Friday 21 November 2008

THE 69th QUIZ

Just a short one.

1. Which man, who died in 2004, served as chairman of the Arts Coucil of Great Britain and the advisory council of the Victoria and Albert Museum, a director of the Royal Opera House, a trustee of Glyndebourne, a member of the National Art Collections Fund committee, and treasurer of the Historic Churches Preservation Trust was made a life peer of Penn's Rocks in East Sussex in 1975?
PATRICK GIBSON
2. Who is the current manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC?
MICK McCARTHY
3. And which footballer scored on his Wolverhampton Wanderers debut in January 2008, having been signed by McCarthy from Luton Town for £675,000?
DAVID EDWARDS
4. Which Scottish actress is best known for playing Tina Hunter in the popular BBC Scotland soap opera ‘River City’ and has also played Michelle in ‘Dear Green Place’?
JENNY RYAN
5. Who captained the Mayflower on its transatlantic voyage that established the Plymouth Colony settlement in Massachusetts in 1620?
CHRIS JONES
6. Which Scottish international footballer scored Derby County’s winning goal as Derby ran out 1–0 winners over West Bromwich Albion in the 2007 Championship playoff final?
STEPHEN PEARSON
7. What was the real name of Anthony Burgess, the author of ‘A Clockwork Orange’?
JOHN WILSON
8. Also the first British flag officer to become a pilot, who was commander of the Greek Navy at the outbreak of World War I?
MARK KERR

Monday 17 November 2008

ROB'S QUIZ IV - THE RESULTS

The deadline is up and the results have been counted.

For the first time in one of my quizzes, a score of over 75% has been attained.

The quality of answers was such that just 2 questions went unanswered. Nobody guessed that a British hit single must have a running time of 40 minutes or under, or that the penaque is the only genus of fish to survive largely by eating wood.

A particularly notable score was attained by Michael McPartland who, on his first attempt at one of my quizzers, managed to come 5th. Amazingly, 98% of the answers he gave were correct. I don't believe I've ever seen that before. I've invited him to attend a future a GP. If this score is anything to go by, he should do very well.

There were, as always, several correct answers that were given by just one person. They were:

Q. 19 - Christchurch - Dom Tait
Q. 29 - Vigo & La Coruña - Lars Heggland (several people got one or other but only Lars named both cities).
Q. 104 - Kappa Sigma - Michael McPartland
Q. 110 - Naraka - Shanker Menon
Q. 170 - Kinderwhore - Michael McPartland
Q. 184 - Holden - Mark Grant
Q. 189 - Isabela - Keith Andrew


And to the results:

1. Pat Gibson 151
2. Olav Bjortomt 144.5
3. Barry Simmons 129.5
4. Mark Grant 125
5=. Michael McPartland 121.5
5=. Scott Dawson 121.5
7. David Stainer 114.5
8. Shanker Menon 114
9. Jamie Dodding 109
10. Chris Quinn 106.5
11. Harald Aastorp 101.5
12. Chris Jones 100.5
13. John Harrison 93.5
14. Nic Paul 90.5
15=. Diane Hallagan 90
15=. Mark Kerr 90
17. Derek Heyes 89
18. Lars Heggland 88.5
19=. Dom Tait 85.5
19=. Peter Ediss 85.5
19=. Keith Andrew 85.5
22. Dave Bill 85
23=. Pete Smith 81
23=. Quentin Holt 81
25. Paul Sinha 80.5
26. Audrey Doyle 77
27=. Darren Martin 76.5
27=. William Barrett 76.5
29. Alan Bowell 73.5
30. Will Jones 66.5
31. Ian Dalziel 64.5
32. Myron Meyer 60
33. Rob Jones 58
34. Sam Roberts 46
35. Ivar Areklett 41.5
36. Lesley Saunders-Davies 32


Congratulations to Pat on an extraordinary score. And many thanks to all those who took the time to enter.

Wednesday 5 November 2008

ROB'S QUIZ 4

My 4th quiz is currently available. The deadline is 16th November 2008. If you haven't yet received a copy but would like to, then please e-mail me at pantscat69er@hotmail.com

The rules are the same as normal. But there are pictures with this one too.

Monday 8 September 2008

THE 68th QUIZ

Hello, once again. 25 questions for you with a bit of an emphasis on early English history. Due to several requests (or, indeed, constant nagging) I've put the answers directly after the questions.


1. Who was the commander of the Viking force that was defeated by Alfred the Great at the Battle of Edington?
GUTHRUM
2. With 31, who holds the record for winning the most Grammy Awards?
GEORG SALTI
3. What was the name of the English King upon which Shakespeare based his play 'Cymbeline'?
CUNOBELINUS
4. Which famous poet took boxing lessons from the celebrated pugilist John Jackson, better known as Gentleman Jackson?
LORD BYRON
5. What was the name of the brother of Edward the Confessor who was murdered by followers of Harold Harefoot in 1036?
ALFRED
6. Found in South Africa, which is the world's second highest waterfall?
TUGELA
7. What was the name of the husband of Boudicca?
KING PRASUTAGUS
8. Prior to the publication of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone', which 1939 novel had been the world's best-selling fictional work of the 20th Century?
AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (by AGATHA CHRISTIE)
9. As a child Alfred the Great was sent on a mission to Rome to meet with which Pope?
LEO IV
10. What name did Tacitus give to the unidentified Scottish mountain upon the slopes of which 10,000 Caledonians were slaughtered by the Roman army in 79AD?
MONS GRAUPIUS
11. Who was the first person to win two Academy Awards for Best Actress?
LUISE RAINER
12. In 927AD, who became the first King to be officially crowned as 'King of England'?
AETHELSTAN
13. After Harvard, which is the USA's next oldest university?
COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY (in Virginia)
14. What is the literal meaning of the word 'Pict'?
PAINTED ONE
15. Which Australian middle and long distance runner set 17 world records during the 1960s but never won an Olympic gold medal?
RON CLARKE
16. Who was the father of King Cnut?
SWEYN I
17. After Canada, which country has the next longest coastline?
INDONESIA
18. Which English village, then an important city, was known to the Romans as Viriconium?
WROXETER
19. After the USA and Israel, which country has the next largest Jewish population?
FRANCE
20. What name was given to any of the 30 defensive forts built by Alfred the Great in order to keep the Vikings out of Wessex after the Battle of Edington?
BURH
21. Which is Africa's largest landlocked country?
NIGER
22. At which castle is Catherine of Aragon buried?
PETERBOROURGH
23. Which King of East Anglia is thought to have been the king who was laid in the Viking longboat discovered at Sutton Hoo?
RAEDWALD
24. Who won an Oscar in 1944 for her performance as Cary Grant's mother in 'None But the Lonely Heart'?
ETHEL BARRYMORE
25. At 2,190 metres deep, the Voronya or Krubera Cave is the world's deepest. In which country is it found?
GEORGIA

