Next 32 Flashcards
In which decade did the California Gold Rush commence?
1840s in Coloma
Christian Grey and which other literary character appear for the first time
in the 2011 novel Fifty Shades Of Grey?
Anastasia Steele
Which soft drink is manufactured by Nichols plc, who are based in Newton le Willows?
Vimto
Gary Burghoff was the only actor to play the same character in the film MASH and the TV series of the same name. What was his character?
Radar O’Reilly
Donald Trump’s parents names?
Fred and Mary (MacLeod)
Which Cunard liner commenced her maiden voyage on 3rd May 2024?
Queen Anne
QUESTION ONE
The shopkeeper, Alihodza Mutevelić, has his ear nailed to the title structure in which
historical novel by Ivo Andrić? This novel is set in the town of Višegrad, which spans
the river mentioned in the novel’s title.
The Bridge on the Drina
The second derivative test can be used in calculus to locate what points on a curve?
These points are the place on a curve where the direction of the curvature changes, for
example going from convex to concave.
INFLECTION point or FLEX
The blossoming of Byzantine culture in the 9th to 11th centuries prompted
historiographers to use what term for the ‘renaissance’ that followed the ‘Byzantine
Dark Ages’? Also known as the ‘era of Byzantine encyclopedism’ because of the attempts made during this time to codify knowledge, the more common name for the period in question is derived from its ruling dynasty.
MACEDONIAN Resistance
In his form as the morning star, Venus, the god Quetzalcoatl [ket-zal-cwaht-ul] is often
depicted as which very large species of eagle? Among the largest of all eagles, this
species is named after hybrid winged creatures from Classical mythology who flew the
dead to Hades or Tartarus.
Harpy Eagle
Which box-shaped percussion instrument developed among the enslaved population
in Peru in the 19th century and is widely used in Afro-Peruvian music? Performers
traditionally sit on this instrument and slap the front face with their hands.
CAJON
In his book S, M, L, XL, the Dutch architect and critic Rem Koolhaas critiques an article
by William Gibson written about the culture and architecture of Singapore. Gibson’s
article was entitled “Disneyland with the [BLANK]”. What two English words fill in the
blank?
Death Penalty
Although Endliches und ewiges Sein (Finite and Eternal Being) was, primarily, Edith
Stein’s attempt to synthesize the works of Thomas Aquinas with phenomenology, the
work also contains a noted analysis of the compatibility of phenomenology with this
man’s work. This is which Scottish Catholic priest whose philosophical commentaries
are collected in the Ordinatio (also known as the Opus Oxoniense)?
John DUNS SCOTUS
A Tasmanian state reserve since 1978 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997,
which island is perhaps best known for being home to the world’s entire royal penguin
population during their annual nesting season?
Macquarie Island
Which acidic antiseptic is commonly used in capsule form to inhibit the growth of
candida in the vaginal microbiome?
Boric acid
Storage diseases such as Gaucher disease and Niemann-Pick disease are caused by
defects in the function of which hydrolase-rich, waste-disposing organelles found in
all mammalian cells except red blood cells?
LYSOSOMES
Valperga (1823), Lodore (1835), and Falkner (1837) are all novels by which author who is
better known for an 1818 gothic novel?
Mary SHELLEY
QUESTION TWO
Ilya Repin’s painting Burlaki na Volge (Barge Haulers on the Volga) is perhaps the
defining work of which movement in Russian realist art that presented subject matter
drawn from everyday life, reflecting the movement’s egalitarian sociopolitical views?
Peredvizhniki or The Wanderers or The Itinerants
Which star in the constellation Octans serves as the Southern Hemisphere’s pole star
and counterpart to Polaris in the Northern Hemisphere?
SIGMA OCTANTIS
SPARE ONE
Opened in 1913, the oldest underground railway system in the Southern Hemisphere
can be ridden in which South American capital city?
Buenos Aires
His arrest and imprisonment in 1960 being a factor in the establishment of Amnesty
International, Agostinho Neto served as the first president of which African country?
Angola
Which British rock band had UK hits in 1964 with Not Fade Away and It’s All Over Now?
The Rolling Stones
Which U.S. president sported a “chin curtain” or Shenandoah beard?
Abraham Lincoln
Rachel Trevor-Morgan is most famous as a designer of which wearable items?
Hats
Stadion Schnabelholz, home to SC Rheindorf Altach football club, is located in which country?
Austria
What is the mach number for the speed of sound?
Mach 1
In an Olympic individual medley event, which swimming stroke comes immediately after the butterfly?
Backstroke
Franz Xaver Winterhalter’s painting commemorating both the eighty-second birthday of the Duke of Wellington and the opening day of the Great Exhibition of 1851 is titled The First of ___ what month?
