Mastermind GK Set D Flashcards
(420 cards)
1
Q
What is the name of the Benedictine monk who, according to popular legend, invented champagne?
A
Dom Perignon
2
Q
In the Peloponnesian War, the people of which city state, noted for its rigid military discipline, were the enemies of the Athenians?
A
Sparta
3
Q
What is the profession of a person with the letters RIBA after their name?
A
Architect
4
Q
The city of Stirling stands on the right bank of which river?
A
Forth
5
Q
It was widely believed that which crewmember of the Starship Enterprise, who first appeared in 1967, had been added to Star Trek at the request of Pravda?
A
Chekov
6
Q
Which political party folded in June 1990, after polling just 155 votes at a by-election in Bootle and finishing behind the Monster Raving Loony Party?
A
SDP
7
Q
Which French painter’s works include The Gleaners and The Angelus, two of the most reproduced paintings of the nineteenth century?
A
Millet
8
Q
A rockhopper is a species of which bird?
A
Penguin
9
Q
In a well known Anglo-Saxon poem, who kills the monster Grendel?
A
Beowolf
10
Q
What was the name of the garden where Jesus was arrested on the night of the Last Supper?
A
Gethsemene
11
Q
The musical Blood Brothers is set in which city?
A
Liverpool
12
Q
The Aspen or Trembling Poplar belongs to which family of shrubs and trees?
A
Willow
13
Q
In 1844, teams from Canada and the USA played the first international match in which sport?
A
Cricket
14
Q
Bubbles of which gas are formed in the blood of divers when they get “the bends”?
A
Nitrogen
15
Q
Which 2006 Martin Scorcese film starred Jack Hicholson as the gangster Frank Costello?
A
The Departed
16
Q
Which city, renowned for its sword making, was the capital of Spain until 1560?
A
Toledo
17
Q
Aurora is the real name of the title character in which ballet, with music by Tchaikovsky
A
Sleeping Beauty
18
Q
Which Trojan war hero was the son and heir of Priam, the last King of Troy?
A
Hector
19
Q
Which delicately flavoured vegetable was once known as “sparrow grass”?
A
Asparagus
20
Q
Cassiterite is the principle commercial ore of which metal that has been mined in Cornwall since ancient times?
A
Tin
21
Q
The term for which figure of speech, where apparently contradictory terms are placed together, comes from the Greek for “sharp” and “foolish”
A
Oxymoron
22
Q
Which creatures form the main part in an aardvaark’s diet?
A
Termites
23
Q
Sir John Tenniel, is particularly remembered for illustrating the works of which nineteenth century children’s author?
A
Lewis Carroll
24
Q
Which county is said to take its name from the Dumnonii, a Celtic people who lived in the area?
A
Devon
25
Which television programme featured a family business that was based at Oil Drum Lane, Shepherd's Bush?
Steptoe and Son
26
Anne Neville, the youngest daughter of the Earl of Warwick, was the wife of which English King?
Richard III
27
Which word, derived from the Old French for a "splinter of wood" is used to describe an artist's workshop or studio?
Atelier
28
Which free-market economist, who died in November 2006, used the phrase, "There's no such thing as a free lunch" as the title of one of his books?
Milton Friedman
29
Which band, formed in Sheffield in the 1980s, took its name from a fictional group mentioned in the Anthony Burgess novel A Clockwork Orange?
Heaven 17
30
What bodily function is also called Sternutation?
Sneezing
31
What is Archimedes said to have shouted while running naked down the stree, after discovering the principle of buoyancy in his bath?
Eureka!
32
Bornean and Sumatran are the two sub-species of which of the great apes?
Orang-utan
33
The name of which style of art and architecture is believed to derive from the French workd "rocaille", meaning "shell-work" and the Italian word for Baroque?
Rococco
34
The first Anglo-Saxon settlers in Britain were said to be led by two brothers. One was called Hengist; what was the name of the other?
Horsa
35
Which Spanish soup, generally served chilled, is produced from a mixture of raw salad ingredients that are made into a puree?
Gazpacho
36
In November 1963, undersea volcanic action led to the formation of which small island off the southern coast of Iceland?
Surtsey
37
Which actos, better known for his parts in musicals, received an Oscar Nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Towering Inferno?
Fred Astaire
38
Which post-war American President, who served for over two years, was never elected either to that office or that of Vice-President?
Gerald Ford
39
According to the title of Shakespeare's play, the nobleman Timon was from which city?
Athens
40
The contact process is an industrial method of manufacturing which acid?
Sulphuric
41
Johann Struass the Elder composed a march in honour of which Austrian military hero in 1848?
Radetsky
42
In Greek mythology, who is the Muse of History?
Clio
43
In which European language does "muito obrigado" mean "thank you very much"?
Portuguese
44
What is the common name for the eye condition "hypermetropia"?
Long sightedness
45
Which Football League club is named after the day of the week when its original players took a half day off work in order to participate?
Sheffield Wednesday
46
Which area of Central London, in the borough of Camden, gives its name to the group of writers, artists and thinkers who lived or met there in the early twentieth century?
Bloomsbury
47
Which classic album by Miles Davis, one of the best selling jazz records of all time, features the trackes "So What" and "Blue In Green"
Kind of Blue
48
Glen Moy and Glen Ample are varieties of which soft fruit, widely grown in Scotland?
Raspberries
49
Which actor, whose first major success was the title role in a television adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby, is the son of a former Attorney General and Lord Chancellor?
Nigel Havers
50
Which Indian religion, founded in the 6th century BC by Mahavira, lays particular stress on the system of ahisma, or non-violence to any living things?
Jainism
51
Which Birmingham band topped the UK singles charts in 1983 with "Is There Something I Should Know"?
Duran Duran
52
Against which country did the USA fight the so-called War of 1812, which actually lasted until the winter of 1814-1815?