Tuesday 12 August 2008

THE 67th QUIZ

Because my attention has been concentrated on other projects recently, I have posted very infrequently on this blog of late. From today, the quizzes will be posted more regularly. Here are 20 questions for you:

1. Which British track and field athlete lit the Olympic flame at the 1948 London Olympics?
2. With a name meaning 'corpse shore', what is the name of the place in Hel where Níðhöggr lives and sucks corpses?
3. What is the name of the monumental gateway that serves as the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens that now gives its name to any monumental gateway?
4. Who did Andy Murray defeat to win the final of the Cincinatti Masters in August 2008?
5. Which 17th Century Italian baroque painter, whose works include 'Baptism of Christ' and 'Venus and Amor', is known as 'The Anacreon of Painters'?
6. Who was the morganatic wife of Prince Rupert, Duke of Cumberland who is usually credited as the first professional actress on the English stage? Her first performance was on December 8 1660, in a production of Shakespeare's play 'Othello', when she played the role of Desdemona.
7. Which American football team play their homes games at Heinz Field?
8. Said to have been founded by a sister of Diomede and the birthplace of Democritus and Protagoras, which maritime city in Thrace is said to have become so overrun with rats that is was abandoned by its inhabitants who relocated to Macedonia?
9. Which American athlete was the first man to run the 100m in under 10 seconds?
10. According to Islamic belief, 40 of the 70 Abdals always live in which country?
11. Named after its ineffectiveness, which English Parliament of 1614 lasted no more than eight weeks and failed to resolve the conflict between King James I and the House of Commons?
12. Which horse won the 2008 Kentucky Derby? And which horse had to be put down after finishing second in the same race? *
13. Based on the stories in 'The Arabian Nights', 'Tales of the Genii' is the best remembered work of which English author?
14. First appearing in 1883, which catcher, playing for Toledo, became the first black major league baseballer?
15. What is the name of the boar of Norse mythology that was created by Eitri and Brokkr as a gift to Freyr?
16. Which English river was once known as the river Abus?
17. 'Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter', 'The Prime of Life', 'Force of Circumstance' and 'All Said and Done' are the four volumes of the autobiography of which French author?
18. In reference to seven Alexandrian poets and tragedians of the 3rd century B.C., what collective name was given to a group of 16th-century French Renaissance poets whose principal members were Pierre de Ronsard, Joachim du Bellay and Jean-Antoine de Baïf?
19. Which city in Jiangsu Province in China, known for its gardens and silk industry, is nicknamed 'the Venice of the East'?
20. In the Bible, upon which mountain did Aaron die?

*Thanks to Myron for spotting the not very deliberate mistake in the original question here. The original question stated that Big Brown both won the 2008 Kentucky Derby and was put down afterwards. I can state with confidence that Big Brown did win the race but it was, in fact, Eight Belles who was 'euthanized' (yes, I hate that word too). Big Brown is not dead - at least he wasn't until he read my quiz, at which point the shock of finding that he had been pronounced dead on such an authoritative blog as this one caused catastrophic heart failure. R.I.P. Big Brown. And Eight Belles.


And the answers:


1. JOHN MARK
2. NÁSTRÖND
3. PROPYLAEA
4. NOVAK DJOKOVIC
5. FRANCESCO ALBANI
6. MARGARET HUGHES
7. PITTSBURGH STEELERS
8. ABDERA
9. JIM HINES
10. SYRIA
11. ADDLED PARLIAMENT
12. BIG BROWN & EIGHT BELLES
13. JAMES RIDLEY
14. MOSES FLEETWOOD WALKER
15. GULLINBURSTI
16. HUMBER
17. SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR
18. LA PLEIADE
19. SUZHOU
20. MOUNT HOR

Sunday 3 August 2008

RESULTS OF ROB'S QUIZ III

The deadline is up and the votes have been counted. Well, the answers have been counted.

Perhaps the most pleasing aspect was that the quality of answers was so high that, of the 200 questions, only 5 went unanswered.

Special mentions go to the following, who were the only person, in each case, to give the correct answer to that question:

Q. 15 - SAVED BY THE BELL: THE NEW CLASS - Olav Bjortomt (although plenty were awarded half a mark for 'Saved By the Bell')
Q. 55 - BAHUVRIHI - Shanker Menon
Q. 64 - SHED - Peter Ediss
Q. 90 - GIRLICIOUS - Roger Eldegard
Q. 124 - STEPHEN KUMALO - William Barrett
Q. 153 - BABY FACE NELSON - Olav Bjortomt
Q. 175 - QUERY - Olav Bjortomt
Q. 190 - CANIS MAJOR - Thomas Kolåsæter

Well done to all the above.

And now to the important bit. The scores are:


1. Mark Bytheway 144
2. Olav Bjortomt 142
3. Pat Gibson 132
4. Barry Simmons 114
5. Mark Grant 113
6. Scott Dawson 108
7. David Stainer 107.5
8. Shanker Menon 106.5
9. Jamie Dodding 103
10. Thomas Kolåsæter 102
11. Martin Riley 95
12=. Nic Paul 92
12=. Mark Kerr 92
14. Diane Hallagan 90.5
15. Darren Martin 90
16. Harald Aastorp 89
17=. Chris Quinn 88
17=. Ole Martin Halck 88
17=. Tore Dahl 88
20=. Quentin Holt 84
20=. Lars Heggland 84
22. Chris Jones 83.5
23. Keith Andrew 83
24. Phil Duffy 81
25=. Dom Tait 74.5
25=. Peter Ediss 74.5
27. Will Jones 73
28. David Bill 70
29. Alan Bowell 67
30. William Barrett 55.5
31. Jayakanthan Ranganathan 55
32=. CJ de Mooi 52.5
32=. Rob Jones 52.5
34=. Myron Meyer 50
34=. Paul Davis 50
36. Karen Skjånes 46.5
37. Elliot Selby 46
38. Jan Gunnar Fredriksen 45.5
39. Roger Eldegard 40.5
40. Tor Carlsen 40
41. Ivar Areklett 36
42. Thomas Iversen 30
43. Toril Opsahl 25.5
44. Christian Grindvold 23.5
45. Lesley Saunders-Davies 19


Congratulations to Mark for a great score. Also, many congratulations to both Olav and Pat for fantastic scores of their own. Many thanks to all who took part with particular thanks to the band of intrepid Norwegians who decided to sit the quiz together under test conditions.

I hope you enjoyed answering it as much as I did writing in. Rob's Quiz IV draws inexorably nearer.

Monday 21 April 2008

QUIZ RESULTS

The deadline has closed and the results are in.

34 people have taken part (although 2 people - who assure me they have completed the quiz - have been given special dispensation to furnish me with their answers at a later date).

Many thanks to all those who took part and congratulations to all those who scored over 100 on what was, it appears, a slightly harder quiz than last time. Further congratulations to the winner, who fared rather better with my questions than I usually do with his.