May
Which American filmmaker directed Ice Station Zebra, The Magnificent Seven, and The Great Escape?
John Sturges
Which British electronic dance band released the 2015 album The Day is My Enemy?
The Prodigy
What “Q” links the ship on which Ernest Shackleton made his last voyage, a 2011 book by Daniel Yergin, and a British television channel?
Quest
Which Michelin-starred restaurant in Nuremberg shares its name with a Roald Dahl character?
Wonka
Which French post-impressionist painter was nicknamed “the customs officer”?
Henri Rouseau
Which British folk band were named after the symbol on Sir Gawain’s shield in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?
Pentangle
Which 1995 film featured Kiss From a Rose by Seal, and Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me by U2?
Batman Forever
French sculptor known for her figurative works in bronze and marble. She died in relative obscurity, but later gained recognition for the originality and quality of her work. The subject of several biographies and films, she is well known for her sculptures including The Waltz and The Mature Age. Which French sculptor is the subject of Anne Delbée’s biography Une Femme?
Camille Claudel
Which 1963 comedy-drama film stars Tom Courtenay as the ruler of the fantasy world of Ambrosia?
Billy Liar
Spotifys Top Tunes: Which song (at time of writing) is Jamiroquai’s most listened to tune on Spotify with 267m streams?
Virtual Insanity
Spotifys Top Tunes: Which song (at time of writing) is Meat Loaf’s most listened to tune on Spotify with 218m streams?
I’d Do Anything For Love
Spotifys Top Tunes: Which song (at time of writing) is Roxy Music’s most listened to tune on Spotify with 191m streams?
More Than This
Same Title, Different Song: What two different songs by Five and Soul II Soul share the same title?
Keep On Movin
Same Title, Different Song: What two different songs by Michael Jackson and Madonna share the same title?
Human Nature
In wine tasting, the scents associated with fermentation and ageing are generally called “bouquet”, whereas the smells associated with the grape variety are known as what?
Aroma
What was the surname of the prime minister whose party polled the record number of votes in a British General Election, over 14 million, despite the opinion polls widely predicting that he would lose?
Major
Which card in a standard pack of playing cards is known in Italy as “Il Jolly”?
Joker
What is the surname of the England batsman who in the third test of the 2023 Ashes series became the fastest batsman to 1000 career runs in test history, getting to that mark after facing just 1058 balls?
Harry BROOK
Which word for a poor golf shot is shared with the non-cutting end of a drill bit, a type of knot used to shorten a rope, and a bright-legged wading bird?
Shank
In computing, what is the difference between an emoji and an emoticon?
Emoji image, an emoticon text.
Whose election website states: “I’m an intergalactic space warrior, leader of the Recyclons from planet sigma IX, Lovejoy fan, two-time candidate to be London mayor and three-time candidate at UK general elections. I’m currently a candidate for the beautiful constituency of Richmond & Northallerton and I am supposed to be the ludicrous novelty candidate, although these days, I’m not so sure”?
Count Binface
Which epithet used for Horace Rumpole’s wife in the works of John Mortimer was taken from the lead character in a novel by H. Rider Haggard which has never been out of print since first publication in 1887?
She Who Must Be Obeyed (the novel is “She”)
Which Latin name is often given to the period of relative peace between the great powers which lasted from Napoleon’s defeat in 1815 until the outbreak of The Great War in 1914?
Pax Britannica
According to the lyrics of Waterloo by Abba, what does the history book on the shelf do?
Repeats itself
Waterloo station was the London terminus for Eurostar international trains from 1994 until 2007, when they were transferred to which other London terminus?
St Pancras
Which word meaning nonsense, rubbish, or humbug is taken not as you might think from the name of a flower, but from a Dutch word meaning doll’s excrement?
Poppycock
What connects Bosnia Herzegovina, Kosovo, San Marino and Spain?
National Anthems no words
Who is referred to in the Quran as one of the greatest women of all time and is the only woman mentioned directly by name therein?
Virgin Mary
Which book first published in 1611 is in the public domain in most of the world, but is not out of copyright in the UK because the rights are held in perpetuity by the British Crown?
King James Bible
Which airport, which was Paris’s only international airport until Orly opened in 1932, was the landing site for Charles Lindbergh’s historic solo transatlantic crossing in 1927 in the Spirit of St. Louis, and hosts the biennial Paris Air Show?
Le Bourget
Which expression connects a bar opened in 1828 at 98 Holborn Hill called Thompson and Fearon’s, a large ostentatious pleasure craft, and the Dreadnought class battleship HMS Agincourt?
Gin Palace
Which of the nucleotide bases in DNA pairs specifically with adenine to help form the rungs of the DNA double helix?