Britain
53
Which Russian-born American artist created the series of paintings Black on Maroon and Red on Maroon, originally intended for a restaurant in the Seagram Building in New York?
Rothko
54
Turku was the capital of which European country from the 13th century until 1812, while it was under Swedish and then Russian rule?
Finland
55
Which author created the character Tarzan?
Edgar Rice Burroughs
56
Which seabird got its name because it presence was believed to be a sign bad weather was coming?
Storm Petrel
57
Which type of lager takes its name from the town, now in the Czech Republic, where is was originally brewed in 1842?
Pilsner
58
In 2005, David Trimble was succeeded as the leader of which political party Sir Reg Empey?
UUP
59
What number of the pH scale indicated that a solution is neutral; neither acid or alkaline?
7
60
Which TV quizmaster is played by League of Gentlemen star Mark Gatiss in the film Starter for Ten?
Bamber Gascoigne
61
Which rodent with large defensive quills on its body and tail has a name that comes from the Latin for "pig" and "thorn"?
Porcupine
62
Which word for a person who sets too much value on social standing ws originally a slang term for a cobbler?
Snob
63
Which English artist painted Rain, Steam and Spped" The Great Western Railway, which was first exhibited in 1844 and is now in the National Gallery?
Turner
64
Which mediterranean island group cam under the protection of the British Crown in 1802, and was finally annexed in 1814?
Malta
65
At the instigation of the Italian-American Civil Rights League, what term is never used in the dialogue of the film The Godfather?
Mafia
66
A Carioca is an inhabitant of which South American city?
Rio de Janeiro
67
Which crooner's last TV appearance was with David Bowie on the Merrie Old Christmas Show, recorded in September 1977?
Bing Crosby
68
What general term for blood poisoning is derived from the Greek for "rotten blood"?
Septicaemia
69
Which BBC TV sports programme was first shown on 11 October 1958 and appeared for the last time on 28 January 2007?
Grandstand
70
In Greek mythology, which female monsters had live snakes for hair and were capable of turning people to stone?
Gorgons
71
The dish made from fillet steak topped with truffles, mushrooms or pate and enclosed in a puff pastry case is named after which soldier and statesman?
Wellington
72
In which country is the city of Schaffhausen, which was mistakenly bombed by the Americans on April Fool's Day, 1944?
Switzerland
73
Which playwright, on being released from prison in 1897, went to live in France under the alias Sebastian Melmouth?
Oscar Wilde
74
What is the name of the Stone Age village on Mainland in the Orkneys that was exposed by a storm in the 1850s after being covered for thousands of years by sand?
Skara Brae
75
Who wrote the marches "The Stars And Stripes Forever" and "The Washington Post"?
Souza
76
What ins the sinister common name of Amanita Phalliodes, the most poisonous of British mushrooms, which accounts for ninety percent of fungus-related fatalities?
Death cap
77
In The Simpsons, what is the name of Homer's tyrannical employer, who owns the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant?
Montgomery Burns
78
Which crime of buying and selling ecclesiastical benefits is named after the biblical sorcerer who, according to the Acts of the Apostles, trid to buy spiritual powers from Peter and John?
Simony
79
One of six sisters, who, as co-editor of the volume of essays Noblesse Oblige, popularised the terms "u" and "non-u" for types of speech and behaviour?
Nancy Mitford
80
Which document was introduced in its modern form, after the passong of the British Nationality and Status Aliens Act of 1914?
Passport
81
Which Football League team are known as The Chairboys because of the local furniture making tradition?
Wycombe Wanderers
82
In grammar, what name is given to a word used to connect words, clauses and sentences?
Conjunction
83
Patsy Cline, Aerosmith, Seal and Gnarls Barkley all had UK hits with different songs that had what title?
Crazy
84
Which Middle Eastern city was rebuilt on the orders of the Emperor Hadrian in about AD130, and renamed Aeila Capitolina in his honour?
Jerusalem
85
Which modern French designer's works include the furniture for President Mitterand's private suite in the Elysee Palace, the interior of the Café Costes in Paris and the Juicy Salif lemon squeezer
Philipe Starck
86
What is the common name for the three species of flightless birds of the genus Apteryx found in New Zealand?
Kiwis
87
Which cult comedy series starred Craig Charles as Dave Lister, the last human alive?
Red Dwarf
88
Krk, Cres and Pag are the largest of the Adriatic islands of which country?
Croatia
89
hthe drink "Dark and Stormy" consists of a mixture of ginger beer and which spirit?
Rum
90
What was CP Scott, the former editor of the Manchester Guardian, referring to when he reportedly said "no good will come of this device. The word is half Greek and half Latin"?
Television
91
Which 1962 Oscar-winning film, starring Peter O'Toole, had no female speaking parts?
Lawrence of Arabia
92
Which country fought the Great Patriotic War from June 1941 until 1945?
Soviet Union
93
Which author's first novel Burmese Days, published in 1934, was based on the time he spent serving with the Indian Imperial Police?
George Orwell
94
What is the name of the headland at the northwest extremity of Scotlan, one of the few British place names with the prefix "Cape"?
Cape Wrath
95
What name is given to a picture or relief carving on three panels, typically hinged vertically and often used as an alterpiece?
Triptych
96
Which Florentine family provided the Roman Catholic church with four Popes, and the French monarchy with two Queens - Catherine and Marie
Medici
97
In music, what is the general term for a song by a solo performer with instrumental accompaniment, such as one in a opera or oratorio?
Aria
98
Which monkey gets its name because its cap of hair resembles the cowl of an order of monks?
Cappucin
99
Who played a successful but world-weary stand-up comedian called Rick Spleen in the TV comedy series Lead Balloon?
