Hmm …
You know, I’ve got to admit, Friday’s turning into Dr Who day … !
Well …
Maybe not.
And HAVE to admit,
Anthony Head as the evil headmaster* … ? Is rather good.
And with THAT said … ?
We’ll get moving on.
After all, it’s Friday, which regular readers will tell you means it’s time for the Friday Question Set … !
ROUND ONE. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE.
Q1) By what other name is the Buddleia otherwise known?
A1) The butterfly bush.
Q2) Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead comes from which musical?
Q2) The Wizard of Oz.
Q3) Which South Bank theatre was re–built, largely through the efforts of Sam Wannamaker?
A3) The Globe.
Q4) How many sides does a trapezium have?
A4) Four. (It’s a kind of lop–sided rectangle.)
Q5) What is William Harvey credited with discovering: the circulation of the blood, penicillin or the rotary lawnmower?
A5) The blood’s circulation.
Q6) Who said, when going through US Customs, “I have nothing to declare but my genius”?
A6) Oscar Wilde.
Q7) What — after golf — is the world’s second fastest ball game? (Bonus point for saying which European country it’s from.)
A7) Pelota. (Spain.)
Q8) Which English band released the song, Enola Gay in 1980?
A8) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.
Q9) Who wrote the novel, High Fidelity about a struggling record shop owner?
A9) Nick Hornby.
Q10) In which English city is New Street Station?
A10) Birmingham.
ROUND TWO. THE LIVING WORLD.
Q11) Karl von Frisch won the Nobel Science Prize awarded for studying animal behaviour: what insect was he studying?
A11) Bees. (He worked out what the dances of bees actually meant.)
Q12) What, proportionally, is the most well endowed species of mammal?
A12) The Nine Banded Armadillo. (If it were human sized, it’d have a 4 foot willy.)
Q13) According to an ancient superstition, albatrosses are the reincarnated souls’ of drowned what?
A13) Sailors.
Q14) There are only two species that prey on the Aardvark: name either. (Two points for both.)
A14) Humans, and hyenas.
Q15) The gibbon belongs to which order of mammals?
A15) Primates. (DO NOT ACCEPT MONKEY.)
Q16) What’s the oldest breed of domestic cat, in the USA?
A16) The Maine Coon.
Q17) What is kelp?
A17) Seaweed
Q18) What was the first animal to be domesticated?
A18) The dog.
Q19) Which species is the closest genetic relative of humanity?
A19) Chimpanzees.
Q20) What’s another name for the linden tree?
A20) Lime.
ROUND THREE. AT THE MOVIES.
Q21) Joel and Ethan Coen got their only Oscar for the screenplay of which of their films: Miller’s Crossing,, Raising Arizona or Fargo.?
A21) Fargo.
Q22) Steven Spielberg’s Oscar winning film, Schindler’s List is based on which novel? (Bonus point for naming the author of the novel.)
A22) Schindler’s Ark. (Thomas Kennelly.)
Q23) Which male film star shot to fame in Four Wedding and a Funeral?
A23) Hugh Grant.
Q24) Who joined Walter Matthau in the film, Grumpy Old Men?
A24) Jack Lemmon.
Q25) Who was Casper?
A25) The Friendly Ghost.
Q26) Which western hero is the subject of the film, My Darling Clementine? A26) Wyatt Earp.
Q27) Archie Leach was the real name of which film star?
A27) Cary Grant.
Q28) Babes in Arms, was the first musical to pair to famous movie stars: name either. (Two points for both.)
A28) Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney.
Q29) The Sam Mendes film Jarhead is about which conflict?
A29) The first Gulf War, in 1991.
Q30) Which Hollywood legend played Kurtz, in Apocalypse Now: Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen or Harrison Ford?
A30) Marlon Brando.
ROUND FOUR. AROUND AFRICA.
Q31) Cape Town is overlooked by which mountain?
A31) Table Mountain.
Q32) Which East African country was once known as Abyssinia?
A32) Ethiopia.
Q33) The South African Rugby Union team has a nickname taken from which creature? (Bonus point for telling us what kind of creature it is.)
A33) The Springboks. (A gazelle–like antelope)
Q34) The 1990 movie White Hunter, Black Heart was inspired by the filming of which earlier Humphrey Bogart film?
A34) The African Queen.
Q35) Which African ruler had, as one of his many titles, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa?
A35) Idi Amin.
Q36) What name did Southern Rhodesia take, when it achieved independence from Britain in 1980?
A36) Zimbabwe.
Q37) Which animal is responsible for the most human deaths in Africa?
A37) The Hippo.
Q38) If a South African offered you biltong, would you eat it, drink it or put it in your wallet?
A38) You’d eat it: it’s a kind of beef jerky.
Q39) In which modern African nation would you find the ruins of ancient Carthage?
A39) Tunisia.
Q40) True or False: Algeria is to the west of Libya.
A40) True.
ROUND FIVE. ON THE BOOZE.
Q41) Which fruit is perry made from?
A41) The Pear.
Q42) In which European country is ouzo a national drink?
A42) Greece.
Q43) Which liquor is usually used, along with vodka and cola, to make a Black Russian? (Bonus point for telling us the alternative.)
A43) Tia Maria. (Kahlua.)
Q44) Which Mexican liqueur is made from the heart of the Agave cactus?
A44) Tequila.
Q45) What is the dominant flavour of Curaçao?
A45) Orange.
Q46) Which liqueur was allegedly introduced into Scotland by Bonnie Prince Charlie?
A46) Drambuie.
Q47) What fruit is used to make Kirsch?
A47) Cherries.
Q48) How many bottles are in a Methuselah of wine?
A48) Eight.
Q49) If a wine is described as tough, what’s wrong with it?
A49) It’s got too much tannin?
Q50) Which cocktail is made with vodka, orange juice and Galliano?
A50) A Harvey Wallbanger.
ROUND SIX. GENERAL IGNORANCE.
Q51) If something is described as simian, what type of animal is it said to resemble?
A51) An ape.
Q52) Along side the juniper, Britain has two native conifer: name either. (Two points for both.)
A52) The Scots Pine, and the Yew.
Q53) Which singer’s first backing band were called The Jordanaires?
A53) Elvis Presley.
Q54) What’s measured in Pascals: pressure, volume or temperature?
A54) Pressure.
Q55) What was tennis player Yvonne Goolagong’s married name?
A55) Yvonne Cawley.
Q56) Who, in 2006, ended his football career, whilst holding the record for the most amount of goals scored in the Premiership?
A56) Alan Shearer. (With 260.)
Q57) Anton Edelman, Robert Carrier and Jean–Christophe Novelli are all what?
A57) Chefs.
Q58) What’s the name of the most recently released Discworld novel?
A58) Snuff.
Q59) What nationality is the central character in the film, Schindler’s List?
A59) Austrian.
Q60) Heliotrope is a shade of which colour?
A60) Purple.
Enjoy those, everyone.
I’ll catch you next time …
* Possibly the only time a classically trained actor has used the line “FORGET the shooty dog thing … … … !”.