As with my last quiz, I would like to give a special mention to three people who were, in each case, the only person (out of the 34) to give a correct answer to a particular question. They are:

Question 24 - Sarabande - DIANE HALLAGAN
Question 104 - Dysnomia - QUENTIN HOLT
Question 130 - Chukwa - NIC PAUL

And to the results:

1 Olav Bjortomt 139.5
2 Pat Gibson 128
3 Sean Carey 116.5
4 Mark Grant 111.5
5= Barry Simmons 105
5= Ian Bayley 105
7= Scott Dawson 100.5
7= William De Ath 100.5
9 Mark Kerr 98.5
10 Chris Quinn 90.5
11 Chris Jones 90
12 Nic Paul 85.5
13= Shanker Menon 83.5
13= Dom Tait 83.5
15 Darren Martin 83
16 Thomas Kolåsæter 79.5
17 Diane Hallagan 78.5
18 Keith Andrew 77.5
19 Jamie Dodding 77
20 Chris Curtis 75
21= Quentin Holt 74
21= William Barrett 74
23 Matt Barr 64.5
24 Peter Ediss 62
25= Will Jones 60.5
25= Alan Bowell 60.5
27 Audrey Doyle 60
28 CJ de Mooi 56.5
29 Paul Davis 49
30 Ian Dalziel 48
31 Myron Meyer 47.5
32 Tom Waddell 42
33 Jayakanthan R. 41.5
34 Sam Roberts 40.5
35 Lesley Saunders-Davies 25

Monday 14 April 2008

THE 66th QUIZ

1. They were discovered in 1743 and called Cyrpiniformes. Shortly afterwards, another discovery led to them being given the name by which we know them today. What name?
2. What name is given to any of a group of biennial Old World thistles in the genus Arctium, family Asteraceae, that is used in Japanese cuisine and said to have medicinal qualities?
3. Which poet, born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1910, served as the rector of the Black Mountain College from 1951 until 1956 and left 'The Maximus Poems' unfinished at his death in 1970?
4. Aishwarya Rai starred alongside Colin Firth and Sir Ben Kingsley in which 2007 film based on a novel by Valerio Massimo Manfredi?
5. At 5' 5", which international is the shortest footballer to be on the books of a Premiership club?
6. Who was the Dutch scientist who, in 1676, became the first person to observe bacteria?
7. What was the name of the father of Rameses II who, for a time, ruled jointly with his son?
8. By what name was British Airways known when it was founded in 1924?
9. In which year were both Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington born?
10. The word ‘cheetah’ is derived from a Sanskrit name meaning what?
11. What was the name of the Queen of the Netherlands who abdicated in 1948 due to ill health?
12. KT Tunstall was born in which Scottish town on 23 June 1975?
13. In Graham Greene's novel 'Brighton Rock', what is Pinkie's surname?
14. Which former President was enrolled as the first Medicare beneficiary and presented with the first Medicare card?
15. What is the name of the founder of the Peruvian rebel group Shining Path?
16. What name was given to the rigidly organized military regiments commanded by Shaka Zulu?
17. How much did James Whistler receive after successfully suing the art critic John Ruskin for libel?
18. Which alternative rock group recorded the song ‘California’ that is used as the theme to ‘The O.C.’?
19. In April 2003, which American news website accidentally published premature draft obituaries of several public figures, using the Queen Mother and Ronald Reagan as draft templates? Dick Cheney was described as the 'UK's favorite grandmother', Pope John Paul II was said to have had a 'love of racing' and Fidel Castro was described as a 'lifeguard, athlete and movie star'.
20. In which country is the style of music known as zaffa traditionally used at wedding ceremonies?

And the answers:


1. ELECTRIC EELS
2. BURDOCK
3. CHARLES OLSON
4. THE LAST LEGION
5. AARON LENNON
6. ANTONIE VAN LEEUWENHOEK
7. SETI I
8. IMPERIAL AIRWAYS
9. 1769
10. VARIEGATED BODY
11. WILHELMINA
12. ST ANDREWS
13. BROWN
14. HARRY TRUMAN
15. ABIMAEL GUZMAN
16. IMPI
17. ONE FARTHING
18. PHANTOM PLANET
19. CNN
20. EGYPT

Friday 11 April 2008

200 QUESTION QUIZ UPDATE

Due to a large number of requests to do so, I'm extending the deadline for my quiz until Sunday 20th April.

It's only an hour and a half you need to find!!! Come on, peeps!

Wednesday 26 March 2008

200 QUESTION QUIZ

I wanted to bring your attention to a typographical error in my new 200 question quiz. The date in Question 132 should read 1773 rather than 1793. I must have read through the quiz 100 times without ever noticing it. Many thanks to Keith for bringing it to my attention.

12 completed quizzes have been submitted so far - still plenty of time left to enter if you haven't done so already.

Monday 17 March 2008

THE 65th QUIZ - USA & CANADA

Quizzes for your consumption:

1. Which small, uninhabited island in the Caribbean Sea, an unorganized unincorporated territory of the United States, which administers it through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is also claimed by Haiti?
2. Washington DC is located on land donated by which American state?
3. Bryce Canyon, a giant natural amphitheater created by erosion along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau, is to be found in which US State?
4. Deriving from the French for ‘towards Arkansas’, what name is given to the physiographic, geologic, and cultural highland region of the central United States, covering much of the south half of Missouri and an extensive portion of northern Arkansas as well as parts of Oklahoma and Kansas?
5. Which river, perhaps named for the tannic acid it contains, separates the Adirondack Mountains from the Tug Hill Plateau in New York state before emptying into Lake Ontario?
6. With a maximum depth of 594 metres, which lake in Oregon is the deepest lake in the USA?
7. Theodore Roosevelt National Park consists of 110 square miles of badlands in which American state?
8. What is the name given to the historically significant one square mile tract of land along the border between Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania, the ownership of which was disputed from the 17th Century until Delaware’s ownership was confirmed by Pennsylvania in 1921?
9. In 1791, which became the 14th American state and the first admitted to the Union since the original 13 colonies declared independence from Britain?
10. Signed in San Lorenzo de El Escorial on October 27, 1795, establishing intentions of friendship between the United States and Spain, its full title was Treaty of Friendship, Limits, and Navigation Between Spain and the United States and it was also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo or the Treaty of Madrid. However, the name by which it is best remembered today is that of the American statesman who negotiated the treaty for the United States. What name?
11. Taking place from 1795 to 1803, the Yazoo Land Scandal is the name given to the massive fraud perpetrated by several governors of which state by selling large tracts of land to insiders at ridiculously low prices?
12. Taking its name from a suburb of what is now Mexico City, what name is given to the treaty, signed in February 1848, that ended the Mexican-American War?
13. The land bought from Mexico in 1853 for $10 million in what is known as the Gadsden Purchase is now located in which two states?
14. Guam, Puerto Rico and American Samoa are three of the better known unincorporated territories of the Unites States. Which atoll in the Northern Pacific Ocean is the USA’s only incorporated territory?
15. What was the name of the chief of the Wampanoag Indians who led his people in the bloody war against the English colonists that would become known as King Philip’s War (1675-76)?
16. Which American jurist, statesman, and revolutionary leader from Connecticut served as a delegate to the Continental Congress where he signed the Declaration of Independence and later as the first President of the United States in Congress Assembled?
17. Although his very existence has never been proven, Tom the Tinker was the name given to the leader of which insurrection in Pennsylvania in 1794 caused by the introduction of a hated tax three years earlier?
18. In which city was George Washington inaugurated as the first US President in April 1789?
19. In 1959, Alaska and Hawaii were admitted as the 49th and 50th states. Admitted in 1912, which was the 48th state?
20. Shay’s Rebellion, led by small farmers angered by crushing debt and taxes in the immediate aftermath of the War of American Independence, was an armed uprising that occurred in which state from 1786-87?