Jack Dee
100
In India, which general term, from a Sanskrit word meaning "accomplish" is given to any religious ascetic, swami or saintly holy man?
Sadhu
101
Who set up a shiskey distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee in 1866, which is now the oldest registered distillery in America?
Jack Daniels
102
What is the singular of the word graffiti?
Graffito
103
What was the surname of the mother and son who were, resepectively, trainer and jockey of the 1991 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Garrison Savannah?
Pitman
104
Which material, similar in composition to bone, but perforated by tine canals for nerve fibres and blood capillaries, forms the bulk of a tooth?
Dentine
105
Who played the title role in the original London production of the musical Barnum?
Michael Crawford
106
Chittagong is the largest seaport and second largest city of which Asian country?
Bangladesh
107
The Last Battle, first published in 1956, is the seventh and last in which series of children's books?
Narnia
108
On first entering the House of Commons, newly elected MPs are assigned a coathanger with a piece of pink ribbon attached; what is the traditional purpose on the ribbon
To hang a sword
109
Who presented the TV series The Tube with Paula Yates from 1982?
Jools Holland
110
In Norse mythology, what name is given to the hall where warriors killed in battle spend eternity in joyful feasting, presided over by the god Odin?
Valhalla
111
Which aspect of filmmaking earned Edith Head eight Academy Awards and twenty-seven further nominations between 1948 and 1977?
Costume
112
Which bay incorporates two National Parks as part of its shoreline, Snowdonia in the north and the Pembrokeshire Coast in the south?
Cardigan Bay
113
What name is given to any representations, known as "smileys", used in emails and other electronic communications to indicate the writer's feelings or intended tone?
Emoticons
114
In which century did the Dodo become extinct?
Seventeenth
115
The album OK Computer topped the UK charts for which band in June 1977?
Radiohead
116
In 1314, the English army was on its way to relieve the garrison besieged at which castle, when it was defeated at Bannockburn?
Stirling
117
Rodin's statue The Thinker was originally conceived as a portrait of which Italian poet?
Dante
118
In DIY, what term is used for the enlargement of the rim of a drilled hole so that a screw or bolt can be inserted flush with the surface?
Countersinking
119
According to accepted wisdom, it is best to eat oysters if the name of the month contains which letter?
R
120
What type of written work did Quentin Crisp describe as "An obituary in serial form with the last installment missing"?
Autobiography
121
The title of which novel by Joseph Heller has entered everyday language to describe a no-win situation?
Catch 22
122
In the Old Testament, how is the Decalogue more usually known?
Ten Commandments
123
What was the name of the character played by Bernard Hill in the TV drama series The Boys From The Blackstuff?
Yosser Hughes
124
Which British general and Governor of the Sudan was killed by the troops of the Mahdi at Khartoum in 1885?
Gordon
125
Which number one 1979 hit by Buggles was, appropriately, the first video ever played on MTV in August 1981?
Video Killed the Radio Star
126
What is the common term for the visual defect that is the subject of the Ishihara test?
Colourblindness
127
Which famous British sculptor was born the son of a miner in Castleford, Yorkshire, in 1898?
Henry Moore
128
What word of medieval Latin origin means "in exactly the same words as were used originally"?
Verbatim
129
Which wine is whisked to a froth with egg-yolks and sugar in the Italian dessert Zabaglione?
Marsala
130
Upon which West Midlands spa town did Queen Victoria confer the title Royal in 1838?
Leamington Spa
131
Which actress won awards at the Golden Globes in 2007 for playing both Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II?
Helen Mirren
132
Named after a Yorkshire valley, which is the largest breed of terrier?
Airedale
133
In 1400, which poet was buried in Westminster Abbey's St Benedict Chapel, which later became known as Poet's Corner?
Chaucer
134
In which year did the General Strike take place in Great Britain?
1926
135
Which distinctively named football club featured in a famous advert for milk in the 1980s?
Accrington Stanley
136
Against which city state did Rome fight the three Punic Wars between 264 and 146 BC?
Carthage
137
By which name is the thrid movement of Debussy's Suite Bergamasque for Piano usually known?
Clair de Lune
138
Which country is surrounded by China to the north, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand and Burma to the west?
Laos
139
Which part of a leaf is known as the petiole?
Stalk
140
Which pastry, made from very thin dough and most commonly filled with apple, takes its name from the German for whirlpool because of the way it is rolled?
Strudel
141
What is the longest river in Northern Ireland, with a total length of around eighty miles?
Bann
142
What term was coined by Newton in the seventeenth century to describe the band of colour formed when a beam of visible white light is split into its constituent colours, and literally means appearance in Latin?
Spectrum
143
Which insect is commonly referred to in Britain as a Daddy Longlegs?
Cranefly
144
What name is given to the forced relocation of the Cerokee Native Americans to the Western United States during the winter of 1838-1839?
Trail of Tears
145
How in the Venetian artist, born Tiziano Vecellio, generally known in English?
Titian
146
In Scottish folklore, a Selkie is a human on land but takes the form of which marine mammal in the sea?
Seal
147
What surname links soul and blues performers Ben E, BB and Albert?
King
148
Haematite is the principle ore of which metal?
Iron
149
Under what penname did Harry Patterson write The Eagle Has Landed and many other thrillers?
Jack Higgins
150
What did John Steed usually carry in The Avengers?
Umbrella
151
In mathematics, what is represented by a symbol resembling a figure of eight, lying on its side?
Infinity
152
Which method of preparing food so that it may be eaten by Muslims means "lawful" in Arabic?
Halal
153
Which architect died after being run over by a tra in his bative Barcelona in 1926?
Gaudi
154
Which gas, that has the chemical formula HCHO, is used in a solution of water for preserving biological specimens?
Formaldahyde
155
Which Gernam film actress and singer's adoption of trousers and other mannish clothes helped launch an American fashion craze in the 1930s?
