The Christmas Eve Teaser …

You know, I really must still be asleep … !

I didn’t realise I’d left in the answer for yesterday’s q7, until I’d actually read Kaiju’s comment about it.

Hand me the ring-doughnuts and tell me to say “D’oh”, chaps … !!

One second …

D’OH … !

And to think, I was going to make a sarcastic comment or two about the Queen’s Speech or the fact that Pope Benedict 16th is doing today’s Thought for the Day on Radio 4.

Oh possibly about Microsoft …

Oh, well.

Lets get moving on, shall we … ?

Yes, lets … !

«•»

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Kaiju and Trevor putting in their answers: with both scoring 7 out of 7 — D’OH … ! — it also saw Kaiju getting his answers in first, and telling us a little about William Shockley — who sounds a touch right-wing — and also saw Trevor quoting Joseph Smith, Jnr.

Lets see how they — and you — do with today’s Teaser: here it is, along with the ‘How To’, License and video. (Actually, let me know what you think of it, I’ve gone a touch weird with the music … )

Q1) Many French speaking countries celebrate Christmas eve with the réveillon meal: the name is derived from a French word meaning … what … ?

Q2) One European country’s traditional gift-giver — the Yule Goat — arrives on Christmas Eve: which country are we talking about … ?

Q3) The original WW1 Christmas Truce began on Christmas Eve, 1914: near which Belgian town … ?

Q4) Christmas Eve is usually referred to as Paramony by members of the Eastern Orthodox Church: what does the word translate as … ?

Q5) 24th December, 1968, saw the crew of the Apollo 8 mission made a televised reading: from which book of the Bible … ?

Q6) Moving on … 24th December, 1979, saw Europe launch its first what … ?

Q7) And finally … 24th December, 1955, saw who start its Christmas tradition of tracking Santa?

Here’s yesterday’s …

Q1) 23rd December is the by-now-traditional date of the fictional Festivus holiday: which US TV show popularized it … ?

A1) Seinfeld

Q2) 23rd December, 1938, saw an example of what type of apparently extinct fish being discovered … ?

Q2) The Cœlacanth.

Q3) More to the point, the fish in question was found off the coast of which African nation … ?

A3) South Africa.

Q4) 23rd December, 1947, saw Bell Laboratories demonstrate which piece of electronic kit … ?

A4) The Transistor.

Q5) 23rd December, 1986, saw the first plane to make a non-stop, round-the-world trip finish its journey: in which US state?

A5) California.

Q6) More to the point, what was the name of that plane … ?

A6) Voyager.

Q7) And Finally … 23rd December, 1823, saw the anonymous publication of which well known American poem … ?

A7) A Visit From Saint Nicholas: otherwise known as ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.

And here’s the (non-festive) 60 question set for struggling pub quiz masters: covered, as ever, by the Creative Commons License …

Online 83.

ROUND ONE. GENERAL IGNORANCE.

Q1) L. S. Lowry painted matchstick men, & matchstick cats & dogs; – but what did either the L, or the S stand for? (Two points for both.)

A1) Laurence Steven.

Q2) Susan Tully appeared in EastEnders. But in which children's tv show did she make her first UK tv appearance?

Q2) Grange Hill.

Q3) In cockney rhyming slang, what are ‘…plates of meat’?

A3) Feet.

Q4) Is France ahead of or behind, Greenwich Mean Time?

A4) Ahead of.

Q5) Who wrote The Hobbit?

A5) J. R. R. Tolkien.

Q6) Bill Beaumont was associated with which sport?

A6) Rugby. (Union)

Q7) In the initials CBE, what does the C stand for?

A7) Commander.

Q8) What’s the capital of the Falkland Islands?

A8) Port Stanley.

Q9) What’s the cube root of 8?

A9) 2.

Q10) Which BBC tv show featured Sheepdog Trials?

A10) One Man and His Dog.

ROUND TWO. THE MEDIA.

Q11) Which watery TV company was formed when ABC merged with Rediffusion in the 1960’s?

A11) Thames Television.

Q12) When it started broadcasting, again, after World War Two, which Disney character was seen by viewers of the BBC?

A12) Mickey Mouse.

Q13) What ‘K’ is Rupert Murdoch’s first name?

A13) Keith.

Q14) Peter Benenson founded which media–savvy human–rights organization?

A14) Amnesty International.

Q15) On which Radio station is The Archers broadcast?

A15) Radio 4.

Q16) In which decade did the BBC start broadcasting television programmes?

A16) The 1930’s.

Q17) On what channel was Brookside broadcast?

A17) Channel Four.

