THE 49th QUIZ

And some more:


1. Francesinha is a dish made from wet-cured ham, pork sausages and steak covered with cheese and tomato and beer sauce that originated in which European city?
2. Which work, a series of sculptures cast in marble and bronze, by the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi sold for $27.5 million in 2005, a record for a sculpture sold at auction?
3. La Pérouse Strait separates Hokkaidō from which Russian island?
4. Which Indian chess grandmaster is the current World Champion having won the title in Mexico City earlier this year? He had previously held the title from 2000-2002, when he became the first ever Indian World Chess Champion.
5. At which racecourse is the Irish Grand National held annually?
6. Of which country did Napoleon say “Why, it’s a model republic!” when asked why he did not attempt to invade it?
7. The Cuban Missile Crisis began when Khruschev began installing nuclear missiles in Cuba in response to the United States installing Jupiter missiles in which country?
8. The Kingdom of Vannius, home to the Quadi tribe in the First Century, was located in which modern-day European country?
9. Which river starts at Fontibre in Cantabria and ends in a delta on the Mediterranean Sea in Tarragona?
10. The potentially fatal disease pellagra, that has symptoms including dermatitis, diarrhea, insomnia and dementia, is caused by a dietary deficiency of which vitamin?
11. Which brother of Napoleon served as King of Holland from 1806 until 1810?
12. At 3,103,200 km², which is the largest of the 21 Russian Republics and also the largest sub-national governing body by area in the world?
13. And with a population of 4,104,000, which is the largest of the 21 Russian Republics by population?
14. Which country will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first half of 2008?
15. Which Portuguese novelist and playwright, author of 'The Gospel According to Jesus Christ' and the 2004 work 'Seeing' was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998?
16. Which island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska is the westernmost point of the United States?
17. By what Italian name was the city of Nice officially known prior to its cession to France in 1860?
18. Who was the Spanish Renaissance Roman Catholic philosopher and theologian, remembered for his influential theories regarding international law, who founded the intellectual school of thought known as the School of Salamanca in the early 16th Century?
19. Imaqliq, Nunarbuk and Ratmanov Island are all alternative names for which island in the Bering Strait?
20. Considered one of the biggest upsets in international football history, which country did the Faroe Islands' national football team defeat 1-0 in their first ever competitive match in 1990?
21. Which 16th Century English author wrote the plays 'Supposes' and 'Jocasta', both published in 1566?
22. Which town, located at the confluence of the Tagus and Jarama rivers just south of Madrid, derives its name from the Basque for 'valley of thorns'?
23. What is the common name for the 1642 painting that is properly known as 'The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch'?
24. Revolutions of the second half of the 20th and early 21st Centuries were often given memorable names. In which countries did the following Revolutions take place?: a) October Revolution (1964); b) Carnation Revolution (1974); c) Saur Revolution (1978); d) Velvet Revolution (1989); e) Log Revolution (1990-1995); f) Bulldozer Revolution (2000); g) Rose Revolution (2003); h) Orange Revolution (2004); i) Cedar Revolution (2005); j) Tulip Revolution (2005)
25. Which city in Eastern Europe, older than Rome, Athens or Carthage, was renamed Philippopolis (The city of Philip) by Philip of Macedon and known to the Romans as Trimontium (City of Three Hills) and described by the satirist Lucian as "The largest and most beautiful of all cities"?
26. Volcán de Fuego is an active volcano that erupted in August 2007 resulting in the evacuation of several families but no reported deaths. In which country is it to be found?
27. Who was the fascist politician who became the first President of the Slovak State in 1939, a post that he kept until April 1945? He was hanged by the Czechoslovak authorities in April 1947.
28. Which European city stands between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs?
29. Which Roman Stoic philosopher is credited with writing the satirical work 'The Pumpkinification of Claudius', probably in reaction to Claudius' decision to banish him to Corsica?
30. 'Catechismus' and 'Abecedarium' were two books published by the Protestant reformer Primož Trubar in 1550. They are notable as they were the first books to be printed in which language?


The answers:


1. PORTO (OPORTO)
2. BIRD IN SPACE
3. SAKHALIN
4. VISWANATHAN ANAND
5. FAIRYHOUSE
6. SAN MARINO
7. TURKEY
8. SLOVAKIA
9. EBRO
10. VITAMIN B3 (NIACIN)
11. LOUIS BONAPARTE
12. SAKHA REPUBLIC (or YAKUTIA)
13. BASHKORTOSTAN (or BASHKIRIA)
14. SLOVENIA
15. JOSÉ SARAMAGO
16. ATTU ISLAND
17. NIZZA
18. FRANCISCO DE VITORIA
19. BIG DIOMEDE ISLAND
20. AUSTRIA
21. GEORGE GASCOIGNE
22. ARANJUEZ
23. THE NIGHT WATCH
24. a) SUDAN b) PORTUGAL c) AFGHANISTAN d) CZECHOSLOVAKIA e) CROATIA f) YUGOSLAVIA/SERBIA g) GEORGIA h) UKRAINE i) LEBANON j) KYRGYZSTAN
25. PLOVDIV
26. GUATEMALA
27. JOZEF TISO
28. BARCELONA
29. SENECA THE YOUNGER
30. SLOVENIAN