Oil Of Vitriol or Spirit Of Vitriol? SULPHURIC ACID

3. Which heavenly body has moons called Charon, Nix and Hydra?

PLUTO

4. William was in prison in 1770, when he invented the toothbrush. What was his surname, still famous in that field today?

ADDIS

5. Besides the elephant, which other African mammal is a source of ivory? HIPPOPOTAMUS

6. An amalgam is a compound containing which metal?

MERCURY

7. What name is given to a triangle with sides of unequal length?

SCALENE

8. What does a Campbell-Stokes Recorder Record?

SUNSHINE (not temperature)

Supp 1 Scientist William Harvey (born 1578) is famous for his research into what? THE BLOOD (circulation etc.)

Supp 2 What is the more common name for triatomic oxygen?

OZONE

ROUND THREE – SPORT

1. Tony McCoy finally won his first Grand National in 2010 on his 15th ride in the race. Which horse did he ride?

DON’T PUSH IT

2. Name either of the 2008 Ryder Cup captains.

PAUL AZINGER or NICK FALDO

3. Which sport would you be taking part in if you used a monkey climber, waggler and a plumb?

ANGLING / COARSE FISHING

4. Which county won the 2010 County Cricket Championship? NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

5. Which team won the 2010 Rugby League Challenge Cup?

WARRINGTON WOLVES ( bt. Leeds Rhinos 30-6 in the final). Accept WARRINGTON.

6. Where will the final race in the 2010 Formula One Series be held?

YAS MARINA circuit in ABU DHABI (accept either)

7. According to Wikipedia, which English football ground has the widest pitch and boasts the tallest floodlights?

EASTLANDS (home of Manchester City)

8. Which football club holds the record for the fewest wins in a season in the Premier League?

DERBY COUNTY – in 2007/8, their record was Played 38, Won 1, Drawn 8, Lost 29.

Supp 1 How many times did Alex Higgins win the World Snooker Championship? TWO

Supp 2 Which Rugby Union club has made their Premiership debut in the 2010/11 season?

EXETER (Chiefs)

ROUND FOUR – GEOGRAPHY

1. Which Irish port was known as Kingstown from 1821, after a visit by George IV, until 1921?

DUN LAOGHAIRE (pronounced DUNLEARY)

2. Between 1947 and gaining independence in 1971, by what name was the present-day country of Bangladesh known?

EAST PAKISTAN

3. Name an African country that, in its normal English spelling, contains the letter Q. MOZAMBIQUE or EQUATORIAL GUINEA.

4. The islands of Hokkaido and Kyushu are part of which country?

JAPAN

5. Of which country are the Faroe Islands a self-governing overseas administrative division?

DENMARK

6. Which city of the United States, 250 miles north of Memphis, is famous for its Gateway Arch, completed in 1965 as a memorial to the pioneers of the West?

ST LOUIS

7. The ruins of which medieval abbey (the subject of a painting by Turner) stand on the banks of the River Wye, 4 miles north of Chepstow?

TINTERN ABBEY

8. The Eastern Yar and The Western Yar are 2 of the 3 longest rivers in which part of the British Isles?

ISLE OF WIGHT

Supp 1 Which long-distance footpath runs 34 miles from Frodsham to Whitchurch? SANDSTONE TRAIL

Supp 2 The state of Andorra lies in which mountain range?

PYRENEES

ROUND FIVE – TIME FOR THE KIDS - CARTOONS

1. In the Wacky Races, who drove the Bulletproof Bomb?

ANT HILL MOB

2. Where does Yogi Bear live?

JELLYSTONE PARK (not Yellowstone Park)

3. What is the name of Captain Pugwash’s ship?

BLACK PIG

4. How is Paul Metcalfe more famously known?

CAPTAIN SCARLET

5. Who was The Road Runner always trying, but always failing, to catch?

WILE E COYOTE

6. In Thunderbirds, who is stationed on Thunderbird 5?

JOHN TRACY

7. In Hector’s House, Hector was married to Zaza. What breed of animal is Zaza? CAT

8. In The Herb Garden, what breed of animal was Dill?

DOG

Supp 1 Who presented Animal Magic?

JOHNNY MORRIS

Supp2 Who lived at 52, Festive Road?

MR BENN

ROUND SIX – POLITICS

1. Where did the Liberal Democrats hold their party conference in 2010? LIVERPOOL

2. Miriam Gonzales Durantes is the wife of which politician?

NICK CLEGG

3. Pal Sarkozy, father of the French President, is a native of which country, having been born in its capital city in 1928?

