- With what is a 'carpetbag steak' stuffed? Oysters
(Apparently popularised first in Sydney Australia in the 1950's. The word
oyster derives from the ancient Greek word osteon meaning bone, the root also
of words like osteopathy.)
- In language a paronomasia is more commonly known as what?
Pun (A word with two meanings, usually having a comic effect - like a
'double-entendre', which extends the pun principle to phrases where usually one
of two meanings is rude.)
- Which early Charles Dickens novel features the characters
Wackford and Fanny Squeers, Smike, Newman Noggs and the Cheeryble brothers?
Nicholas Nickleby (Fully, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.
Dickens, 1812-70, first serialised the story between 1838-9 before it was
published as a novel.)
- How many balls, including the white cue ball, are on a snooker
table (before any are potted)? Twenty-two (White, yellow, green, brown,
blue, pink, black and fifteen reds.)
- In Western ecclesiastical law a diriment impediment invalidates
what? Marriage (or a wedding)
- Who is generally credited with the invention of the hovercraft
in 1955? Christopher Cockerell (Later Sir Christopher Cockerell. His
prototype first crossed the English Channel in 1959. Earlier secret development
of similar technology by the American military is possible but is obviously not
easy to substantiate.)
- What colour is the letter L in the standard Google logo?
Green (The word googol was suggested for the number one followed by 100
zeroes, 10100, by American mathematician Edward Kasmer in 1940.)
- How many stars are on the flag of the European Union?
Twelve (The number of stars is constant and does not equate to the
number of EU member countries. The design has been twelve gold stars on a blue
background since the adoption of the flag in 1986, prior to which it had been
in use by the Council of Europe, and originally in 1955 by the six member
countries of the European Coal and Steel Community.)
- Who wrote the poem beginning, "Stop all the clocks, cut off the
telephone.." which featured in the funeral scene of the film Four Weddings and
a Funeral? W H Auden (Wystan Hugh Auden, 1907-73, born in England,
became naturalised American in 1946. The poem is actually titled Funeral
Blues.)
- Tallinn is the capital of which country? Estonia
(Estonia achieved independence of the Soviet Union in 1991, after the four year
'singing revolution' among the people of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia,
remarkable for its popular passive resistance and defiant hymn-singing.)
- What colour is Stephanie's hair in the children's TV series
LazyTown? Pink
- Which English playwright and poet was stabbed in uncertain
circumstances in 1593 age 29 (he penned the line 'Come live with me and be my
love')? Christopher Marlowe
- Who won 'The Battle of the Sexes' tennis match at the Houston
Astrodome in 1973? Billie Jean King (King beat 1940's men's champion
Bobby Riggs in three straight sets. The cleverly promoted event achieved
unprecedented publicity for women's tennis and equal rights.)
- Kenneth Kaunda was the first president of which African
country? Zambia (Fully, the Republic of Zambia, and previously Northern
Rhodesia. Kaunda, a leading figure in the Republic's formation, came to office
in 1964, initially as the president of Northern Rhodesia, becoming Zambia later
that year, and he presided until 1991.)
- What is the common word for the monosaccharide substance found
in certain fruit, flower nectar and honey, with the chemical formula
C6H12O6? Fructose (From the Latin word
fructus, meaning fruit.)
- The cult TV series Lost which began in 2004 features 'Oceanic
Flight ...' what? 815 (If anyone has the slightest idea what's going on
please send me your suggestions..)
- The billionnaire Barclay twins' long-running disputes about
their private island Brecqhou (or Brechou) are with which Channel Island?
Sark (Sark, 2 square miles, population around 600, no cars, is gradually
revising its old feudal constitution in line with modern European laws, while
trying to preserve its ancient heritage. In 1993 the Barclay twins bought
Brecqhou island, historically a tenement of Sark. A prolonged clash of ideals
ensued. Sark sought to maintain certain jurisdictions over Brecqhou, while the
twins sought to protect and enhance their investment, with a spawling new
castle and multi-million pound lawsuits against Sark in the European courts. I
suppose we should pity the poor Barclay twins - paying all that money for their
own island and then can't get on with the neighbours..)
- Which Scottish athlete refused to run on a Sunday at the 1924
Paris Olympic Games? Eric Liddle (Liddle, 1902-45, withdrew from the 100
metres before the games when the schedule was first announced. He trained
instead for the 400 metres, which he won in a world record time. He also won
bronze in the 200 metres.)
- What does K stand for in the CMYK colour model used in
printing? Key (Usually black, so called from the key printing plate,
used to outline or contrast in the images created with the other colours: cyan
- blue, magenta - pinkish red, and yellow.)
- The King and Queen of which European country narrowly escaped
assassination on their wedding day in 1906? Spain (King Alfonso VIII and
Queen Consort Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg - granddaughter of
British Queen Victoria.)
- Marsh Fever is another term for which ailment? Malaria
(which according to the World Health Organization kills about a million people
every year, mostly children, despite the existence of preventative treatment
and cure.)
- What is the offspring of a male lion and a tigress called
(apart from very dangerous)? Liger (A liger is the largest of all cats,
apparently living in a constant state of pubescent growth due to its mixed
genetics, with examples reported in excess of 500kgs; a tigon incidentally is
the offspring of a lionness and a male tiger.)
- Jazz musician Miles Davis, 1926-91, whose 1959 album Kind of
Blue is generally regarded as the biggest selling jazz album of all time,
played what instrument? Trumpet
- What is the capital of Sierra Leone? Freetown (The West
African port city is so named because it was an early settlement of freed
slaves, first established in the late 1700's.)
- What is the (traditionally wooden) housing or stand which
contains a ship's compass? Binnacle (ultimately derived from Latin
habitare, meaning to dwell, in which the T sound evolved to an N sound while
the word transferred through French to English.)
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