Thymine
Which two countries declared their independence from Yugoslavia in 1991?
Croatia and Slovenia
Who is set to replace Jens Stoltenberg as secretary-general of NATO in October 2024?
Mark Rutte
Which billionaire got married for a fifth time to Russian biologist Elena Zhukova?
Rupert Murdoch
The Majlisi Oli or Supreme Assembly is the bicameral parliament of which Central Asian country?
Tajikistan
What scientific law states that the current through a conductor between two points is directly proportional to the voltage across the two points and inversely proportional to the resistance of the conductor?
Ohms Law
Who portrayed detective John Klute in the film Klute (1971)?
Donald Sutherland
Which Holy Roman Emperor died after being drowned while trying to cross the Saleph River in Turkey during the Third Crusade?
Frederick Barbarossa
Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks to win the 2024 NBA Finals. As of 2024, how many NBA Finals titles do the Celtics have?
18
What play written by David Adjmi won the 2024 Tony Award for Best Play? It follows a fictional rock band as they struggle through recording their new album set from 1976 to 1977?
Stereophonic
The status of what wild cat species was upgraded by the IUCN from endangered to vulnerable in 2024 after a census showed a population of 2,021 animals?
Iberian Lynx
What is the name of the female swimmer who surpassed Kaylee McKeown to break the women’s 100-metre backstroke world record at the 2024 USA Olympic Trials in Indiana?
Regan Smith
What do you call a small, dense stellar remnant that remains after a star of low to medium mass has exhausted its nuclear fuel and shed its outer layers?
White Dwarf
The 2022 song “Calm Down” is widely regarded as the biggest and most successful Afrobeats song of all time. Which Nigerian musician recorded this song?
Rema
In Greek mythology, what is the name of the personification of death who is often depicted as a winged, somber figure who gently carries souls to the underworld?
Thanatos
Rory McIlroy narrowly lost out on a 2024 US Open win after missing a three-foot par putt on the 18th, allowing which American, nicknamed ‘the Scientist’, to take his second US Open title?
Bryson DeCHAMBEAU
‘St. Thomas’ and ‘Strode Rode’ both appear on which acclaimed jazz album of 1957 by Sonny Rollins?
SAXOPHONE COLOSSUS
(accept SAX COLOSSUS)
A 2007 ad campaign featured a character with what first name, who was widely mocked for purchasing bootleg DVDs? The ads included a mocking song, saying “Knock-off [this name], buys knock-off DVDs”.
Nigel
The teacher Miss Mackenzie is the subject of most of the lyrics in which 2002 track, the debut single of Busted?
What I Go To School For
Which star of the silent era of American cinema was nicknamed “the Vamp” and was one of cinema’s earliest sex symbols?
Most of her films were destroyed in the 1937 fire at Fox Studios vault.
Theda BARA
Founded by the double bassist Chi-chi Nwanoku [NWAH-no-koo], which London-based orchestra describes itself as the first orchestra in Europe to be primarily made up of black and ethnically diverse musicians? It made its debut at the Proms in 2017, where it premiered a work by the composer Hannah Kendall.
CHINEKE! Orchestra
Snow Kids, Superman and the Zorblaxians are among the few recurring characters in which webcomic created by Zach Weinersmith, which is sometimes abbreviated SMBC? It is described on its website as “a daily comic strip about life, philosophy, science, mathematics, and dirty jokes.”
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Which Welsh footballer became the first woman to earn 100 caps for the national team, winning Welsh Footballer of the Year five times between 2011 and 2019? An attacking midfielder, she is still active for the national side and for Seattle
Reign.
Jess FISHLOCK
Sharing its name with a south London borough, which bridge crosses the River Thames between Westminster and Vauxhall Bridges?
Lambeth
Derived from the Italian for ‘pillow’, what name is given to a sandy or shingle isthmus linking an island to the mainland?
TOMBOLO
Which British racing driver won the second race of his Formula 1 career at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday? He drives alongside Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes having joined from Williams in 2022.
George Russell
The Chineke! Orchestra premiered which composer’s Three Songs from Ethiopia Boy in 2019? He is better known as a bass-baritone
and performed at the Coronation of King Charles in 2023.
Roderick Williams
Busted sing “I like the way you dress” about which title figure in a 2004 track released by the band? The band illegally boards a
Concorde in the video for the song.
AIR HOSTESS
Which actress and icon of the flapper culture starred in the films Pandora’s Box and Miss Europe? She is often credited with popularising the bob hairstyle, and in later life she struggled with alcoholism and financial issues.
Louise Brooks
Which journalist resigned her position as Downing Street Press Secretary after footage was released of her making joking references
to the Christmas gatherings at Number 10 later dubbed “Partygate”?