HUNGARY

4. Who was the Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia at the time of the Prague Spring of 1968, when the Soviet Union sent tanks into the country?

ALEXANDER DUBCEK

5. In what year did Margaret Bondfield become the first female cabinet minister in the UK, taking the post of Minister of Labour?

1929 (Accept 1927-1931)

6. Who was the first candidate eliminated under the transferable vote system when the Labour Party elected a new leader in September 2010?

DIANE ABBOTT

7. William Henry Hamilton became the first US President to do what on 4th April 1841? THE FIRST PRESIDENT TO DIE IN OFFICE (It was natural causes. He caught a severe cold at his inauguration)

8. Which future leader of the Conservative Party famously addressed the Conservative Party Conference in 1977 as a 16 year-old?

WILLIAM HAGUE

Supp 1 What is the title of Tony Blair’s 2010 autobiography?

A JOURNEY (Not THE Journey, the proposed title, which was changed as it was too Messiah-like)

Supp 2 What is the first name of Barack Obama’s wife?

MICHELLE

ROUND SEVEN - ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

1. “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” is a song from which 1956 musical? CAROUSEL

2. Which TV presenter has an ethical website called stuffyourrucksack.com and was elected President of the RSPB in October 2009?

KATE HUMBLE

3. In Coronation Street, what was the name of the boat that Gail’s husband Joe McIntyre kept in the street for a few weeks last winter?

GAIL FORCE

4. With a sub-title of The Artist’s Mother, what is the proper title of the famous Whistler painting of 1871? ARRANGEMENT IN GREY AND BLACK (Accept ARRANGEMENT IN BLACK AND GREY)

5. Who plays the title role in the 2010 film Salt?

ANGELINA JOLIE

6. Which play, which opened at the Fortune Theatre in 1989, is the second-longest running non-musical play in the West End?

THE WOMAN IN BLACK?

7. The 1992 work The Physical Impossibility Of Death In The Mind Of Someone Living features which creature?

(Tiger) SHARK (In formaldehyde in the Damien Hirst work)

8. Who composed the opera La Traviata?

GIUSEPPE VERDI

Supp 1 Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry formed which band in 1980? R.E.M

Supp 2 Which actress wrote the autobiographies The Two Of Us in 2004 and Just Me in 2008? SHEILA HANCOCK

ROUND EIGHT – HISTORY

1. The Seven Years War, The Napoleonic Wars and The Crimean War were all settled by treaties of………………………… which city?

PARIS

2. What name was given to Hitler’s plan to invade Britain during World War Two? OPERATION SEALION

3. In 1930, who led a 240 mile march from Sabarmati to Dandi as a protest against a salt tax?

MAHATMA GANDHI

4. Which of the 8 King Henrys that have ruled England had the longest reign? HENRY THE 3RD (56 years)

5. Camulodunum was the first capital of Britain under the Romans. What is its present-day name?

COLCHESTER

6. What relation was Queen Victoria to the person that she succeeded on the British throne?

NIECE (Of William IV)

7. Fought in Yorkshire on Palm Sunday 1461, which battle is said to be the bloodiest on English soil with an estimated 28,000 killed?

TOWTON

8. In which century did Eleanor Of Castile, commemorated by the Eleanor Crosses, die? 13th CENTURY (1290)

Supp 1 On which date do the French celebrate Bastille Day?

14th JULY

Supp 2 The following died in consecutive years – poet John Keats, poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, scientist Edward Jenner and poet Lord Byron. Give one year in this 4-year period. You do not need to give the relevant death.

1821-1824

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

1 Who wrote the novel Of Mice and Men?

John Steinbeck

2 Who wrote the seminal 1936 self-help book How to Win Friends and Influence People?

Dale Carnegie

3 Which U.S. state’s nickname is The Old Dominion?

Virginia

4 What is the land of giants called in Gulliver's Travels?

Brobdingnag

5 Which Roman emperor was stabbed to death in a theatre and had his body flushed through the sewers of Rome?

Caligula

6 Duke D'Mond, who died aged 66 in 2009, was lead singer of which successful UK comedy pop group?

The Barron Knights

7 Which was the only country to be undefeated in the 2010 football World Cup finals? New Zealand

8 What name was given to the Chinese peasant uprising of 1900?

Boxer Rebellion

9 Which musical features the songs Tradition and Sunrise Sunset?

Fiddler on the Roof

10 On which island was Nelson Mandela incarcerated for 20 years, from 1962-82? Robben Island

11 Give a year in the reign of King Henry VI

1422-1461

12 From the Greek words for 'before’ and 'know', what medical term refers to the predicted course and outcome of an illness?

