1 |
Marco Polo was a native of which Italian city? |
|
|
Venice |
2 |
Which law states that entropy in an isolated system always increases? |
|
The Second law of Thermodynamics |
3 |
Jack Straw and John Ball were among the leaders of which 1381 rebellion? |
|
The Peasants' Revolt (also accept Wat Tyler's
rebellion or the Great Rising) |
4 |
Al Capone was one of the two rival gang leaders in the St Valentine's Day massacre. Name the other one. |
|
George 'Bugs' Moran |
5 |
Which elementary particle comes in six flavours: up, down, top, bottom, strange and charm? |
|
Quark |
6 |
What is exobiology? |
|
The study of life in outer space |
7 |
Which 13th century English Franciscan philosopher was known as Doctor Mirabilis? |
|
Roger Bacon |
8 |
Which 18th–century German philosopher wrote Critique of Pure Reason, Critique of Practical Reason
and Critique of Judgment? |
|
Immanuel Kant |
9 |
The word 'hierarchy' comes from the Medieval Latin hierarchia. Who were ranked by the original hierarchia? |
|
|
Angels |
10 |
Holden Caulfield is the protagonist of which 1951 novel? |
|
The Catcher in the Rye |
11 |
For several years in the early 2000s the winner of the Italian Open Golf tournament won, as well as a cash prize, their
own weight in what? |
|
|
Grana Padano cheese (accept Parmesan or
cheese) |
12 |
Which guide book does Michael Portillo use on his travels on the USA rail network in his TV programmes? |
|
|
Appleton's |
13 |
The Chaffee Barbershop Museum in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, commemorates whose 1958 haircut? |
|
Elvis Presley (it was where he received his Army–regulation
buzzcut before reporting for duty) |
14 |
Name either of the two scientists whose statues flank the main entrance to Manchester Town Hall. |
|
John Dalton or James Joule |
15 |
In which famous painting of 1821 can you see Willy Lott's cottage? |
|
The Hay Wain |
16 |
Which King of England became heir apparent after the death of his older brother Henry in 1612? |
|
Charles I (the Henry in question was Henry Frederick, Prince of
Wales, eldest son of James I of England) |
17 |
By what name was the spy Margaretha Zelle better known? |
|
Mata Hari |
18 |
Shawn Corey Carter is the real name of which American rapper and producer? |
|
Jay–Z |
19 |
Which reggae instrumental, recorded by the Harry J Allstars in 1969, is played as Chelsea take the field for home matches? |
|
|
The Liquidator |
20 |
Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing is set in which Sicilian city, home to an important Catholic
university and giving its name to the adjacent strait between Sicily and Italy? |
|
Messina |
21 |
Born in Vladivostok, who won the best actor Oscar in 1956? |
|
Yul Brynner |
22 |
Of Scottish origin, the dessert comprising raspberries, toasted oatmeal, honey, whisky and cream is called what? |
|
Cranachan |
|
23 |
Which 19th–century invention, with applications in agriculture and warfare, is the subject of museums in La Crosse,
Kansas and McLean, Texas? |
|
|
Barbed wire |
24 |
If you took a carminative, what condition would you be trying to cure? |
|
|
Flatulence (accept wind or similar) |
25 |
What is the punning nickname of the New Zealand men's national basketball team? |
|
The Tall Blacks |
26 |
In mathematics, which letter is used to denote the square root of minus one? |
|
i |
27 |
What was the name of the Austro–Hungarian monk whose work on peas laid the framework of modern genetics? |
|
|
Gregor Mendel |
28 |
Which 18th Century War was ended by the Treaty of Utrecht? |
|
War of the Spanish Succession (1713) |
29 |
In mathematics, what name is given to a number that is equal to the sum of its positive divisors – the first such
numbers being 6 and 28? |
|
A
perfect number (e.g. 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 and 1 x 2 x 3 = 6) |
30 |
The ancient city of Antioch is in which modern–day country? |
|
Turkey |
31 |
What do we get from the tree Quercus suber? |
|
Cork |
32 |
Which fictional villain's name means 'flight of death' in French? |
|
Voldemort |
33 |
The supergroup FFS is a collaboration between Sparks and which Scottish band? |
|
Franz Ferdinand |
34 |
The Great Red Dragon paintings are by which poet and artist? |
|
|
William Blake |
35 |
Eric Schmidt is about to step down as chairman of which technology company, the parent company of Google? |
|
Alphabet |
36 |
Maria Balshaw became director of which art institution in January 2017? |
|
Tate |
37 |
What would be the profession of someone with LRCVS after their name? |
|
Vet
(Licentiate of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons) |
38 |
Who did US Time magazine vote Man of the Year in 1938? |
|
|
Adolf Hitler |
39 |
What nationality is shoe designer Jimmy Choo? |
|
Malaysian |
40 |
Which capital city is served by Chopin Airport? |
