The Daily Teaser, and the Friday Question set …

Well, that’s a nice thing …

The BBC News Channel’s finally near enough stopped going on about the election. Which is a bit of a relief.

But do you remember me saying, a while back, about how — during the ’97 Election campaign — Tony Blair had got me thinking of George Orwell’s 1984, by saying that New Labour were issuing ‘categorical pledges’.

I think, after seeing the publicity footage of our new Coalition government’s first Cabinet meeting, and seriously got thinking about a line from chapter 10 of Animal Farm.

“No question now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”

I think I’ll let that one stew, and move on …

Yesterday’s teaser saw George and Trevor going head-to-head, with George scoring 1 whole point, and Trevor scoring 5 out of 5.

Lets see how everyone does with today’s questions, shall we … ? Here they are, along with the ‘How To’ and License …

Q1) 14th May, 1963, saw which Arabic nation join the UN?

Q2) One year later, 14th May, 1964, saw President Nasser of Egypt and Premier Nikita Khrushchev of the USSR divert the River Nile, in a ceremony that marked the completion of Phase one of the building of … what … ?

Q3) 14th May, 1796, saw who make use of a new type of vaccine for the first time: who was that medical practitioner?

Q4) More to the point, the vaccine was a vaccine against which disease?

Q5) 14th May, 1933, saw the birth of Welsh actress, Siân Phillips: who was her first husband?

Q6) And finally … 14th May, 1925, saw the original publication of which Virginia Woolf novel?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 13th May, 1846, saw the USA declare war on which country?

A1) Mexico.

Q2) Four years later, 13th May, 1848, saw the first performance of which country’s national anthem?

A2) Finland.

Q3) 13th May, 1880, Thomas Edison performed the first tests on … what: electric cars, electric railways, or electric bulbs?

A3) Electric railway.

Q4) 13th May, 1941, saw the birth of Rock ’n’ Roll icoon, Ritchie Valens: what was his best known song?

A4) La Bamba.

Q5) And finally … 13th May, 1917, saw three children apparently sight apparitions of the Virgin Mary: but in which small Portugese town?

A5) Fatima.

And here, covered by the same License as before, is the 60-question-set for struggling pub quiz masters …

Online 53.

ROUND ONE. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE.

Q1) What soap opera have Terry Wogan, Princess Margaret, and John Peel all appeared on?

A1) The Archers.

Q2) The supermarkets originally run by Associated Dairies are now better known how?

A2) Asda.

Q3) The small Australian town of Woy Woy has an annual festival to celebrate the life which of The Goons?

A3) Spike Milligan.

Q4) Gert Frobe played the evil Baron in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; in which James Bond movie did he first achieve international fame?

A4) Goldfinger.

Q5) Who was the first Roman emperor to successfully invade Britain?

A5) Claudius.

Q6) Who was the world’s longest reigning Heavyweight boxing champion?

A6) Joe Louis

Q7) What kills more people each year, shark attacks, or coconuts?

A7) Coconuts.

Q8) True or False; - cuckoo clocks were invented in Switzerland.

A8) False, it was in the Black Forest, in Germany.

Q9) In which month of the Islamic calendar do devote Muslim fast, during daylight?

A9) Ramadan.

Q10) Who is DJ Norman Cook — the former Housemartin now know as Fatboy Slim — married to?

A10) Zoe Ball.

ROUND TWO. THE FINAL FRONTIER.

Q11) Which British contribution to astronomy was opened in 1675?

A11) The Greenwich Royal Observatory.

Q12) Which space station was launched by the USSR in 1986?

A12) Mir.

Q13) What term is used to describe the moon’s furthest point from the Earth?

A13) Apogee.

Q14) What name is given to an exploding star?

A14) A nova.

Q15) Titan, Rhea, and Hyperion are moons of which giant planet?

A15) Saturn.

Q16) 3.26 light years is also known as what distance?

A16) 1 parsec.

Q17) Sirius is also known as what, the Dog Star, the Cat Star, or the Hollywood Star?