Allegra Stratton
‘Lonely Woman’ and ‘Focus on Sanity’ both appear on which acclaimed jazz album of 1959 by Ornette Coleman?
The SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME
Bryson DeChambeau is the first repeat winner of the US Open since which American golfer in 2018? He is well known for a period of dominance in which he won four majors between 2017 and 2019, and his victory at the PGA Championship in 2023 made him the first LIV golfer to win a major championship.
Brooks KOEPKA
Which American actor, who rose to fame in the role of Erin Hannon in the US version of The Office, starred in the title role in the
Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt?
Ellie KEMPER
What word describes a coastal inlet formed by the sea drowning a non-glacial river valley? This word comes from the Galician
language, and many such examples are found in the Galician coast of northern Spain?
Ria
What Arabic word refers to the practice of fasting and abstinence during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan? It is the fourth
of the Five Pillars of Islam.
SAWM
Cloud chambers were used in experimental physics until the 1950s when they were superseded by the bubble chamber. Which
American was awarded the 1960 Nobel Prize in Physics for his invention of the bubble chamber?
Donald A GLASER
Mouse, Bird with cigarette, sketchy Snail, Grey Cat and Orange Cat are recurring characters in which webcomic created by Reza Farazmand, which is sometimes abbreviated PDL? While it has recurring characters, it typically features simple standalone strips with an absurdist or satirical tone.
Poorly Drawn Lines
Jess Fishlock was replaced as Welsh captain by which Chelsea defender? A former Puskas Award nominee, she was the only Welsh
player named in the Great Britain team that competed at the 2020 Olympics
Sophie Ingle
One of only two people to win the Academy Award for Best Picture three times, who produced the films On
the Waterfront, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and Lawrence of Arabia?
Sam SPIEGEL
What chatbot, released by Google and based on the large language model of the same name, received criticism in early 2024 for its historically inaccurate image generation?
Gemini
Deriving from the Urdu-Hindi word for “house”, what name is given to individual schools or traditions of Hindustani classical music and dance? These schools often trace their heritage to a founding guru.
Gharana
One of the four classic Roman pasta dishes, amatriciana is traditionally served with what thick spaghetti-like pasta? It takes its name from the Italian for “hole”.
BUCATINI
In November 2000 the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh were each bifurcated, creating three new states. Name any of the three new states.
UTTARAKHAND (accept
Uttaranchal) or JHARKHAND
or CHHATTISGARH
In 1970, which former Trinidadian High Commissioner to the UK and campaigner for racial equality became the first black member of the House of Lords? Thirty years earlier, he had been the second black player to be named a Wisden cricketer of the year.
Laurie CONSTANTINE
Standing at 2.31 metres or 7 feet 7 inches, which Romanian is generally regarded as the tallest player in the history of the NBA? He spent the majority of his career with the Washington Bullets, leaving the team shortly after they changed their name to the Wizards.
Gheorghe MURESAN
The vast majority of cases of what cancer, which typically affects the lining of the lungs and chest wall, are caused by exposure to asbestos?
Mesothelioma
Although now grown all over the world, which red wine grape is native to Burgundy, and continues to be the primary grape for the majority of red wine produced in Burgundy? It is also one of the three grapes traditionally used to make Champagne
Pinot Noir
Papa Wemba, Franco, and Tabu Ley Rochereau are all iconic musicians from which African country? They are all associated with the genre of soukous (SOW-kuss) as well as this country’s namesake form of rumba.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE
CONGO
Named for an Asian country, which set of chess openings involves black responding with knight-to-f6 to white’s d4?
Indian Defence
The only vegetarian one of the classic Roman pasta dishes, cacio e pepe (CATCH-oh EH PEP-eh) is traditionally served with what spaghetti-like pasta?
Tonnarelli
What honorific, from a Persian word for “master”, is often given to male, Muslim exponents of Hindustani classical music, such as the sarod players Ali Akbar Khan and Amjad Ali Khan?
Ustad
The most recent creation of an Indian state was in 2014, when a state with its capital at Hyderabad was bifurcated. Name either the new state or the state it was created from.
TELANGANA or ANDHRA
PRADESH
Entering the House of Commons in 1987 as one of the UK’s first black MPs alongside Diane Abbott &Bernie Grant, who, in 2002, became the country’s first black Cabinet minister, when he was appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury?
Paul Boateng
In the 1990s, 27 Bishops Road was the final residence of which Booker Prizewinning novelist? Among the books she wrote there was her historical novel The Blue Flower, which went on to win the National Book Critics Circle Award in the US.
Penelope Fitzgerald
One of only two people to win the Academy Award for Best Picture three times, who produced the films One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Amadeus, and The English Patient?