1. NAVASSA ISLAND
2. MARYLAND
3. UTAH
4. OZARKS
5. BLACK RIVER
6. CRATER LAKE
7. NORTH DAKOTA
8. THE WEDGE
9. VERMONT
10. PINCKNEY’S TREATY
11. GEORGIA
12. TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO
13. ARIZONA & NEW MEXICO
14. PALMYRA ATOLL
15. METACOMET (or METACOM)
16. SAMUEL HUNTINGTON
17. WHISKEY REBELLION
18. NEW YORK
19. ARIZONA
20. MASSACHUSETTS



1. Which American doctrine proclaimed, in December 1823, that European powers should no longer colonize or interfere with the affairs of the newly independent nations of the Americas.
2. The Louisiana Purchase occurred under which American President?
3. Containing approximately 80 islands, which lake between the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Adirondack Mountains of New York is drained northward by the Richelieu River into the St. Lawrence River near Montreal and fed by Otter Creek, the Winooski, Missisquoi, and Lamoille Rivers in Vermont, and the Ausable, Chazy, Boquet, and Saranac Rivers in New York?
4. Named after a disparaging phrase used by John Adams to describe agents of Foreign Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, what name is given to the diplomatic episode of 1797 that worsened relations between France and the United States and led to the undeclared Quasi-War of 1798?
5. What was the name given to the two wars fought by the United States of America against the independent Sultanate of Morocco, and the three Regencies of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli from 1801 to 1815?
6. Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in the USA, is to be found in which Alaskan National Park and Preserve, the name of which means "the great one" in the native Athabaskan language and refers to the mountain itself?
7. Who led the American forces against the British fleet, under the command of Sir Alexander Cochrane, at the Battle of New Orleans, the final major battle of the War of 1812?
8. The Era of Good Feelings is a much-used phrase coined by the journalist Benjamin Russell to describe a period of American history under which President?
9. In April 2007, a strong storm caused a 300 yard breach between Martha’s Vineyard and which smaller island off its eastern end that had previously been connected to the main island?
10. Sometimes known in the South as the Battle of Sharpsburg, which battle, fought in Maryland on September 17, 1862, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil and was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with almost 23,000 casualties?
11. What is the name of the historic village in Viriginia where the surrender of the Confederate Army under Robert E. Lee to Union commander Ulysses S. Grant took place on April 9, 1865, effectively ending the American Civil War?
12. With a population of a little over 11,500, which Floridian city is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city in the USA, and the oldest port in the continental United States?
13. It is traditionally held that the American Civil War began when which Confederate General opened fire upon Fort Sumter in South Carolina?
14. In 1848, the former Democratic President Martin van Buren was again nominated for Presidency by which short-lived political party that was active during the 1848 and 1852 elections before being largely absorbed by the Republican Party in 1854?
15. Devils Tower in Wyoming gained its name during an 1875 expedition led by Col. Richard Irving Dodge when his interpreter misinterpreted the Lakota name ‘Mato Tipila’ to mean Bad God's Tower, later to be shortened to its present name. What is the correct translation?
16. Named after an American slave who was later hanged, what name was given to the slave rebellion that took place in Southampton County, Virginia during August 31 during which over 50 people were killed?
17. What was the name of the American Commodore who compelled the opening of the Japanese ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to United States trade with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854?
18. The Pocono Mountains region is a popular tourist destination located in the northeastern part of which state?
19. Taking its name from the response expected from its members when asked about their involvement with the party, what was the popular name given to the movement that originated in New York in 1843 as the American Republican Party that was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by Irish Catholic immigrants?
20. Kolob Arch, the second longest natural arch in the world, can be found in which National Park in Utah?


1. MONROE DOCTRINE
2. THOMAS JEFFERSON
3. LAKE CHAMPLAIN
4. XYZ AFFAIR
5. BARBARY WARS
6. DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE
7. ANDREW JACKSON
8. JAMES MONROE
9. CHAPPAQUIDDICK ISLAND
10. BATTLE OF ANTIETAM
11. APPOMATTOX COURT HOUSE
12. ST AUGUSTINE
13. PIERRE BEAUREGARD
14. FREE SOIL PARTY
15. BEAR TOWER
16. NAT TURNER’S REBELLION
17. MATTHEW PERRY
18. PENNSYLVANIA
19. KNOW-NOTHING (PARTY or MOVEMENT)
20. ZION NATIONAL PARK



1. The name Canada is taken from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata, meaning what?
2. The capital of Upper Canada from 1797 - 1841, by what name was Toronto known prior to 1834?
3. Which city in Newfoundland and Labrador is the oldest English-founded city in North America and received the first wireless trans-Atlantic message in 1901?
4. Celebrated annually on July 1st, by what name was Canada Day known prior to 1982?
5. Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec City in 1608 under the sponsorship of which French King?
6. Lucy Maude Montgomery's character, Anne of Green Gables was born in which Canadian province?
7. Who was the colonist and soldier of New France who led a French militia, allied with Huron Indians, against a much larger Iroquois army at the Battle of Long Sault in 1660?
8. Who was the Canadian-born French colonial governor who, in 1755, became the last governor of New France before it was ceded to Britain after the Seven Years’ War?
9. Canada shares its only land border with the United States. However, it shares marine borders with which two countries?
10. According to Canadian legend "Push on, brave York Volunteers" were the last words of which British Major-General, nicknamed ‘The Hero of Upper America’, who was killed at the Battle of Queenston Heights in 1812?
11. Which Canadian heroine of the War of 1812, after becoming aware of plans for a surprise attack on troops led by British Lieutenant James Fitzgibbon at Beaver Dams, is said to have walked, perhaps barefoot, approximately 32 km from present day Queenston to Fitzgibbon's headquarters to warn him of the attack?
12. Which easily recognizable twin peaked mountain with two flat-topped cylindrical rock towers, separated by a saddle, in Auyuittuq National Park in Nunavut appeared in the opening sequence of the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me?
13. The Red River Rebellion is the name given to the events surrounding the actions of a provisional government established by Métis leader Louis Riel in 1869 at the Red River Settlement that led to the creation of which Canadian province?
14. One of the most notorious incidents in the history of early 20th century exclusion laws in Canada designed to keep out immigrants of Asian origin, what was the name of the Japanese steam liner that sailed from Hong Kong to Vancouver in 1914, carrying 376 passengers from the Punjab, that was not allowed to land in Canada and was forced to return to India?
15. The only known nesting site of whooping cranes, which national park, located in northeastern Alberta and southern Northwest Territories, is the largest national park in Canada at 44,807 km²?
16. What was the name of the Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 72 victories, the highest number for a British Empire pilot?
17. What was the name of the French munitions ship that exploded off the coast of Nova Scotia in December 1917, after colliding with the Belgian relief ship Imo, destroying most of the city of Halifax?
18. Located where the foothills of the Rocky Mountains begin to rise from the prairie near Fort McLeod in Alberta, which UNESCO World Heritage Site and museum of Native culture has, perhaps, the most unusual name of all World Heritage Sites?
19. What name is given to the formal and ceremonial uniform of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police?
20. What is the English name for the comedy festival Juste Pour Rire held each July in Montreal, the largest festival of its kind in the world?