Prognosis

13 In which organ of the body are the Islets of Langerhans?

Pancreas

14 For which film did Kathryn Bigelow become the first female to win the Best Director Oscar?

The Hurt Locker

15 By what name was Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known before 1966?

Leopoldville

16 What is the name of the small hammer with a circular rubber head used by doctors to test body reflexes, particularly at the knee?

Plexor

17 In Greek mythology which king was punished by being compelled to eternally roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down?

Sisyphus

18 Jenny Shipley became the first female Prime Minister of which country in 1997? New Zealand

19 The Man of Property, In Chancery and To Let are the novels in which literary series? The Forsyte Saga (by John Galsworthy)

20 Name the Rochdale pensioner whom Gordon Brown was heard to call 'a sort of bigoted woman' after meeting her on a pre-election walkabout

Gillian Duffy

21 Which former lead singer of the Equals had a solo number one hit in 1982 with the song I Don’t Wanna Dance?

Eddy Grant

22 What word, from the Latin meaning 'I shall please' refers to a control substance used in drug trials which has no chemical effect?

Placebo

23 By what name is the actor Carlos Estevez better known?

Charlie Sheen

24 What is a famous make of car, a software company and the national flower of Egypt? Lotus

25 What type of animal is a pashmina?

Goat

26 Which politician, buried in Westminster Abbey in 1833, campaigned for more than 50 years against British slavery?

William Wilberforce

27 Who is the presenter of the BBC quiz show Only Connect?

Victoria Coren

28 Amsterdam Vallon and William “Bill the Butcher” Cutting were characters in which 2002 Oscar winning film?

Gangs of New York

29 Which linguistic term means the substitution of an expression that may offend or suggest something unpleasant with an agreeable or less offensive term?

Euphemism

30 MP Cyril Smith died recently, for which northern town was he MP from 1972 to 1992?

Rochdale

31 Also passing away this year was the singer best known for 1981 hit “The Oldest Swinger In Town“. Can you name him?

Fred Wedlock

32 What title was shared by three different songs which achieved UK or US number one positions within a few months of each other during 1984-85?

The Power Of Love (Jennifer Rush, Huey Lewis and the News and Frankie Goes to Hollywood)

33 In South Africa this summer Howard Webb became the first English referee to take charge of a World Cup Final since whom in 1974?

Jack Taylor

34 What is the largest landlocked country in the world?

Kazakhstan

35 Which Venetian artist painted the Three Ages of Man?

Titian

36 Name the Commander of the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan who was dismissed in June 2010 by President Obama after making derogatory remarks about senior administration officials including the President himself

Stan McChrystal

37 What name was given to the Samurai code of honour?

Bushido

38 For which book, featuring the characters Hazel, Fiver and Bigwig, is the author Richard Adams best known?

Watership Down

39 Who was the 2010 American Ryder Cup captain?

Corey Pavin

40 Dead Mans Fingers, Dabberlocks and Sea Belt are all types of what?

Seaweed

41 Nissan are scheduled to launch their new electric car in March 2011. What will the new model be called?

Leaf

42 For what will Eyjafjallajokull be most remembered during 2010?

Eruption causing volcanic ash cloud

43 In what area of medicine would a SNELLEN chart be used ?

Optometry / Eye Test

44 Who wrote the poem 'The Owl and the Pussycat'?

Edward Lear

45 Which country had a secret police force known as the Tonton Macoute?

Haiti

46 Eric Spear is best known for composing the music to which long running TV show? Coronation Street

47 In `Coronation Street`, what was Stan Ogden`s occupation?

Window cleaner

48 The song `Killing Me Softly With His Song` was written about which American singer-songwriter?

Don McLean

49 What was Culture Club`s first number one in the UK?

Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?