Marlene Deitrich
156
The Roman province on Lusitania corresponds approximately to which modern day country?
Portugal
157
Which Italian word is used for the text of an opera?
Libretto
158
Khan Younis and Rafah are towns in which territory in the Middle East?
Gaza Strip
159
In Indian cuisine, what name, derived from a Persian word meaning "fried" is given to a dish of basmati rice mixed with meat, often topped with a thin omelette and served with a sperate vegetable curry?
Biryani
160
Which Kentish town gives its name to a species of warbler?
Dartford
161
Which famous racehorse made his debut over fences in the Junior Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham on 18 September 1968, after a short career on the flat?
Red Rum
162
What name was given by westerners to members of the Mawlawi sect founded in Anatolia because they chanted their ritual prayers with musical accompaniment, while spinning on their left foot?
Whirling Dervishes
163
Which TV comedy series had the catchphrase "And now for something completely different"?
Monty Python's Flying Circus
164
Who resigned from his post of Leader of the House of Commons in March 2003, in protest over the decision to take military action against Iraq?
Robin Cook
165
Which island was the home of the ancient Greek poet Sappho?
Lesbos
166
Whose first military success came as the commander of the artillery at the siege of Toulon in December 1793?
Napoleon
167
Who composed the songs Begin the Beguine and Anything Goes for popular musicals on the 1930s?
Cole Porter
168
Which disease, one of whose main symptoms is jaundice, is principally trsnmitted to humans by the bite of the Aedes aegypi mosquito?
Yellow Fever
169
Which canal connects the west and east coasts of Scotland by linking the lochs in the Great Glen?
Caledonian
170
What word used for the attribution of human characteristics to any non-human object, especially animals?
Anthropomorphism
171
Which plant, formerly used as a treatment for breast tumour and herpes, was also used as a method of execution, its most noted victim being Socrates?
Hemlock
172
In Greek legend, whom did Theseus adandon on the island of Dia, after she had helped him kill the Minotaur?
Ariadne
173
Which writer was played by Toby Jones in the film Infamous, and in an Oscar-winning performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman?
Truman Capote
174
Which port in Sourth Western Norway is the country's second largest city?
Bergen
175
Which type of dark coloured China tea has a name which is the Chinese for black dragonor black snake?
Oolong
176
To what status was Pluto "demoted" after a meeting of the International Astronomical Union in August 2006?
Dwarf planet
177
Which Scottish painter's work The Singing Butler, bought at auction for over £700,000 in 2004, had been rejected twelve years earlier by the Scottish Arts Council?
Jack Vettriano
178
Which animals are found in the tropical forests of the New Works and Malaysia are characterised by a short trunk that hangs down over their upper lip?
Tapirs
179
Whose 1969 novel Portnoy's Complaint is the story of a young Jewish male at odds with his domineering mother?
Philip Roth
180
In 1965, who had a top twenty hit with a comedy version of A Hard Day's Night, in which he recited the lyrics in the style of Lawrence Olivier's Richard III?
Peter Sellars
181
What name is generally used in Britain for a drink of fresh orange juice mixed with champagne?
Buck's Fizz
182
In 1867, the English pysician Thomas Allbutt invented a short version of which basic clinical instrument? Earlier models had been a foot long and took 20 minutes to work.
Thermometer
183
What in the title of Thomas Hardy's last novel, about a young man with intellectual ambitions, who dies miserably after a series of misfortunes?
Jude the Obscure
184
What is the name of the Roman road that followed a remarkably straight router for most of the way between Exeter and Lincoln?
Fosse Way
185
In his book, Towards a New Architecture, what did the architect Le Corbusier describe as a "machine for living in"?
House
186
What is the county town and administrative centre of Kent?
Maidstone
187
Which Francis Ford Coppola film is based on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness?
Apocalypse Now
188
The male of which fish gives birth to its young by expelling them from a single hole in its pouch?
Sea Horse
189
What name is given to a loaf made from two rounds of dough; a smaller one placed on top of a larger one?
Cottage Loaf
190
In Celtic folklore, which fairy's wailing outside a house was supposed to foretell of the approaching death of one of its inhabitants?
Banshee
191
Which composer wrote The Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra?
Britten
192
Which spring flower is named after the Greek youth who was accidently killed while Apollo was teaching him to throw the discus?
Hyacinth
193
What name, from the luggage that northern political adventurers carried to the South after the American Civil War, is given to someone who comes to start a political career in a place where they have no roots?
Carpetbaggers
194
In which flagship, formerly called The Pelican, did Sir Francis Drake circumnavigate the globe between 1577 and 1580?
The Golden Hinde
195
The card game Solitaire in America is also known by which other name in Britain?
Patience
196
In which country in Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain?
Tanzania
197
In the TV series, in which year does DI Sam Tyler find himself living and working after a car crash?
1973
198
Which element has the lowest normal boiling point?
Helium
199
The song "Another suitcase in Another Hall" comes from which musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber?
Evita
200
Which Israeli Prime Minister shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize with the Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat?
Begin
201
In swimming, what term is used for an individual race or relay using all four recognised strokes?
Medley
202
In Hinduism, a leaf of which herb, closely related to a plant used in Italian cooking, is laid on a dead body to ensure its safe arrival in Paradise?
Basil or Tulsa
203
Which regular plane figure has internal angles of 108 degrees?
Pentagon
204
Which mammal has the longest gestation period; between 18 and 22 months?
Elephant
205
Which Dutch-born artist's twentieth century masterpiece, "Broadway Boogie-Woogie" uses a series of small colour blocks, reflecting his interest in jazz and dancing?
Mondrian
206
On which Hebridean island in Fingal's Cave?