Q18) In early ITV broadcasts, what was shown during a “…natural break”?

A18) Adverts.

Q19) Magazine Four Four Two is usually bought by who?

A19) Football fans.

Q20) Which channel was originally going to be called Sunrise TV?

A20) GMTV.

ROUND THREE. MUSIC AND LIGHTS.

Q21) Brinsley Schwarz, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, and Madness were all on which British record label?

A21) Stiff.

Q22) Who recorded the original version of Like a Virgin?

A22) Madonna.

Q23) Declan McCarthy was the real name of which bespectacled singer: Elvis Costello, Buddy Holly or Elton John?

A23) Elvis Costello.

Q24) Who released the album, Fever, in 2001?

A24) Kylie Minogue.

Q25) The album, So The Story Goes, was released by Craig David, in which year of this century?

A25) 2005.

Q26) Dave Vanian, Rat Scabies and Captain Sensible were all members of which punk band?

A26) The Damned.

Q27) Call Off The Search was released by which singer?

A27) Katie Melua.

Q28) Which British band provided the first No. 1 for the Food label, Blur, Pulp or Oasis?

A28) Blur.

Q29) What was the title of Daniel Beddingfield’s first hit?

A29) Gotta Get Through This.

Q30) Which American singer announced her divorce from Bobby Brown, in 2007?

A30) Whitney Hoston.

ROUND FOUR. AT THE MOVIES.

Q31) Richard Harris received his first Oscar nomination in which year of the 1960s?

A31) 1963.

Q32) Morgan Freeman got his second Oscar nomination for which film?

A32) Driving Miss Daisy.

Q33) How many times has Sean Connery played James Bond?

A33) Seven times.

Q34) Who played Morticia, to Raul Julita’s Gomez, in The Addams Family?

A34) Angelica Houston.

Q35) Who played pilot Steve Hiller, in the sci-fi film, Independence Day?

A35) Will Smith. (Accept Fresh Prince)

Q36) What’s Tom Cruise’s job, in the Mission: Impossible series of films?

A36) Spy. (Accept secret agent.)

Q37) Who was the fourth, and only Welsh, James Bond?

A37) Timothy Dalton.

Q38) Who plays Harry Potter?

A38) Daniel Radcliffe.

Q39) Which actor & star of Braveheart was recently accused of bring anti–semitic?

A39) Mel Gibson.

Q40) In which film did Tom Hanks play an AIDSstricken lawyer?

A40) Philadelphia.

ROUND FIVE. HOBBIES AND LEISURE.

Q41) How many squares are there on a chess board?

A41) 64.

Q42) What would you buy form a Gibbons catalogue?

A42) Stamps.

Q43) Whose Cube became a craze during the 70s & 80s? (Bonus point for the designer’s first name!)

A43) Rubik’s Cube. (Erno.)

Q44) If a 3 is shown on the topmost face of a standard six–sided dice, what’s on the bottom face?

A44) 4.

Q45) What a snorkel help you do?

A45) Breathe underwater.

Q46) What is the art of knotting cord or string into patterns called?

A46) Macramé.

Q47) In Scrabble, what’s the value of the blank tile?

A47) Zero.

Q48) What does the musical term ‘Largo’ mean: play slowly, loudly or passionately?

A48) Play slowly.

Q49) What fairground attraction did George Ferris first construct, in 1890?

A49) Ferris Wheel.

Q50) Jokers apart, how many red cards are there in a standard deck of cards?

A50) 26.

ROUND SIX. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE.

Q51) Was Geoff Boycott a left or right handed bat’s–man?

A51) Right–handed.

Q52) For what film did Michael Caine win his second Oscar?

A52) The Cider House Rules.

Q53) In which former member of the USSR is the city of Kiev?

A53) The Ukraine.

Q54) Las Ketchup gave us The Ketchup Song; – but from which European country are they from?

A54) Spain.

Q55) Who was Britain’s longest reigning monarch, prior to Queen Victoria?

A55) George 3rd. (‘Mad King George’ is fine: but don’t accept just ‘George’: the UK’s had a few Georges on the throne, we’d want the identifying number.)

Q56) What word can go before ‘beer’, ‘bread’, & ‘nut’?

A56) Ginger.

Q57) On what night of January is Burns Night?

A57) January the 25th.

Q58) In what month was the 2005 Glastonbury Festival?

A58) June.

Q59) Who was the first newsreader in the UK to be knighted?

A59) Alistair Burnet.

Q60) Which Friends star was born with the surname, Anistonopoulos?

A60) Jennifer Aniston.

Enjoy those, everyone: I’ll catch you later …