Saul Zaentz
What form of dance and pilates based conditioning workout takes its name from the wooden support used in the first half of a ballet class?
BARRE
What general term is used for a set of occupational lung diseases caused by long-term inhalation of dust? This class includes asbestosis, silicosis, and coal miner’s lung.
Pneumoconiosis
Standing at 1.60 metres or 5 feet 3 inches, which Baltimore-born point guard is the shortest-ever NBA player? He was drafted by the Bullets in 1988, but spent the majority of his career with the Charlotte Hornets.
Muggsy BOGUES
Starring Thora Hird and Christopher Beeny, which sitcom set at a Yorkshire undertakers’ in the 1920s and 30s had five series broadcast on ITV between 1979 and 1986?
In Loving Memory
The Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh was a major populariser of which form of meditation, which he described as the practice of being “established in the present moment, mind and body together”?
Mindfulness
What is the name of the largest lake in the European Union? It is located in Sweden and is Europe’s third largest lake after Lakes Ladoga and Onega in Russia.
Lake VANERN
What Greek term is used in philosophy to mean a state of puzzlement or bemusement
arising from an insoluble contradiction or logical impasse? Plato’s early dialogues
commonly end with Socrates reducing another person to this state by demonstrating
that their thought processes were incomplete and faulty.
Aporia
Who became the first woman to serve as a president of any country when she
succeeded her husband in that role in 1974? The leader of the Justicialist Party, she was
arrested over her involvement in forced disappearances in 2007. First name and
surname required.
Isabel Peron
After developing his compound microscope, the scientist Robert Hooke published the
best-selling book Micrographia in 1665, which was the first work to include illustrations
of plants and animals as seen through microscopes. One of the most famous of
Hooke’s illustrations is of which small, blood-sucking insects of the order
Siphonaptera, which are associated with spreading plague?
Fleas
Which organic compound is the second simplest carboxylic acid? It is typically
produced industrially via methanol carbonylation, such as in the Monsanto or Cativa
processes.
Acetic Acid or Ethanoic Acid
August Wilson has been nominated nine times for the Tony Award for Best Play but has won only once, for Fences. His first nomination came in 1985 for which play, set in a Chicago recording studio, in which a trumpeter named Levee kills a pianist called Toledo?
Ma Rainey’s Black BottomQ
In 1994, Tony Kushner became the first person to win the Tony Award for Best Play in
consecutive years when the second half of his two-part masterpiece, Angels in America:
A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, emulated the first half by winning the award. What
was the title of the second part of Angels in America which opens with a speech given
by the world’s oldest living Bolshevik?
Perestroika
Not published during his lifetime, and only discovered 40 years after his death, what is
the more common title of Beethoven’s Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor? Modern scholars
disagree whether the work was dedicated to Therese Malfatti, or to one of the women
with last names Röckel or Barensfeld.
Fur Elise
Which Platonic dialogue ends with an example of aporia, with Socrates unable to come to a satisfactory conclusion with the title prophet? The dialogue concerns the meaning of piety and leads to Socrates asking the title character whether a thing is pious because the gods approve of it, or whether the gods approve of it because it is pious.
Euthyphro
Which military officer deposed Isabel Perón in a coup in 1976? He formed a military junta and served as president until 1981, a period known for its large-scale human rights abuses.
Jorge Rafael VIDELA
First described by Yakov Frenkel, which electrically neutral quasiparticle is a bound
state consisting of an electron-hole pair?
EXCITON
Building on ideas developed by Simon de Bruges, Faust Vrančić designed tied-arch,
through-arch and truss types of what structures? His proposals for two commonly
used types of these structures predated their construction by over two centuries.
Bridges
In industry, the Niacet process is used to produce which salt by immersing its metal
derivative in anhydrous acetic acid? This salt is widely used as a food preservative, and
also as a neutralising agent in the textiles industry.
Sodium Acetate
Not to be confused with a similarly-named fermionic quasiparticle, which quasiparticle
describes the bound boson-like state consisting of a strongly-coupled photon and a
quasiparticle, such as a phonon or exciton, within a material?
POLARITONs
A more modern use of aporia in philosophy occurs in Questions to Emmanuel Levinas:
On the Divinity of Love by which French-speaking philosopher? Her most famous works
examine language and its application to feminism, and she forwards a Marxist
argument that men exchange women like commodities in her work Ce sexe qui n’en est
pas un (This Sex Which is Not One).
Luce IRIGARAY
Ernst Haeckel was a controversial biologist who introduced the terms “ecology” and
“phylum”. He also produced the book Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms in Nature),
which includes several plates of the phylum Cnidaria [nid-AIR-ee-a], including which
group of marine invertebrates, sessile polyps that resemble flowers and may form
mutualistic relationship with clownfish?