A17) The Dog Star.

Q18) Which theory states that the universe was started by by a giant explosion?

A18) The Big Bang Theory.

Q19) Which space shuttle exploded on take off, in 1986?

A19) The Challenger.

Q20) Who, in 1991, was the first Briton in space?

A20) Helen Sharman.

ROUND THREE. NAME THAT NOVELIST.

Name the novelist that wrote the following books.

Q21) Gulliver’s Travels.

A21) Jonathan Swift.

Q22) Bleak House.

A22) Charles Dickens.

Q23) Tender is the Night.

A23) F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Q24) Breakfast at Tiffanys.

A24) Truman Capote.

Q25) Silas Marner.

A25) George Eliot.

Q26) The Rainbow.

A26) D.H. Lawrence.

Q27) Guards, Guards.

A27) Terry Pratchett.

Q28) The DaVinci Code.

A28) Dan Brown.

Q29) Moby Dick.

A29) Herman Melville.

Q30) Neuromancer.

A30) William Gibson.

ROUND FOUR. NIK-NAK’S ALBUM ARTISTS.

Name the Artists who recorded the following albums.

Q31) Pet Sounds.

A31) The Beach Boys

Q32) A Little Deeper.

A32) Ms Dynamite.

Q33) Innervisions.

A33) Stevie Wonder.

Q34) The Raw & The Cooked.

A34) Fine Young Cannibals.

Q35) Transformer.

A35) Lou Reed.

Q36) It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back.

A36) Public Enemy.

Q37) The Bends.

A37) Radiohead.

Q38) Another Music In A Different Kitchen.

A38) The Buzzcocks.

Q39) Nashville Skyline.

A39) Bob Dylan.

Q40) Screamadelica.

A40) Primal Scream.

ROUND FIVE. SPORT AND GAMES.

Q41) Which racing legend was only ever caught by the tax inspector?

A41) Lester Piggott.

Q42) Who, in winning the French Men’s Open, in 1999, became the only modern player to have won all 4 Grand Slam tennis titles?

A42) Andre Agassi.

Q43) Which national treasure won 3 Grand National’s, during the 1970’s?

A43) Red Rum.

Q44) Who’s the only snooker player to have won the BBC Sport’s Personality of the Year?

A44) Steve Davis.

Q45) During the 80’s, Eric Bristow was a world champion in which sport?

A45) Darts.

Q46) Between 1982, & 1996, who was the only woman to win Wimbledon, apart form Martina Navratilova or Steffi Graf?

A46) Conchita Martinez.

Q47) Englishman Bob Nudd has frequently been world champion at much little televised pastime?

A47) Freshwater Angling.

Q48) In 1997, which British woman was World Judo Champion?

A48) Kate Howey.

Q49) Who ousted Gary Kasparov as World Chess Champion, in November, 2000?

A49) Victor Kramnik

Q50) Who won the women’s event, in the 2002 London Marathon?

A50) Paula Radcliffe.

ROUND SIX. RAINING CATS AND DOGS.

Q51) Patch, Freda, and Shep all featured on which TV show?

A51) Blue Peter.

Q52) James Bond’s enemy, Blofeld, had a pet what?

A52) Cat.

Q53) Cricetus Cricetus is the Latin term for which popular pet?

A53) The Hamster.

Q54) What’s the name of the cat, in the children’s TV series Sabrina The Teenage Witch?

A54) Salem.

Q55) What’s the minimum age you can buy a pet, in the UK?

A55) 12.

Q56) Which member of the Royal Family appeared in court, in 2002, for failing to control her dogs?

A56) Princess Anne.

Q57) Rikki Tikki Tavi was what king of creature?

A57) A mongoose.

Q58) What was the name of the dog that found the World Cup, in 1966?

A58) Pickles.

Q59) In the series Daktari, what were the names of the cross eyed lion, and the chimp?

A59) Clarence the Lion, and Judy the Chimp.

Q60) What was the name of the first dog in space?

A60) Laika.

Enjoy those, everyone! I’ll catch you later.