free trivia quiz questions and answers - for pub
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Below are the quiz answers. Here are the quiz questions without
answers.
Question 27 - spelling of Solanas corrected - thanks C Morrow (1 Jul
2007). Question 3 - corrected from 1983 to 1982 - thanks P Webster and A
Hurworth (10 Jul 2007).
quizballs 40 - free general knowledge quiz -
questions and answers for trivia quizzes and pub quizzes
The Aconcagua is the highest peak in which mountain range?
Andes (Aconcagua is 22,834 feet high, and is in Argentina)
What of these sports bodies was founded first, the AAA, FA, MCC or
IOC? MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club, formed in 1787, is the governing body
of world cricket. The Football Association was formed in 1863, Amateur
Athletics Association in 1880, and the International Olympic Committee in
1894)
Who was president of the USSR from 1982-84? Yuri Andropov
(1914-84, he died in office from various problems related to kidney failure.
Andropov was preceded by Leonid Brezhnev and succeeded by Konstantin Chernenko,
and can be credited for grooming the reforming Mikhail Gorbachev for
leadership)
What was American silent film star 'Fatty' Arbuckle's first name?
Roscoe
The character Roger 'Race' Bannon appeared as a boy's bodyguard in
which cartoon series? Jonny Quest (the Hanna-Barbera action-adventure
animation made from 1964-65 was one of the earliest targets for criticism about
scenes of violence in children's TV programmes. Bonus points for knowing the
name of Jonny's dog: Bandit)
Guru Nanak Dev founded which religion? Sikhism (the basis of
the Sikh religion was established in the late 1400's by Guru Nanak, 1469-1539,
formalised later in what became known as the Adi Granth, defining the three
pillars of Sikhism; namely daily meditation and chanting, working productively
and honestly, and sharing and giving)
The Phoenix Park murders of 1882 took place in which city?
Dublin (Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke, the second and
third most senior ministers in the British government of Ireland were victims
of the Irish Invincibles, an Irish nationalist group)
Who designed the famous Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona?
Gaudi (Antoni Gaudi i Cornet, 1852-1926 - work on Sagrada Familia
started in 1884 and amazingly it is still being built)
Who was Henry VIII's third wife? Jane Seymour (1509-37,
married 1536-7, mother of future Edward VI, but died 12 days after the birth -
no doubt before Henry had a chance to find something wrong with her and have
her executed..)
From which seeds is tahini made? Sesame (tahini is a paste
used especially in Middle Eastern and Oriental savoury cuisine)
What is the human ailment epistaxis better known as? Nosebleed
The Kariba Dam is on which river? Zambezi (or Zambesi - it
starts in Zambia and eventually reaches the Indian Ocean in Mozambique, passing
over Victoria Falls along the way. The dam lies between Zambia and Zimbabwe who
share its electrical output. Apparently four of the 87 men who died building it
remain buried in the concrete)
What does the B stand for in Lyndon B Johnson? Baines (Lyndon
B Johnson, 1908-73, also known as LBJ, 36th president of the USA, succeeded
John F Kennedy in 1963, and held office until retirement in January 1969)
What item of attire is a leghorn? Hat (made of straw)
What does an oologist collect? Birds' eggs
The Neanderthal Museum is in which country? Germany (near
Mettmann, in Western Germany between Dusseldorf and Wuppertal)
In which country is the European Court of Human Rights? France
(in Strasbourg - the European Court of Human Rights has jurisdiction over the
contracting nations of the Council of Europe, founded in 1949 to develop
European democratic principles based on the European Convention on Human
Rights. As at June 2007 there are 47 contracting nations)
In British history a Cavalier was a supporter of which king?
Charles I (the royalist 'Cavaliers' fought the 'Roundheads' in the
English Civil War 1642-51. The name Cavalier referred to the arrogant fashion
and attitude associated with cavalry officers. Roundhead referred to the
pudding-bowl hairstyles favoured by the anti-royalists which contrasted with
the flamboyant long curls of their opponents. Just like the mods and the
rockers..)
Leporine relates to which animal? Hare
In Greek mythology who was Apollo's twin sister? Artemis
(Goddess of the Hunt and Wild, sometimes extending to the Moon too, daughter of
Zeus, handy with a bow and arrow, and generally not the type of girl to mess
around)
Assassinated in 1965, who was Malcolm Little better known as?
