THE 48th QUIZ

After a great deal of time writing questions for a couple of other sources, I'm back. Here's today's offering:

1. What begins: "Monsieur le Président, Me permettez-vous, dans ma gratitude pour le bienveillant accueil que vous m'avez fait un jour, d'avoir le souci de votre juste gloire et de vous dire que votre étoile, si heureuse jusqu'ici, est menacée de la plus honteuse, de la plus ineffaçable des taches?"
2. Eglise St. Louis en L’Isle is a Parisian church situated on which island in the Seine?
3. The St Elizabeth's Flood of November 1421 killed between 2,000 and 10,000 villagers in which modern-day European country?
4. Who was the French economist, thought by many to have been the chief architect of European Unity, who created the majority of what became known as the Schuman Plan?
5. Located on the Norwegian-administered Jan Mayen island in the Arctic Ocean, what is the name of the world's northernmost active volcano?
6. The famous 15th Century explorer Prince Henry the Navigator was the son of which Portuguese King?
7. Considered the foremost Dutch lanscape painter, which 17th Century artist is remembered for 'Beintheim Castle' (1653) and 'Tower Mill at Wijk bij Duurstede'(1670) among other works?
8. Which German film director first came to worldwide attention with the release of his film 'Das Arche Noah Prinzip' that opened the Berlin Film Festival in 1984 and has since gained greater fame with the Hollywood blockbusters 'Independence Day', 'Godzilla' and 'The Day After Tomorrow'?
9. Named after the town in Denmark where they are located, what name is given to the two Tenth Century carved rune stones, the first erected by King Gorm the Old and the scond by his son Harald Bluetooth?
10. According to Norse mythology, which lake was created when Gefjun removed the land that used to lie there and transported it to Denmark, thus creating the island of Zealand?
11. Built in 1854, the Spanish Arch stands on the banks of which river that flows through Galway?
12. Which country became the first all-amateur team to qualify for a Rugby World Cup since the start of the professional era when it appeared at the 2007 World Cup?
13. What name is given to the series of wars and battles that took place in Holland between the bourgeoisie and the ruling nobility from 1350 to 1490?
14. Biskupin is an archaeological site (with a life-size model of an Iron Age fortified settlement) that was excavated in 1934 and located in which European country?
15. Often considered to be the Polish national dish, what name is given to the cabbage and meat stew that is traditionally said to have been introduced to Poland by the Lithuanian prince Władysław II in the 14th Century?
16. In which lake could you find the island and World Heritage site Kizhi (or Kizhi Pogost), home to a large number of wooden churches and houses?
17. Much publicised in the case of Madeleine McCann, what name is given to the status of 'named suspect' in the Portuguese legal system?
18. Which German city, home to a famous monument of Emperor William I on horseback, stands at the confluence of the rivers Rhine and Moselle?
19. Built between 3300 and 2900 BC, which passage grave of the Brú na Bóinne complex of tombs in County Meath is known in Irish as Dún Fhearghusa and is said to be the oldest surviving building in the world?
20. The trophy awarded to the winners of the European Football Championship is named after which French football administrator who first proposed the idea for such a tournament in 1927?
21. Established in 1386, which is the oldest university in Germany?
22. The dormant volcanoes Nemrut and Süphan are to be found in which saline and soda lake, the largest in Turkey?
23. Which European republic was proclaimed on January 19th 1795 after William V fled to England?
24. Established in February 1991, the Visegrád Group is an alliance of which four European countries set up for the purpose of furthering their European integration?
25. Which of Krzysztof Kieślowski's 'Three Colours' trilogy was made primarily in Polish? The other two being made in French.
26. The Netherlands is divided into 12 administrative regions, each under the control of a Commissioner of the Queen with the exception of one region that is under the control of a Gouverneur, emphasising its perceived 'un-Dutch' character. Which region?
27. Who was the Portuguese nobleman and explorer who led the expeditions that conquered Goa, Ormuz and Malacca in the early 16th Century and was rewarded by his appointment as the first Duke of Goa by King Manuel I?
28. Also known as Thera, what is the name of the archipelago of volcanic islands in the Aegean Sea that contains the southernmost point in the Cyclades?
29. Fernando Ribeiro is the lead vocalist with which popular Portuguese goth metal band, popular throughout Europe, that released the 2006 album 'Memorial' which won them an MTV Europe Award in the 'Best Portuguese Act' category?
30. Typically containing fish (or sometimes chicken) and vegetables, what is the name of the traditional stew of northern Belgium, the name of which is derived from the Dutch for 'watery mess'?


And the answers:


1. J'ACCUSE
2. ÎLE SAINT-LOUIS
3. THE NETHERLANDS
4. JEAN MONNET
5. BEERENBERG
6. JOHN I (or JOÃO I)
7. JACOB ISAAKSZOON VAN RUYSDAEL
8. ROLAND EMMERICH
9. JELLING STONES
10. LAKE MÄLAREN
11. CORRIB
12. PORTUGAL
13. HOOK AND COD WARS
14. POLAND
15. BIGOS
16. LAKE ONEGA
17. ARGUIDO
18. KOBLENZ
19. NEWGRANGE
20. HENRI DELAUNAY
21. UNIVERSITY OF HEIDELBERG
22. LAKE VAN
23. BATAVIAN REPUBLIC
24. CZECH REPUBLIC, SLOVAKIA, HUNGARY & POLAND
25. THREE COLOURS: WHITE
26. LIMBURG
27. AFONSO DE ALBUQUERQUE
28. SANTORINI
29. MOONSPELL
30. WATERZOOI

THE 47th QUIZ

Apologies for the lack of activity on this site recently. Have been busy with other things (usually including crashing computers) but will post more regularly from the middle of next week. Anyway, here's one to keep you going:

1. The 17th Century German-born scientist Franciscus Sylvius is usually credited with the invention of which spirit?
2. Which island and UNESCO World Heritage Site, lying off the coast of Queensland, is the world's largest sand island?
3. Three years before his assassination in 1923, the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa ended his revolutionary activity after negotiating a peace deal with which Mexican President?
4. Designed by Antoni Gaudí, by what name (meaning 'the quarry' in Catalan) is the Casa Milà in Barcelona otherwise known?
5. The Angkor Wat in Cambodia was built as a symbolic representation of which mythical mountain?
6. What first name did the medical student Jean Marc Gaspard Itard give to the 'The Wild Boy of Aveyron' who was found in the woods near Saint Sernin sur Rance in France in 1797 and who, it would seem, spent almost his whole childhood alone in the woods?
7. Which author coined the word 'factoid', that appears in the 'Oxford English Dictionary' as "something which becomes accepted as fact, although it may not be true", in his 1973 biography of Marilyn Monroe?
8. Which is the southernmost city (population 216,473) of Canada and the only Canadian city to lie due south of the 48 contiguous United States?
9. Which scientist, born in 1776, held the title Count of Quaregna and Cerreto?
10. Which historic European city was formerly known in English as Ragusa, and is still known by that name in Italian?
11. At 4,700 years old, what name has been given to the Great Basin Bristlecone Pine that has held the record of the world's oldest tree since another Bristlecone, called Prometheus, was cut down by an over-eager graduate student in 1964?
12. Which arcade game, released by Nintendo in 1981, is notable for providing the first appearance of Super Mario (then known as Jumpman)?
13. The British Captain Arthur Roston was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and invited to dine with President Taft as a result of his ship saving 705 people from the Titanic after responding to a distress signal. What was the name of his ship?
14. Released in June and October 2007 respectively, which Anglo-Swedish rock group's first two singles, 'Worried About Ray' and 'Goodbye Mr A', both peaked at number 5 in the UK charts?
15. Born in 1980, 1983 and 1985 respectively, how are Isaac, Taylor and Zac collectively known?
16. Which Slovakian tennis player, thought by many as the greatest player never to have won a Grand Slam, was Ivan Lendl's opponent in the 1986 US Open final, the last Grand Slam final to see a player still using a wooden racket?
17. Luis Buñuel's 1965 film 'Simón del desierto' is loosely based on the life of which Christian ascetic?
18. Which Danish linguist, who was also involved in the creation of Ido and Interlingua, introduced the constructed international auxiliary language Novial in his 1928 book 'An International Language'?
19. A silhouette of an American bison (or buffalo) appears on the flag of which of the United States?
20. (I can't resist this one) There are two subspecies of American bison - the Plains bison and the Wood bison. What is the wonderful zoological name for the Plains bison?
21. Which South African became only the third cricketer ever to hit six sixes from one over in first-class cricket at the 2007 World Cup against the Netherlands?
22. And which Indian became only the fourth cricketer ever to hit six sixes from one over in first-class cricket at the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 against England?
23. What was the stage-name of the Canadian-born American actress Ellen Evangeline Hovick, the younger sister of Gypsy Rose Lee, whose last film role was as Aunt Clara in the 1987 movie 'A Return to Salem's Lot'?
24. A compound of the Greek word for 'solid' and the Latin word for 'ray' or 'beam', what name is given to the SI unit of solid angle?
25. Published in 'Comics Review' in 1965, the short story 'In a Half-World of Terror', later renamed as 'I Was a Teenage Grave Robber', was the first published work by which novelist?
26. Which Russian male high jumper set a new championship record and personal best at the 2006 European Championships with a jump of 2.36 metres and jumped a new personal best of 2.37 metres a week later in Monaco?
27. Which American city, which according to a 2001 study is the most commonly misspelled city in the USA, stands on the Allegheny Plateau where the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers form the Ohio River?
28. In 1913, which Bengali novelist and playwright became the first non-European to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature?
29. Founded in 1960 by Raymond Queneau and François Le Lionnais, what was the name of the group of writers and mathematicians who sought to create works using constraining writing techniques such as lipograms and palindromes?
30. The annual World Series of Roshambo is the premier event for 'professional' players of roshambo. By what name is this game commonly known?


The answers:


1. GIN
2. FRASER ISLAND
3. ADOLFO DE LA HUERTA
4. LA PEDRERA
5. MOUNT MERU
6. VICTOR
7. NORMAN MAILER
8. MADISON
9. AMEDEO AVOGADRO
10. DUBROVNIK
11. METHUSELAH
12. DONKEY KONG
13. RMS CARPATHIA
14. THE HOOSIERS
15. HANSON
16. MILOSLAV MEČÍŘ
17. SIMEON STYLITES
18. OTTO JESPERSEN
19. WYOMING
20. BISON BISON BISON
21. HERSCHELLE GIBBS
22. YUVRAJ SINGH
23. JUNE HAVOC
24. STERADIAN
25. STEPHEN KING
26. ANDREY SILNOV
27. PITTSBURGH
28. RABINDRANATH TAGORE
29. OULIPO
30. ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS (or PAPER, SCISSORS, STONE etc.)

