13 March Questions

SPECIALIST QUESTIONS

          Set by

THE LAMB INN
1. GEOGRAPHY
2. SCIENCE
3. HISTORY (THE FIFTIES)
4. ART & ENTERTAINMENT (literally speaking
5. SPORT
6. RIVERS
7. CLASSICAL CHESTNUTS
8. TOBACCO

GEOGRAPHY

1. What is the name of Aberdeen's airport ?
DYCE.
2. What is the name of the three mile natural breakwater which protects the Humber Estuary ?
SPURN HEAD.
3. What is the name of the large inlet of the Baltic Sea which separates Sweden and Finland.
GULF OF BOTHNIA.
4. In which US state is Daytona Beach?
FLORIDA.
5. Which island off the tip of the Lleyn Peninsular in North West Wales used to be a pilgrimage destination for monks ?
BARDSEY ISLAND.
6. Which box girder bridge in Dundee stretches for 2,246 metres ? THE TAY (ROAD) BRIDGE. Accept Tay Bridge.
7. What is the capital of Slovenia
LJUBLJANA.
8. Apart from Liverpool, where else might you take a ferry to the Isle of Man ?
HEYSHAM.
SUPPLEMENTARY
A. What is the capital of Madagascar ?
ANTANANARIVO.
B. Which Australian state has borders with each of the other mainland states and territory ?
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
SCIENCE
1. Which chemical compound comprises blackboard chalk ? CALCIUM SULPHATE.
2. Which vitamin found in green leaves is essential for blood clotting
VITAMIN K.
3. Which scientist shared the Nobel prize for physics in 1903 with Pierre and Marie Curie, and gives his name to the SI unit of radioactivity?
HENRI BECQUEREL.
4. Which poisonous organic acid is present in rhubarb leaves and wood sorrel ? OXALIC ACID.
5.Which hard fatty substance made from rendered animal fat can be used to make candles ?
TALLOW.
6. What kind of defect in humans are protanopia, deuteranopia, and tritanopia ?
COLOUR BLINDNESS.
7. The mineral cassiterite is an oxide of which metal ?
TIN.
8. The SI unit of frequency, equal to one cycle per second, is named after which German physicist ?
HERTZ.
SUPPLEMENTARY
A. Which subatomic particle takes its name from a passage in James Joyce's 'Finnegan's Wake' ?
QUARK.
B. What name is given to the visible electric discharge seen at a plane's wing tips, and in other places, caused by static electricity in the atmosphere ?
ST. ELMO'S FIRE.
HISTORY (THE FIFTIES)
1. Who was the speech therapist who died in 1953 and who helped George VI with his impediment ?
LIONEL LOGUE. (of the film The Kings Speech fame)
2. Who was the US senator who conducted a witch-hunt against what he called 'reds'
Joseph Mccarthy.
3. Miles Davis was a famous fifties jazz musician who played his music on what?
TRUMPET.
4. Joy Beverley of The Beverley Sisters married which English football captain
BILLY WRIGHT.
5. After the defection of the spies Burgess and MacClean, who was revealed as The Third Man' ?
KIM PHILBY.
6. The Festival of Britain opened in 1951. But in which month ? MAY. (the 3^rd)
7. Who was the designer of the German V2 missile who later guided the American space programme ?
WERNER VON BRAUN. Accept BRAUN but not BROWN.
8. The Rolls Royce 'Thrust Measuring Rig' took off vertically. But what was its nickname ?
THE FLYING BEDSTEAD.
SUPPLEMENTARY
A. Which blonde American film starlet was known as 'The Poor man's Marilyn Monroe' ?
JAYNE MANSFIELD.
B. Musical star Mary Martin was the mother of which American actor whose screen home was 'South Fork' ?
LARRY HAGMAN (do NOT accept J.R. Ewing)

Art & Entertainment
(Literally speaking)
1. Which British poet kept a pet bear while he was at Trinity College, Cambridge?
Byron
2. On which Pacific Island did Robert Louis Stevenson die?
Samoa
3. Which Shakespeare play has a setting at the Battle of Agincourt?
Henry V
4. What is the title of the 1957 John Wyndham book that features alien children in a village, which has been made into two films (in 1960 and 1995) called 'Village of the Damned'?
The Midwich Cuckoos
5. Which author died of pneumonia at a railway station two days after deciding to abandon his family and wealth?
Tolstoy
6. Dolores Haze is the eponymous 'heroine' of which book?
Lolita
7. Which TS Eliot poem contains the line 1 will show you fear in a handful of dust', giving the title to the Evelyn Waugh novel 'A Handful of Dust'?
The Wasteland
8. Which League of Gentlemen writer and actor wrote a series of novels featuring the flamboyant portrait painter and secret agent Lucifer Box?
Mark Gatiss
Supplementary questions
A. In The Day of the Jackal' by Frederick Forsyth, which French leader was the target for assassination?
Charles de Gaulle
B. How many syllables are there in a haiku?
17 (They go 5, 7, 5 — so here's one:)
To convey ones mood
In seventeen syllables Is very diffic...
C. The mediaevalist and ex-Python, Terry Jones, wrote a credible and scathing critique of one of Chaucer's Canterbury pilgrims claiming he was simply an unscrupulous mercenary? Which pilgrim?
The knight
D. Which French poet, described by Victor Hugo as 'an infant Shakespeare', abandoned writing at 19 and became a salesman?
Rimbaud

