The Friday Question Set — 30-03-2012

Can I make a confession, here … ?

Can I … ?

I’m mildly ticked off.

If’ve you’ve been reading me for a while, you’ll know I’ve mentioned what I call the Comantra Scam.

What the scammers are doing is phoning people: and then tricking them into handing over remote control of their machines.

It’s been around for a while, let’s put it that way.

Well …

I’ve just had ANOTHER call from them. You’d think “I’ve got a Mac, I don’t need help from a Microsoft Gold Partner” would work, wouldn’t you … ?

»»·««

At ANY rate … ?

At ANY rate, it is, of course, Friday: which obviously means that it’s now Friday Question Set day.

So with-out much further ado …

Here’s the Friday Question Set: released, as ever, under the Creative Commons License …

Online 145: Copied From Harold 3

ROUND ONE. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE.

Q1) How old was the Queen, on her birthday, in 2006?

A1) 80.

Q2) Oxfam is actually short for the Oxford Committee for … what?

Q2) Famine Relief.

Q3) The Knesset is which country’s parliament?

A3) Israel.

Q4) Saint Stephen’s Day is more commonly known as what?

A4) Boxing Day.

Q5) Octavia Hill founded which national organisation, in 1895?

A5) The National Trust.

Q6) Grand Lodges, & Grand Orients are the head offices of various European branches of what?

A6) The Freemasons.

Q7) Who made a last gasp move from Arsenal to Chelsea, just before the August 31st transfer deadline, in 2006?

A7) Ashley Cole.

Q8) How many members does the US Senate have?

A8) 100.

Q9) The Camorra of Naples, is a branch of which organisation?

A9) The Mafia.

Q10) If Prince Charles dies before the Queen, who inherits the throne of the UK … ?

A10) Prince William.

ROUND 2. BLINDED WITH SCIENCE.

Q11) Which scientist invented mill-edged coins?

A11) Isaac Newton.

Q12) What does the D stand for, in RADAR?

A12) Detection. (In full, it stand’s for Radio Detection And Ranging)

Q13) Which German doctor gave his name to a version of Senile Dementia?

A13) Dr Alois Alzheimer.

Q14) Manya Sklodowska is better known under what name?

A14) Marie Curie.

Q15) Paralysis Agitans is better known under what name?

A15) Parkinson’s Disease.

Q16) In 1898, Marconi made the first wireless broadcast across where: the English Channel, Atlantic ocean or the Indian Ocean?

A16) The English Channel.

Q17) What does the V stand for, in IVF?

A17) Vitro.

Q18) Carbohydrates are made up of Carbon, Hydrogen … and what else?

A18) Oxygen.

Q19) If you’re pasteurising something, what you doing to something to kill the bacteria present?

Q19) Heating/boiling.

Q20) Who wrote A Brief History Of Time?

A20) Professor Stephen Hawking.

ROUND 3. MUSIC AND LIGHTS.

Q21) Which UK number One could have been released by Dwight and Matthews, if its singers had used their real names?

A21) Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, by Elton John (Reginald Dwight) and Kiki Dee (Pauline Matthews.)

Q22) Who released an album called Blondes Have More Fun?

A22) Rod Stewart.

Q23) What was Chuck Berry’s only UK Number One?

A23) My Ding A Ling.

Q24) The video to which Madonna song was denounced by Pope John Paul the 2nd?

A24) Like A Prayer.

Q25) Hollywood star Wesley Snipes appears in the video for which Michael Jackson song?

A25) Bad.

Q26) Kurt Wiell wrote the words to The Thrupenny Opera. Who wrote the music?

A26) Bertold Brecht.

Q27) Chopin wrote almost exclusively for which keyboard instrument?

A27) The Piano.

Q28) Which Beatle was the first to have a solo US Number 1?

A28) George Harrison.

Q29) Which British rock star was the first to make a complete album available for downloading?

A29) David Bowie.

Q30) Which country star got the Lifetime Achievement Grammy, in 2000: Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, or Johnny Cash?

A30) Willie Nelson.

ROUND FOUR. SOAP & FLANNEL.

Q31) Which popular soap is set in Albert Square?

A31) EastEnders,

Q32) In The Archers, which character is notorious for his black satin sheets?

A32) Nelson Gabriel.

Q33) Which soap is set in the fictional village of Beckindale?

A33) Emmerdale.

Q34) On which street is Neighbours set?

A34) Ramsey Street.

Q35) In which year of the 60’s was Coronation Street first broadcast?

A35) 1960.

Q36) Which BBC1 soap ended in 1993, after just one year?

A36) Eldorado.

Q37) Which Aussie soap is set in Summer Bay

A37) Home and Away.

Q38) What was the name of the slow–witted handyman in the original series of Crossroads’?

A38) Benny.

Q39) Tamsin Grieg plays Debbie Aldridge in one soap, and Doctor Caroline Todd in another. Name either. (Two points for both.)

A39) The Archers and Green Wing.

Q40) Who is Coronations Street’s repetitive butcher?

A40) Fred Elliot.

ROUND FIVE. AT THE MOVIES.

Q41) Who starred in the silent movies, Easy Street and The Kid?

A41) Charlie Chaplin.

Q42) Which English director directed Lawrence of Arabia?

A42) David Lean.

Q43) Anton Karas wrote The Harry Lime Theme for which Orson Welles film?

A43) The Third Man.

Q44) Which 1969 film revolves around a Chicago dance marathon, with a $1,500 prize?

A44) They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?.

Q45) Who played the lead, in the 1977 film, Jesus of Nazareth?

A45) Robert Powell.

Q46) Which Hollywood star made his last appearance in a western called The Shootist? (Bonus point for the star’s real name.)

A46) John Wayne. (Marion Morrison)

Q47) Whose Hollywood screen test notes famously said ‘Can’t act, slightly bald … can dance a little’?

A47) Fred Astaire’s.

Q48) In which film did Russell Crowe play Captain Jack Aubrey?

A48) Master and Commander.

Q49) Who’s the only person to have won a posthumous Best Actor Oscar?

A49) Peter Finch. (For his performance in Network, filmed in 1976.)

Q50) Which Kris Kristofferson film entered movie legend in 1980, for losing more money than any other film?

A50) Heaven’s Gate.

ROUND SIX. GENERAL IGNORANCE.

Q51) The month of January was named after which Roman god? (Bonus for saying what they were the god of)

A51) Janus. (God of doorways and portals.)

Q52) What is the main ingredient of Hummus?

A52) Chick peas.

Q53) Which philosopher founded a famous academy in Athens, in 387 BC?

A53) Plato.

Q54) Who became Conservative party leader, in 1965?

A54) Edward Heath.

Q55) Who released the album, Atom Heart Mother?

A55) Pink Floyd.

Q56) Amethyst is the birthstone for which month of the year?

A56) February.

Q57) Which Greco-Roman hero killed the Nemean Lion?

A57) Hercules. (Heracles was the Greek version of the name.)

Q58) In the Annual University Boat Race, Oxford’s reserve boat is called Isis. What’s the name of the Cambridge reserve boat?

A58) Goldie.

Q59) In which 20th century war was Napalm first used as a weapon?

A59) World War 2.

Q60) Lieutenant Mitch Buchannon & C. J. Parker were central characters in which US series?

A60) Baywatch.

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