Sea Anemone
Also known as Quasi una fantasia, what is the best-known title for the Piano Sonata
No. 14 in C-sharp minor, which Beethoven dedicated to his pupil Giulietta Guicciardi?
Moonlight Sonata
Aporia is a term used in rhetoric as well as philosophy, famously by Demosthenes in
what 330 BCE oration, the most famous of his judicial orations? He delivered the speech while defending Ctesiphon [TESS-if-on] from charges brought by the prosecutor Aeschines [ESK-in-eez], using aporia to denigrate Aeschines’ character without making a direct attack.
On the Crown
The Democratic Republic of Congo is home to 70% of the world’s deposits of which
ore, which has a name that is a contraction of its two predominant minerals and is important in the production of capacitors? The DRC hasn’t been able to profit from the extraction of this ore, much of which is mined illegally and smuggled into Uganda,Rwanda and Burundi.
COLTAN (columbite–tantalite)
Combining acetic acid and sodium acetate can result in what specific type of chemical mixture? This particular example can stabilise mildly acidic pH levels, and generally the pH of these types of mixture will depend on the dissociation constants of the compounds involved.
Buffer Solution
Which quasiparticle specifically denotes a collective excitation of the electron spin
structure in a crystal lattice? Carrying a fixed amount of lattice momentum and
thermalising into phonons, they can be considered as quantised spin waves.
MAGNONS
The ability of a buffer solution to resist changes in pH occurs due to a chemical equilibrium between the acid and the base. Any shifts in concentration away from the equilibrium will occur in accordance with which principle?
Le Chatelier’s Principle
Faust Vrančić also designed the concept of what type of transport frequently used in
mountainous areas? Recently, cost-effectiveness has seen this type of transport being
integrated into urban public transport systems.
aerial lift (or aerial tramway, ropeway, gondola lift, cable car, funitel, funifor)
Another French dramatist to win the Tony Award for Best Play is Jean Anouilh [onwee]. He was nominated in the 1950s for both La Valse des toréadors (The Waltz of the Toreadors) and Léocadia (Time Remembered) but finally won in 1961 for a play alternatively titled L’honneur de Dieu (The Honour of God). That play is better known by the name of which historical figure central to the plot?
Becket
Shango is the Orisha or deity of thunder and lightning in the religion of which West
African ethnic group? This culture’s concept of orishas appears in syncretic religions of
the New World such as Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé.
Yoruba
Which African country’s August 2023 military coup raised significant concerns for, among other things, the COMILOG company, which mines manganese at Moanda? For decades, uranium was mined in this country at Oklo, home of the only known natural fission reactor
Gabon
Which Greek-Irish writer and translator is known for Kwaidan [kwye-dan] : Stories and
Studies of Strange Things, a collection of Japanese ghost stories? He ended the book
with three short essays about insects.
Lafcadio HEARN
What word is used for a composite particle consisting of quarks held together by the
strong interaction? They may be baryons, such as protons and neutrons, which contain
an odd number of quarks; or mesons, which contain an even number.
HADRON
What is the name of the ancient Chinese zither associated with Confucius and which
has been nicknamed “the father of Chinese music” or “the instrument of the sages”?
gǔqín
Located about 30 kilometres south of South Island, what is the third largest island of
New Zealand?
Stewart Island
The 8888 Uprising was a series of protests in 1988 against the government of which
country, then led by Ne Win?
Myanmar
Meaning “successors”, what collective Greek name is given to the figures who fought
for control over the empire of Alexander the Great following his death in 323 BCE?
Diadochi
Pyruvate is converted to acetyl coenzyme A before what eight-step metabolic
pathway, the first step of which sees the reaction of acetyl CoA with oxaloacetate? This series of reactions sees the production of three molecules of NADH.
Citric Acid Cycle or Krebs Cycle
During Ramadan, Muslims traditionally break their fast, following the example of
Muhammad, by drinking a glass of water and eating which fruit?
Dates
Probably derived from the Arabic maqam system, Freygish is a musical mode used in
what genre of music that developed in Eastern Europe? Clarinettists Dave Tarras and Naftule Brandwein helped to popularise this style of music in the United States in the early 20th century.
Klezmer
A hanamachi is a long, raised platform, connected to the stage, that is used for
character entrances and exits in which form of theatre? Performers of this form of
theatre wear elaborate make-up called kumadori.
Kabuki
Related to Arabic maqam and Iranian Dastgāh modal systems, mugham is a style of
music associated with which country? The Voyager golden record includes a recording
of a musician from this country, Kamil Jalilov, playing the balaban, an instrument used
in mugham.