SPORT

1. Who scored the 20,000^th Premier League goal earlier this season ?
MARC ALBRIGHTON (ASTON VILLA).
2. Who are the current county cricket champions ?
LANCASHIRE.
3. Which rugby union team plays its home games at Wellford Road LEICESTER TIGERS (ACCEPT LEICESTER)
4. Which horse won the 2011 Epsom Derby ?
POURMOI.
5. The Formula One motor racing season starts in March 2012. Which country will stage the first race ?
AUSTRALIA.
6. Who is the current Wimbledon Ladies singles tennis champion ? PETRA KVITOVA.
7. Catalan Dragons rugby league team is based in which French city ?
PERPIGNAN.
8. Paul Scholes has returned to the Manchester United team after earlier announcing his retirement. What squad number does he now wear ?
No. 22.
SUPPLEMENTARY
A. The film 'Chariots of Fire' was centered on the 1924 Olympic games in which city?
PARIS.
B. Russian pentathlete Boris Onischenko achieved infamy at the 1976 Montreal Olympics by doing what ?
CHEATING IN THE FENCING COMPETITION. (MUST SAY FENCING)
(He had an electronic switch on the hilt of his sword enabling him to register a false hit).
RIVERS
All questions have a loose connection with rivers
1. Which river with a literary connection flows through the town of Ipswich
THE ORWELL.
2. In Samuel Coleridge's poem Kubla Khan, what is the name of the sacred river
ALPH.
3. In which year did the actor River Phoenix die ?
1993 (Accept 1992 - 1994).
4. The river Tagus flows through which European capital city ? LISBON.
5. Boney M's 1978 No.l record 'Rivers of Babylon' was a double A side. Which single featured on the flip side ?
BROWN GIRL IN THE RING. (tra la la la la).
6. What is the name of the ferryman who carries the dead over the river Styx to the underworld ?
CHARON.
7. The river Rhone meets which other major French river at Lyons ?
THE SAONE.
8. What is the name of the TV chef who has featured in the TV series 'Riverbank cottage?
HUGH FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL.
SUPPLEMENTARIES
A. The 1992 film *A river runs through it' was directed by which famous Hollywood heart-throb ?
ROBERT REDFORD.
B. The 1974 single ⁴Take me to the river' was recorded by which male solo soul artist?
AL GREEN.
CLASSICAL CHESTNUTS
(Classical music with a few clues)
1. Which opera composed by George Gershwin had an original cast of classically trained African-American singers and is set in Catfish Row, Charleston, South Carolina ?
PORGY & BESS.
2. Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.2 was used to great effect in which 1945 film starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard and written by Noel Coward ?
BRIEF ENCOUNTER.
3. Offenbach's barcarolle from the 'Tales of Hoffman' is a famous piece of music, but what is a barcarolle ?
A BOATING SONG, PARTICULARLY BY GONDOLIERS (Accept any reference to boats)
4. The first four notes from which world famous symphony were used by the BBC during WWII to introduce news broadcasts because they evoked the Morse code for V, symbolising victory ? BEETHOVEN'S 5th
5. Augustus Jaeger was Edward Elgar's best friend. Jeager being German for 'hunter' inspired Elgar to write which of his Enigma Variations named after an Old testament patriarch known as The Mighty Hunter ?
NIMROD.
6. Which music thrilled youngsters in the 50's as they saw Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels in The Lone Ranger ?
THE WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE (Gioachino Rossini).
7. Which classical composer's tortured life and career was the subject of the Ken Russell film 'The Music Lovers' ?
PYOTR ILYCH TCHAIKOVSKY.
8. Which Gilbert and Sullivan operetta contains the song generally known as 'A policeman's lot is lot a happy one' ?
THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE.
SUPPLEMENTARIES
A. Music to the films 'Out of Africa'; 'Dances with Wolves' and the arrangement of the James Bond theme have one thing in common. What is it ?
JOHN BARRY (He wrote the first two and arranged Monty Norman's original Bond theme).
B. Which anthem by Handel, also used for the UEFA Champions League and P&O cruise adverts has been sung at every coronation since that of George II in 1727 ?
ZADOK THE PRIEST.
TOBACCO
1. In the BBC TV series featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock, what does Holmes use to replace the traditional pipe?
Nicotine patches
2. Which film contains the lines: 'It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark... and we're wearing sunglasses'?
The Blues Brothers
3. Which king, labelled 'the wisest fool in Christendom', wrote the treatise, 'A Counterblaste to Tobacco', one of the earliest anti-smoking publications?
James I
4. Which work by Oscar Wilde contains the lines: 'A cigarette is the perfect type of pleasure. It is exquisite, and leaves one unsatisfied. What more can one want?'
A Picture of Dorian Gray
5. Harold Wilson, Peter Gushing, Dave Lee Travis, Ian Botham, Barry Norman and Stephen Fry have all held which smoking-related title, which was discontinued in 2004?
Pipe Smoker of the Year
6. What is the wet and sour-smelling unburned tobacco at the bottom of a pipe called?
Dottle
7. Which song contains the lines: “No phone, no pool, no pets, I ain't got no cigarettes'?
King of the Road
8. What was the title of the music in the cigar adverts featuring the line, 'Happiness is a cigar Called Hamlet' ?
Air on the G string. (J.S.Bach — From the Orchestral Suit No. 3 in D major)
Supplementary questions
A. The city of San Luis Obispo, California, became the first city in the world to restrict indoor smoking in all public places, including bars and restaurants. In which year?
1990 (accept 1989-1991)
B. Which was the first country to introduce fully smoke-free workplaces?
Ireland
C. Cigarettes and alcohol was the fourth single by which band?
Oasis
D. Which author and playwright wrote the trilogy, The Smoking Diaries', as well as the play ^“Cell Mates” which Stephen Fry fled from to contemplate suicide in Bruges?
Simon Gray

