General Knowledge 2024 Flashcards
1
Q
Which car company developed the modern 3-point seat belt as standard equipment in its cars in 1959?
A
Volvo
2
Q
Volvo is a car company from where?
A
Sweden
3
Q
What is New York’s NFL team called?
A
The Giants and The Jets
4
Q
Where do the NY Giants play?
A
MetLife stadium, at Meadowlands Sports complex in East Rutherford New Jersey
5
Q
Who do the NY Giants share their stadium with?
A
NY Jets
6
Q
Who is known as the “father of microbiology?”
A
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
7
Q
Who painted “Orange, red, brown” in 1961?
A
Mark Rothko
8
Q
According to Greek mythology who preceded the Olympian gods?
A
The Titans
9
Q
What is the capital city of Cameroon?
A
Yaoundé
10
Q
Yaoundé is the capital of Cameroon and 2nd largest city after the port city of where?
A
Douala
11
Q
What is the capital city of Sudan?
A
Khartoum
12
Q
How many cards are there in a standard tarot deck?
A
78
13
Q
“The Will to Believe” is an 1896 work
by who?
A
William James
14
Q
What year did the Panama Canal open?
A
1914
15
Q
The 1992 Olympic Games were held where?
A
Barcelona
16
Q
Where is the occipital bone located?
A
The Skull
17
Q
How many lines are there in a sonnet?
A
14
18
Q
Who was Led Zeppelin’s drummer?
A
Jon Bonham
19
Q
How many years was Nelson Mandela imprisoned for?
A
27 years
20
Q
What is the 8th largest country in Africa?
A
Mali
21
Q
Who, in 1960, did Mali gain independence from?
A
France
22
Q
What is the capital of Azerbaijan?
A
Baku
23
Q
In 1988-1994 there was a war between Azerbaijan and what other country?
A
Armenia
24
Q
The 1988-1994 war between Azerbaijan and Armenia was over what disputed territory?
A
Nakorno-Karabakh
25
Guinea Bissau used to be called what?
Portuguese Guinea
26
The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) was founded in 1956 by who?
Amical López Cabrel
27
In 1963 Amilcar Cabral (who founded the PAIGC seeking independence in Portuguese Guinea and Cape Verde) was shot dead by which disgruntled former PAIGC member?
Inoncencia Kani (20th January- the day Cabral was killed is now celebrated as National Heroes Day in both countries)
28
In the western Christian church what date is Epiphany celebrated?
6th January
29
What does Epiphany in the western church mark the celebration of?
The appearance of the 3 Magi or wise men
30
In the Orthodox Church Epiphany is celebrated on January 19th and commemorates what event?
The baptism of Jesus by John the Forerunner (John the Baptist)
31
What river was Jesus said to be baptized in?
River Jordan
32
In the Orthodox Church Epiphany is also known as what?
Feast of Theophany
33
What is Epiphany called in Eritrea and Ethiopia?
Timkat
34
What is the largest species of squirrel called?
Indian Giant Squirrel (can grow up to 3ft/1 meter in length!)
35
What is the smallest species of squirrel called?
African Pygmy squirrel (about 3 inches/7.62cm long)
36
What is the collective noun for a group of squirrels?
A dray or a scurry (but a dray or drey is more commonly used to denote a squirrels’ nest
37
What is the painting called “Arrangement in grey and black no. 1” more commonly known as”?
Whistler’s Mother
By James Whistler
38
Who was Joseph Beuys who died in 1986?
German sculptor and illustrator
39
Who was Pierre Bordin?
French sociologist
40
Ajen Robben is a football player from which country?
The Netherlands
41
Bal Thackeray and Subhas Chandra Bose are known as what?
Indian politicians
42
Who was the first governor of Massachusetts and the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence?
John Hancock
43
What year did Israel claim Jerusalem as its capital?
1950
44
I’m 1556 the deadliest earthquake on record killed 830 000 people. It’s epicenter was where?
In the Wei valley, Shaanxi province, China
45
In 1957 who sold the rights to his flying disc (what became known as the frisbee) to the Wham-O company?
Walter Frederick Morrison
46
In 1960 the Trieste containing Jacque Piccard and Don Walsh dived to a depth of 10 911 meters/35 797ft in the Earths ocean deepest part which is called what?