Azerbaijan
Which critic and theorist introduced the literary concept of polyphony in his 1929 work
Problemy poetiki Dostoevskogo (Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics), considered a
seminal work in literary theory?
Mikhail Bakhtin
Which of the Diadochi [dye-ADD-uh-kee] states controlled, at its height, large parts of
Mesopotamia, the Levant, and Asia Minor? The largest of the nations controlled by the
Diadochi [dye-ADD-uh-kee], it fought repeatedly with Ptolemaic Egypt to its west.
Seleucid Empire
Wearing entirely different kumadori make-up to other actors, onnagata (or oyama) are
actors who play what roles in kabuki? Onnagata actors became necessary after a 1629
law prevented certain people from appearing on stage and it was not until the 20th
century that the need for these actors declined.
Women or female characters
The national flag of Slovakia displays three peaks, symbolising three mountain ranges;
the Tatras, which lie on the border between Slovakia and Poland, the Greater and
Lesser Fatra mountains in central Slovakia, and which other mountain range that today lies entirely within Hungary? This range’s highest peak is Kékestető.
Matra
Orogenic, or mountain-forming regions, typically feature what process in which
oceanic crust sinks beneath continental crust? This process is largely driven by the
cooling of oceanic crust in “slab pull”.
Subduction
The Krebs cycle follows what other metabolic process in which glucose is converted
into pyruvate, yielding two molecules of ATP and NADH?
Glycolysis
In reference to krebs cycle and glycolysis, NADH stands for what?
nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) + hydrogen (H)
Mount Kinabalu appears on the flag of which Malaysian state? Along with Sarawak and
the Federal Territory of Labuan, this is one of three Malaysian states or territories
found on Borneo.
Sabah
What term did Mikhail Bakhtin introduce in Problemy poetiki Dostoevskogo (Problems
of Dostoevsky’s Poetics) to describe literature that temporarily destabilises or subverts
dominant cultural power structures, typically by using humour, eccentricity, and satire?
Carnivalesque
The “Pictures Generation” also included Louise Lawler, whose photo Monogram
depicts a painting by which man above a perfectly made bed? The title of Lawler’s
work may be a reference to a ‘combine’ of the same name by this artist’s partner
Robert Rauschenberg
Jasper Johns
The NADH and FADH2 generated in the Krebs cycle then enter what series of
reduction-oxidation reactions that use ubiquinone and cytochromes as a series of
carriers for negatively charged particles? This creates a proton gradient that is used to
power oxidative phosphorylation.
Electron Transport Chain
Which instrument that typically has 11 strings grouped in 6 courses is commonly used
in maqam music? It is considered a descendant of the Persian barbat, and the ancestor
of the European lute.
Oud
sometimes also called alphasyllabary, neosyllabary, or pseudo-alphabet – is a segmental writing system in which consonant–vowel sequences are written as units; each unit is based on a consonant letter, and vowel notation is secondary, similar to a diacritical mark, most known is Devanagari used to write Hindi and Sanskrit.
Abugida
The English explorer William Baffin, after whom the bay and the island are named, was
killed on Qeshm [GEZH-um] Island in 1622 during a battle against Portuguese forces
who occupied the Forte de Queixome [kay-show-may] on the island. To which country
does Qeshm Island now belong?
Iran
The ongoing orogeny of what North American mountain range is driven by the
eastward subduction of the small Juan de Fuca plate, and has added such peaks as
Mount Garibaldi to the Ring of Fire?
Cascade Mountains
The “Pictures Generation” also featured which artist, who sued the sneaker brand
Supreme for copying her trademark use of white-on-red Futura font in works such as I
shop therefore I am?
Barbara Kruger
The 301 BCE Battle of Ipsus is often thought to mark the final breakup of Alexander’s
empire, and was fought between a coalition of Seleucids, Antipatrids, and Lysimachids
against the forces of which member of the Diadochi [dye-ADD-uh-kee]? Known by the
epithet Monophthalmus – or the One-Eyed – he was killed during the battle and his
territory was divided between Seleucus and Lysimachus
Antigonus I
Bakhtin further develops the concept of the carnivalesque in which hugely influential
work, a classic of Renaissance studies, completed in 1940 but not published until 1965?
In this work, Bakhtin argues that the title author embodies the spirit of the carnivalesque in his best-known work, which recounts the vulgar and amusing exploits of a pair of giants. The title of Bakhtin’s book is required.
Rabelais and His World
The final stages of cellular respiration see ADP and phosphate converted into ATP by
ATP synthase, which, in eukaryotes lies across the inner mitochondrial membrane.
What name is given to the folds in the inner mitochondrial membrane that increase
its surface area allowing more space for ATP synthesis and other reactions to occur?