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
1. What is the pen name of the British author and former MI5 agent David Cornwell? Ans. John Le Carre'.
2. Which actor starred as Martin Riggs in the Lethal Weapon movies? Ans. Mel Gibson
3. Which soccer club in 1997 lost in both the FA and Coca Cola cup finals and were relegated from the Premier league?
Ans. Middlesbrough
4. Which animal is at the centre of Coventry City FC's badge and has also been used as a logo for The Carlsberg Brewery?
Ans. The Elephant
5. Which opera by Richard Wagner contains the wedding march popularly known as Here Comes the Bride?
Ans. Lohengrin
6. What colour is Japanese Wasabi paste / sauce? Ans. Green
7. Which mineral deficiency can lead to cretinism and goitre? Ans. Iodine
8. What is the answer to the ancient riddle of The Sphinx: "Which creature in the morning goes on four legs, at mid-day on two, and in the evening upon three, and the more legs it has, the weaker it be"?
Ans. Man - as a baby, an adurt and an old person with a stick. (Those whacky Egyptians!) .........
9. Which striking wading bird eats with its bill upside down?
Ans. The Flamingo.
10. In which country is "Puffin in Milk* a popular dish?
Ans. Iceland.
11. In the film Notting Hill, Hugh Grant masquerades as a journalist from which publication?
Ans. Horse and Hound.
12. What is the name of the handyman in the musical The Rocky Horror Show?
Ans. Riff Raff.
13. The Loire is the longest river in France, at which port does it meet the sea?
Saint Nazaire.
14. After the Dunkirk withdrawal, where in France was the first major allied commando raid, which proved disastrous ?
Ans. Dieppe
15. Hailed as a "miracle material" and "the next big thing" what is the name of the carbon based material, the strongest ever measured, which earned Nobel prizes for the team at Manchester University who managed to produce it?
Ans. Graphene
16. Which fruit has traditionally been used to make the cordial Grenadine?
Ans. Pomegranate.
17. For what historical event did Benjamin Britten write the opera Gloriana?
Ans. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
18. Which North American mountain system extends from the island of Newfoundland to central Alabama?
Ans. The Appalachians.
19. Comedian Brendan O'Carroll's alter ego is Mrs Brown, what is Mrs Brown's first name?
Ans. Agnes.
20. Which politician said "What is our task? To make Britain a fit country for heroes to live in."
Ans. David Lloyd George
21. What name is given to scissors which produce a zigzag edge on material?
Ans. Pinking shears.
22. The port of Hamburg stands on which river?
Ans. The Elbe
23. The Saxon Hoard of precious materials was found near Lichfield. In which Saxon kingdom would they have been buried?
Ans. Mercia
24. What is the English equivalent of the Italian dish Zuppa Inglese?
Ans. Trifle
25.What is measured in dioptres? (di op ters)
Ans. The power of Lenses
26. Which American jockey became British flat racing champion three times in the 1980's?
Ans. Steve Cauthen
27. Denmark Street in London is also known by what iconic name?
Ans. Tin Pan Alley.
28. Which apple has a reddish brown skin and has the same name as its colour? Ans. Russet
29. Which horse is the current holder of Cheltenham Gold Cup? Ans. Long Run
30. Which British river is formed by the confluence of the Goyt, the Tame and the Etherow?
Ans. The river Mersey
31. Which Dutch artist committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest with a pistol in 1890?
Ans. Vincent Van Gogh
32. What name is given to the stream of electrons and protons that flows outward from the sun?
Ans. Solar winds, (accept charged particles.)
33. Which Shakespeare phrase was used to describe the British strikes of 1978/79?
Ans. The winter of discontent
34. Which British retail store chain has the same name as the faithful dog of Odysseus, king of Ithaca?
Ans. Argos.
