General Knowledge 101 Flashcards
1
Q
Who is Odysseus’s son in Homer’s “The Odyssey “?
A
Telemachus
2
Q
In “The Odyssey” by Homer, who is Telemachus’s teacher?
A
Mentor
3
Q
In “The Odyssey” who visits Telemachus disguised as his teacher, Mentor, in order to take him out into the world to learn about his father and thereby complete his teaching?
A
The goddess Athena
4
Q
Who wrote The Odyssey inspired novel “Les aventures de Telemaque” (1669)
A
Francois Fenelon
5
Q
What is foolscap?
A
A sheet of writing paper 8”x13” (like a legal pad - it gets its name from the watermark it used to hold of a jester’s motley (also known as a foolscap).
6
Q
What is the meaning of parse?
A
To study something closely by looking at it’s parts.
7
Q
Who is the “father of sociology?”
A
Auguste Comte
8
Q
What is the former name of Tokyo in Japan?
A
Edo
(Edd-doh)
9
Q
What Japanese Art movement has a name that translates as “pictures of the floating world?”
A
Ukiyo-e
(Uh-key-oh)
10
Q
Ukiyo-e Japanese Art depicts cultural urban scenes from the Edo period in Japan under which ruling dynasty?
A
The Shoguns
11
Q
Toyota Hokkai (born circa 1780) began his working life as a fishmonger but later honed his artistic skills under which renowned master?
A
Katsushika Hokusai
12
Q
Within the genre of Ukiyo-e, artist Toyota Hokkai specialized in a type of intricately designed woodblock prints called what?
A
Surimono
13
Q
Fuliginous is a synonym of what word?
A
Sooty (it can also be used figuratively to describe something dark or dirty, eg “fuliginous soul”)
14
Q
In what Henry James novel is the character Waymarsh described as having “dark fuliginous eyes”?
A
“The Ambassadors”
15
Q
What was singer Billie Halliday’s real name?
A
Eleanora Fagan
16
Q
What was Paul McCartney’s 1st solo album called?
A
McCartney
17
Q
The black swan is native to which continent?
A
Australia
18
Q
What was the Clash’s 1st album called?
A
The Clash
19
Q
Which artist painted “Whaam”?
A
Lichtenstein
20
Q
Who invented the operant conditioning chamber?
A
B. F. Skinner
21
Q
Who coined the term “pop art”?
A
Lawrence Alloway
22
Q
What is the dog’s name on “The Muppet Show?”
A
Rowlf
23
Q
What type of animal is a platypus?
A
Mammal
24
Q
What date was the tank 1st used on a battlefield?
A
15th September 1916
25
What 4 islands make up the Balearic Islands?
Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentaria
26
What year did Michael Foucault die?
1984
27
Who painted “The Gleaners”?
Jean Francois Millet
28
What is Bel paese?
A type of Italian cheese
29
How many NBA championships did Michael Jordan win?
6
30
In what year did SOS become recognized as the universal distress signal?
1908
31
What year did Pink Floyd release “Another Brick in the Wall”?
1979
32
How many Harry Potter books are there?
7
33
Who did Michael Jordan win his 6 NBA championships with?
Chicago Bulls
34
What is Michael Jordan’s middle name?
Jeffrey
35
The Maidens Tower is a small observation and broadcast tower located off the coast of where?
Istanbul, Turkey
36
In which body of water can the Maiden’s Tower be found?
The Bosphorus strait
37
By what other name is the Maiden’s Tower sometimes known?
Leander’s tower
38
In classical mythology, who is the goddess of the moon and hunting?
Diana
39
Who, in myth, were the goddess Diana’s parents?
Jupiter and Leto
40
According to mythology, who gazed upon Diana and her nymphs bathing?
Actaeon (a hunter)
41
According to mythology, how did Diana punish Actaeon for catching sight of her bathing?
She turned the hunter into a stag (like the ones he was hunting), and his own dogs turned on him and tore him to shreds.
42
In mythology, which of Diana’s nymphs gets pregnant by her father Jupiter?
Callisto
43
In mythology, how does Diana punish the nymph Callisto for getting pregnant by her father?
Turns her into a bear
44
What is the official name for the flag of Japan?
Nisshoki (flag of the sun) but it is more commonly known as Hinomaru (ball of the sun)
45
What is the 2nd most populous city in Australia?