THE 46th QUIZ

Another:

1. With approximately 400,000 casulaties, the War of the Triple Alliance was the bloodiest war in the history of the Americas. It was fought between an alliance of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay against which country?
2. With names deriving from the Old Norse for 'island in the stream' and 'swine island' respectively, which two Scottish islands are situated in the Pentland Firth between Caithness and the Orkneys?
3. Also known as St John's Bread, Ceratonia siliqua is an evergreen shrub native to the Mediterranean. Its edible fruit was traditionally eaten on the Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat but is most commonly used in the West as a healthy alternative to chocolate. What is its common name?
4. Found in Wiltshire and composed principally of chalk and standing 130ft high, what is the name of the tallest prehistoric man-made mound in Europe?
5. A former 'University Challenge' contestant, by what name is the soap-box orator and eccentric Ian Brackenbury Channell now better known?
6. In June 2006, what names were given to Pluto's two newly discovered moons?
7. Which moon in our solar system, the only large moon known to have a retrograde orbit, is now thought to be a captured object from the Kuiper Belt?
8. Which 14th Century painter and architect, a pupil of Giotto, is credited with the design of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence?
9. What was the name of the Danish newspaper that caused controversy in 2005 after it published a series of editorial cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad, causing protests across the Muslim world?
10. Voted the Best French Film of the Century in a poll of 600 French critics and professionals in 1995, which film by French director Marcel Carné, described upon its release as the French answer to 'Gone With the Wind', tells the story of the beautiful Garance and the four men who fall in love with her?
11. One of the four 'imperial cities' of Morocco, which city, named after a Berber tribe, was the capital of Morocco under the reign of Moulay Ismail in the late 17th and early 18th Centuries before its relocation to Rabat?
12. 'La vida es sueño' (Life is a Dream) is a comedic drama and, perhaps, the best known work of which Spanish playwright of the Golden Age?
13. The ancient Assyrian capital Nineveh stood in which modern-day city on the east bank of the Tigris?
14. Who are traditionally (but often controversially) credited with the invention of the following machines of the Industrial Revolution: a) spinny jenny b) power loom c) spinning mule d) spinning frame e) flying shuttle
15. Launched in 1798, what was the name of the Royal Navy ship that transported Napoleon Bonaparte to St Helena in 1815?
16. Issued by Tsar Alexander II in 1876, the Ems Ukaz banned the use of which language in print, save those wishing to reprint existing documents?
17. The Czech automobile manufacturer Škoda has its headquarters in which city on the Jizera river?
18. The Deutsches Museum is the world's largest museum of technology and science and attracts well over 1 million visitors per year. In which city could you visit it?
19. This Bulgarian revolutionary and ideologist led the Bulgarian struggle for independence from Ottoman rule during the 19th Century before being hanged by the Ottoman authorities in Sofia on 19 February 1873. A top soccer team in Sofia are named after him and in February 2007 he was the named the 'Greatest Ever Bulgarian' in a national television poll. What was his name?
20. And which Prince of Moldavia (1457-1504), remembered as an ardent defender of Christianity and sanctified by the Romanian Orthodox Church, was voted the 'Greatest Ever Romanian' in a similar poll?


And the answers:


1. PARAGUAY
2. STROMA & SWONA
3. CAROB
4. SILBURY HILL
5. THE WIZARD (OF NEW ZEALAND)
6. NIX & HYDRA
7. TRITON
8. TADDEO GADDI
9. JYLLANDS-POSTEN
10. LES ENFANTS DU PARADIS (or CHILDREN OF PARADISE)
11. MEKNES
12. PEDRO CALDERÓN DE LA BARCA
13. MOSUL
14. a) JAMES HARGREAVES b) EDMUND CARTWRIGHT c) SAMUEL CROMPTON d) RICHARD ARKWRIGHT e) JOHN KAY
15. HMS NORTHUMBERLAND
16. UKRAINIAN (or LITTLE RUSSIAN)
17. MLADÁ BOLESLAV
18. MUNICH
19. VASIL LEVSKI
20. ŞTEFAN CEL MARE (STEPHEN III)

THE 45th QUIZ

Hello again. Let's get to it:


1. Which passerine bird is the official state bird of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia?
2. With a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 8, the Oruanui eruption is the name given to an eruption of which New Zealand volcano in approximately 24,500BC, the world's largest known eruption in the last 70,000 years?
3. Born in Bristol, England in 1821, which women's rights activist, who opened the Women's Medical College with Florence Nightingale, became the United States' first qualified female doctor?
4. What name is given to the two supercontinents, corresponding roughly to the present-day northern and southern hemispheres, that formed upon the breaking-up of Pangaea?
5. Which 19th Century English anatomist and biologist, a critic of Darwin's theory of evolution, is best remembered today for coining the word 'dinosauria'?
6. Louis Brabant, a 16th Century valet to Francis I of France, is thought to have been the first person to become proficient in which stagecraft?
7. Which Scottish-born Australian swimmer won three gold medals at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne and became the first man to swim the 1,500 metres freestyle in under 18 minutes?
8. Which Micronesian atoll in the Pacific Ocean is of special interest to geneticists because of the prevalence of the rare disease complete achromatopsia, sufferers of which are completely unable to distinguish colours? This prevalence was caused when a typhoon of 1775 reduced the population of the atoll to only 20, one of whom had the disease, and due to the small gene pool approximately 10% of the population are now sufferers.
9. Which city served as the Imperial capital of Japan between 794AD and 1868 when it was transferred to Edo (now Tokyo)?
10. Tommaso da Modena's 1352 portrait of Hugh of Provence is the earliest painting to show its subject wearing what?
11. Growing to little over three feet at the shoulder, which Asiatic buffalo, Bubalus depressicornis, is the smallest of all wild cattle?
12. What was the name of the cook who became the first ever Olympic champion when he won the sprint race in 776BC?
13. In which city were the first cases of AIDS identified in 1981?
14. Created in the monastery of Clonmacnoise by three scribes, the best known of whom was Máel Muire mac Célechair, what is the common name given to Lebor na hUidre, the oldest Irish manuscript to contain primarily native narrative materials?
15. Built by the Umayyad Caliph al-Walid I, which is the world's oldest remaining stone mosque and, in 2001, became the first mosque to visited by a Pope when John-Paul II came to see the relics of John the Baptist that are said to be held there?
16. Although Australia is the world's largest producer of bauxite, which African country is home to the greatest bauxite reserves, believed to be in the region of one-third of all the world's supply?
17. Named after a 19th Century Russian general, which is the closest living wild relative of the domestic horse?
18. Which subtropical fruit of Andean origin is the most popular flavouring for ice-cream in Peru, far exceeding the demand for more globally popular flavours such as vanilla and chocolate?
19. Which singer starred as Kotzebue, a young woman of androgynous appearance who works as a male miner in Alaska, in the 1991 film 'Salmonberries', written and directed by Percy Adlon?
20. Possibly the most famous lost film of all time, which 1927 silent mystery/horror film, starring Lon Chaney as Inspector Burke who is called to investigate a suspicious murder, was destroyed in a fire in an MGM film vault in 1965?


The answers:


1. CARDINAL
2. TAUPO
3. ELIZABETH BLACKWELL
4. LAURASIA & GONDWANA
5. RICHARD OWEN
6. VENTRILOQUISM
7. MURRAY ROSE
8. PINGELAP
9. KYOTO
10. GLASSES
11. LOWLAND ANOA
12. COROEBUS OF ELIS
13. LOS ANGELES
14. BOOK OF THE DUN COW
15. GRAND MOSQUE OF DAMASCUS
16. GUINEA
17. PRZEWALSKI'S HORSE
18. LÚCUMA
19. K.D. LANG
20. LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT

THE 44th QUIZ

Hi there. As you can probably tell (given my inactivity here) that I'm temporarily very busy with the mundane stuff of life and probably will be for the next week or so. However, I shall endeavour to put up quizzes where I can.


1. According to the Acts of Pilate from the New Testament Pseudepigraphia, what name is given to the Roman soldier who used the Spear of Destiny to pierce Christ's side while he was on the cross?
2. In July 1976, who became the first democratically elected Spanish Prime Minister after the death of Franco?
3. Released in 1983, 'Murmur' was the title of the first full-length album from which American rock group from Athens, Georgia?
4. Which small market town on the outskirts of Milton Keynes is best known for its annual Pancake Race that has taken place each Shrove Tuesday since 1445?
5. Which are the only two recognised nations not to be members of the UN?
6. In 1842, the British general and Commander-in-Chief in India, Sir Charles Napier, sent which famous one-word Latin message (meaning 'I have sinned') back to Headquarters after his victories at Meanee and Hyderabad?
7. In 1777, Marie Grosholtz (later Madame Tussaud) created her first sculpture. Who was the subject?
8. Found in the shallow tropical marine waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans, what is the common name of Synanceia verrucosa, the world's most venomous fish?
9. Katharine Lee Bates was inspired to write the words to the song 'America the Beautiful' in 1893 after taking a carriage ride to the top of which mountain in the Front Range of the Rockies in Colorado?
10. Published in 1911, what was the title of Max Beerbohm's only novel, a satire on life at Oxford University?
11. The final plate of William Hogarth's 'A Rake's Progress' series depicts a scene inside which institution, founded in London in 1247?
12. A similar size to the sparrow, Micrathene whitneyi is the world's smalleset species of owl; what is its common name?
13. Born in 1867, who was the American sculptor best known for creating the monumental presidents' heads at Mount Rushmore?
14. What is the name of the radio tower in Moscow, designed by Nikolai Nikitin, that, at 540 metres (1772 feet), is the tallest free-standing structure in Europe and was until the construction of the CN Tower also the tallest structure in the world?
15. Nikolai Nikitin was also involved in the construction of which statue on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd which, at 84 metres (270 feet) tall, is the tallest sculpture in the world?
16. Named after the English naturalist who first described it in his 'Contributions to an Insect Fauna of the Amazon Valley', what is the name of the phenomenon in which harmless, edible species develop resemblences to other distasteful or poisonous species in order to gain protection from predators?
17. In 1850, while playing for the South against the North at Lord's, which cricketer took all 10 wickets in an innings, all clean bowled, which was the first and, to date, only instance of this in first class cricket?
18. According to tradition, San Marino was founded in 301AD by the stonemason Saint Marinus of Rab after fleeing his homeland in fear of the persecution of which Roman Emperor?
19. And if people from England are known collectively as the English, then which Italian word is used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of San Marino?
20. Which sea takes its name from the Kyrgyz word for 'sea of islands'?