Malcolm X (1925-65, American black nationalist leader, also known by his
adopted Muslim name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz)
What was the name of Ernest Shackleton's ship which became stuck in
Antarctic ice in 1915? HMS Endurance
By what name was Dutch dancer Margarethe Zelle better known? Mata
Hari (1876-1917, famous for her relationships with powerful men on both
sides of the First World War, ending with her execution by the French, accused
of spying for Germany, although doubts remain as to the reliability of the
evidence and the conviction - her stage name Mata Hari is Indonesian for sun -
literally 'eye of the day')
Which famous US lawman had brothers called Morgan and Virgil?
Wyatt Earp (famed for his involvement in the 1881 Gunfight at the OK
Corral, Tombstone, Arizona, when the Earps and Doc Holliday fought the Clantons
and McLaurys)
What was the name of the cruise ship seized by hijackers in the
Mediterranean in 1985? Achille Lauro
What type of creature is an amberjack? Fish (found and fished
in warm coastal waters around the world)
In 1968 which US artist and film maker was shot and wounded by
actress Valerie Solanas? Andy Warhol
Quinsy is an inflammation of which part of the body?
Throat
What is the capital of Croatia? Zagreb (whoch loosely means
grab, and possible relates grabbing or taking water)
What is the international distress signal one level below and less
serious than a 'Mayday' call? Pan-pan (usually three times, and
pronounced 'pawn-pawn' - the Morse code equivalent is TTT. The term is from the
French word panne meaning breakdown. Incidentally Mayday - Morse equivalent SOS
- is from French m'aider meaning help me,
more fully explained in
the expressions origins section. The French word sécurité -
again usually announced three times - is the third level of emergency,
typically used for maritime navigational or weather warnings)
Carambola is another name for which fruit? Star fruit (also
known as a kamranga or coromandel gooseberry)
In 1902 the Treaty of Vereeniging brought which war to an end? The
Second Boer War (there were two Boer Wars - the First Boer War was
1880–1881; the Second Boer War was 1899–1902)
Who was assassinated by Hugh de Merville, William de Tracy, Reginald
Fitzhurse and Richard le Breton? Thomas Becket (also referred to as
Thomas à Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1118-70, murdered during the
reign of Henry II, who later confessed to having incited the murder, asking to
be rid of 'this turbulent priest'. Becket was canonized - St Thomas Becket - in
1173)
The original 'Wendy house' was built for which fictional character?
Wendy Darling (in the play and novel Peter Pan, written by J M Barrie in
1904)
Convict Robert Franklin Stroud was better known as whom? The
Birdman of Alcatraz (1890-1963, imprisoned for manslaughter in 1909, he
killed a prison guard in 1916 and spent the rest of his life in prison,
achieving fame for breeding and writing about canaries)
What scientist and inventor was responsible for the Decibel unit of
measurement? Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922, inventor of the telephone
in 1876 - incidentally, a decibel is one tenth of a bel)
Which city is known as Auld Reekie and also Athens of the North?
Edinburgh
The French slang 'capote anglaise' meaning English hood, or English
overcoat refers to what? A condom
Maris Piper is a variety of which vegetable? Potato
An epithalamium is a song or poem celebrating what? Marriage
(or a wedding)
Which is the lightest element? Hydrogen
Dame Peggy Ashcroft won an Oscar for her role in which 1984 film?
A Passage to India
In 1865 what significant event happened at Ford's Theatre in
Washington DC? Abraham Lincoln's assassination (by John Wilkes Booth,
who interestingly was at the time a successful actor, although not performing
in the play Lincoln was watching, which was called Our American Cousin)
Who painted The Blue Boy in 1779? Thomas Gainsborough
Who wrote the poem Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard? Thomas
Gray (1716-71, the 1751 poem features some of the most commonly quoted
lines among all poerty, and originated some very famous expressions including
'far from the madding crowd', 'celestial fire' and 'kindred spirit')
Little Big Horn, the scene of Custer's last stand, is in which US
state? Montana (25-26 June 1876)
Which year was the death penalty for murder abolished in Britain?
1965
What clash, in 1746, was the last major battle to be fought on
mainland Britain? The Battle of Culloden (fought near Inverness in the
Scottish Highlands, Culloden ended the Scottish Jacobite rising and preserved
the British throne from the incumbent Hanoverian King George II)
Who was Britain's first Labour prime minister? Ramsey
MacDonald (1866-1937, first term Jan-Nov 1924, followed by terms from
1929-31, and 1931-35 in charge of a new 'national' government in response to
the 1931 financial crisis)
What does UNESCO stand for? United Nations Educational Scientific
and Cultural Organization
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