Saturday 22 September 2007

THE 38th QUIZ

Hi. I'm back again. I haven't posted for a few days because of a short illness. Hopefully we get back to regular postings now. Here goes:

1. Probably settled around 11,000 years ago, the Pulli settlement on the Pärnu River is the oldest known settlement in which European country?
2. Which island group did Britain hand over to Greece as a gift to mark the coronation of King George I of Greece in 1864?
3. On which of the Channel Islands could you visit Castle Cornet?
4. Born in Transylvania in 1886, who was the Hungarian Communist politician who ruled Hungary as the Hungarian Soviet Republic for a period in 1919?
5. After being dismissed by the Royal Navy, which 19th Century British naval officer, nicknamed the 'sea wolf', went on to serve in the rebel navies of Chile, Brazil and Greece during their struggles for independence?
6. Represented in Zen calligraphy as a circle, what name is given to the central tenet of Taoism, translating as 'without action', that involves the understanding of when to act and when not to act?
7. Which former American President was appointed the Chief Justice of the United States eight years after he left the White House?
8. In which fictitious French village did René Artois own a café in the TV sit-com ''Allo ' Allo!'?
9. The Great Mosque of which Malian city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest mud-brick building in the world?
10. The Brown Bear is the national animal and the Whooper Swan is the national bird; which country?
11. In one of the most famous maritime disasters in history, what was the name of the Italian ocean liner, named after a 16th Century Genoese admiral, that sank in the Atlantic Ocean in July 1956 after colliding with the Swedish-American liner SS Stockholm?
12. His actions considered the precursor of the Athens Polytechnic uprising, what was the name of the Greek geology student who set himself ablaze in Matteotti square in Genoa in protest at the dictatorial regime of Georgios Papadopoulos?
13. Found in Hungary, at 47,500 square metres, which is the largest thermal lake in the world?
14. What is the name of the Andalusian Spanish based vernacular spoken in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar?
15. Now covered in rainforest in a Guatemalan National Park after its abandonment in the 10th Century, which Maya capital, with a name meaning 'At the reservoir', is home to six of the largest Mesoamerican step pyramids?
16. Which poet designed the famous garden at Sissinghurst Castle in the Weald of Kent?
17. Thought to contain the oldest free standing buildings in the world, what name is given to the temple grouping built in Malta during the Ġgantija and Tarxien phases between 3600 and 2500BC?
18. Which ox-like antelope, Boselaphus tragocamelus, also known as the blue bull, is found in northern India and eastern Pakistan?
19. The Bund is a collection of early 20th century neo-classical buildings found in which city?
20. Which poem by John Keats begins with the famous line, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever"?
21. According to tradition Sigmundur Brestisson brought Christianity to which islands in 999AD?
22. Which Greek King was assassinated in Thessaloniki in 1913?
23. Formally known as Smyrna, which is the largest port in Turkey after Istanbul?
24. Which was the only one of the British Isles upon which Germany established concentration camps during World War II?
25. Which Hungarian Prime Minister, famously an expert in geography and economics, committed suicide in April 1941 in protest at his country’s involvement in the German attack on Yugoslavia?
26. The 16th Century Stari Most bridge, from which the Bosnian city of Mostar takes its name, spans which river?
27. What was the name of Nelson's flagship at the Battle of the Nile in 1798?
28. What was Anne's surname in LM Montgomery's novel 'Anne of Green Gables'?
29. Who was the British illustrator who is best known for his work illustrating the 'Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm' in 1900 and 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' in 1907?
30. The Cueca is dance originating from which South American country?
31. Which Hungarian physicist, the nephew of writer Sándor Bródy, invented the krypton-filled fluorescent lamp in 1930?
32. Which general was the Prime Minister of Greece during the authoritarian 4th of August Regime from 1936 until his death in 1941?
33. In which American state would you find the closest point to mainland Europe?
34. The Arrow Cross Party was a pro-German anti-Semitic socialist party that ruled which country from October 1944 to January 1945?
35. While playing for Real Madrid between 1953 and 1971, who became the only footballer to win 6 European Cup winners’ medals?
36. In the 13th Century BC, Pharaoh Ramesses II ordered the construction of two massive rock temples to himself and his queen, Nefertiti, at Abu Simbel to commemorate his alleged victory at which battle? It is thought today that his army was, in fact, humiliated by the Hittite forces and, at best, the battle was inconclusive.
37. Coming to power in 1916, who was the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian empire?
38. By what name is the egg laying 'spiny anteater' properly known?
39. Which Icelandic explorer discovered Newfoundland in modern-day Canada early in the 11th Century?
40. Which famous ship was captained by Christopher Jones, who died in 1622?
41. Who was the 20th Century sculptor who created 'The Table of Silence', 'The Gate of the Kiss' and 'The Endless Column'?
42. Born in Esztergom in 975AD, Stephen I is considered the first King of which modern country?
43. Who was the French naval officer in charge of the French and Spanish fleets defeated by Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar?
44. Who replaced Kurt Waldheim as Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1982?
45. What name is given to the painting technique in which water colours are thickened with gum or glue before application to the canvas?
46. At which battle of the War of the Austrian Succession did George II become the last English monarch to personally lead his troops into battle?
47. In Shakespeare's play, at which university had Hamlet been a student?
48. In which language was the text for Leoš Janáček's 'Glagolitic Mass' written?
49. In 1865, Edward Whymper became the first person to climb which mountain?
50. Between 1912 and 1929 New Delhi, chosen as the new capital of India, was designed by which British architect?


And the answers are:


1. ESTONIA
2. IONIAN ISLANDS
3. GUERNSEY
4. BÉLA KUN
5. THOMAS COCHRANE
6. WU WEI
7. HOWARD TAFT
8. NOUVION
9. DJENNÉ
10. FINLAND
11. SS ANDREA DORIA
12. KOSTAS GEORGAKIS
13. LAKE HÉVÍZ
14. LLANITO (or YANITO)
15. TIKAL (or TIK’AL)
16. VITA SACKVILLE-WEST
17. MNAJDRA
18. NILGAI
19. SHANGHAI
20. ENDYMION
21. FAROE ISLANDS
22. GEORGE I
23. İZMIR
24. ALDERNEY
25. PÁL TELEKI
26. NERETVA
27. HMS VANGUARD
28. SHIRLEY
29. ARTHUR RACKHAM
30. CHILE
31. IMRE BRÓDY
32. IOANNIS METAXAS
33. MASACHUSETTS
34. HUNGARY
35. FRANCISCO GENTO
36. BATTLE OF KADESH
37. KARL I
38. ECHIDNA
39. LEIF ERICSSON
40. MAYFLOWER
41. CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI
42. HUNGARY
43. PIERRE-CHARLES VILLENEUVE
44. JAVIER PÉREZ DE CUÉLLAR
45. GOUACHE
46. BATTLE OF DETTINGEN
47. WITTENBURG
48. OLD (CHURCH) SLAVONIC
49. MATTERHORN
50. EDWARD LUTYENS

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