Some good ones there I thought. The answers:


1. LONGINUS
2. ADOLFO SUÁREZ
3. REM
4. OLNEY
5. VATICAN CITY & TAIWAN
6. PECCAVI
7. VOLTAIRE
8. STONEFISH
9. PIKES PEAK
10. ZULEIKA DOBSON
11. BETHLEM HOSPITAL
12. ELF OWL
13. GUTZON BORGLUM
14. OSTANKINO TOWER
15. MOTHER MOTHERLAND IS CALLING (or MOTHER MOTHERLAND or Родина-мать зовёт!)
16. BATESIAN MIMICRY
17. JOHN WISDEN
18. DIOCLETIAN
19. SAMMARINESI
20. ARAL SEA

THE 43rd QUIZ

1. Which are the only four American artists to have had paintings sold at auction for more than $50 million?
2. What was the name of the murdered Great Dane who was central to the trial of Jeremy Thorpe on charges of conspiracy to murder in 1979?
3. According to Hollywood legend, the German shepherd Rin Tin Tin died in arms of which actress in 1932?
4. What was the name of the 8-year old girl who appeared, with her clown doll Bubbles, on the BBC Test Card F from 1967 until 1998?
5. Originally known as 'The Blue Cloak' or 'The Topsy Turvy World', what is the common modern name for Pieter Bruegel the Elder's 1559 painting in which he depicts over 100 recognisable idioms including "to bang one's head against a brick wall", "swimming against the tide" and "armed to the teeth"?
6. In Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick', what is the name of the first mate of the Pequod, an intellectual Quaker from Nantucket?
7. The equivalent of the modern year, which ancient civilisation used a calendar consisting of twenty trecenas of thirteen days, each named after a common creature, object or event such as the crocodile, rain, house, death and flint?
8. Meaning 'castle of Heaven', what was the name of the observatory built by Tycho Brahe on the island of Hven in the Öresund in the late 1570s?
9. What is the name of the fictional Mancunian estate in which the Channel 4 comedy-drama 'Shameless' is set?
10. In May 1975, which Japanese mountain climber became the first woman to reach the summit of Everest?
11. Said to have been 9'3" tall, by what name is the English 16th/17th Century giant John Middleton better known?
12. In September 1978, Janet Parker of the Birmingham Medical School was the last person in the world to die from which disease?
13. The soapstone bird appears on the flag of which country?
14. Elicio and Erastro are the central characters in which book by Miguel de Cervantes, published in 1585?
15. The Masajid of Djinguereber, the Masajid of Sidi Yahya, and the Masajid of Sankore were the three schools that comprised which mediaeval African university?
16. 'A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling', often more simply referred to as 'The Rihla', is a transcript of the account of which 14th Century Berber Sunni Muslim scholar and explorer who travelled 73,000 over a period of almost thirty years, covering almost the entirety of the known world?
17. Although the Etruscan Pygmy Shrew is the world' smallest mammal in terms of mass, which bat, also known as Kitti's Hog-nosed Bat, is the world's smallest mammal in terms of size?
18. In 1977, Phi-X174 phage became the first organism to have what done to it?
19. Who is currently listed by Forbes as the world's richest fictional character, just ahead of Montgomery Burns from 'The Simpsons'?
20. Which city in the North Rhine-Westphalia area of Germany, that was merged with the adjoining cities of Buer and Horst in 1928, was the most important coal mining town in Europe in the early 20th Century and was known as the "city of a thousand fires", because of its many smoking stacks?


And the answers:


1. ANDY WARHOL, JACKSON POLLOCK, JASPER JOHNS & MARK ROTHKO
2. RINKA
3. JEAN HARLOW
4. CAROLE HERSEE
5. NETHERLANDISH PROVERBS
6. FRANK STARBUCK
7. AZTECS
8. URANIBORG
9. CHATSWORTH ESTATE
10. JUNKO TABEI
11. CHILDE OF HALE
12. SMALLPOX
13. ZIMBABWE
14. LA GALATEA
15. UNIVERSITY OF TIMBUKTU
16. IBN BATTUTA
17. BUMBLEBEE BAT
18. ITS DNA-BASED GENOME SEQUENCED
19. OLIVER 'DADDY' WARBUCKS (from 'LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE')
20. GELSENKIRCHEN

THE 42nd QUIZ

1. Sharing its name with a city in New England, which French city on the River Lez is home to the Musée Fabre and the 14th Century cathedral of Saint-Pierre?
2. Stendahl's novel 'Le Rouge et le Noir', a Bildungsroman telling the story of the ambitious Julien Sorel, is set during the reign of which French king?
3. Which French Jesuit scholar and philosopher wrote 'The Practice of Everyday Life' in which he drew a distinction between "strategies", which he saw as linked to institutions of power, and "tactics", which he held to be utilised by individuals to create space for themselves in environments defined by strategies?
4. Discovered by the Dutch botanist Martinus Beijerinck in 1898, which disease of plants was the first virus ever to be discovered?
5. For what did the letters USM stand in the name of the British indie band Carter USM, formed in 1987 by Jim Bob Morrison and Fruitbat Carter?
6. Later used as a chemical weapon during World War I, which poisonous gas was first developed by the American chemist Julius Nieuwland in 1904?
7. Dedicated to arts and culture, the Festuge is the largest carnival in Scandinavia and takes place annually in which Danish city?
8. Which Nigerian-born Portuguese sprinter won the men's gold medal in both the 100m and 200m at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg?
9. Known as the 'Mad King', and the subject of a 1972 film by the Italian Director Luchino Visconti, who was the King of Bavaria during the second half of the 19th Century best remembered as the patron of Richard Wagner and for ordering the construction of several fantasy castles such as the Neuschwanstein?
10. The Russian city Arkhangelsk lies on the banks of the Northern Dvina river near its exit into which sea, an inlet of the Barents Sea?
11. Which ex-Soviet state is often referred to as 'the cradle of wine-making' as it is believed to contain the world's first cultivated grapevines and was home to neolithic wine production approximately 7000 years ago?
12. named after a 19th Century Austro-Hungarian dermatologist, what name is given to the tumour caused by Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) that became more widely known during the 1980s as one of the defining illnesses of AIDS?
13. Which town in the Girona province of Catalonia was the birthplace of Salvador Dalí and is home to the unusual Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, designed by Dalí himself?
14. The 1953 musical 'Kismet' was adapted from the music of which Russian composer?
15. Also known as the seladang, which southern Asian ox is the largest of all wild cattle?
16. 'The Blood of a Poet', 'Orpheus' and 'Testament of Orpheus' comprised the Orphic trilogy of which 20th Century film director?
17. What was the Latin pseudonym of the 15th Century German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Müller von Königsberg who is credited with establishing the study of algebra and trigonometry in Germany?
18. Which football team, who play their home games at Stadion GOS, won the Polish league championship for only the second time in their history in 2007?
19. Released in September 2007, 'Open Warfare 2' is the latest installment in which hugely successful video game series, first released on the Amiga in 1994?
20. The 1997 comic-horror 'Office Killer', was the first film directed by which American photographer and conceptual artist?

The answers:

1. MONTPELIER
2. CHARLES X
3. MICHEL DE CERTEAU
4. TOBACCO MOSAIC VIRUS
5. UNSTOPPABLE SEX MACHINE
6. LEWISITE
7. AARHUS
8. FRANCIS OBIKWELU
9. LUDWIG II
10. WHITE SEA
11. GEORGIA
12. KAPOSI'S SARCOMA
13. FIGUERES (or FIGUERAS)
14. ALEXANDER BORODIN
15. GAUR
16. JEAN COCTEAU
17. REGIOMONTANUS
18. ZAGŁĘBIE LUBIN
19. WORMS
20. CINDY SHERMAN

THE 41st QUIZ

Another short one today. I've been busy writing my weekly quiz for my local. I think the landlord wants it to be a permanent thing - he intimated that he's fed up with me winning every week. At least if I'm writing it, I can't win.

Anyway, to the quiz:


1. Although Podgorica is its de facto capital, which city is designated as Prijestonica, or the old royal capital, of Montenegro?
2. Which transition metal of the platinum group was named in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston after an asteroid that had been discovered the previous year?
3. Declared one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers, what collective name has been given to the dams, sluices, locks, dikes and storm surge barriers built in the southwest of the Netherlands between 1950 and 1997?
4. Who was Commander-in-Chief of the British Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in 1916?
5. The first major combat operation in NATO's history was a sustained air campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 30th August to 20th September 1995. What was the NATO codename given to the campaign?
6. South Africa has three capital cities, which city is the judicial capital?
7. Established in 1602, which city’s stock exchange is considered to be the world’s oldest?
8. Remembered as the founder of seismology, which English astronomer and geologist published ‘Essay on the Causes and Phenomena of Earthquakes’ in 1760, in which he described earthquakes as wave motions in the Earth’s interior created by layers of rocks rubbing against one another?
9. Who became the first king of a united Norway after the Battle of Hafrsfjord, probably fought in 872AD?
10. In Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde’, what was Dr Jeckyll's first name?
11. Painted in the 1660s, ‘Self Portrait as a Lutenist’ shows which Dutch genre painter sitting cross-legged on a chair playing a lute?
12. Which are the only two groups beginning with the letter ‘Z’ to have had more than one UK top ten hit?
13. The Riigikogu is the name given to the unicameral parliament of which country?
14. By what name was the American painter Anna Mary Robertson better known?
15. Meaning ‘book language’ and used by around 85% of the population, which is the most commonly used of the two official written standards of Norwegian, the other being Nynorsk?
16. A young murderer, who is the title character of a 1944 French novel who briefly lived with a drag queen called Divine and a pimp called Darling Daintyfoot before being arrested and tried, and executed?
17. It is often claimed that Milton based his ‘Paradise Lost’ partly on ‘Lucifer’ and ‘Adam in Ballingschap’, works by which Dutch author and playwright?
18. Which 18th Century French physician is known as the 'father of modern dentistry'?
19. Killed at the Battle of Fitjar in 961AD, who was the first Christian King of Norway?
20. Which oddly-named city in Alberta was described by Rudyard Kipling as "all hell for a basement" referring to the vast reserves of natural gas beneath it and is thus known colloquially as the Gas City?


