The Daily Teaser and Themed Friday Question Set — 28-10-2011

You know, I’ve just had a senior moment, there, whilst staring at me keyboard. Before I managed to actually kick-start my brain and start …

Ummm …

Thingie …

TYPING … !

That’s the word … !

Actually … ?

I think I’m also going to briefly thank Mr Strict, bless him, for linking to a nicely active Billy Joel tune.

OK, GRANTED, I’m not jigging around my front room.

But I REALLY don’t want to put you in the position of imagining me dancing: not at THIS time of the morning … !

Let’s get moving on, shall we … ?

Yes, lets … !

««•»»

Yesterday’s Teaser saw both Debbi and Nina putting in their answers: with both having a brief “It’s good to be Back” natter, it ALSO saw both scoring 6 out of 6, AND mentioning Amsterdam*.

Let’s see how they — and you — do with today’s questions, shall we … ?

Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, Creative Commons License and video …

Q1) 28th October, 1971, saw Britain launch it’s first satellite: what was that satellite’s name … ?

Q2) More to the point, what was the name of the rocket that satellite was launched on … ?

Q3) More to the point, where was this rocket launched from?

Q4) 28th October, 2009, saw the Ares I-X launch in a spaceflight programme called what … ?

Q5) Which agency launched the Ares I-X … ?

Q6) Moving on from rockets … 28th October, 1958, saw Cardinal Angelo Roncalli elected as which Pope … ?

Q7) 28th October, 1928, saw the first formal performances of which country’s National Anthem … ?

Q8) And finally … 28th October, 1979, saw the first visit of a Chinese leader — Chairman Hua Kuo-Feng, in this case — to Britain: who was British PM at the time … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers

Q1) 27th October, 1275, saw the first recorded mention of which Dutch city … ?

A1) Amsterdam.

Q2) More to the point, which river terminates in the heart of that city … ?

A2) The Amstel.

Q3) 27th October, 1977, saw Liberal leader, Jeremy Thorpe, deny he‘d been involved in a plot to kill whom … ?

A3) Former male model Norman Scott.

Q4) 27th October, 1986, saw the British government deregulate what … ?

A4) Britain’s financial markets.

Q5) 27th October, 1971, saw the Democratic Republic of the Congo change it’s name to what … ?

A5) Zaire.

Q6) And finally … 27th October, 1961, saw the first launch of an Apollo rocket: from where … ?

A6) Cape Canaveral.

And here’s today’s themedº Friday question set, for struggling pub quiz-masters: covered, as usual, by the Creative Commons License …

ROUND ONE: GENERAL HALLOWEENERY.

Q1) Who’s the most often seen ghost, in the Tower of London?

A1) Anne Boleyn.

Q2) What vegetable, in Scotland, is a Jack O’Lantern traditionally made from?

Q2) A Turnip.

Q3) In the tale of Hansel and Gretel, what’s the Witches’ house made of?

A3) Gingerbread.

Q4) Back in Victorian London, which notorious criminal was nicknamed ‘Leather Apron’?

A4) Jack The Ripper.

Q5) What name’s given to a group of witches, a Sabbat, or a Coven, or a Circle?

A5) Coven.

Q6) True or false; – October 31st is the feast of Saint Columba.

A6) False, it’s actually the feast of Saint Bega.

Q7) What is the full name for which the term Halloween is short for?

A7) All Hallows Eve.

Q8) The traditional game of apple bobbing at Halloween originates from rites performed at the festival on the same day for an ancient apple Goddess. Is this Goddess, Celtic, Roman, or Egyptian?

A8) Roman.

Q9) What is the literal translation of the German term Poltergeist?

A9) Noisy Spirit.

Q10) Under old English law, how was a convicted witch executed?

A10) Hanging. (Witches were burned at the stake in Scotland.)

ROUND TWO: GRUESOME MOVIES.

Q11) The third entry in which horror franchise, had a record US opening, in 2011?

A11) Paranormal Activity.

Q12) Halle Berry was the first black woman to win an Oscar: for which movie … ?

A12) Monster’s Ball.

Q13) Silent movie star, Anita Page died at the grand old age of 98: she made her last movie appearance, in a cameo role in which 2009 horror film?

A13) Frankenstein Rising.

Q14) In which 1990 horror film would you find the character Annie Wilkes?

A14) Misery.

Q15) What monster movie was a huge hit, in February, 2008?

A15) Cloverfield.

Q16) According to a 2008 interview with horror Director, George A. Romero, zombies can’t run because their what would snap: their ankles, their knees, or their thighs?

A16) Their Ankles.

Q17) In which series of horror films would you find the Lament Configuration? (Bonus point for telling us what it is.)

A17) The Hellraiser series. (It’s the puzzle box used to summon the demons)

Q18) In which year did Max Schreck play a bushy browed vampire in Friedrich Murnau’s Nosferatu?

A18) 1922.

Q19) Which Italian director was responsible for the films Suspiria, Tenebrea and Inferno?

A19) Dario Argento.

Q20) Which year saw the release of the original RKO version of King Kong?

A20) 1933.

ROUND THREE: ONE FOR THE GOTHS …

Q21) Black Sabbath’s first album was released in the UK, on Friday the 13th: in which year of the ’70’s?

A21) 1970.

Q22) Which 80’s band released a song called Halloween?

A22) Japan.

Q23) Which Ricky Gervais movie shares its name with a song by the Specials?