Staffa
207
Which bestselling novel by Marina Lewycka, published in 2005, opens "Two years after my mother died, my father fill in love with a glamourous blonde Ukranian divorcee"?
A short history of tractors in Ukrainian
208
Who was the first King of the united Picts and Scots? His rule extended over the part of Scotland north of the Forth and the Clyde?
Kenneth I
209
Which group topped the UK album charts for the fourth time in 2003 with Hail To The Thief?
Radiohead
210
Which actress allegedly said, "The best time I had with Joan Crawford was when I pushed her down the stiar in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane"?
Bette Davis
211
What Russian word is used to describe the Soviet government's oolicy of openness and transparency, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachov in the 1980s?
Glasnost
212
In the Bible, who was succeeded by Joshua as the leader of the Israelites?
Moses
213
Which 1973 cult musical was written by Richard O'Brien?
Rocky Horror Show
214
Which word of Russian origin is used for the flat, generally treeless grassland that extends eastwards from Hungary, through Siberia and into North-eastern China?
Steppe
215
Which TV character had the catchphrases "lovely jubbly" and Cushty"
Del-boy Trotter
216
Spotted in the largest of three species of which scavengin animal, native to Africa and Asia?
Hyena
217
What name is used for the sidepiece or post of a door or window frame?
Jamb
218
Which Commonwealth country's National Day is 1 July, commemorating the date in 1867 when its federal government was established and its first Prime Minister took office?
Canada
219
Which champagne was first produced in 1876 in its characteristic clear bottle for the Tsar Alexander II?
Cristal
220
What name is given to the protective outermost layer of the skin?
Epidermis
221
The attempted assassination of Charles de Gaulle forms the plot of which novel by Frederick Forsyth?
The Day of the Jackal
222
Which thoroughfare, that forms the eastern boundary of Hyde Park, became synonymous with great wealth in the nineteenth century when it was one of London's most fashionable addresses?
Park Lane
223
Which rap artist won the 2002 Best Song Oscar for Lose Yourself from his debut film 8 Mile?
Eminem
224
Memphis was established by menes as the first capital of which ancient country?
Egypt
225
Who won the Wimbledon Ladies' Singles title a record nine times between 1978 and 1990?
Navratilova
226
Which British tree, often planed on river banks to help prevent erosion, is suitable for charcoal making and was once used for making clogs?
Alder
227
What name is traditionally used for seats in the uppoermost gallery of a theatre, because the blue sky painted on many theatre ceilings was thought to represent heaven?
Gods
228
Which planet's existence was the first to be predicted by mathematical calculation?
Neptune
229
Which band's only chart topping UK single was Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2?
Pink Floyd
230
In Norse mythology, how many legs did Odin's magical horse Sleipnir have?
Eight
231
Bernard Leach established a potter at which Cornish resort in 1920?
St Ives
232
In science, which quantity is defined as mass per unit volume?
Density
233
Which smokes fish is one of the main ingredients in an Omelette Arnold Bennett?
Haddock
234
The Canadian Provinces of Nunavut, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec all have a shoreline on which stretch of water?
Hudson Bay
235
In M*A*S*H, what was the nickname of Corporal Walter O'Reilly, played by Gary Burghoff?
Radar
236
Pancho Villa, who was assassinated on his ranch in 1923, was one of the revolutionary figures in which country?
Mexico
237
Which playwright, who was born in Dublin in 1751, wrote the comedies The Rivals and The School for Scandal?
Sheridan
238
What type of creature is a bandy-bandy, which is found in Australia
Snake
239
Whose only opera, Duke Bluebeard's Castle, was based on a fairy story by Charles Perrault?
Bartok
240
Oscar Wilde reputedly said that shat "is the curse of the drinking classes"?
Work
241
How many years of marriage are celebrated at a ruby wedding anniversary?
40
242
The scientific study of birds is known by what specific name?
Ornithology
243
Which artist's painting Going to the Match, showing fans outside Bolton Wanderers' former ground Burnden Park, was bought by the Professional Footballers' Association for £1.9m in 1999?
Lowry
244
The flag of which Southeast Asian country is red with a five-pointed yellow star in its centre?
Vietnam
245
"Firty old river, must you keep rolling" is the opening line of which 1967 hit for The Kinks?
Waterloo Sunset
246
What alternative name for the Plantagenet Kings of England comes from the French countship held by Henry II at his accession in 1154?
Angevins
247
Who plays Mr Brown in the film Resevoir Dogs?
Quentin Tarantino
248
The two specis of New World vulture, the Andean and the rarer Californian, are better known by what name?
Condor
249
Which Greek dish is made from cucumber, garlic, yoghurt and often mint?
Tzatziki
250
In Norse mythology, what name is given to the land of the giants?
Jotunheim
251
Whose work The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788?
Gibbon
252
Which Ukrainian-born aviation pioneer designed the first serviceable helicopter, the VS-300, which he successfully flew in September 1939?
Sikorsky
253
Which Scottish golfer played in eight Ryder Cups between 1991 and 2006 and never lost a singles match in any of them?
Colin Montgomery
254
Which animala travel in mobs under the leadership of an "old man" or "boomer"
Kangeroos
255
In an essay of 1756, which French writer described the Holy Roman Empire as "neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire"?
Voltaire
256
Perth in Scotland stands on which river?
Tay
257
In which 1960s TV series was an international spy organisation run from behind Del Florida's tailor shop in Manhattan?
The Man From UNCLE
258
Which prominent Labour politician was the MP for Ebbw Vale from 1929 to his death in 1960?
Nye Bevan
259
What French term is used in ballet for a dance for two people?
Pas de Deux
260
in Greek legend, the hundred eys of which figure were set into a peacock's tail by the goddess Hera after he had been slain by Hermes?
Argus
261
In radio broadcasting, what does AM stand for?