1. VILLAGE (or SETTLEMENT)
2. YORK
3. ST. JOHN’S
4. DOMINION DAY
5. HENRY IV
6. PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
7. DOLLARD DES ORMEAUX
8. PIERRE FRANÇOIS DE RIGAUD, MARQUIS DE VAUDREUIL-CAVAGNAL
9. DENMARK (GREENLAND) & FRANCE (SAINT PIERRE AND MIQUELON)
10. ISAAC BROCK
11. LAURA SECORD
12. MOUNT ASGARD
13. MANITOBA
14. KOMAGATA MARU
15. WOOD BUFFALO NATIONAL PARK
16. BILLY BISHOP
17. MONT-BLANC
18. HEAD-SMASHED-IN BUFFALO JUMP
19. RED SERGE
20. JUST FOR LAUGHS



1. Which previously independent Dominion joined the Canadian Confederation in 1948 after a bitterly fought referendum that often descended into a slanging match between Protestants and Catholics?
2. Sharing its name with a Greek goddess, which body of water separates the Queen Charlotte Islands from the mainland of British Columbia in Canada?
3. What was the name of the Belarussian cipher clerk who defected to Canada in September 1945, with 109 documents on Soviet espionage activities in the West exposing Joseph Stalin's efforts to steal nuclear secrets, and the then-unknown technique of planting sleeper agents?
4. Which is the longest river in Canada?
5. Which Polish-born Communist politician and trade union organizer became, in 1947, the only Member of the Canadian Parliament ever convicted of spying for a foreign country?
6. Which is the only Canadian province to have both French and English as official languages?
7. Which Canadian statesman, diplomat and future Prime Minister was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for his role in defusing the Suez Crisis through the United Nations?
8. Which small, uninhabited barren knoll measuring 1.3 km², located in the centre of the Kennedy Channel of Nares Strait that separates Ellesmere Island from northern Greenland and connects Baffin Bay with the Lincoln Sea is claimed by both Canada and Denmark?
9. Named after a Canadian Prime Minister, what was the name of Constable Benton Fraser’s canine sidekick in the award-winning Canadian television police drama Due South?
10. Canada’s Four Corners point, located near Kasba Lake, is a point at which four political subdivisions meet, namely the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and which two provinces?
11. What was the name of the Minister of Quebec who was kidnapped and murdered by members of the terrorist group The Front de Libération du Québec during the October Crisis of 1970?
12. Cape Columbia is the northernmost point of land of Canada and is located on which island?
13. What was the name of the one-legged cancer patient who became a national celebrity after he undertook the cross-Canada run known as the Marathon of Hope in 1980?
14. Sharing its name with a now defunct American rock group, what is the name of the highest mountain in the Northwest Territories, first climbed in July 1965 by Bill Buckingham and Lew Surdam?
15. What was the name of the gunman who killed 14 women at the École Polytechnique in Montreal on December 6 1989, his actions leading Parliament to officially designate December 6 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women?
16. In 2005, which Haitian-born broadcaster and film-maker became the first black person to serve as Governor General of Canada, a post she currently still occupies?
17. What name has been given to the international fishing dispute of 1995 between Canada and the European Union which ended in the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans boarding a Spanish fishing trawler, the Estai, in international waters and arresting its crew?
18. Formerly known as Frobisher Bay, what is the capital and largest town of Nunavut?
19. Canada is the world’s largest producer of which two important metallic elements?
20. What is Canada’s official national summer sport?


1. NEWFOUNDLAND
2. HECATE STRAIT
3. IGOR GOUZENKO
4. MACKENZIE RIVER
5. FRED ROSE
6. NEW BRUNSWICK
7. LESTER B. PEARSON
8. HANS ISLAND
9. DIEFENBAKER
10. MANITOBA AND SASKATCHEWAN
11. PIERRE LAPORTE
12. ELLESMERE ISLAND
13. TERRY FOX
14. MOUNT NIRVANA
15. MARC LÉPINE
16. MICHAËLLE JEAN
17. TURBOT WAR
18. IQALUIT
19. ZINC & URANIUM
20. LACROSSE

Monday 10 March 2008

NEW 200 QUESTION QUIZ

I have written another 200 question quiz and am offering it free to anyone and everyone (because I'm kind like that). If you'd like to have a go than please e-mail me at pantscat69er@hotmail.com.


Rules are simple:


You have 90 minutes to complete the 200 questions.
No Googling or reference books allowed and all that kind of stuff.
I’m sure you know what to do - just answer the questions as best you can.

When you’ve finished, please e-mail your completed quiz to me at pantscat69er@hotmail.com by Sunday 13th April 2008.

Please feel free to pass it on to anyone you feel might enjoy taking part.

Sunday 17 February 2008

THE 63rd QUIZ - MORE RANDOM STUFF

SPANISH AUTONOMOUS REGIONS

1. What is the capital of the Spanish autonomous community of Aragon?
2. What is the capital of the Spanish autonomous community of Navarre?
3. What is the capital of the Spanish autonomous community of Asturias?
4. What is the capital of the Spanish autonomous community of Cantabria?



1. ZARAGOZA
2. PAMPLONA
3. OVIEDO
4. SANTANDER



ACADEMY AWARDS

1. Who was nominated for successive Academy Awards for Best Actress for her roles in An Unmarried Woman (1978) and Starting Over (1979)?
2. Who was nominated for successive Academy Awards for Best Actress for her roles in Heaven Knows, Mr Allison (1957) and Separate Tables (1958)?
3. Who was nominated for successive Academy Awards for Best Actress for her roles in Caged (1950) and Detective Story (1951)?
4. Who was nominated for successive Academy Awards for Best Actress for her roles in Country (1984) and Sweet Dreams (1985)?