35. What name is given to lines that show points of equal depth on a sea chart?
Ans. Isobaths.
36. Which metal is alloyed with zinc and nickel to make 1£ coins?
Ans. Copper
37. What was the name of the Russian nuclear submarine that sank in the Barents Sea in 2000?
Ans. The Kursk.
38. Which impressionist painted The Luncheon of the Boating Party in 1881? Ans. Pierre-August Renoir.
39. Apart from the usual ingredients of potatoes and onions what is the other main vegetable ingredient of Vichyssoise soup?
Ans. Leeks.
40. Which battle of the 19^th century is known as the Battle of the 3 Emperors, French, Russian and Austrian?
Ans. The battle of Austerlitz
41. In which decade of the 19^th century did Captain Matthew Webb become the first man to swim the English Channel?
Ans. 1870’s (1875 to be exact)
42. Which British blues/ rock guitarist bought 3 vintage 1950's Fender Stratocasters in 1970, disassembled them, and took the best parts from all 3 to make "Blackie" his main guitar for the next decade and a half?
Ans. Eric Clapton (He sold it for his Crossroads charity in 2004 when it raised $959,500 !)
43. Which hirsute Texan blues/rock guitarist bought a 1959 Les Paul Standard in 1968, naming it "Pearly Gates" for which he always purchases a seat next to him, when flying, and it has featured on all his Albums ever since.
Ans. Billy Gibbons ZZ Top, (it now never leaves his studio and is worth $500,000 +)
44. Which country transferred its capital from Alma-Ata to Akmola, later renamed Astana, in
1998?
Ans. Kazakhstan
45. Who was the last of the Danish Kings of England?
Ans. Harthacnut, 1040 to 1042. (Son of Cnut, he succeeded his half brother Harold Harefoot)
46. What was the name of the whaling ship in Melville's novel Moby Dick? Ans. The Pequod
47. Who wrote the music for the ballet Gayane which features the famous Sabre Dance?
Ans. Aram Khackaturian
48. In Macclesfield, for what is Geoff Wappett well known?
Ans. As the head coach and director of rugby for Macclesfield Rugby Football Club
49. Which French artist, under the pseudonym R Mutt, exhibited a urinal entitled "Fountain" in 1917?
Marcel Duchamp.
50. The Walloon region is one of three areas in which country?
Belgium.
51.Who in the early 18^th century, invented the steam driven water pump used to keep mines free from flooding?
Thomas Newcomen
52. What product for gardeners did James Dyson launch ahead of his bagless vacuum?
The Ballbarrow (with the ball replacing the wheel)
53. In Thomas Hardy's Wessex novels, what position was attained by Michael Henchard?
Mayor of Casterbridge.
54. AC Milan is one of two Serie A teams in Milan. What is the correct full name of the other?
Internazionale Milan. (NOT Inter Milan)
55. Which British weekly publication covers the entertainment and performing arts industry?
The Stage.
56. What is the name of the highest prize given to a competing film at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Palme d'Or
57. On the outskirts of which English town is Anthony Gormley's landmark sculpture Angel of the north?
Gateshead.
58. Which star cluster is known as the Seven Sisters?
The Pleiades
59. Which river separates Argentina and Uruguay?
The River Plate
60. Which fantasy novel has the subtitle “There and Back Again”
The Hobbit
61. In show jumping, what name is given to a competition that tests a horse's ability to jump high fences?
Ans. Puissance
62. What works on the Otto cycle?
Ans. 4 stroke engines. (Induction, compression, ignition & exhaust)
63. Which part of an insect's body lies between the head and the abdomen?
Ans. The Thorax
64. Which multinational company began as an import business selling oriental sea shells to London collectors?
Ans. Royal Dutch Shell
65. Who performed a kite flying experiment in 1752 to demonstrate that electricity and Lightning were connected ?
Ans. Benjamin Franklin.
66. On TV who is "An Idiot Abroad"?
Ans. Carl Pilkington