Amplitude Modulation
262
Which desert in Western Australia is named after a member of an expedition who dies during an attempt to cross it in 1874?
Gibson
263
Who wrote he autobiographical play A Voyage Round My Father, about the relationship with his blind barrister father?
John Mortimer
264
Which island group in the Indian Ocean was ceded to Britain from France in 1814, governed as a dependency of Mauritius until 1903, and became an independent republic in 1976?
Seychelles
265
Who wrote the song This Land Is Your Land, which became an anthem of the civil rights movement in the 1960s?
Woody Guthrie
266
By what original trade name is the drug sildenafil citrate most commonly known? It began life as a medication for increasing blood flow to the heart.
Viagra
267
Who was the Chief Designer at the French fashion house Chloe from 1997 to 2001, when she set up her own label in partnership with the Gucci group?
Stella McCartney
268
What type of fruit is a costard, from which we get the word costermonger?
Apple
269
Which country, following their 1979 revolution, began producing ZamZam Cola when its contract with a well-known American firm was cancelled?
Iran
270
In the film Batman Returns, which villain discovers that his real name is Oswald Cobblepot?
Penguin
271
On maps of the London Underground, which line is coloured red?
Central
272
Which British city became known as Cottonopolis in the nineteenth century
Manchester
273
Whose law states that, within the proportional limit, the exention produced in a wire or spring is proportional to the force producting it?
Hooke's
274
The crushed leaves of which plant yield a blue dye used by the ancient Britons as body paint?
Woad
275
The four main characters of which BAFTA award-winning comedy series were teenage boys called Will, Simon, Jay and Neil?
Inbetweeners
276
In Islam, what name is given to the official who summons the faithful to prayer five times a day?
Muessin
277
Which art museum in Florence has a name meaning "offices" because that was the building's original purpose, when constructed for the Grand Duke Cosimo the First de 'Medici?
Uffizi
278
The 16th Earl of Warwick, also known as the Kingmaker, was killed at which battle in 1471?
Barnet
279
Literally meaning self-boiling, what is the usual Russion term for a tea urn?
Samovar
280
In anatomy, which organs of the body are coated with a membrane known as the visceral pleura?
Lungs
281
In Shakespeare's Othello, what is the name of Iago's wife?
Emilia
282
Who both won and lost French Presidential elections against Francois Mitterand?
Giscard-d'Estang
283
Which term, from the Italian "to play a harp" is used for a chord in which the notes are played in rapid succession rather than simultaneously?
Arpeggio
284
Chicago stands on the south western shores of which of the Great Lakes?
Michigan
285
In the 1925 film The Gold Rush, which actor tucks into a Thanksgiving day meal of boiled shoe?
Chaplin
286
What name is given to a young hare, strictly speaking one in its first year?
Leveret
287
In which sport have the Euroleague champions included Real Madrid, Panathinaikos and Maccabi Tel Aviv?
Basketball
288
What was the codename for the Allied landings in North West Africe in November 1942?
Torch
289
Whose first solo hit was Suedehead, which reached number five in the UK charts in February 1988?
Morrissey
290
The name of what instrument for measuring high temperatures comes from the Greek words meaning fire and measure?
Pyrometer
291
Which fashion designer opened her first boutique in Chelsea's King's Road in 1995, with her future husband Alexander Plunket Greene?
Mary Quant
292
Which ferry port lies on Holy Island on the north west tip of Wales?
Hollyhead
293
The name of which this, reddish-brown Chinese sauce means "seafood" although there is no fish in it?
Hoisin
294
Which leader, of Kurdish origin, had united all of Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt under his rule by 1186?
Saladin
295
Stalin Ate My Homework is the title of which comedian's childhood memoirs?
Alexei Sayle
296
In Greek and Roman mythology, who was the muse of erotic and love poetry?
Erato
297
Which American comedian was famous for his paradies of pop songs of the mid 1950s such as The Great Pretender and The Banana Boat Song?
Stan Frebarg
298
Which insects belong to the order Coleoptera?
Beetles
299
What does a cruciverbalist like to set or solve?
Crosswords
300
In which cartoon series did the lawyer Perry Masonry appear?
The Flintstones
301
What phonetic form of the French for "help me" is an internationally recognised distress signal?
Mayday
302
Which Indian city, whose economy is based primarily on tea, was developed as a sanatorium and hill station for British troops during the period of the Raj?
Darleerling
303
In 1966, who became the first footballer to voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year?
Bobby Moore
304
Before decimalisation, what name was given to the British two shilling coin that had been minted originally from 1849?
Florin
305
What name is given to a sweet pancake served in a flaming orange sauce?
Crepes Suzette
306
Which halogen has the lowest atomic number and is represented by the letter F
Fluorine
307
In music, what word is generally used for a counter-melody either composed or improvised above a familiar melody?
Descant
308
Traditionally, devotees of which religion leave their dead on Towers of Silence to be devoured by vultures?
Zaroastrans
309
Which early Florentine artist is supposed to have drawn a perfect circle when the then Pope asked to see a sample of his work?
Giotto
310
The silverback is the mature male form of which ape?
Gorilla
311
Which novel about public shool life, published in 1857, was originally credited to An Old Boy?
Tom Brown's Schooldays
312
In printing and word processing, what term is used for the arrangement of text so that is aligned with the left or right margins, or both?
Justified
313
On board ship, how long does a dog watch last?
Two hours
314
In 1892, who first entered parliament as an independent Labour MP for West Ham South?
Kier Hardie
315
In which Verdi opera do the gypsies sing the Anvil Chorus, while sitting round their camp fire?
Il Trovatore
316
In Greek mythology, who was married first to Tantalus and then to Agamemnon?
Clytemnestra
317
Who won the 2001 Whitbread Book of the Year Award with The Amber Spyglass, which was the first children's novel to win the prize?