And the answers:


1. CETINJE
2. PALLADIUM
3. DELTA WORKS
4. ADMIRAL JELLICOE
5. OPERATION DELIBERATE FORCE
6. BLOEMFONTEIN
7. AMSTERDAM
8. JOHN MICHELL
9. HARALD FAIRHAIR
10. HENRY
11. JAN STEEN
12. ZZ TOP & THE ZUTONS
13. ESTONIA
14. GRANDMA MOSES
15. BOKMÅL
16. OUR LADY OF FLOWERS
17. JOOST VAN DEN VONDEL
18. PIERRE FAUCHARD
19. HAAKON I (or HAAKON THE GOOD)
20. MEDICINE HAT

THE 40th QUIZ

Just a short one today. Back tomorrow with more:

1. The 9th/10th Century scholar Clement of Ohrid is usually credited with the invention of which alphabet?
2. In the 19th Century, Wallachia united with which other Danubian Principality to create the state of Romania?
3. The tallest tower in the world when it was built in 1184, the Giralda is the name given to the bell tower of the cathedral in which European city?
4. With an area of 485 acres, which is the world’s most densely populated country?
5. Who was the Kenyan-born English archaeologist and anthropologist who, with his wife Mary, discovered the skull of Zinjanthropus and the remains of Homo habilis which established East Africa as the probable birthplace of man?
6. Displayed on the flag of Macedonia (FYROM) what is the name of the symbol of a stylised star with sixteen rays that was discovered during archaeological excavations in Greece by Professor Manolis Andronikos in 1977?
7. Which author left his novel 'Confessions of Felix Krull' unfinished at his death in 1955?
8. Between the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and the Treaty of Turin in 1860, Monaco was designated as a protectorate of which Kingdom?
9. Released in March 1993, 'Jump They Say' was which singer's last top 10 hit?
10. Which Greek island, in the prefecture of Chania, contains the southernmost point in Europe?
11. Suur Munamägi is the highest point, Võhandu is the longest river and Peipus is the largest lake; which country?
12. Which Formula 1 racing driver began the 1955 season with two retirements, the second a spectacular accident at the Monaco GP, where he crashed into the harbour after missing a chicane, and died at Monza during the Italian GP five races later?
13. Which of Shakespeare's plays ends with the line, "Proceed, proceed. We'll so begin these rites as we do trust they'll end, in true delights"?
14. The largest battle in mediaeval Europe, at which battle of 1410 did the armies of Poland and Lithuania decisively defeat the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights?
15. What name is given to the steady flow of matter from the Sun's corona that is responsible for keeping the tails of comets pointing away from the Sun?
16. Which treaty of 1814 transferred Malta, Tobago, St. Lucia and the Isle of France (now Mauritius) to Britain from France?
17. Which sea, an arm of the Mediterranean separates Italy from Sardinia?
18. The Prut River forms a natural border between which two Eastern European countries?
19. Dating from the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the White Tower is a symbol of Greek sovereignty over Macedonia and stands on the waterfront of which city?
20. Who was the leader of the Guelphs who, when disguised as a Franciscan monk, captured the Rock of Monaco on 8th January 1297, with descendants of his cousin still ruling Monaco to this day?


The answers:


1. CYRILLIC
2. MOLDAVIA
3. SEVILLE
4. MONACO
5. LOUIS LEAKEY
6. VERGINA SUN (or STAR OF VERGINA)
7. THOMAS MANN
8. SARDINIA
9. DAVID BOWIE
10. GAVDOS
11. ESTONIA
12. ALBERTO ASCARI
13. AS YOU LIKE IT
14. BATTLE OF GRUNWALD (or FIRST BATTLE OF TANNENBERG)
15. SOLAR WIND
16. TREATY OF PARIS
17. TYRRHENIAN SEA
18. ROMANIA & MOLDOVA
19. THESSALONIKI (or SALONICA)
20. FRANÇOIS GRIMALDI

THE 39th QUIZ

Here we go:


1. Which Icelandic island, lying 25 miles north of the mainland, lies on the Arctic Circle and is home to the country’s northernmost population?
2. With only 16% of its citizens saying that they believe in a God, which country, according to a 2005 poll, is home to the most unreligious people of the 27 member states of the European Union?
3. Which early 19th Century Irish composer is best remembered for being the first composer to write Nocturnes?
4. Which Irish saint founded Lindisfarne monastery on Holy Island in the 7th Century?
5. The 11th Century Peel Castle, built by the Vikings under King Magnus Barelegs, stands on which island off the Isle of Man?
6. In 1861, who became the first king of a united Italy?
7. Who was the so-called ‘Mad Mullah’ of Somalia who led armed resistance to the British, Italian and Ethiopian forces in Somalia during the first twenty years of the Twentieth Century?
8. In which country could you visit Castle Liechtenstein?
9. Which is the largest port on the Mediterranean?
10. Which battle of 1275 resulted in the death of Godfred VI Magnuson, the last Norse King of the Isle of Man?
11. Which military order of German warrior monks was first organised by Albert of Buxhoeveden in 1202?
12. Discovered by Christiaan Huygens in 1655, which is the only moon in our solar system known to have a dense atmosphere?
13. Which war, ended by the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, that saw the Russian Empire take on Sweden for the domination of Eastern Europe marked the end of the Swedish Empire?
14. Which artist's last work was 'The Transfiguration' which he left unfinished at his death in 1520?
15. Named after a fire giant in Norse mythology, what is the name of the Icelandic island that was formed during a volcanic eruption and reached the surface in November 1963?
16. Which male tennis player did Billie Jean King defeat in straight sets 1973 in a match dubbed 'The Battle of the Sexes'?
17. Consisting of the Dáil and the Seanad, what is the name of the Irish parliament?
18. Who succeeded Benito Mussolini as Prime Minister of Italy in 1943?
19. Deriving from the Gaelic for ‘bent’, what is the name of the Manx team sport, similar to hurling and shinty, that is played annually in St Johns?
20. Diaphoresis is the technical name for which bodily process?
21. Campione d’Italia is an Italian exclave completely surrounded by which Swiss canton?
22. In Greek mythology, who was the goddess of the moon who fell in love with the shepherd boy, Endymion?
23. What name is given to the symbol consisting of three bent human legs that is used on the flags of the Isle of Man and Sicily?
24. Which general and commander-in-chief led the New Model Army at the Battle of Naseby in 1645?
25. Which Icelandic politician became the world’s first female President when she was elected in 1980? She held the position until 1996.
26. Which Roman historian is best known for his monumental work 'Ab Urbe Condita', usually referred to in English as the 'History of Rome'?
27. Regarded as the unofficial national poet of Italy, which poet, whose collections include ‘Rime Nuove’ (New Rhymes) and ‘Odi Barbare’ (Barbarian Odes), became, in 1906, the first Italian to win the Nobel Prize for Literature?
28. Roy of the Rovers first appeared in a weekly strip in which comic magazine in 1954?
29. A doubly landlocked country is a country that is not only landlocked but also entirely surrounded by other landlocked countries. There are only two such countries in the world. Which two?
30. Whilst incarcerated in which prison did John Bunyan write 'The Pilgrim's Progress'?
31. Which is the only land mammal native to Iceland?
32.Which Roman Emperor was assassinated in 41AD by members of the Praetorian Guard, led by Cassius Chaerea?
33. One of the earliest recognised operatic works, and sometimes described as the earliest opera to remain dramatically viable by modern standards, which work, inspired by a story from Greek mythology, by the Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi, with text by Alessandro Striggio, was first performed in the ducal palace at Mantua in 1607?
34. Born Frank Edwin Wright III, Tré Cool is the drummer for which successful American rock group?
35. The Battle of Flowers has been held annually on the second week of August since 1902 on which island?
36. Named after the French chemist who formulated it in 1884, which scientific theory, used to predict the effect of a change in conditions on a chemical equilibrium, states that if a change is made in the pressure, temperature or concentration of a system in chemical equilibrium, the equilibrium will be displaced in such a way as to oppose this change?
37. According to Landnámabók, who became the first permanent Norse settler on Iceland in 874AD?
38. Sharing its name with a German synthpop group, which 1965 Jean-Luc Godard film has the original French subtitle "Une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution"?
39. The United States House of Representatives ruled that, legally, if which Italian inventor “had been able to pay the $10 fee to maintain the caveat after 1874, no patent (for the telephone) could have been issued to Bell"?
40. Who is the American aviator and adventurer, best known for holding many world records including five nonstop circumnavigations of the Earth, who has been reported missing since 3rd September 2007 after his plane disappeared over the Nevada Desert?
41. Lasting between 1941 and 1944, the Soviet Union fought the Continuation War against which country?
42. Which Italian satirist and playwright wrote 'Accidental Death of an Anarchist' and 'Can't Pay? Won't Pay!'?
43. Known as ‘The Gateway to Hell’, which is Iceland’s most active volcano, its last eruption occurring in February 2000?
44. Situated in the North Caucasus mountains, which large republic, a federal subject of the Russian Federation, was established in January 1921 and has its capital at Makhachkala?
45. In 1768, France purchased the island of Corsica from which city state?
46. Which former British MP served as Secretary-General of NATO from 1999 to 2003?
47. Which founding member of the 2nd Red Brigades, was sentenced to six life sentences for the murder of the Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro in 1978, but was released after just 15 years in 1998?
48. Which popular British artist, born in Surrey in 1926 but active in Plymouth from the 1960s, is famous for her paintings of fat people?
49. The English doctor Sir Henry Howarth Bashford wrote which satirical work, with the subtitle 'Being the Autobiography of a Really Good Man', that was first published anonymously in the UK in 1924?
50. With 41 to date, which country is home to the world’s most UNESCO World Heritage Sites?