1. JILL CLAYBURG
2. DEBORAH KERR
3. ELEANOR PARKER
4. JESSICA LANGE



PAINTINGS

1. Which title, referring to episode in the legendary history of early Rome, is shared by paintings by Nicolas Poussin, Peter Paul Rubens and Pablo Picasso?
2. Which title, the name of a Biblical King, is shared by sculptures by Donatello, Andrea del Verrocchio and Gian Lorenzo Bernini?
3. Which title, referring to an important Roman Catholic scene, is shared by paintings by Antonio da Correggio and Anabale Carracci?
4. Which title, referring to a story from Greek mythology, is shared by paintings by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Alexandre Cabanel and Sandro Botticelli?



1. RAPE OF THE SABINE WOMEN
2. DAVID
3. ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY
4. THE BIRTH OF VENUS



ELEMENTS

1. Which scientist is credited as the discoverer of xenon, neon, krypton and (with Lord Raleigh) argon?
2. Which scientist is credited as the discoverer of rhodium and palladium?
3. Which scientist is credited as the discoverer of uranium, zirconium, strontium, titanium and (with others) cerium?
4. Which scientist is credited as the discoverer of americium, curium and (with others) plutonium, berkelium and californium?



1. WILLIAM RAMSAY
2. WILLIAM HYDE WOLLASTON
3. MARTIN HEINRICH KLAPROTH
4. GLENN T SEABORG



TENNIS PLAYERS

1. Losing in 1997, who was the last Frenchman to reach the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final?
2. Losing in 1973, who was the last Soviet to reach the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final?
3. Losing in 2002, who was the last Argentinian to reach the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final?
4. Losing in 1985, who was the last South African to reach the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final?



1. CÉDRIC PIOLINE
2. ALEX METREVELI
3. DAVID NALBANDIAN
4. KEVIN CURREN



NOVELS

1. Although never published and now lost, The Poor Man and the Lady (1867) was the first novel written by which author?
2. Although only published posthumously, The Professor (1840s) was the first novel written by which author?
3. Although he was frustrated by its misinterpretation, Almayer’s Folly (1895) was the first novel written by which author?
4. Although he virtually disowned the book in later life, Watch and Ward (1871) was the first novel written by which author?



1. THOMAS HARDY
2. CHARLOTTE BRONTE
3. JOSEPH CONRAD
4. HENRY JAMES



ASSASSINATIONS

1. Who was assassinated by Mohammed Bouyeri in November 2004?
2. Who was assassinated by François Ravaillac in May 1610?
3. Who was assassinated by Mijailo Mijailović in September 2003?
4. Who was assassinated by Dimitri Tsafendas in September 1966?



1. THEO VAN GOGH
2. KING HENRI IV OF FRANCE
3. ANNA LINDH
4. HENDRIK VERWOERD



FIRST TOP TENS

1. Released in 1965, ‘I Can’t Explain’ was which group’s first top 10 hit?
2. Released in 1970, ‘Black Night’ was which group’s first top 10 hit?
3. Released in 1985, ‘Johnny Come Home’ was which group’s first top 10 hit?
4. Released in 1996, ‘Sandstorm’ was which group’s first top 10 hit?



1. THE WHO
2. DEEP PURPLE
3. FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS
4. CAST



PILLARS OF ISLAM

1. Which of the Five Pillars of Islam requires a Muslim to pray five times a day at fixed time?
2. Which of the Five Pillars of Islam requires a Muslim to testify that there is no god but Allah?
3. Which of the Five Pillars of Islam requires a Muslim to fast?
4. Which of the Five Pillars of Islam requires a Muslim to give alms?



1. SALAT
2. SHAHADAH
3. SAWM
4. ZAKAT



PHOBIAS

1. Of what is paraskavedekatriaphobia the fear?
2. Of what is tokophobia the fear?
3. Of what is lalophobia the fear?
4. Of what is coulrophobia the fear?



1. FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH
2. CHILDBIRTH
3. SPEAKING
4. CLOWNS



EUROPEAN CITIES

1. Helsinki is the largest city in Finland. What is the second largest?
2. Bratislava is the largest city in Slovakia. What is the second largest?
3. Tirana is the largest city in Albania. What is the second largest?
4. Budapest is the largest city in Hungary. What is the second largest?



1. ESPOO
2. KOSICE
3. DURRES
4. DEBRECEN

Monday 11 February 2008

THE 62nd QUIZ - RANDOM STUFF

Here are some random questions:


FLAGS

1. What species of tree appears on the flag of Lebanon?
2. What species of bird appears on the flag of Uganda?
3. Which mammal appears on the flag of Wyoming?
4. Two examples of which mammal appear on the flag of Belize?



1. LEBANESE CEDAR
2. RED CRESTED CRANE
3. AMERICAN BISON (BUFFALO)
4. HUMAN



ACADEMY AWARDS

1. For his role in which 1987 film did Michael Douglas win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Gordon Gecko?
2. For his role in which 1995 film did Nicholas Cage win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ben Sanderson?
3. For his role in which 1985 film did William Hurt win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Luis Molina?
4. For his role in which 1997 film did Jack Nicholson win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Melvin Udall?



1. WALL STREET
2. LEAVING LAS VEGAS
3. KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN
4. AS GOOD AS IT GETS



ART MOVEMENTS

1. Its name coined by Ezra Pound, the painters Wyndham Lewis, David Bomberg and Lawrence Atkinson are associated with which artistic movement?
2. Its name coined by Guillaume Apollinaire, the painters Robert Delaunay, Sonia Terk and Frantisek Kupka are associated with which artistic movement?
3. Its name coined by Naum Gabo, the painters Alexander Rodchenko, Liubov Popova and Varvara Stepanova are associated with which artistic movement?
4. Its name coined by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the painters Umberto Boccione, Carlo Carra and Luigi Russolo are associated with which artistic movement?




1. VORTICISM
2. ORPHISM
3. CONSTRUCTIVISM
4. FUTURISM



ADVERTISING SLOGANS

1. What is the missing brand name in this famous advertising slogan? “Did you … your teeth today”.
2. What is the missing brand name in this famous advertising slogan? “… guards against night starvation”.
3. What is the missing brand name in this famous advertising slogan? “… - made to make your mouth water”.
4. What is the missing brand name in this famous advertising slogan? “… puts the ‘T’ in Britain”.




1. MACLEAN
2. HORLICKS
3. OPAL FRUITS
4. TYPHOO



ELEMENTS

1. Which of the transition metals takes its name from the Persian for ‘gold-like’?
2. Which of the halogens takes its name from the Greek for ‘unstable’?
3. Which of the transition metals takes its name from the Swedish for ‘heavy stone’?
4. Which of the poor metals takes its name from the German for ‘white mass’?



1. ZIRCONIUM
2. ASTATINE *
3. TUNGSTEN
4. BISMUTH



FOOTBALLERS

1. Which Premiership footballer made his competitive debut for Welling United in 1993 and played for Birmingham City, Notts County and Fulham before joining his current club in 2003?
2. Which Premiership footballer made his competitive debut for Cardiff City in 1998 and played for Greenock Morton, West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City before joining his current club in 2007?
3. Which Premiership footballer made his competitive debut for Nottingham Forest in 1998 and played for FC Haka, Ipswich Town and West Ham United before joining his current club in 2007?
4. Which Premiership footballer made his competitive debut for Crewe Alexandra in 1994 and played for Liverpool, Charlton Athletic and Tottenham Hotspur before joining his current club in 2007?



