General Knowledge Quiz 234

Questions

1. Aristocrat George 'Beau' Brummell (1778-1840) is associated with what social trend commencing c.1790 in Europe?

   1. Liberalism
   2. Dandyism
   3. Activism
   4. Voyeurism

2. The famous information management/computing maxim, which in philosophy encourages objective thinking rather than unhelpful personal emotional responses, is "Everything is (What?)"?

   1. Complicated
   2. Data
   3. Broken
   4. Gobbledegook

3. 'Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation' is better known as what, first demonstrated in 1960?

4. Who is responsible for the erroneous naming of Native American 'Indians'?

   1. Winston Churchill
   2. Abraham Lincoln
   3. Christopher Columbus
   4. Pope Paul VI

5. The North and South Poles are respectively at how many degrees latitude?

   1. 90 and 90
   2. 45 and 45
   3. 0 and 180
   4. 180 and 360

6. Magnetite, Magnesium, and Manganese are named after the Magnesia district of?

   1. London
   2. China
   3. Greece
   4. Manhattan

7. Sir Isaac Pitman (1813-97) invented a famous eponymous system for?

   1. Coal-mining
   2. Shorthand
   3. Ceramics
   4. Sheep-dipping

8. Early theory (Plato c.360BC) suggested the universe comprises which four of these 'elements'?

9. Chuck Taylor popularized what 1908-founded US shoe corporation, whose logo is a single circled star?

10. Which of these is not a major export of Cuba?

    1. Sugar
    2. Tobacco
    3. Citrus fruit
    4. Lamb

11. What instrument used by Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot was patented in Hawaii in 1917?

    1. Stethoscope
    2. Compass
    3. Nail-file
    4. Ukulele

12. A flying buttress is a?

    1. Far-leaping tropical ape
    2. 1940s bomber aircraft
    3. Architectural support
    4. Arabian magic carpet

13. In 1789, individual liberty above the rule of state/law was adopted for the first time into a national constitution by which two nations?

    1. Great Britain
    2. USA
    3. Russia
    4. France
    5. China

14. A healthy/normal human adult blood pressure reading is considered to be roughly what two figures (mmHg)?

    1. 140/90
    2. 120/80
    3. 90/60
    4. 10/7

15. A Loiner is the traditional demonym for a person from?

    1. Leeds
    2. London
    3. Lisbon
    4. Lima

16. The dramatic art/design style originating in Rome c.1600 meaning 'rough pearl' in French is?

    1. Baroque
    2. Gothic
    3. Renaissance
    4. Impressionist

17. Austrian physicist Ernst Mach (1838-1916) devised the famous?

    1. Meccano construction toy
    2. Big Mac (burger)
    3. Tarmac (road surface)
    4. Supersonic velocity measurement unit

18. Jules Verne's 1873 novel 'Around the World in 80 Days' was the first use of what marketing method?

    1. Celebrity Endorsement
    2. Product Placement
    3. Radio adverts
    4. BOGOFF (Buy-One-Get-One-For-Free)

19. What can be worn in the NATO phonetic alphabet?

    1. Raincoat
    2. Waistcoat
    3. Uniform
    4. Trousers

20. From Latin 'standing out from the flock' what originally meant very good and now means very bad?

    1. Egregious
    2. Ghastly
    3. Abominable
    4. Obnoxious