|
Warsaw |
41 |
Which country was the last to join the United Nations (in July 2011)? |
|
(The Republic of) South Sudan |
42 |
Which is the longest motorway in the UK? |
|
The M6 (232 miles) |
43 |
The medieval dyers from an English city mixed yellow dye from the plant weld with the blue of woad. What was the name of the
resulting colour? (Two word answer – both are required) |
|
Lincoln green |
44 |
In which US state is Dodge City? |
|
Kansas |
45 |
Which river does the iron bridge at Ironbridge span? |
|
The Severn |
46 |
How many players are there in an Australian Rules football team? |
|
18 |
47 |
Which Aviva Premiership rugby union team plays its home games at the Ricoh Arena? |
|
Wasps (the Ricoh is also home to Coventry City FC) |
48 |
By what name is Hansen's disease better known? |
|
Leprosy |
49 |
Who wrote the poem that begins with the line, "The curfew tolls the knell of parting day"? |
|
Thomas Gray
(Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard) |
50 |
Until the collapse of its spire in 1548, which English cathedral had, for 237 years, been the tallest building in the world? |
|
Lincoln |
51 |
What was Elvis Presley's first No. 1 record in the UK? |
|
All Shook Up |
52 |
On which day did Solomon Grundy take ill? |
|
Thursday |
53 |
Where would you find a CCV code number? |
|
|
On the back of a credit or debit card
(it's the three–digit security number) |
54 |
In 1961 which osteopath introduced Christine Keeler to John Profumo at Cliveden? |
|
Stephen Ward |
55 |
Praying Hands is a drawing from 1508 by which German artist? |
|
Albrecht Durer |
56 |
Which Bond film screenplay was written by Roald Dahl? |
|
You Only Live Twice |
57 |
What is the equivalent Army rank of a Royal Navy Commander? |
|
Lieutenant–Colonel |
58 |
What is the name of Anthony Powell's sequence of novels that begins with A Question of Upbringing and
ends with Hearing Secret Harmonies? |
|
A Dance to the Music of Time |
59 |
Who comes next in this sequence: Barbirolli, Loughran, Skrowaczewski, Nagano? |
|
(Mark) Elder (Principal Conductors of the Hallé Orchestra) |
60 |
Uranium has the atomic number 92. How are the elements with
atomic numbers 93 to 118 collectively described? |
|
Transuranic (allow transuranium) |
61 |
What is Neopalpa Donaldtrumpi? |
|
A newly–discovered species of moth (with blond scales
on its head) |
62 |
Where was King Charles I buried? |
|
|
Windsor Castle (St. Georges Chapel) |
63 |
With what instrument was the jazz musician Art Tatum associated? |
|
Piano |
64 |
In Ancient Rome, the fugitivarii were hired to perform which recovery job? |
|
Capture and return runaway slaves |
65 |
What product is obtained from the plant Camellia sinensis? |
|
Tea |
66 |
Which geological period is sandwiched between the Cambrian and Silurian periods? |
|
Ordovician |
67 |
Robert Clive, Charles Darwin and Captain Matthew Webb were all born in which English county? |
|
Shropshire |
68 |
What is the SI unit of inductance? |
|
The henry |
69 |
What property do 1p coins minted after 1991 have which those minted prior to that date did not have? |
|
They're magnetic (being made of copper–plated steel
rather than bronze) |
70 |
Which British prime minister was a cousin of Rudyard Kipling? |
|
Stanley Baldwin |
71 |
Give a year in the life of Genghis Khan. |
|
AD 1162–1227 |
72 |
In which city is Mozart buried? |
|
Vienna |
73 |
Which 1944 American ballet, usually performed as an orchestral suite, makes use of the Shaker tune Simple Gifts? |
|
|
Appalachian Spring (by Aaron Copland) |
74 |
Tommy Shelby leads his gang in which British TV drama centred around Birmingham? |
|
Peaky Blinders |
75 |
Which darts player won the PDC World Championship title in January 2018 by beating Phil Taylor in his last professional
match? |
|
Rob Cross |
76 |
Name the lawyer in Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities who finally goes to the guillotine in place of another. |
|
Sydney Carton |
77 |
Which Nobel prize–winning writer shot himself in 1961? |
|
Ernest Hemingway |
78 |
Thank You For Being A Friend was the theme to which 1980s sitcom? |
|
The Golden Girls |
79 |
What is the usual occupation of the leprechaun of Irish legend? |
|
Shoemaker |
80 |
Where in the British Isles is Lady Isabella, the world's largest working water wheel? |
|
Isle of Man |
81 |
Which is Europe's largest port (both by size and by annual cargo throughput)? |
|
Rotterdam |
82 |
What aviation first was performed by Ellen Church in 1930? |
|
She was the first female flight attendant |
83 |
Who insured his taste buds for £250,000 in 1993? |
|
Egon Ronay |
84 |
Who married Margaret Kempson in 1942 and Margaret Roberts in 1951? |
|
Denis Thatcher |
85 |
Who was the last Liberal prime minister? |
|
|
David Lloyd George |
86 |