Challenger Deep
47
What year were the first artists inducted to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame?
1986
48
What word comes from the Greek for treasure or storehouse?
Thesaurus
49
Raoul Dufy was a French painter associated with what movement?
The Fauvist movement
50
Where did artist Raoul Dufy move in 1900?
Nice
51
What thin wispy clouds are found at an altitude of 20-40 000 feet?
Cirrus
52
The world’s 1st what was created in 1866 by Ives W. McGaffey in the USA?
Vacuum cleaner
53
What is a person or animal who consumes mushrooms and fungi for nutrition called?
A mycophagist
54
What are the only 2 South American countries that don’t share a border with Brazil?
Chile and Ecuador
55
In the 12 labors of Hercules what was Hercules charged with capturing alive?
Cerberus
56
“The Hesitant Fiancée” by Auguste Toulmouche (1866) is an example of what style of art?
Academic Realism
57
Who was the portrait painter from the late 16th century who studied alongside Agostino Carracci in her father’s Prospero’s Bologna studio?
Lavinia Fontana
58
Which landlocked African country gained independence from Belgium in 1962?
Burundi
59
Which 2 rival ethnic groups make up the majority of the Burundi population?
Hutu and Tutsi
60
Who in 1987 launched a coup in Burundi to overthrow Colonel Bagaza who himself came to power in a coup?
Major Pierre Buyoya
61
What year was President Buyoya of Burundi assassinated?
1993
62
In January 2021 Minister of State Martin Heydon made a proposal to the Irish government of making what day a new bank holiday?
St Brígids day (1st February but is now celebrated as a holiday in Ireland on the first Monday after this date)
63
What are the 3 patron saints recognized as saints of Ireland?
St Patrick, St Brigid and St Columba
64
Where did Brigitte (St Brigid) found Ireland’s most famous mixed (male and female) monastery?
County Kildare
65
Who did St Brigid form an alliance with to found a monastery, with her as abbess and him as bishop?
Conleth
66
Who recorded the works of St Brigid In “The Life of Brigid”?
Cogitosis
67
The most famous story surrounding St. Brigid involves what item of clothing?
Her cloak … she supposedly asked the king of Leinster for land to build a convent and when he refused she asked if he would at least give her as much land as her cloak would cover. He agreed and then much to his amazement saw her cloak grow and grow to cover many acres as 4 of her friends took a corner each and began to walk out with it. The king granted her the land she’d asked for after seeing this.
68
What tree is associated with St Brigid?
Oak
69
What is the symbol of St Brigids day?
The Bogha Bride or St Brigids Cross
70
What pagan festival from 1st-2nd February honors the 3 faced pagan goddess Brigid and lies halfway between the winter and spring solstices?
Imbolc
71
Imbolc (February 1st) was one of 4 Gaelic festivals along with what other 3?
Beltane (1st May), Lammas (August 1st), and Samhain (November 1st)
72
Samhain on November 1st is also what other celebration?
All Saints Day
73
What was the first document in history that said every person had a right to education?
The Mexican Constitution 1917
74
Who served as the first president of the Mexican Republic formed in 1917?
Venustiano Carranza
75
Kashmir was divided between three states at the end of the British raj: India, Pakistan and who else?
China
76
How many wars have India and Pakistan fought over Kashmir?
Three (1947, 1965, 1999)
77
Who along with St Marino is the patron saint of San Marino?
St Agata (Agatha)
78
St Agatha was put to desth for refusing to abandon her Christian faith during the persecutions of who in Sicily?
Decius (250-253)
79
Which pope recognized and restored San Marino independence on 5th February 1740?
Clemente XII
80
Who was the Italian cardinal who had tried to subjugate San Marino in an invasion on October 17th 1739?
Giulio Alberoni
81
Who tried to invade San Marino in 1503?
Cesare Borgia (known as Valentino - the inspiration for Machiavelli’s book The Prince)
82
Who was thought to be the USA’s 1st weatherman: he began collecting weather data in 1774 and then in 1784 he was the 1st person to collect data from a weather balloon flown over London?
John Jeffries
83
When and where was the world’s first weather forecast printed?
The Times of London on August 1st 1861
84
Fondues are thought to be the national dish of where?
Switzerland
85
What type of fondue has pieces of raw meat dipped in hot oil ?
Fondue Bourguignonne