1. STEVE FINNAN
2. ROBERT EARNSHAW
3. MARLON HAREWOOD
4. DANNY MURPHY



SYMPHONIES

1. The Schoolmaster and The Palindrome are the popular names given to symphonies by which composer?
2. The First of May and Leningrad are the popular names given to symphonies by which composer?
3. Spring and Rhenish are the popular names given to symphonies by which composer?
4. Italian and Reformation are the popular names given to symphonies by which composer?



1. JOSEPH HAYDN
2. DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
3. ROBERT SCHUMANN
4. FELIX MENDELSSOHN



NOVELS

1. The duplicitous Julien Sorel, the son of a carpenter, is the protagonist of which 1831 novel?
2. Dr Primrose, whose seemingly idyllic life is rocked by sudden impoverishment, is the protagonist of which 1765 novel?
3. Harry Haller, who struggles to reconcile his noble aspirations with his baser instincts, is the protagonist of which 1927 novel?
4. Isabel Archer, a beautiful young American in Europe, is the protagonist of which 1881 novel?



1. LE ROUGE ET LE NOIR
2. THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD
3. STEPPENWOLF
4. THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY



PRIME MINISTERS

1. Who was British Prime Minister at the time of the Boston Tea Party?
2. Who was British Prime Minister at the time of the Peterloo Massacre?
3. Who was British Prime Minister at the time of Victoria’s ascension to the throne?
4. Who was British Prime Minister at the time of the Easter Rising?



1. LORD NORTH
2. EARL OF LIVERPOOL
3. VISCOUNT MELBOURNE
4. HERBERT ASQUITH



NUMBER 1S

1. “I, I love the colourful clothes she wears and the way the sunlight plays upon her hair” is the opening line of which UK number 1 hit of 1966?
2. “Friday night and the lights are low, looking out for the place to go” is the opening line of which UK number 1 hit of 1976?
3. “When I die and they lay me to rest, gonna go to the place that's the best” is the opening line of which UK number 1 hit of 1986?
4. “Slip inside the eye of your mind, don’t you know you might find a better place to play” is the opening line of which UK number 1 hit of 1996?



1. GOOD VIBRATIONS
2. DANCING QUEEN
3. SPIRIT IN THE SKY
4. DON’T LOOK BACK IN ANGER



PRIMORDIAL GREEK DEITIES

1. In Greek mythology, who was the primordial god of the heavens?
2. In Greek mythology, who was the primordial god of the upper air?
3. In Greek mythology, who was the primordial god of eternal time?
4. In Greek mythology, who was the primordial goddess of the Earth?



1. URANUS
2. AETHER
3. CHRONOS
4. GAIA



ENGLISH LOAN WORDS

1. From which European language did we take the words ‘coach’ and ‘sabre’?
2. From which European language did we take the words ‘galore’ and ‘bard’?
3. From which European language did we take the words ‘gauntlet’ and ‘mink’?
4. From which European language have we taken the words ‘buoy’ and ‘easel’?



1. HUNGARIAN
2. IRISH
3. SWEDISH
4. DUTCH



THE SIMPSONS

1. In ‘The Simpsons’ what is the name of the family’s doctor?
2. In ‘The Simpsons’, what is the name of the reverend of the First Church of Springfield?
3. In ‘The Simpsons’, what is the name of the school bus driver?
4. In ‘The Simpsons’, what is the name of the news anchorman for KBBL-TV Channel 6?



1. DR JULIUS HIBBERT
2. REV. TIM LOVEJOY
3. OTTO MANN
4. KENT BROCKMAN



BABY ANIMALS

1. What name is given to the young of an alligator?
2. What name is given to the young of a platypus?
3. What name is given to the young of a jellyfish?
4. What name is given to the young of a hedgehog?



1. HATCHLING
2. PUGGLE
3. EPHYRA
4. HOGLET



AMERICAN STATES

1. Charlotte is the largest city in the Tar Heel state. Which state?
2. Wilmington is the largest city in the Blue Hen state. Which state?
3. Bridgeport is the largest city in the Nutmeg state. Which state?
4. Manchester is the largest city in the Granite state. Which state?



1. NORTH CAROLINA
2. DELAWARE
3. CONNECTICUT
4. NEW HAMPSHIRE


* Many thanks to Chris for spotting the mistake - I had said actinium, which, incidentally, takes its name from the Greek for 'ray' or 'beam'.

Monday 21 January 2008

THE 61st QUIZ - PAINTINGS

1. In David’s 1801 painting ‘Napoleon at the Great St. Bernard Pass’ (or ‘Napoleon Crossing the Alps’), the names of which two historical figures are etched into the rocks at the foreground of the painting along with that of Napoleon?
2. Popular with the Mannerists and Baroque artists, and particularly associated with Jacob van Ruisdael, Paolo Veronese and Peter Paul Rubens, what name is given to an object, such as a tree, along either side of the foreground of a painting, that directs the viewer's eye into the composition by bracketing the edge?
3. According to the inscription found at the top right-hand corner of Frans Hals’ ‘Laughing Cavalier’, how old was the sitter at the time of the portrait?
4. Which work, painted between 1472 and 1475 and housed at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, depicts a scene containing the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary and is thought to be Leonardo da Vinci’s earliest completed painting?
5. The dentist Dr. Byron McKeeby of Cedar Rapids, Iowa was immortalised in which 1930 painting?
6. What is the title of Henri Mattise’s painting that was left hanging upside down for 46 days at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1961 before anyone noticed?
7. The value of which of Van Gogh’s paintings is said to have rocketed after the 1956 film ‘Lust For Life’ (erroneously) portrayed it as the painting Van Gogh was working on at the time of his suicide?
8. With what is Christ grappling in Leonardo da Vinci’s famous oil painting ‘The Virgin and Child with St Anne’?
9. The full title of Henry Raeburn’s painting that is better known by the truncated title ‘The Skating Minister’ includes the name of the loch upon which The Reverend Robert Walker is shown to be skating. Which loch?
10. In painting, a remarque is the addition of a small personalized drawing or symbol near the signature of the artist and was first used by Whistler. What was Whistler’s remarque?
11. The crushing foot used by Terry Gilliam in the animated opening of ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’ was taken from a detail of the 1545 painting ‘Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time’ by which Florentine artist?
12. Théodore Géricault’s ‘Raft of the Medusa’ depicts the survivors of the French frigate Medusa, after it had been wrecked on the Bank of Arguin off the coast of which African country in 1816?
13. Which animal muses over the sleeping body of a woman below a moonlit night sky in Henri Rousseau’s ‘The Sleeping Gypsy’?
14. In which painting of 1866 can you view a close-up of the genitalia of Joanna Hiffernan, the lover of James McNeill Whistler?
15. Born in 1641, Titus was the only child who survived into adulthood of which painter, who used his son as a model in several of his paintings?
16. Which artistic term, deriving from the Italian for ‘scratched’, refers, in painting, to the practice of laying one colour over another and scratching the paint so that the colour underneath shows through?
17. If the first is ‘The Heir’ and the second is ‘The Levée’, then what is the third?
18. In which very famous painting of 1882 can a pair of green feet, belonging to a trapeze artist, be seen in the extreme top left hand corner of the canvas?
19. In which famous painting of 1656 can the Italian dwarf Nicolas Pertusato be seen waking a sleeping mastiff with his foot whilst the achondroplastic German, Maribarbola, looks on?
20. The snow-topped Mount Chimborazo is the highest peak in Ecuador. Its summit is also often said to be the spot on the surface farthest from the center of the Earth. Its appears, most famously, in art in a popular 1859 painting by which American artist?