A23) Ghost Town.

Q24) Name this Song; “Oh Eh, Oh Ah Ah, Ting Tang, Walla, Walla Bing Bang”

A24) Witch Doctor. The Cartoons

Q25) Scary Monsters, Fashion, and Ashes to Ashes, are all hits from which 80’s David Bowie album?

A25) Scary Monsters.

Q26) George A. Romero classic Return of the Living Dead includes music from which gothically inclined punk band?

A26) The Cramps.

Q27) Which former Crystal Maze presenter wrote and appeared in The Rocky Horror Show?

A27) Richard O’Brien.

Q28) Which Screamin’ Jay Hawkins classic has been covered by both Nina Simone, and Marilyn Manson?

A28) I Put a Spell On You.

Q29) Which New York based rap band had a debut album, called Niggamortis?

A29) Gravediggaz.

Q30) John Landis used the song Bad Moon Rising in his film An American Werewolf in London. Which band recorded it?

A30) Creedence Clearwater Revival.

ROUND FOUR: I SEE DEAD PEOPLE … !

Q31) In which river did Virginia Wolf drown herself, in 1941, the Ouse, the Thames, or the Cam?

A31) The Ouse.

Q32) Which wild west hero‘s last words were ‘That picture’s crooked’?

A32) Jesse James.

Q33) Sufragette Emily Davidson threw herself under the king’s horse, during which year’s Derby; – 1913, 1915, or 1917?

A33) 1913.

Q34) Influential director Ingmar Bergmar died in 2007: which European country was he from?

A34) Sweden.

Q35) Which famed stage magician, and escapologist, was exhumed for further medical examination, again, in 2007?

A35) Harry Houdini.

Q36) Company CEO, Steve Jobs died in 2011: which computer company did he both co-found, and lead?

A36) Apple.

Q37) Natascha Richardson died in 2009; – in which Chekov play did she make her West End début?

A37) The Seagull.

Q38) What was the name given to the murder of some 50,000 French Protestants on 24 August 1572?

A38) St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.

Q39) Which noted American actor died of a drug overdose, on October 31st, 1993?

A39) River Phoenix.

Q40) Comedy actor Brian Wilde died in 2008: name either of the two comedy serials he appeared in.

A40) Porridge, as Mister Barraclough, and Last of the Summer Wine, as Foggy.

ROUND FIVE: SCARY MONSTERS.

Q41) How did the mythological monster called the basilisk kill its victims?

A41) Its stare: it would use it to turn it’s victims into stone.

Q42) What does the word ‘boggart’ refer to?

A42) A kind of evil fairy.

Q43) In Celtic mythology the wailing of which supernatural being is an omen of death?

A43) Banshee.

Q44) According to voodoo belief, by what name are the living dead known?

A44) Zombies.

Q45) According to South American myth, the Chupacabra is a type of vampire that attacks what; - goats, sheep, or cows?

A45) Goats.

Q46) The Rakshasa and the Naga are creatures from which country?

A46) India.

Q47) True or False; - Serbian Romany have myths of Vampire Watermelons.

A47) True. (And pumpkins, as well.)

Q48) The demonic looking Oni appear in myths and legends from which far eastern country?

A48) Japan.

Q49) Vourdalak is the Russian word for which monster: the werewolf, the vampire, or the zombie?

A49) The Werewolf.

Q50) What’s the Japanese word for ‘Monster’?

A50) Kaiju: although, strictly, it translates as ‘strange beast’ …

ROUND SIX: WE ARE THE HALLOWEENIES …

Q51) Which Belgian noble woman was sentenced to death for bathing in the blood of servant girls she had murdered in order to keep her young?

A51) Countess Elizabeth Bathory.

Q52) Who said there was “something of the night”, about Tory politician Michael Howard?

A52) Anne Widdecombe.

Q53) What rite is used in a number of religions for the expulsion of evil spirits?

A53) Exorcism.

Q54) According to an ancient superstition, albatrosses are the reincarnated souls’ of drowned what: sailors, soldiers or spies?

A54) Sailors.

Q55) Who was England’s Witchfinder General?

A55) Matthew Hopkins.

Q56) In which English county did the Pendle Witches terrify their neighbours?

A56) Lancashire.

Q57) Transylvania, the home of Dracula, is in which East European country?

A57) Romania.

Q58) What is the name of the ghost ship, doomed to sail the seven seas forever?

A58) The Flying Dutchman.

Q59) What was Joe Ahearn’s six-part 1998 vampire TV series, with more than a nod to the X-Files, starring Jack Davenport and Susannah Harker?

A59) Ultraviolet.

Q60) Who wrote the 1972 fantasy novel, The Halloween Tree?

A60) Ray Bradbury.

Enjoy those, everyone: I’ll leave you with You May Be Right, as Mr S left it with us …

* Wouldn’t mind going , meself, frankly, if only to see where the BBC filmed Arc Of Infinity …

º You didn’t know that I used to run pub-quizzes … ? I used to run pub quizzes. Nik Nak’s Old Peculiar was — in part — started as a way of advertising them. AND handing out free quiz questions to other quiz-masters, just starting out on the job. Something I know I always found difficult. On top of that, I also made the Halloween quiz something of a trade mark, as the first themed quiz I did was Halloweenª. As that’s coming up on Monday …

ª Actually, best behaviour, Debbi, Nina: you never know WHAT I’ll be posting …