Philip Pullman
318
What name, derived from the greek for gland, is given to the mass of lymphatic tissue between the back of the nose and the throat that can inhibit breathing and speaking, particularly in children?
Adenoids
319
In which TV series did Ricky Gervais play the struggling actor Andy Millman?
Extras
320
By what ancient name were the two outcrops Calpe and Abyla, which mark the eastern entrance of the Strait of Gibralter, collectively known?
Pillars of Hercules
321
How is Count Lazlo de Almasy better known, in the novel by Michael Ondaatje that was made into a film starring Ralph Fiennes?
The English Patient
322
Which Latin name for Wales was coined in the middle ages?
Cambria
323
What name is given to the style in which hair of shoulder length or longer is rolled under on either side, from the tops of the ears to the nape of the neck?
Pageboy
324
Who was the first signatory of the American Declaration of Independence? His name has become a colloquial term for a signature.
John Hancock
325
Kumiss, a traditional drink of Central Asian nomads, is normall made from the fermented milk of which animal?
Horse
326
The god Dagon, who was worshipped extensively throughout the ancient Middle East, is traditionally said to be the inventor of which agricultural implement
Plough
327
The singer, born as Mary O'Brien in 1939, achieved fame in the 1960s under what name?
Dusty Springfield
328
Which planet takes longer to complete one rotation on its own axis, relative to the stars, than it does to orbit the Sun?
Venus
329
What name is given to both a young tree that is larger than a seedling, and also to a greyhound before it is a year old?
Sapling
330
What was presented to Walt Disney along with the full size Oscar he received in 1938 for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?
Seven dwarf Oscars
331
Which Oxford college, founded in 1438 by Henry VI and Henry Chichele, traditionally has no undergraduates
All Souls
332
Which rocky promontory is known in Cornish as Penn an Wlas?
Land's End
333
Which record label, that played an important role in the birth of Rock and Roll, was founded in Memphis in the early 1950s by Sam Phillips?
Sun
334
Which Jamaican born nurse went to the Crimea at her won expense to tend the wounded, later becoming a popular figure after the publication of her memoirs?
Mary Seacole
335
In a famous scene from the 1923 film Safety Last, which actor is seen hanging from the hands of a clock over the side of a skyscraper?
Harold Lloyd
336
Which order of monks was found by St Bruno in 1084?
Carthusians
337
What name, derived from the Italian word for "trouser leg" is given to a pizza which is folded in half before cooking to contain the filling?
Carthusians
338
Vexillology is the term for the study of what?
Flags
339
Mrs Boyle is the murder victim in which famous stage play, which has a title taken from Hamlet?
The Mousetrap
340
Extremely hard and widely used as an abrasive, what is the more common name for the solid compound silicon carbide?
Carborundum
341
In which region of France is the white wine known as Chablis produced?
Burgundy
342
Which cephalopod is the world's largest invertebrate?
Giant squid
343
Which novel of 1914 tells of a year in the lives of a group of painters and decorators in the town of Mugsborough?
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist
344
The Strait of Otranto seperates Italy from the Greek island of Kerkira and which other neighbouring country?
Albania
345
Who played Mafia boss Tony Soprano in the TV series The Sopranos?
James Gandolfini
346
What was the name of the mother of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, who was considered the model Roman matron?
Cornelia
347
Who wrote the orchestral work, first performed in 1841, that is known as the Spring Symphony?
Schumann
348
An increment of five degrees on the Celcius scale corresponds to an increment of how many degrees on the Fahrenheit scale?
9
349
Which metaphysical poet wrote "And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee"
Donne
350
In ancient Greek religion, who was the goddess of Victory?
Nike
351
Salvadore Dali, Jon Miro and Rene Magritte are among the principle exponents of which art movement that began in the 1920s?
Surrealism
352
Found mainly in the Fens, what is the largest species of butterfly native to Britain?
Swallowtail
353
Which term has been taking from the game of bridge to indicate a player or team winning all the major matches or tournements in the same year?
Grand Slam
354
Which southern African country became an independent nation of 4 October 1966 under the rule of King Moshoeshoe II?
Lesotho
355
In which 1969 film does Michael Caine say "Just remember this - in this country they drive on the wrong side of the road"?
The Italian Job
356
Which virulent lung disease was known as the white death or the white plague, because sufferers from it appear very pale?
TB
357
Which musical, featuring the songs "Let The Sunshine In" and "Aquarius" opened on Broadway in April 1968?
Hair
358
Which island off the coast of Dorset is the source of the nearest stone to true marble quarried in England?
Purbeck
359
Which type of engraving, in which a metal plate was roughened and then polished to produce areas of light and shade, takes its name from the Italian for "half tone"
Mezzotint
360
Which candidate for the American presidency used the made up chemical formula AuH@O as an election slogan during his campaign?
Goldwater
361
Who stars as the Private Eye Philip Marlowe in the original 1946 film of The Big Sleep?
Humphrey Bogart
362
Where in the body are the intercostal muscles situated?
Between ribs
363
Since 1928, athletes from which country have led the parade at the opening of the Olympic Games?
Greece
364
Which river, for paert of its length, forms the boundary between the cities of Salford and Manchester?
Irwell
365
The Pipes and Drums and Military Band of the Royal Scots Fragoon Guards took an instrumental version of which hymn to number one in the UK singles charts in 1972?
Amazing Grace
366
What Latin legal term means "under judicial consideration"?
Subjudice
367
According to William Blake's poem, which bird in a cage "puts all heaven in a rage"?
Robin Redbreast
368
Which is the French for "false step" which is in common use in English as a term for a blunder?
Faux pas
369
Which British artist created the video of a sleeping David Beckham and the crying photos of Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr?
Sam Taylor Wood
370
Which animal has double the blood pressure of other large mammals, and a tight sheath of thick skin overits lower limbs to maintain high extravascular pressure?