Melbourne (in the state of Victoria), Sydney is the most populous city
46
What is interesting about gecko’s?
They have no eyelids
47
According to Beijing Standard Time, how many time zones does China have?
One
48
Who first demonstrated classical conditioning?
Ivan Pavlov
49
Who is Harry Potter’s godfather?
Sirius Black
50
Who made their directorial debut with American History X starring Edward Norton?
Tony Kaye
51
Who wrote the book “X-men: The Characters and their Universe?”
Michael Mallory
52
Who wrote the song “Here Comes the Sun”?
George Harrison
53
What album was “Here Comes the Sun” on?
Abbey Road
54
What is the 1st name of Nash (as in Crosby, Stills and Nash)?
Graham
55
Where did the 1996 Summer Olympics take place?
Atlanta, USA
56
Who said “Some people die aged 25 and aren’t buried until their 75”?
Benjamin Franklin
57
What is the second highest mountain in Africa called?
Mount Kenya (after which the country Kenya is named)?
58
What is the 2nd largest Arab city after Cairo?
Baghdad in Iraq
59
What river is Baghdad located on?
Tigris
60
Who wrote “Existentialism is a Humanism”?
Jean Paul Sartre
61
On what date did President Kennedy get assassinated?
22nd November 1963
62
Who played Miranda in Sex and the City?
Cynthia Nixon
63
Who created the series Sex and the City for HBO?
Darren Star
64
Sex and the City was adapted from whose newspaper column and 1996 book?
Candace Bushnell
65
Who said “God does not play dice with the universe “?
Albert Einstein
66
What is the atomic symbol of lead?
Pb (from Latin plumbum)
67
What does aplomb mean?
Complete and confident composure and self assurance
68
In February 1888, Vincent Van Gogh, left Paris for where?
Arles, in southern France
69
Vincent Van Gogh painted his famous sunflowers in the fall of 1888 whilst waiting for which artist to join him?
Paul Gauguin
70
What did the constellation Orion used to be known as?
Hippolyta (named after the Amazon warier).
71
What country is known as the “land of the thunder dragon”?
Bhutan
72
What is the outside covering of a plants root called?
Root epidermis
73
Who was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest?
Junko Tabei
74
What does an M represent in Roman numerals?
1000
75
Rosario is what country’s 3rd most populous city?
Argentina
76
Who directed the movie “radio days”?
Woody Allen
77
Which raw material is used to make plastic?
Oil
78
Where is the platypus native to?
Australia
(They’re endemic to eastern Australia and Tasmania)
79
What is a baby dolphin known as?
A calf
80
Which NBA player is known as “Dr J”?
Julius Erving
81
Who directed “Last of the Mohicans”?
Michael Mann
82
Who played JR Ewing?
Larry Hagman
83
Who played Dr Mark Greene in ER?
Anthony Edwards
84
What does a camel’s hump mainly contain?
Water
85
What precious metal is most commonly used in catalytic converters?
Platinum
86
Who wrote thriller novels about Dirk Pitt
Clive Cussler
87
Which French footballer won the Ballon D’or three times in a row from 1985-87?
Michel Platini
88
What is Marshall Mathers, aka Eminem’s middle name?
Bruce
89
What year did Amelia Earhart become the 1st woman to fly solo across the Atlantic?
1932
90
A Horse’s age can be estimated using it’s what?
Teeth
91
What is the smallest planet in the solar system?
Mercury
92
Chuck Taylor All Stars is a brand of sneaker made by who?
Converse
93
Who wrote “The Little Prince”?
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
94
Who hosted the 1st Winter Olympics in 1924?
France
95
Who painted “Cafe terrace at night”?
Van Gogh
96
How long does it take Venus to orbit the Sun?
224
97
Modern day golf originates from what country?
Scotland
98
“ She Walks In Beauty” is a lyrical poem by who?
Lord Byron
99
Which theory states that living things come only from other living things?
Biogenesis
100
What is the disk that surrounds a black hole called?
Accretion disk
101
Which constellation represents a hunter with weapons?
Orion
102
What drink replaced beer in the Royal Navy in 1655?
Rum
103
The battle of Lepanto is in which year?
1571
104
What is the proper name for laughing gas?
Nitrous oxide
105
Who said “veni, vici, vidi”?
Julius Caesar
106
What does the acronym IBM stand for
International Business Machines
107
The Iguazi Falls are on the border between which two countries?