Who painted his grandson in the famous work Bubbles, which for many years was used to advertise Pears soap? |
|
John Everett Millais |
87 |
Which of King Arthur's nephews had an encounter with the Green Knight? |
|
Sir Gawain |
88 |
In trigonometry, what is defined as the ratio of the adjacent to the hypotenuse? |
|
Cosine |
89 |
What shapes are attached to a line on a weather map to denote a warm front? |
|
Semicircles |
90 |
What name is given to the substance that covers a deer's antler when it is growing? |
|
Velvet |
91 |
What name is given to the mathematical series that starts 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21? |
|
The Fibonacci
Series (each number is the sum of the previous two) |
92 |
Elizabeth Siddal was the wife of, and one of the models for, which artist? |
|
Dante Gabriel Rossetti |
93 |
Which character in The Magic Roundabout rode a tricycle? |
|
Mr McHenry |
94 |
Who has won BBC Sports Personality of the Year the most times? |
|
Andy Murray (2013, 2015 and 2016) |
95 |
Tonya Harding arranged an attack on which fellow skater in 1994? |
|
Nancy Kerrigan |
96 |
What is the common name for the brightest star of the Ursa Minor constellation? |
|
|
Polaris
(accept Pole Star or North Star) |
97 |
Who did US nurse Debbie Rowe famously marry in 1996? |
|
Michael Jackson |
98 |
Where in the human body is the sacrum bone? |
|
In the pelvis
(above the coccyx – accept bottom of spine) |
99 |
Elon Musk is the CEO of which American company, that specialises in electric cars? |
|
Tesla (Inc.) |
100 |
What were the workers called in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory? |
|
Oompa Loompas |
101 |
The drug Sildenafil is more commonly known by what brand name? |
|
Viagra |
102 |
Which 1970s TV series centred on the haulage business of
the Hammond family? |
|
The Brothers |
103 |
Which club (as of 21st Jan 2018) props up Serie A Italian football league with a name that loosely translates as
'good wind'? |
|
Benevento |
104 |
Which company's anti virus software was in the news in late 2017, having been dropped by many because of its Russian heritage? |
|
Kaspersky |
105 |
Sheryl Sandberg is the COO (chief operating officer) of which major technology company? |
|
Facebook |
106 |
What links Ricky Martin, Alana Spencer and Tom Pellereau? |
|
They have all won the UK TV programme The Apprentice |
107 |
What currently is the engine capacity of a formula 1 car? |
|
1.6 litres
or 1600cc (since 2014) |
108 |
There is a limit to the number of bitcoins that can be mined: how many can ever be available? |
|
21 million |
109 |
Alaska has the lowest population density of any US state, but which state has the lowest actual population (as of 2015)? |
|
Wyoming
(586,107) |
110 |
If you swam directly west from Malta, in which African country would you arrive? |
|
Tunisia |
111 |
Which country shares borders with Thailand, Laos and Vietnam? |
|
Cambodia |
112 |
Which Englishman won golf's Race to Dubai in 2017? |
|
Tommy Fleetwood |
113 |
Which chocolate fruit was the predecessor to the Terry's Chocolate Orange? |
|
Apple
(there was a short lived chocolate lemon, but much later) |
114 |
Which building was designed by William van Alen and is one of the most striking features of the Manhattan skyline? |
|
The Chrysler Building |
115 |
Who is the President of Syria (as at 21st January 2018)? |
|
Bashar al–Assad |
116 |
In which Austrian city can you go on the Sound of Music tour? |
|
Salzburg |
117 |
Disgusting–sounding ailments no.1: What is Borborygmus? |
|
Noises
made by the stomach (caused by the movement of fluid
and gas) |
118 |
Which unit of measurement was defined by Edward II of England by placing three barleycorns in a line? |
|
An inch |
119 |
What is the main use for the chemical ethylene glycol? |
|
Antifreeze (accept coolant) |
120 |
Which computer operating system has a penguin as its logo? |
|
Linux |
1 |
According to the Office of Rail Regulation, which British railway station saw the largest number of passengers in the
financial year 2015–16? |
|
London Waterloo |
2 |
Maria Ann Smith of Ryde, NSW, Australia, produced a new variety of fruit in 1868. What is it called? |
|
A Granny Smith (apple) |
3 |
In which English county is Tintagel? |
|
Cornwall |
4 |
Who is the President of Zimbabwe (as at 21 January 2018)? |
|
Emmerson Mnangagwa |
5 |
Which jazz trumpeter was nicknamed Satchmo? |
|
Louis Armstrong |
6 |
Which band did Ronnie Wood leave to join the Rolling Stones? |
|
The Faces |
7 |
Who had a 1992 album called Diva? |
|
Annie Lennox |
8 |
In which opera do you find Lieutenant Pinkerton? |
|
Madame Butterfly |
9 |
Which word, commonly used in English and other languages, is the Tamil word for 'sauce'? |
|
Curry |
10 |
If, in a bar, you were given a Mickey Finn, what would you have? |
|
A drugged drink |