Giraffe
371
The name of which ancient religious philosophy is derived from the Chines for "way"?
Toa
372
What is the name of Queen Victoria's home near Cowes on the Isle of Wight where she died in 1901?
Osborne House
373
Who resigned his seat as Labour MP for Knowsley North in 1986 to become a daytime TV presenter?
Robert Kilroy Silk
374
Which prefix used in the SI system of units demotes a multiplying factor of 10^-12?
Pico
375
In Japanese cuisine, which name indicates a dish of meat or shellfish marinated in a soy sauce and grilled or broiled?
Teriyaki
376
On which island does the Owen Stanley mountain range rise to over 4,000 metres?
Papua New Guinea
377
In music, what is the usual name for a male voice which comes roughly between tenor and bass?
Baritone
378
Count Mede de Sivrac is generally considered to have invented which means of transport in about 1790, his invention being variously known as a celerifere or wooden horse?
Bicycle
379
What is the name of the Khazakhstan TV presenter created by the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen?
Borat
380
Which British finch gets its name from its unusually shaped beak, which it uses for extracting seeds from conifer cones?
Crossbill
381
Which popular board game is thought to have its origins in an ancient game, called Mokshparamu, played in India to teach children the difference between good and evil?
Snakes and Ladders
382
In Norse mythology, what name, from the Old Norse for "doom of the gods" is given to the final battle between the gods and the powers of evil?
Ragnorok
383
Which liqueur is addes to gin and lemon juice to make a White Lady cocktail?
Cointreau
384
Which beautiful ornamental tree that is widely grown in warm parts of the world, has blue or purple foxglove-like flowers and attractive, oppositely paired, compound leaves?
Jacaranda
385
What is the name of Don Quixote's horse in Cervante's novel?
Rosinante
386
Which pungent gas is a compound whose molecules contain three atoms of hydrogen and one of nitrogen?
Ammonia
387
Signing Off was the aptly titled first album of which group, most of whose members had previously been unemployed?
UB40
388
Which range of hills forms the so-called backbone of Italy?
Appenines
389
The works of which Berlin-born British artist, noted for his nude paintings, include Girl with a White Bog and Naked Man with a Rat?
Lucien Freud
390
What was Mahatma Gandhi's alleged reply when asked by a British journalist in 1931 what he thought of western civilisation?
It would be a good idea
391
In which American TV series do the six main characters meet at the Central Perk coffee shop?
Friends
392
In physics, which lower case letter is conventionally used to denote the speed of light in a vaccuum?
c
393
Who played Harry Lime, a racketeer dealing in watered down penicillin, in the film The Third Man?
Orson Welles
394
At which battle of 1620 were the Bohemian Protestant reformers decisely defeated by combined Catholic forces, marking the end of the Bohemian period of the Thirty Years War?
White Mountain
395
The police chief Baron Scarpia is the villain of which Puccini opera?
Tosca
396
Which river, after rising in the Cairngorms, flows past the village of Braemar and Balmoral Castle on its way to the sea?
Dee
397
In painting, what name is given to a colour that cannot be created by mixing other colours?
Primary
398
Pongo pygmaeus is the Latin name for which primate, which is found in the wild in Malaysia predominately?
Orang utan
399
Which playwright's works include Mother Courage and her Children and The Caucasian Chalk Circle?
Brecht
400
Which British officer commanded the Arab force that captured the Red Sea port of Aqaba on 6 July 1917?
TE Lawrence
401
Which frozen dessert, usually consisting of two or more kinds of ice cream, is named after the spherical mould in which it was traditionally made?
Bombe Glacee
402
In the phonetic NATO alphabet, the name of which city represents the letter L
Lima
403
Which colourful, tender plant often with reddish-brown papery bracts, and popular in the Mediterranean, is named after a French navigator?
Bougainvillea
404
Sodium and which other metallic element were first isolated in 1807 by Sir Humphrey Davy using electrolosis?
Potassium
405
Which French Rugby League team joined the British Superleague in 2006?
Catalan Dragons
406
Which former priest, who was excommunicated in about 1366 for sermonising about a classless society, was one of the leaders of the Peasant's Revolt?
John Ball
407
Which song from the musical Cats is based mainly on TS Eliot's poem Rhapsody on a Windy Night?
Memory
408
Which sea, the northemmost part of the Pacific Ocean, is named after a Danish navigator?
Bering Sea
409
What name is commonly used in the UK to refer to Paraguay tea, which is brewed from the dried leaves of a shrub related to holly?
Yerba Mate
410
What middle name is shared by Bill Clinton and William Hague?
Jefferson
411
For which 1988 film did Dustin Hoffman win an Academy Award as best actor for his rile as the autistic Raymond Babbitt, who inherits his father's 3 million dollar estate?
Rainman
412
In ornithology, which word derived from Latin for sparrow is used for the huge order of perching birds?
Passeriformes
413
Who painted Flood at Port Marly in 1876, in which the houses are reflected in floodwater?
Sisley
414
What name is given to the inflammation of the thin, double layered membrane seperating the lungs from the chest cavity caused by a virus, which led to the death of the ballerina Anna Pavlova in 1931?
Pleurisy
415
Which Latin poet, in his Odes, first wrote the line "Dulce in decorem est pro patria mori"?
Horace
416
What was traditionally measured in ells?
Woollen cloth
417
What is the highest point in the Peak District?
Kinder Scout
418
Which heavy metal band, formed in 1976 with bassist Steve Harris as a founder member, was named after a medieval instrument of torture?
Iron Maiden
419
In Greek mythology, Odysseus was the king of which island?
Ithaca
420
What title was won by Gervaise Brook-Hampster in a classic Monty Python sketch
Upper Class Twit of the Year