50 Name one of the two authors who had walk on parts in the film `Bridget Jones Diary`?

Salman Rushdie / Jeffrey Archer

51 What is the name of the clockwork device used by musicians to measure time? Metronome

52 What do the initials HB on a pencil stand for?

Hard Black

53 For what reason did Blackpool resident Wendy Lewis hit the national headlines in August 2009

Urinating on a war memorial

54 If you were at the Brickyard, what sport would you be watching?

Motor racing (Indianapolis 500)

55 Where would you most commonly find the inscription `Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants`?

Two pound coin

56 Excluding resigning, how many different moves does a player have the choice of at the start of a game of chess?

20

57 Which famous leader once said `I`m still at the crease, but the bowling is more hostile these days`?

Margaret Thatcher

58 In language, what name is given to the study of meaning?

Semantics

59 Gala, Jonagold and Pink Lady are varieties of which fruit?

Apples

60 Who is the presenter of the BBC quiz show Pointless?

Alexander Armstrong

61 The highest temperature ever recorded outside in the shade was recorded in Azizah, in Africa. In which country is this city located?

Libya

62 Rothschild, Maasai and Reticulated are varieties of which type of animal?

Giraffe

63 Who famously crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope in June 1859?

Charles Blondin

64 By what name is the actor Michael Shalhoub better known?

Omar Sharif

65 Who starred as Trampas in the 1960-70s TV series The Virginian before being left behind in The Land That Time Forgot?

Doug McClure

66 Which former vocalist with Earth Wind & Fire duetted with Phil Collins on the 1985 number one hit Easy Lover?

Philip Bailey

67 What is the boiling point of water using the scientific Kelvin scale of temperature measurement?

373 deg.

68 Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass are the 3 novels in which trilogy?

His Dark Materials (by Philip Pullman)

69 What was the 1st human invention that broke the sound barrier?

Whip

70 In Greek mythology, who was punished by being bound to a rock while a great eagle ate his liver every day only to have it grow back to be eaten again the next day?

Prometheus

71 What was the pseudonym of French dramatist Jean-Baptiste Poquelin?

Moliere

72 Give a year in the reign of King Edward I

1272-1307

73 What bridge connects Dawes Point to Milson's Point?

Sydney Harbour Bridge

74 In which organ of the body is the Bowman’s Capsule?

Kidney

75 What is the medical condition in which a person has an extreme tendency to fall asleep at inappropriate times?

Narcolepsy

76 By what name did the Indian city of Chennai used to be known before 1996? Madras

77 Who wrote the 1955 novel Lolita?

Vladimir Nabakov

78 Which musical features the songs “The Simple Joys Of Maidenhood” and “How To Handle A Woman”?

Camelot

79 Name one of the two mascots chosen for the London 2012 Olympics?

Wenlock or Mandeville

80 What was the name of the controversial football used in the 2010 World Cup finals? Jabulani

81 Fines of £5.3m, criticized as paltry and insulting, were imposed on Shell, Total and BP, five years after the huge 2005 explosion and fire at what UK oil storage depot? Buncefield

82 Which Roman emperor was murdered by his wife feeding him poisoned mushrooms? Claudius

83 Globo Esporte, which carried the headline 'HAHAHAHAHAHAHA' following Argentina's 4-0 defeat by Germany in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, is a newspaper in which country?

Brazil

84 The late 'Father of Chicago Blues', McKinley Morganfield, is better known by what name?

Muddy Waters

85 Which artist painted the famous `Sunflowers` series of paintings?

Van Gogh

86 Who wrote the novel Three Men in a Boat?

Jerome K Jerome

87 Who had a hit in 1954 with the wonderfully titled Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen By The Sea?

Max Bygraves

88 Which U.S. state is nicknamed the Land of Enchantment?

New Mexico

89 Which battle took place in January 1879 and featured in a famous film starring Stanley Baker?

Rorkes Drift

90 Whose band was the Tijuana Brass?

Herb Alpert

91 Who painted The Rake's Progress?

William Hogarth

92 Which 1986 film contained the line, “I feel the need…the need for speed”? Top Gun

93 What is the largest fresh water lake in North America?

Superior

94 Which Hasbro `action figure` got its name from a Robert Mitchum film?

G I Joe

95 What song does the main character wake up to every morning in Groundhog Day?

I Got You Babe (Sonny & Cher)

96 How many rounds are there in an Olympic boxing match?

4

SUPPLEMENTARY

A What colour is the bullseye on a standard dartboard?

Red

B What was the name of the 2001 sequel to Silence Of The Lambs, in which Julianne Moore took over the role played in the original by Jodie Foster?

Hannibal

C Kriek Beer, a Belgian brew, is flavoured with which fruit?

Cherries

D Which organ of the body is affected by Bright's Disease?

Kidney

E Which current BBC drama is filmed in a disused school in Rochdale?

Waterloo Road

F Which snooker player, born in 1957, became the games first millionaire and is nicknamed The Nugget?

Steve Davis