67. Which 1701 act of parliament was designed to stop Catholics acceding to the British throne?
Ans. The Act of Settlement.
68. In which year did Sunday trading officially become legal in England and Wales? There is leeway.
Ans. 1994. Accept 93 to 95
69. Which ship, in the early 20^th century, was captained by Edward J Smith?
Ans. The Titanic.
70. Barbary, Rock and Rufous Turtle are all types of what ?
Ans. Dove / accept pigeon.
71. Who was the author of The Wheel of Time' series of fantasy novels who died in 2007
Ans. Robert Jordan.
72. Which James bond book / film features the villain Hugo Drax?
Ans. Moonraker
73. The world's first full-scale commercial atomic-powered electricity generating plant was opened by the Queen in 1956. What was its name?
Ans. Calder Hall (now being decommissioned, do not accept Windscale or Sellafield)
74. Which choral work by Handel features the Hallelujah Chorus?
Ans. Messiah
75What name is given to a female bear?
Ans. A Sow.
76. Who starred opposite Vince Vaughn in the 2006 film The Break-up? Ans. Jennifer Aniston.
77. Berkshire, Chester White and Landrace are breeds of which animal? Ans. Pig.
78. For what iconic symbol did Lady Frances Stuart model in Charles II reign?
Ans. Britannia.
79. Which present day country covers much of the area previously known as Mesopotamia?
Ans. Iraq
80. Which metallic element gives bricks their red colour?
Ans. Iron
81. In which year did Nigel Mansell win his only Formula 1 World Championship?
Ans. 1992
82. Edward, Prince of Wales (the Black Prince) was the son of which King of England? Ans. Edward III
83. Who played TV reporter Borat Sagdiyev for the benefit of the "glorious nation" Kazakhstan.
Ans. Sacha Baron Cohen
84. The winner of which 200 lap motor race receives The Borg - Warner trophy? Ans. The Indianapolis 500.
85. Which author created the character Tarzan?
Ans. Edgar Rice Burroughs.
86. Which talent show winner had to withdraw from The Sound of Music as a congenital vocal condition worsened and after surgery, dropped her voice from soprano to alto?
Ans. Connie Fisher.
87. Which actress played Ricky Tomlinson's wife in both The Royle Family and Brookside? Ans. Sue Johnston
88. Which city, 60 miles northwest of Liverpool, derives its name from two rivers, the river Glass and the river Dhoo?
Ans. Douglas, Isle of man.
89. Which 6 letter girls name is an anagram of a Shakespeare play?
Ans. Thelma (Hamlet)
90. Humans have how many vocal chords?
Ans. 2
91. Who headed the special commission set up to investigate the death of President John F Kennedy?
Ans. Earl Warren.
92. In which US state is the painted desert?
Ans. Arizona.
93. The stars Castor and Pollux are in which constellation?
Ans. Gemini
94. Which US general, known as "Old Blood and Guts" died after a car crash in Dec 1945?
Ans. General George S Patton.
95. Who was appointed England football manager, for 7 matches on a part time basis, after Alf Ramsey was sacked in 1974?
Ans. Joe Mercer
96. Which fish "shoots" its land based insect prey by squirting water at them to knock them into the water ready for consumption?
Ans. The Archer fish, (they can squirt water up to 3 metres and rarely miss)

Supplementaries
S1. Asuncion is the capital of which country?
Ans. Paraguay
S2. What is notable about the word DERMATOGLYPHICS (der matto glifficks - QM please spell out the word)
Ans. It is the longest word in the English language which has no repeat letters.
S3. Which figure from Norse Mythology was the subject of a 2011 film?
Ans. Thor.
S4 What are Bretons, Belgians and Percherons types of?
Ans. Heavy draft Horses.
S5. In the Chinese calendar 2012 is known as the year of the what?
Ans. Dragon.
S6. Who was the last man to walk on the moon ?
Ans. Captain Eugene Cernan.
S7. In which country was the actor Jeffery Rush born?
Ans. Australia
S8. What was the nickname of the DJ and broadcaster Alan Freeman?
Ans. Fluff.