Hope you enjoyed that lot. More tomorrow. The answers:


1. GRÍMSEY
2. ESTONIA
3. JOHN FIELD
4. ST AIDAN
5. ST PATRICK’S ISLE
6. VICTOR EMMANUEL II
7. MOHAMMED ABDULLAH HASSAN
8. AUSTRIA
9. MARSEILLE
10. BATTLE OF RONALDSWAY
11. LIVONIAN BROTHERS OF THE SWORD (or LIVONIAN ORDER)
12. TITAN
13. GREAT NORTHERN WAR
14. RAPHAEL
15. SURTSEY
16. BOBBY RIGGS
17. OIREACHTAS
18. PIETRO BADOGLIO
19. CAMMAG
20. SWEATING
21. TICINO
22. SELENE
23. TRISKELION (or TRISCELI in Sicily)
24. THOMAS FAIRFAX
25. VIGDÍS FINNBOGADÓTTIR
26. LIVY
27. GIOSUÈ CARDUCCI
28. TIGER
29. LIECHTENSTEIN & UZBEKISTAN
30. BEDFORD
31. ARCTIC FOX
32. CALIGULA
33. L'ORFEO
34. GREEN DAY
35. JERSEY
36. LE CHATELIER'S PRINCIPLE
37. INGÓLFUR ARNARSON
38. ALPHAVILLE
39. ANTONIO MEUCCI
40. STEVE FOSSETT
41. FINLAND
42. DARIO FO
43. HEKLA
44. DAGESTAN
45. GENOA
46. GEORGE ROBERTSON
47. MARIO MORETTI
48. BERYL COOK
49. AUGUSTUS CARP, ESQ., BY HIMSELF
50. ITALY

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

THE 37th QUIZ

There's a bit of a German bias to this one:

1. The Federal Constitutional Court, or Bundesverfassungsgericht, is the German Supreme Court responsible for constitutional matters and is located in which city?
2. Named 'the Dog of the Century' in 2000, what was the name of the black Newfoundland that reportedly saved 27 people from drowning in Swansea's North Dock during the 1930s?
3. Which Jewish poet, born in Chernowitz in what was Romania (now Ukraine) in 1920, spent more than 18 months of World War II in a Romanian labour camp and committed suicide by drowning in the Seine in 1970?
4. Which scientific law states that the recession speed of a distant galaxy is directly proportional to the distance of the galaxy from the observer?
5. Formed in response to the rationalism of the Enlightenment and associated with the philosopher Johann Georg Hamann, what name is given to the German literary and musical movement that took place between the 1760s and the 1780s which portrayed individual subjectivity and extreme emotional expression?
6. ‘Millennium Approaches’ and ‘Perestroika’ were the subtitles of the two volumes of which “Gay Fantasia on National Themes”, later to be made into a television miniseries and an opera by Peter Eötvös?
7. In August 2006, the BBC reported that which city in eastern Germany has the lowest birthrate in the world?
8. Who was the captain of HMS Beagle when Darwin travelled aboard it to conduct his research?
9. Which author did George Eliot describe as “…the last true polymath to walk the earth.”?
10. Who played the title character in the 1957 film ‘The Admirable Crichton’?
11. Which German Dadaist and surrealist artist, whose best known works include ‘The Virgin Chastises the infant Jesus before Three Witnesses: André Breton, Paul Éluard, and the Painter’ and ‘The Elephant Celebes’, served in the German army during World War I and stated in his autobiography that he “…died the 1st August 1914”?
12. In 1971, which British aviatrix became the first woman to fly over the North Pole?
13. The German inventor and early filmmaker Max Skladanowsky and his brother Emil invented which early movie projector, used to display the first moving picture to be shown to a paying audience in November 1895 about two months before the Lumière Brothers' Cinématographe made its public debut?
14. The American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd were all shot dead by the FBI in which year?
15. The 2007 movie 'Rescue Dawn', starring Christian Bale and Steve Zahn, is the latest film from which German, whose directorial debut was the 1962 short film ‘Herakles’?
16. What was the name of the ship that arrived at Tilbury in June 1948 carrying the first large group of West Indian immigrants to the UK after World War II?
17. Designed in 1941 by the German engineer and computer pioneer Konrad Zuse, what was the name of the world's first functional program-controlled computer?
18. Which American poet was charged with treason for broadcasting Fascist propaganda during World War II and subsequently spent 12 years in a psychiatric hospital?
19. During World War II Operation Felix was the proposed name for a German/Spanish plan to seize what? It was scheduled to take place on January 10th 1941 but it was never executed.
20. Currently under construction and scheduled to be operational by 2011, at 1600 MWe the world’s largest nuclear power station is being built by France's AREVA and Germany's Siemens AG in which country?
21. Which British bird, that takes its name from the old Norse for 'foul gull' can squirt an evil-smelling stomach oil up to 2 metres to repel unwanted visitors?
22. What was the acronymic name of the German intelligence organisation, operative from 1921 until 1944, the full name of which translated into English as ‘Overseas Department/Office in Defence of the Armed Forces High Command’?
23. What was the name of the Canadian journalist and art critic who is best remembered as the executor of the estate of Oscar Wilde, with whom he had been lifelong friends?
24. On the Mohs scale of hardness, which crystalline form of aluminium oxide is used to define a hardness of 9.0?
25. Who was the German-born Dutch artist who painted portraits of both Charles I and Charles II as well as the famous 'warts and all' portrait of Oliver Cromwell?
26. In which fictional kingdom in Central Europe was Anthony Hope's novel ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’ set?
27. Berat, Elbasan and Fier are all counties of which European country?
28. At which German art school were the painters Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Josef Albers all lecturers?
29. In 1844, Samuel Morse used which four-word Biblical quote when he sent the world's first public telegraph message?
30. Which footballer was the subject of a hit single by The Others that reached number 36 in the charts in October 2004?
31. Designed by Tommy Flowers, what was the name of the computer that was used by British code breakers at Bletchley Park during World War II to read encrypted German messages, such as those from the Enigma machine?
32. Which ballet by Léo Delibes is subtitled 'The Girl with Enamel Eyes'?
33. Which train robber from the American Wild West was known as 'The Robin Hood of Texas'?
34. Which country did West Germany defeat in the final of the 1954 football World Cup?
35. What was the name of James Buchanan’s niece who acted as his First Lady during his tenure in office?
36. Mount Sněžka is the highest peak in which European country?
37. What name has been given to the heavy metal music developed in the German speaking world in the 1990s that combines heavily distorted electric guitar and percussion with deep, and often gothic, vocals? Important bands associated with the movement include OOMPH! and Rammstein.
38. ‘The Good Old Swedish Time’ is the name given to the period of history during the 17th Century in which country? It is so named because of the seeming benefits, such as the printing press and the establishment of universities, that came with Swedish rule.
39. David Lodge's 2004 novel ‘Author, Author’ is based on the life of which novelist?
40. In which German city is the Goethe Museum?
41. Regulus is the brightest star of which constellation?
42. Productions of which English-language play feature heavily in the plot of the Pedro Almodóvar film 'Todo sobre mi madre' (All About My Mother)?
43. At which battle of World War I was the German Admiral Maximilian von Spee killed?
44. Which Californian punk band collaborated with Buju Banton on the song 'Misty Days' from Banton's album 'Unchained Spirit'?
45. Which celebrated German scientist, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1932, is best remembered for his uncertainty principle that states that there is a limit to the precision with which the position and direction of a particle can be simultaneously known?
46. Which English architect designed the international railway terminal at Waterloo Station and the Eden Project in Cornwall?
47. Which hill in Bodmin Moor is the highest point in Cornwall?
48. Known as 'The Angel of the Battlefield,' who was the American teacher, nurse and humanitarian who founded the American Red Cross in 1881?
49. Which French engineer invented the world's first passenger-carrying airship in 1852?
50. The Thomas Cup is a trophy awarded in which sport?


And the answers:


1. KARLSRUHE
2. SWANSEA JACK
3. PAUL CELAN
4. HUBBLE'S LAW
5. STURM UND DRANG (or STORM AND STRESS)
6. ANGELS IN AMERICA (by TONY KUSHNER)
7. CHEMNITZ
8. ROBERT FITZROY
9. JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE
10. KENNETH MORE
11. MAX ERNST
12. SHEILA SCOTT
13. BIOSCOP
14. 1934
15. WERNER HERZOG
16. EMPIRE WINDRUSH
17. Z3
18. EZRA POUND
19. GIBRALTAR
20. FINLAND
21. FULMAR
22. ABWEHR
23. ROBBIE ROSS
24. CORUNDUM
25. PETER LELY
26. RURITANIA
27. ALBANIA
28. BAUHAUS
29. WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT
30. STAN BOWLES
31. COLOSSUS
32. COPPÉLIA
33. SAM BASS
34. HUNGARY
35. HARRIET LANE
36. CZECH REPUBLIC
37. NEUE DEUTSCHE HÄRTE (NEW GERMAN HARDNESS)
38. ESTONIA
39. HENRY JAMES
40. FRANKFURT
41. LEO
42. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
43. BATTLE OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS
44. RANCID
45. WERNER HEISENBERG
46. NICHOLAS GRIMSHAW
47. BROWN WILLY
48. CLARA BARTON
49. HENRI GIFFARD
50. BADMINTON

THE 36th QUIZ

Hello again. A bit of a Frenchy feel to the quiz today. Here goes:


1. Tintamarre is the largest island in which French overseas collectivity that came into being in February 2007?
2. What event of 1945 connects the films 'Der Hund von Baskerville' and 'Der Mann, der Sherlock Holmes war'?
3. Which boxer defeated Jake Kilrain in 1889 in the last ever world heavyweight championship prizefight decided with bare knuckles under London Prize Ring rules?
4. In April 2007, Laurent Deutsch starred in a French film that told the story of which fabulist and poet, born in 1621?
5. What was the name of the Swiss psychologist who developed the ink-blot psychological test?
6. Inaugurated in March 2007, the LGV Est, an extension to the French high-speed TGV network, links Paris with which city?
7. Also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, at which battle of 1805 did France defeat Austria and Russia?
8. Which English bishop, who was born in Beverley in Yorkshire, was appointed Bishop of Rochester in 1504 at the insistence of Henry VII only to be executed in 1535? He was canonized in 1935 by Pope Pius XI along with Thomas More.
9. In Greek mythology, which Spartan king was the father of Castor and Pollox?
10. In which African country would you find the Mountains of the Moon?
11. The current King of Spain and the current Grand Duke of Luxembourg are, through the Bourbon branch, both members of which dynasty, named after the King of France who reigned from 987AD until 996AD?
12. Which American city is served by Metropolitan Airport?
13. Which Scottish soldier and nobleman led the government army that defeated the Jacobites at the Battle of Sheriffmuir in 1715?
14. First published in 1852, ‘Émaux et camées’ is a collection of 37 poems considered to represent the greatest work of which French author?
15. Who was the English sea captain and Arctic explorer who, along with his entire crew, disappeared whilst attempting to navigate the Northwest Passage in 1847?
16. Designed by Norman Foster and Michel Virlogeux, the Millau Viaduct, the tallest vehicular bridge in the world, spans which river, a tributary of the Garonne?
17. Which French writer published the Surrealist Manifesto in 1924?
18. Which Hungarian city earned the nickname of ‘Calvinist Rome’ during the 16th Century because it was one of the first cities to embrace the Protestant Reformation?
19. The carcajou is an alternative name for which mammal?
20. In 'The Pickwick Papers', what is the name of Mr Pickwick's landlady who sues him for breach of promise to marry her?
21. Aged 88 at the time of his resignation, who is the oldest Head of State in French history?
22. What name is given to the unit of pressure equal to 60 millimetres of mercury?
23. Which Cuban-born Italian novelist wrote 'Invisible Cities' and 'The Castle of Crossed Destinies'?
24. Which treaty of 843AD created the kingdom of Francia Occidentalis and represents only the legal founding of the state of France?
25. What was the full name of the American poet and novelist known primarily by her initials H.D.?
26. What is the name of the town in French Guiana, home to the Guiana Space Centre, from which the European Space Agency and CNES launch their satellites?
27. Which French author won the first ever Nobel Prize for Literature in 1901?
28. Lítla Dímun is the only one of the eighteen large islands of which European island group to be uninhabited?
29. Named after an 18th Century British scientist, what name is given to the ratio of the tensile stress to the tensile strain in a material?
30. In May 1957 Britain's first Hydrogen Bomb was tested over which Pacific island?
31. Fought between March 13 – May 7, 1954, which battle, which resulted in a massive defeat for the French army, effectively ended the First Indochina War?
32. What is the name of the American politician who replaced Rudolph Giuliani as Mayor of New York in 2002?
33. In 1599, who became the first poet to be buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey since Geoffrey Chaucer?
34. Built in the first half of the 20th Century, the world’s oldest playable pipe organ is located in the Basilique de Valère in which Swiss city?
35. Bornholm is an island in the Baltic Sea belonging to which country?
36. Known by some as the man who created Paris and by others as the man who destroyed it, which civic planner was hired by Napoleon III in 1852 to modernise Paris?
37. What was the pen name used by the French novelist Amandine Lucie Dudevant?
38. The father of the poet Lydia Koidula, Johann Voldemar Jannsen wrote the words to ‘Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm’ meaning ‘My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy’, the national anthem of which country?
39. Which former coach of the Green Bay Packers gives his name to the trophy awarded to the winners of the NFL Superbowl?
40. In May 1991, who became the first female Prime Minister of France?
41. Who was the French Minister of Justice who oversaw the drafting of the French Constitution that was adopted in October 1958?
42. The Majlis is the name given to the parliament of which country?
43. The Merneptah Stele was discovered at Thebes by which English Egyptologist who pioneered the use of the sequence dating method in archaeology?
44. The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations who were (originally) followers of whom?
45. Which Asian capital city has a name meaning 'Town of Victory' in the local tongue?
46. Lifou Island, Maré Island, Tiga Island, Ouvéa Island, Mouli Island, and Faiava Island are the six inhabited islands in which archipelago, part of the French territory of New Caledonia?
47. Before her marriage to Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine was the Queen of which French King?
48. With a population density of just 15.5 people per square kilometre, which is the most sparsely populated country in the European Union?
49. Which French short story writer and dramatist wrote the novella upon which Bizet's opera 'Carmen' is based?
50. Who was the first king of Scotland from the House of Stuart?


And the answers?:


1. SAINT MARTIN
2. THEY WERE THE ONLY FILMS FOUND IN HITLER'S BUNKER
3. JOHN L SULLIVAN
4. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE
5. HERMANN RORSCHACH
6. STRASBOURG
7. AUSTERLITZ
8. JOHN FISHER
9. TYNDAREUS
10. UGANDA
11. CAPETIAN DYNASTY
12. DETROIT
13. JOHN CAMPBELL, DUKE OF ARGYLL
14. THÉOPHILE GAUTIER
15. JOHN FRANKLIN
16. TARN
17. ANDRÉ BRETON
18. DEBRECEN
19. WOLVERINE
20. MRS BARDELL
21. PHILIPPE PÉTAIN
22. ATMOSPHERE
23. ITALO CALVINO
24. TREATY OF VERDUN
25. HILDA DOOLITTLE
26. KOUROU
27. SULLY PRUDHOMME
28. FAROE ISLANDS
29. YOUNG'S MODULUS
30. KIRIMATI (or CHRISTMAS ISLAND)
31. BATTLE OF DIEN BIEN PHU
32. MICHAEL BLOOMBERG
33. EDMUND SPENSER
34. SION
35. DENMARK
36. BARON HAUSSMANN (GEORGES-EUGÈNE HAUSSMANN)
37. GEORGE SAND
38. ESTONIA
39. VINCE LOMBARDI
40. ÉDITH CRESSON
41. MICHEL DEBRÉ
42. IRAN
43. FLINDERS PETRIE
44. MENNO SIMONS
45. JAKARTA
46. LOYALTY ISLANDS (OR ÎLES LOYAUTÉ)
47. LOUIS VII
48. FINLAND
49. PROSPER MÉRIMÉE
50. ROBERT II

THE 35th QUIZ

Today I have been mostly researching Denmark and Finland. You will see that this has influenced today's quiz a tad!:

(By the way I'm very proud of question 7 - you'll see).


1. Which town in the Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, founded by the Dutch East India Company in 1620, was a Danish colony from 1620 until 1845?
2. Directed by Max Spielberg, the son of Steven, and with the tagline "This time it's really personal", 'Jaws 19' was a holofilm playing at the Holomax Theater in the year 2015 in which real film of 1989?
3. By what Anglicised name is Antti Hulkko, the lead singer of the Finnish rock group Hanoi Rocks, better know?
4. In which sport did the Indonesian Rudy Hartono win the All England Championship seven years in succession?
5. Opened in July 2000, the Oresund Bridge connects Copenhagen to which Swedish city?
6. By what name is the abnormal movement disorder chorea better known?
7. Where could you find the statement, "...il suffit que je sois bien malheureuse pour avoir droit a votre bienveillance"?
8. Building began in 1748 of which inhabited sea fortress and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Helsinki?
9. In which city are the headquarters of the European Central Bank?
10. Which body of water, linking the Coral Sea with the Arafura Sea, separates Cape York Peninsula in Queensland from the Western Province of Papua New Guinea?
11. Britain fought Denmark-Norway in which war, during the Napoleonic Wars, that lasted from 1807 until ended by the Treaty of Kiel in 1814?
12. According to Greek mythology, who sacrificed his son Pelops and served up his flesh at a banquet for the Gods?
13. Which three European countries are the only countries in the world in which a Uralic language is spoken by the majority of the population?
14. The Avesta is the sacred book of which Asian religion?
15. Which two Danish authors shared the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1917?
16. Born in Elston Hall near Newark-on Trent in 1731, which naturalist and poet wrote the important scientific work 'Zoönomia'?
17. The Kings of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II belonged to which royal house?
18. Who became the first President of Finland in 1919?
19. Which city did Astana replace as capital of Kazakhstan in 1998?
20. At either 8’4” or 8’5”, which Ukrainian veterinary surgeon is listed by the ‘Guinness Book of Records’ as the world’s tallest living man?
21. Named in part after a German river, what was the codename of Nazi Germany’s invasion of Denmark and Norway on 9th April 1940, during which the Danish military offered just two hours of resistance before surrendering?
22. The Treaty of Teschen, signed in 1779, officially ended which war?
23. Petrozavodsk is the capital of which Republic and federal subject of the Russian Federation?
24. Formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo, guitarist Mikko Lindström, and bassist Mikko Paananen, which group, whose albums include ‘Love Metal’ and ‘Gold Light’, are the only Finnish band ever to go Gold in the USA?
25. Located in Copenhagen, what is the name of the winter home of the Danish royal family?
26. Which pseudonym was used by the Danish Baroness Karen Blixen when she wrote her autobiographical book 'Out of Africa'?
27. Which English scientist discovered the Law of Partial Pressures in 1801?
28. Which European capital city was known as Reval until 1918?
29. Italy is separated into political areas known as regions; how many regions are there?
30. Which English Civil War General later led the English forces at the Sieges of Limerick and was made Lord Deputy of Ireland by Oliver Cromwell in 1650?
31. Also known as Christiansø, Denmark’s most easterly point lies on which archipelago in the Baltic Sea, home to just 95 permanent residents?
32. Who was the tenant of the serial killer John Christie who was hanged for supposedly killing his own wife and child?
33. Opened in October 2006, 'Óðamansgarði' (or 'The Madman´s Garden') is the first opera ever to be performed in which language?
34. Which Panamanian boxer was known as 'Manos de Piedra', or 'Hands of Stone'?
35. In 1969, Denmark became the first country to officially legalise what?
36. The name of which dinosaur means 'Swift Thief' in Latin?
37. Which English poet, as a young man, fought with Sir Walter Raleigh against the Spanish at Cadiz and the Azores?
38. Also known as Finnish baseball, which is the national sport of Finland?
39. In which prison was Adolf Hitler incarcerated in 1924?
40. Which current Labour MP was, in 1976, acquitted on charges of bank robbery?
41. The Danish companies Lundbeck and Novo Nordisk are both involved in which industry?
42. Opened in 1988, the Essen Opera House was designed by, and is named after, which architect?
43. The St. George’s Night Uprising is the name given to a series of rebellions that took place between 1343 and 1345 against the primarily German rulers of which European country?
44. Which dramatist's first play was 'Catalina', published in 1850?
45. In December 2006, which Danish American footballer became the all-time leading scorer in the history of the National Football League?
46. Which poet wrote the sonnet 'The New Colossus' that was inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty?
47. Who is the only actor ever to have played three different American Presidents in three different films? Namely Abraham Lincoln in 'The Perfect Tribute', Ulysses S. Grant in 'The Legend of the Lone Ranger' and Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 'FDR: The Final Years'. Ironically, he won his first Oscar while playing a non-Presidential role in the 1976 film 'All the President's Men'.
48. Which one of the flying Finns won four gold medals at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, including the 10,000 metres and the 3000 metres steeplechase and followed that with a gold medal for the 5000 metres at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam?
49. Inspired by the European masters such as Claude Lorrain and John Constable, Thomas Cole is acknowledged as the founder of which artistic movement, also associated with Frederic Church and Sanford Robinson Gifford?
50. Which American Old West outlaw, who boasted that he had killed more than forty men, was himself shot dead by the El Paso lawman John Selman in 1895?