Brazil and Argentina
108
What was REM’s debut album?
Murmur
109
The League of Nations dissolved how many years after it was formed?
26
110
Who created sculpture “First the Feet” which Pope Benedict labelled “blasphemous”?
Martin Kippenburger
111
Who had a 2013 hit with “Mirrors”?
Justin Timberlake
112
For how many years did Frederick the Great rule Prussia?
46 (Frederick II ruled Prussia from 1740- 1786)
113
In what year was Taylor Swift born?
1989
114
What is the capital of Columbia?
Bogota
115
Tutankhamen was an Egyptian pharaoh of what dynasty?
18th
116
What member of the cat family cannot retract its claws?
Cheetah
117
Who played Joyce Davenport on the tv show Hill Street Blues?
Veronica Hamel
118
Antirrhinium is a genus of plants commonly known as what?
Snapdragon
119
Warsaw, the capital and largest city in Poland stands on what river?
Vistula
120
What year did Spain cede Florida to the United States!
1819
121
Who is the author of Chill Factor?
Sandra Brown
122
What is Detroits NBA team called?
The Pistons
123
The Empire State Building is how many stories high?
102
124
How many of Emily Dickensens poems were published in her lifetime?
7
125
Ensenada is a city in which country?
Mexico
126
The “points” leader in the Tour de France wears jerseys of what colour?
Green
127
What does the man hold in the painting “American Gothic “?
Pitchfork
128
When is Independence Day in the USA?
July 4th
129
What is a John Dory?
Fish
130
What is the study of water called?
Hydrology
131
How many years does it take Saturn to orbit the Sun?
29
132
What is the real name of Marilyn Manson?
Brian Warner
133
How many sides does an icosogan have?
20
134
Where are the Atlas Mountains?
North Western Africa
135
How many seconds are there in an hour?
3600
136
Which astronomer and mathematician formulated three scientific laws of planetary motion?
Johannes Kepler
137
What year was the Russian revolution?
1917
138
Who invented basketball?
James Naismith
139
Athena was the goddess of what?
Wisdom
140
Hydra is a moon orbiting where?
Pluto
141
Who was Alexander Dubcek?
Slovak politician
142
What is the estimated population of Istanbul?
15 million
143
Sika is a type of what?
Deer
144
Lucien Pissarro, son of influential French painter Camille Pissarro, moved to Britain and was one of the founding members of which art group in 1911?
The Camden Town Group
145
Which planet in our solar system spins the slowest?
Venus
146
How many species of snake are there?
3000
147
What is the capital of Costa Rica?
San José
148
What kind of waves are produced by an Earthquake?
Seismic waves
149
What character 1st appeared in Stephen King’s “The Stand” as a demonic figure?
Randall Flagg
150
Which mythological creature was supposedly hatched from the egg of a rooster?
Basilisk
151
What is the world’s most venomous creature?
Box jellyfish
152
In what year was Walt Whitman born?
1819
153
How many wings does a bee have?
4
154
What is the heaviest organ in the body?
Liver
155
Where is the Black Forest located?
Germany
156
Who wrote “And then there were none”?
Agatha Christie
157
Where is the world’s highest mountain found?
Venezuela
158
Who wrote “Red Cavalry” - a collection of short stories?
Isaac Babel
159
Where is Waterloo?
Belgium
160
Who had a 1991 hit with song “Rush Rush”?
Paula Abdul
161
In Greek mythology Hephaestus was the god of what?
Fire and metal-working
162
Who painted “Chop Suey” (1929)?
Edward Hopper
163
What fictional continent is Game of Thrones set on?
Westeros and Essos
164
What biblical figures name means “brother of the father”?
Ahab
165
Hakeem Olajuwon competed in what sport?
Basketball
166
“Houses of Holy” and “Physical Graffiti“ were albums by who?
Led Zeppelin
167
The a am Manchurian region is found where?
China
168
Who painted “The Kiss”?
Gustav Klimt
169
Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam lies on the right bank of what river?
Red river
170
What was the name of Geppetto’s cat in Pinocchio?
Fígaro
171
What year was the Chernobyl disaster?
1986
172
What is real name of Boy George?
George O’ Dowd
173
Where does Arabica coffee bean originate from?
Ethiopia
174
Vince McMahon is a famous promoter of what sport?
Wrestling
175
What is estimated population of Istanbul?
15 million