The answers:


1. HANNIBAL & KAROLUS MAGNUS (CHARLEMAGNE)
2. REPOUSSOIR
3. 26
4. ANNUNCIATION
5. AMERICAN GOTHIC (by GRANT WOOD)
6. LE BATEAU
7. WHEAT FIELD WITH CROWS
8. A LAMB
9. DUDDINGSTON LOCH
10. A BUTTERFLY
11. AGNOLO BRONZINO
12. SENEGAL
13. A LION
14. L’ORIGINE DU MONDE (or THE ORIGIN OF THE WORLD) by GUSTAVE COURBET
15. REMBRANDT
16. SGRAFFITO
17. THE ORGY (from A RAKE’S PROGRESS by WILLIAM HOGARTH)
18. A BAR AT THE FOLIES-BERGÈRE (by ÉDOUARD MANET)
19. LAS MENINAS (by DIEGO VELÁZQUEZ)
20. FREDERIC EDWIN CHURCH (THE HEART OF THE ANDES)

Thursday 17 January 2008

THE 60th QUIZ - HORROR FILMS

1. Played by Bill Moseley in the 1986 big-budget sequel 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2', what is the name of Leatherface’s older brother?
2. The 1978 film 'Halloween' is set in the fictional town of Haddonfield in which American state?
3. Featuring prominently in the plot of a horror movie of 1984, what is the Cantonese word for 'evil spirit'?
4. The American film score composer Jerry Goldsmith was nominated for 18 Academy Awards. His only win, however, came for his score for which 1976 film?
5. Sharing its name with a coastal town in the north-west of England, in which city in North Carolina was the 1997 film 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' both shot and set?
6. When released in 2004, which horror film, directed by Edgar Wright, described itself as a 'rom zom com' - standing for 'romantic zombie comedy'?
7. Which short story, originally published in 1839, was adapted into two horror films of 1928? One of the films was directed by James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber and starred Webber, Herbert Stern and Hildegarde Watson. The other was directed by Jean Epstein and starred Marguerite Gance, Jean Debucourt and Charles Lamy.
8. What was the surname of the title character in Roman Polanski’s 1968 film 'Rosemary’s Baby'?
9. What was the name of Captain Quint’s boat, upon which Quint, Martin Brody and Matt Hooper battle with the great white shark in the 1975 film 'Jaws'?
10. Released in 2004, and starring Jennifer Tilly, what name was given to the fifth entry in the 'Child’s Play' series of films that follows on from the events of 'Bride of Chucky'?
11. Who played Norman Bates in the 1998 Gus Van Sant remake of Hitchcock’s 'Psycho'?
12. What is the name of the inn at which Sergeant Howie stays in the 1973 film 'The Wicker Man'?
13. The 1922 film 'Nosferatu' was an unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 'Dracula'. However, as the studio could not obtain the rights to the novel, what name was given to Max Schreck’s Count?
14. What is the name of the demon who possesses Regan MacNeil in the 1973 film 'The Exorcist'?
15. How is the monstrous killer Daniel Robitaille known in the title of a 1992 horror film directed by Bernard Rose?
16. Which horror film was set in the Maryland town of Burkittsville? The town was previously known by another name that features in the title of the film.
17. For what name is Carrie a shortened form in the 1976 film starring Sissy Spacek?
18. Which 1954 novel by Richard Matheson has been adapted for three horror films, namely 'The Last Man on Earth' (1964), 'The Omega Man' (1971) and a 2007 film that shares the same name as the book?
19. The 2007 horror film 'Grindhouse' is a double feature film co-written, produced and directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. The film consists of the Rodriguez-directed 'Planet Terror' and which feature by Tarantino?
20. What is the name of Bernard Herrmann’s screeching string composition that plays during the infamous shower scene in Hitchcock’s 'Psycho'?


The answers:


1. CHOP TOP
2. ILLINOIS
3. MOGWAI
4. THE OMEN
5. SOUTHPORT
6. SHAUN OF THE DEAD
7. FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
8. WOODHOUSE
9. ORCA
10. SEED OF CHUCKY
11. VINCE VAUGHAN
12. THE GREEN MAN
13. COUNT ORLOK
14. PAZAZU
15. CANDYMAN
16. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT
17. CARIETTA
18. I AM LEGEND
19. DEATH PROOF
20. THE MURDER

Saturday 5 January 2008

QUIZ RESULTS

The results are now in for the 200-question quiz. The answers have been e-mailed to all those who took part.

Firstly, many thanks to the 29 brave souls who took the time to take part. I hope you found the quiz both enjoyable and challenging.

The results are posted below. However, I also wanted to draw attention to a few answers. When you have a field of the quality that competed in this quiz then getting a question right that nobody else gets is an achievement well worthy of praise. There were just 5 such questions and shared by two quizzers. They were:

Q. 118. TU BISHVAT - Barry Simmons
Q. 122. KENNING - Barry Simmons
Q. 173. BABY PUSS - Chris Curtis
Q. 175. PONTIAC FEVER - Chris Curtis
Q. 188. DIOGO CÃO (or CAM)- Barry Simmons

Much respect to Barry and Chris for those answers.

Scores:

1. Mark Bytheway 132
2. Pat Gibson 128.5
3. Barry Simmons 124.5
4. Ian Bayley 120
5. Scott Dawson 110.5
6. Mark Kerr 109.5
7. David Stainer 108.5
8. Chris Jones 104
9=. Phil Duffy 99.5
9=. Darren Martin 99.5
11=. Chris Quinn 98.5
11=. Nic Paul 98.5
13. Diane Hallagan 96
14. Keith Andrew 89
15. Shanker Menon 85.5
16. Gareth Kingston 84.5
17. Martin Riley 83
18. Chris Curtis 81.5
19. Peter Ediss 80
20. Alan Bowell 69
21. William Barrett 67
22. Will Jones 64.5
23. Keith Pointon 61.5
24. Audrey Doyle 60
25. Paul Davis 56
26. Myron Meyer 55
27. CJ de Mooi 51.5
28. Craig Element 33
29. Lesley Saunders-Davies 27