And the answers:


1. THARANGAMBADI (OR TRANQUEBAR)
2. BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II
3. ANDY McCOY
4. BADMINTON
5. MALMÖ
6. ST VITUS' DANCE
7. WRITTEN ON THE LETTER IN DAVID'S 'THE DEATH OF MARAT'
8. SUOMENLINNA (or VIAPORI)
9. FRANKFURT
10. TORRES STRAIT
11. GUNBOAT WAR
12. TANTALUS
13. ESTONIA, FINLAND & HUNGARY
14. ZOROASTRIANISM
15. HENRIK PONTOPPIDAN & KARL GJELLERUP (aka EPIGONOS)
16. ERASMUS DARWIN
17. SAVOY
18. KAARLO JUHO STÅHLBERG
19. ALMATY
20. LEONID STADNYK
21. OPERATION WESERÜBUNG
22. WAR OF THE BAVARIAN SUCCESSION
23. REPUBLIC OF KARELIA
24. HIM
25. AMALIENBORG PALACE
26. ISAK DINESEN
27. JOHN DALTON
28. TALLINN
29. 20
30. HENRY IRETON
31. ERTHOLMENE
32. TIMOTHY EVANS
33. FAROESE
34. ROBERTO DURÁN
35. PORNOGRAPHY
36. VELOCIRAPTOR
37. JOHN DONNE
38. PESÄPALLO
39. LANDSBERG
40. PETER HAIN
41. PHARMACEUTICALS
42. ALVAR AALTO
43. ESTONIA
44. HENRIK IBSEN
45. MORTEN ANDERSEN
46. EMMA LAZARUS
47. JASON ROBARDS
48. VILLE RITOLA
49. HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL
50. JOHN WESLEY HARDING

THE 34th QUIZ

Hi there. Here we are:


1. 'Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott' or 'A Mighty Forest is Our God' is a hymn, paraphrasing Psalm 46, written by whom sometime between 1527 and 1529?
2. Each decade since 1952 'Sight & Sound' magazine has polled the world's foremost film critics in order to create a list of the 10 greatest films of all time. Which are the only two films, released in 1925 and 1939, to have made the top 10 in each of the 6 lists compiled so far?
3. Which country's karate team boycotted the Asian championship in Malaysia in August 2007 in protest at the beating of one of its official referees by the local police?
4. Who is the only footbaler to have played in Merseyside, Manchester and Auld Firm derbies?
5. Which chemical element with the atomic number 64 and the relative atomic mass 157.25 is named after a Finnish chemist, born in 1760?
6. 'Mermaid Avenue' was a 1998 collection of Woody Guthrie songs re-recorded, at the request of Guthrie's daughter Nora, by which singer-songwriter in collaboration with the Chicago rock band Wilco?
7. What is the name of the UK-based gay rights direct action campaigning group formed by Peter Tatchell among others following the murder of the gay actor Michael Boothe?
8. Which famous theorem states that it is impossible to find an integer solution to the equation 'xn + yn = zn' if 'n' is greater than 2 and 'x', 'y' and 'z' are not zero?
9. On April 25th 1792, a thief and assassin named Jacques Nicolas Pelletier became the first person to die in what manner?
10. In 1986, which Nigerian playwright became the first African to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature?
11. Which archipelago of islands was originally known to the French as Îles Malouines?
12. Often cited as the first significant American feature film, which controversial DW Griffith film, that portrayed Ku Klux Klansmen in a heroic light, was adapted from Thomas Dixon's novel and play 'The Clansman'?
13. Who was the gambler and businessman who set up both Howletts Zoo, near Canterbury, and Port Lympne Zoo, near Hythe?
14. In Greek mythology, who continued to cry for her slain children even after being turned to stone by Zeus?
15. Which number, larger than a googol but smaller than a googolplex, can be written as 1 followed by 303 zeroes?
16. The Schick Test is used to determine the susceptibility of a person to which infectious disease?
17. What was the score when England beat Australia in the 2003 rugby World Cup final?
18. Who was the last Western Roman Emperor who abdicated in AD476?
19. In the novel by Jules Verne, who was the French valet who accompanied Phileas Fogg on his attempt to go Around the World in Eighty Days?
20. The Bullet Train links Tokyo with which other Japanese city?
21. The flag of which European country features a two-headed eagle at its centre?
22. What is the name of the 7'3" English born actor, who took the oath to become a naturalized citizen of the United States in October 2005, who is best known for playing the Wookiee, Chewbacca, in the 'Star Wars' movies?
23. The American abolitionist John Brown is best remembered for leading a raid on the federal armory in which town in West Virginia?
24. In Greek mythology, what was the name of the youth killed by a blow to his head, caused by a discus thrown by Apollo?
25. Found guilty, at the age of 14, of the murder of his 12-year-old schoolmate Lynne Harper in 1959 and sentenced to hang, which Canadian, whose case has been a cause célèbre for almost fifty years, was officially acquitted of the crime in August 2007 after his conviction was declared a miscarriage of justice?
26. Derived from the Greek for 'I rub', what name is given to the scientific study of friction, lubrication and wear?
27. Which Moroccan athlete won both the men's 1500 and 5000 metres at the 2004 Olympic Games?
28. Which famous English poet had the middle name Chawner?
29. In the play by Christopher Marlowe, what was the name of the Jew of Malta?
30. Begun in 1697, what is the name of the baroque palace complex built in Vienna by Prince Eugene of Savoy?
31. Which African capital city was formerly known as Christopolis?
32. What is the name of James Fennimore Cooper's fictional Mohican chief, the companion of Natty Bumppo, who was played by Russell Means in the 1992 film 'The Last of the Mohicans'?
33. What was the name of the Norwegian king, reputedly standing at 7ft tall, who invaded England in 1066 only to be defeated by King Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge?
34. Which religious reformer is considered the founder of the both the Church of Scotland and the Protestant Reformation in Scotland?
35. With which band did Ian Broudie and Holly Johnson play together before becoming the lead singers of The Lightning Seeds and Frankie Goes to Hollywood respectively?
36. What is the name of the Palestinian militant group, closely linked to the Fatah political party, that signs its name as the Brigades of Shahid Yasser Arafat?
37. Gaston Tong Sang, a founding member of the pro-French Tahoera'a Huiraatira political party, was forced to resign as the President of which French overseas collectivity on 31st August 2007?
38. In meteorology, what is measured in oktas?
39. 'Hatter's Castle' was the first novel by which popular 20th century novelist?
40. Which retired American footballer, who won four Super Bowls during his 13 years as a quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers between 1979 and 1992, produces his own wine under the label Montagia?
41. Which large lake lies on the River Rhine on the border between Germany, Switzerland and Austria?
42. Nicknamed the 'Bull Moose Party', what was the name of the American political party founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 after he had lost the Republican Presidential nomination to William Howard Taft?
43. At which English port were all four of Captain Cook's ships built?
44. Ernest Hemingway once claimed that "All modern American literature comes from one book". Which book?
45. Voted the fifth greatest heavy metal band of all time by MTV in 2006, which now defunct band, that formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981, had a number 1 album in the USA in 1994 with 'Far Beyond Driven'?
46. The Second Tuareg Rebellion began in which country in February 2007?
47. Which word was coined by Karl Brunner in 1968 to describe the economic theories of Milton Friedman?
48. Who was the Austrian zoologist, a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union from 1944 to 1948 and author of 'King Solomon's Ring', who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1973 for his studies of animal behavioural patterns?
49. 'The Canterbury Tales' tells the stories of a collection of pilgrims travelling to Canterbury from which London borough?
50. Which is the most notherly county in mainland Britain?


And the answers too:


1. MARTIN LUTHER
2. BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN & LA RÈGLE DU JEU (or THE RULES OF THE GAME)
3. INDONESIA
4. ANDREI KANCHELSKIS
5. GADOLINIUM
6. BILLY BRAGG
7. OUTRAGE!
8. FERMAT'S LAST THEREOM
9. GUILLOTINED
10. WOLE SOYINKA
11. FALKLAND ISLANDS
12. THE BIRTH OF A NATION
13. JOHN ASPINALL
14. NIOBE
15. CENTILLION
16. DIPHTHERIA
17. 20-17
18. ROMULUS AUGUSTUS
19. PASSEPARTOUT
20. OSAKA
21. ALBANIA
22. PETER MAYHEW
23. HARPERS FERRY
24. HYACINTHUS
25. STEVEN TRUSCOTT
26. TRIBOLOGY
27. HICHAM EL GUERROUJ
28. RUPERT BROOKE
29. BARABAS
30. THE BELVEDERE
31. MONROVIA
32. CHINGACHGOOK
33. HARALD HARDRAADE
34. JOHN KNOX
35. BIG IN JAPAN
36. AL-AQASA MARTYRS' BRIGADE
37. FRENCH POLYNESIA
38. CLOUD COVER
39. AJ CRONIN
40. JOE MONTANA
41. LAKE CONSTANCE
42. PROGRESSIVE PARTY
43. WHITBY
44. HUCKLEBERRY FINN
45. PANTERA
46. NIGER
47. MONETARISM
48. KONRAD LORENZ
49. SOUTHWARK
50. CAITHNESS

THE 33rd QUIZ

Here we go again. Hope you enjoy:


1. In 1440, the Italian humanist Lorenzo Valla proved that which Roman imperial edict, probably devised in the 8th or 9th Century, was a fake?
2. The 1929 cartoon 'Race Riot' is notable for being the first to be entirely produced and directed by Walter Lantz and featured which character created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks prior to Disney's greater success with Mickey Mouse?
3. What is the name given to Hamburg's famous red light district?
4. Which creature, specifically, is the world's largest reptile?
5. In August 2007, Tiger Woods won the PGA Championship at the Southern Hills Country Club in which Oklahoma city?
6. Which work by the Italian Renaissance philosopher Giovanni Pico della Mirandola is often called 'The Manisfesto of the Renaissance'?
7. Which is the longest book of the Old Testament?
8. Which American astronaut, who landed on the Moon in 1972, travelled into space more times than any other astronaut during the 20th Century?
9. Prior to 2002, by what name was Liverpool John Lennon Airport known?
10. Which is the second largest of the Greek islands?
11. What is the name of the city in Virginia which, for one week, served as the last capital of the Confederate States of America?
12. Hohhot is the capital of which Chinese Autonomous Region that celebrated in 60th anniversary last month?
13. Abu Sayyaf is a militant Islamic separatist movement based in which country?
14. Known as Portugal's greatest poet, which author is best remembered for his epic work 'Os Lusíadas'?
15. In August 2007, 500 people were evacuated from the slopes of which active volcano on the Indonesian island of Siau when it began to spew out ash and lava?
16. "Mother died today" is the first line of which French novel of 1942?
17. Elton John's 1982 song 'Empty Garden' was written as a tribute to whom?
18. Which county cricket team plays its home games at Grace Road?
19. The Sheet Metal Donkey was the nickname given to the world's first practical all metal aircraft; who designed it?
20. In fear of the jealous wrath of his Queen, Hera, Zeus turned Io into which creature?
21. Croesus, famed for his wealth, was the king of which ancient kingdom?
22. In which American state is Hamburger University?
23. What nationality is the fisherman in Ernest Hemingway's novella 'The Old Man and the Sea'?
24. In which country were 85 protesters killed and more than 600 injured by the police forces during the July Revolt of 1927?
25. Who was the Liberal Party Senator for South Australia who was elected as the President of the Australian Senate in August 2007?
26. What was the name of the British light cruiser that was accidentally rammed by HMS Queen Mary in October 1942 with the loss of 338 lives?
27. Which 1993 BBC miniseries, with a soundtrack written by David Bowie, was adapted from a novel by Hanif Kureishi? It starred Naveen Andrews as the title character.
28. 'La Noire de...', 'Touki Bouki' and 'Guimba, un tyran, une époque' are three of the most important films in the movie industry of which African country?
29. What name is given to the young of a falcon?
30. Which pretender to the English throne landed in England in 1495 in an attempt to overthrow King Henry VII and was hanged as a traitor at Tyburn?
31. Which Flemish-Dutch painter, born in 1525, earned the nickname 'peasant' because of his practice of putting on disguises in order to take part in peasant gatherings?
32. In 1982, who became the first female jockey to complete the Grand National?
33. In 2001, which British rock group became the first Western act to play in Cuba for over 20 years?
34. In July 2007, Valdis Zatlers was sworn in as the third President of which country?
35. Which Pope ordered the execution of the Friulian miller Menocchio in 1599 after he was named as a heresiarch for his philosophical teachings?
36. Europe's most complete Neolithic village, which UNESCO World Heritage Site is located on the Bay of Skaill on Mainland island in the Orkneys?
37. What name is given to the uncut sideburns worn by male orthodox Jews?
38. Which Greek philosopher and naturalist wrote the 'Naturalis Historia'?
39. In the 1890s, who was the sportsman who played cricket for Sussex and England, football for Southampton and England and held the long jump world record?
40. Lake Scutari forms a natural border between Montenegro and which other country?
41. In 1993, who became the first female Prime Minister of Canada?
42. The story of which Greek mythological character has been told in a play by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, a film by Michael Cacoyannis and an opera by Richard Strauss?
43. What was the name of the 19-year old who was hanged for the murder of PC Sidney Miles in 1953 but who won a posthumous pardon in 1998?
44. In which German city was Charlemagne crowned the first Holy Roman Emperor in 800AD?
45. The 16th Century Italian poet Torquato Tasso is best remembered for which work in which he tells a fictionalized version of the battles between the Muslims and the Christians during the First Crusade?
46. Which very rare astronomical phenomenon occurred in the Western Hemisphere and parts of the Eastern Hemisphere on May 31 2007?
47. Which Roman Emperor founded the Flavian Dynasty in AD69?
48. In 1909, which author became the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature?
49. Which country has the International Vehicle Registration code 'RB'?
50. Who was the Archbishop of York who crowned William the Conqueror King of England?


And the answers:


1. DONATION OF CONSTANTINE
2. OSWALD THE LUCKY RABBIT
3. REEPERBAHN
4. SALT WATER CROCODILE
5. TULSA
6. ORATION ON THE DIGNITY OF MAN
7. PSALMS
8. JOHN YOUNG
9. SPEKE AIRPORT
10. EUBOEA
11. DANVILLE
12. INNER MONGOLIA
13. PHILIPPINES
14. LUÍS DE CAMÕES
15. KARANGETANG
16. L'ENTRANGER (THE STRANGER or THE OUTSIDER by ALBERT CAMUS)
17. JOHN LENNON
18. LEICESTERSHIRE
19. HUGO JUNKERS
20. HEIFER
21. LYDIA
22. ILLINOIS
23. CUBAN
24. AUSTRIA
25. ALAN FERGUSON
26. HMS CURACOA
27. THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA
28. NIGERIA
29. EYAS
30. PERKIN WARBECK
31. PIETER BRUEGHEL (THE ELDER)
32. GERALDINE REES
33. MANIC STREET PREACHERS
34. LATVIA
35. CLEMENT VIII
36. SKARA BRAE
37. PAYESS
38. PLINY THE ELDER
39. CB FRY
40. ALBANIA
41. KIM CAMPBELL
42. ELEKTRA
43. DEREK BENTLEY
44. AACHEN
45. LA GERUSALEMME LIBERATA (JERUSALEM DELIVERED)
46. BLUE MOON
47. VESPASIAN
48. SELMA LAGERLÖF
49. BOTSWANA
50. ALDRED

THE 32nd QUIZ

Apologies for the delay; I've been very busy. Here goes:


1. Which hystricognath rodent, the sole member of the family Dinomyidae in the infraorder Caviomorpha, is sometimes known, quite wonderfully in my opinion, as 'Count Branicki's terrible mouse'?
2. In August 2007, 14 convicted prisoners escaped from which detention centre in Oxfordshire?
3. Which Neil Young song did Kurt Cobain quote in his suicide note?
4. Which bandy-legged dwarf of Egyptian mythology was the god of pleasure, jollity, music and childbirth?
5. Which country uses the Convertible Mark as its unit of currency?
6. Which female ballet dancer defected to the West while dancing with the Kirov Ballet in London in 1972?
7. The capital city of which island group is located on New Providence Island?
8. In September 2006, after the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 which stated that double jeopardy should be abrogated where "fresh and viable" new evidence came to light, who became the first person to be convicted of murder after previously being acquitted? He had twice previously been tried for the murder of Julie Hogg in Billingham in 1989, but two juries failed to reach a verdict and he was formally acquitted in 1991. When the new law came into effect he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
9. The 1997 film 'Jackie Brown' was adapted from the novel 'Rum Punch', written by which American author?
10. Which King of Scotland was the father of Mary, Queen of Scots?
11. Which Greek mythological figure was driven mad and pursued by the Furies after he murdered Aegisthus and his mother, Clytemnestra?
12. Six new species to science, a horseshoe bat, a rodent, two shrews and two species of insects, were discovered in a forest in which country in August 2007?
13. Who was the first white rapper to have a number 1 single in the USA?
14. In 1958, which English explorer led the first expeditionary team to complete an overland crossing of Antarctica?
15. In which city is the Imperial Crypt, which was used as the principal place of entombment for the Habsburg dynasty and hereditary Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire?
16. For what did the K stand in the name of the author Jerome K Jerome?
17. Which is the northernmost town on the British mainland?
18. In 1935, who became the first President of the Philippine Commonwealth established under American tutelage?
19. The Islets of Langerhans are a feature of which organ in the human body?
20. Who was the American engine driver and folk hero on the Cannonball Express who died in 1900 trying to prevent his train from crashing into a freight train?
21. Which racing trainer achieved the record of the most National Hunt winners during the 20th Century?
22. In August 2007, which San Francisco Giants baseballer hit his 756th career home run, passing Hank Aaron as the all-time leader in Major League Baseball?
23. Which southern African breed of dog is also known as the 'African lion hound'?
24. What was the first name of Mr Cruft who established the famous dog show in 1886?
25. The ancient cities of Apollonia, Butrini and Krujë are all tourist attractions in which country?
26. Which poem by Richard Lovelace contains the famous line, “Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage”?
27. Inhabitants of which American state are known as 'cornhuskers'?
28. Which French politician was President of the European Commission between 1985 and 1995?
29. What kind of creature is Smoochy in the 2002 film 'Death to Smoochy'?
30. The Salarian Way was a Roman road that linked Rome to which city?
31. What is the scientific name given to the ability of some animals, such as lizards, to self-amputate a part of their body in order to elude a predator?
32. TrES-4 is the largest known planet in the universe and was discovered in August 2007 in which constellation?
33. Reaching number 28 in the UK charts in 1980, which group's first hit was entitled 'Ne-Ne-Na-Na-Na-Na-Nu-Nu'?
34. In which American state were the Seminole Wars fought from 1835 to 1842?
35. Which German-Dutch alchemist and chemist, who was the first person to produce hydrochloric acid, is known as 'the German Boyle'?
36. 'The Age of Anxiety' is the nickname of which composer's 2nd Symphony?
37. In which African country would you find the Toubkal National Park?
38. In September 1956, which singer became the first person to have four UK number 1 singles when 'A Woman in Love' reached the top spot in the charts?
39. What was the name of the naturalist and explorer, known as the 'Father of Biogeography', who proposed a theory of natural selection in his books 'The Malay Archipelago' and 'Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection'?
40. What was the name of the ship that was supposed to sail to America with the Mayflower but had to return to Plymouth because of a leak?
41. In 1975, who became the first English player to be sent-off in a rugby union international match?
42. Riots occurred in which country in August 2007 after it was announced that Xanana Gusmão would become the next Prime Minister?
43. At 87 hours long, which 1987 Lee Groban film is listed by the 'Guinness Book of Records' as the longest film ever made?
44. Which once common household item was invented by Melville R Bissell in 1876?
45. What does a laclabphilist collect?
46. What is the title of Arthur C Clarke's 1948 novel upon which the film '2001: A Space Odyssey' was based?
47. Which sea, an arm of the Mediterranean, separates Tuscany from Corsica?
48. The expression 'Cloud-Cuckoo-Land' is taken from a line in which play by the Greek dramatist Aristophanes?
49. Which Scottish football team is the only one to have played in both English and Scottish FA Cup finals?
50. Who was the King of Greece during World War II, who went into exile after the German invasion in 1941?


And the answers:


1. PACARANA
2. CAMPSFIELD HOUSE
3. HEY HEY, MY MY (INTO THE BLACK)
4. BES
5. BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINIA
6. NATALIA MAKAROVA
7. BAHAMAS
8. WILLIAM DUNLOP
9. ELMORE LEONARD
10. JAMES V
11. ORESTES
12. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
13. VANILLA ICE
14. VIVIAN FUCHS
15. VIENNA
16. KLAPKA
17. THURSO
18. MANUEL QUEZON
19. PANCREAS
20. CASEY JONES
21. MARTIN PIPE
22. BARRY BONDS
23. RHODESIAN RIDGEBACK
24. CHARLES
25. ALBANIA
26. TO ALTHEA, FROM PRISON
27. NEBRASKSA
28. JACQUES DELORS
29. RHINOCEROS
30. ANCONA
31. AUTOTOMY
32. HERCULES
33. BAD MANNERS
34. FLORIDA
35. JOHANN RUDOLF GLAUBER
36. LEONARD BERNSTEIN
37. MOROCCO
38. FRANKIE LAINE
39. ALFRED RUSSELL WALLACE
40. SPEEDWELL
41. MIKE BURTON
42. EAST TIMOR
43. THE CURE FOR INSOMNIA
44. CARPET SWEEPER
45. CHEESE LABELS
46. THE SENTINEL
47. LIGURIAN SEA
48. THE BIRDS
49. QUEENS PARK
50. GEORGE II