Cristae
The “Pictures Generation” also included Sherrie Levine, who made exact reproductions of the works of earlier photographers. The works of which Depressionera photographer, many of whose best-known pictures appeared in the book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, did Levine reproduce in a 1981 series entitled After [BLANK].
Walker Evans
who took migrant mother photo
Dorothea Lange
What style of music syncretised Turkish makam modes with European harmony and is
described as the ‘urban popular music’ of the Greeks? The bouzouki is an instrument
central to this style of music.
Rebetiko
The Quill, also known as Mount Mazinga, is a stratovolcano that appears on the flag of
which island in the Caribbean Netherlands? The fifth largest of the six major Dutch
islands in the Caribbean, it has its capital at Oranjestad, which should not be confused
with the much larger settlement of that name on Aruba.
Sint Eustatius
While demons in kabuki wear brown kumadori make-up and villains wear blue, heroes
wear what colour? In the West, this is the colour most closely associated with kabuki,
in large part because of the extremely elaborate kumadori worn by Kamakura
Gongoro, the powerful hero of Shibaraku.
Red
Built by the Portuguese in 1588, and fortified by the Dutch from the mid-17th century
onward, the Galle Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Bay of Galle in which
country?
Sri Lanka
Which historian, literary theorist, and philosopher described Bakhtin as the “greatest
theoretician of literature in the twentieth century” and wrote the 1981 book Mikhaïl
Bakhtine, le principe dialogique (Mikhail Bakhtin: The Dialogical Principle) in his secondlanguage, French? This key disseminator of Russian formalism also wrote the 1970 book Introduction à la littérature fantastique (The Fantastic).
Tzvetan Todorov
By what name was Saint Petersburg’s Mariinsky Ballet known between 1935 and 1992?
This was the surname of a Bolshevik leader assassinated by Leonid Nikolaev in 1934.
KIROV ballet
The winner of the 1912 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which French scientist is known for
discovering his namesake reagents which form via the reaction of an alkyl or aryl halide
with magnesium and which are important in the formation of carbon-carbon bonds?
Victor Grignard
Derek Jarman’s 1976 film Sebastiane is particularly noted for its dialogue, which is
entirely in which language?
Latin
Distancia de Rescate (Fever Dream) was the 2014 debut novel of which Argentine
author, now living in Berlin, who won the 2008 Casa de las Americas award for her
short story collection Pájaros en la boca (Mouthful of Birds)?
Samanta Schweblin
It has the most eccentric orbit of any known satellite in our Solar System; what is the
name of the third largest moon of Neptune, the unusual orbit of which suggests that it
may be a captured asteroid?
Nereid
Kings of Norway have traditionally been crowned in which cathedral city, which lies
around 400 km north of Oslo?
Trondheim
In 1978, Janet Parker, a medical photographer at Birmingham University, became the last person to die of what infectious viral disease following a laboratory accident? This disease had killed billions throughout history and was
just about to be eradicated through a WHO vaccination program?
Smallpox
What electronic devices are used to implement Boolean functions such as AND,
OR and XOR?
Logic GATES
Stage magician Max Mephisto is one of the chief protagonists in a series of crime
novels by Elly Griffiths, set mainly in which English coastal city?
Brighton and Hove
Which middle-African country joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 2022,
despite not having been part of the British Empire? It has borders with Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of the Congo.
Gabon
The name of which fashion designer is informally used as rhyming slang for
footwear?
Jimmy Choo
What Yiddish name, literally meaning ‘stuffed fish’, is given to the Ashkenazi dish
of poached minced fish, traditionally served as a starter?
Gefilte Fish
What is the name of the Raye album that took the 2024 Brit award for the British
Album of the Year?
My 21st Century Blues
What five letter name is given to the tables that determine the output of electronic
logic gates, such as AND, OR and XOR gates, given their inputs?
TRUTH tables
Archaeologist Ruth Galloway is the chief protagonist in a series of crime novels
by Elly Griffiths, set mainly in which Eastern English coastal county?
Norfolk
Which west-African country joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 2022, despite
not having been part of the British Empire? It has borders with Ghana, Benin and
Burkina Faso
Togo
Another of Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy’s Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World,
which CE 451 battle in modern day France saw the Romans and Visigoths fight
the Huns, led by Attila? The result is disputed, but it’s considered the last major
battle of the Western Roman Empire.
Chalons (Catalaunian Fields)
In 1993, Holly Hunter won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in
The Piano. The same year, she was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress
for which Sydney Pollack directed thriller, starring Tom Cruise?
The Firm
If a cryptic crossword clue contains words such as declared, outspoken or reportedly, what type of solution probably is being indicated?
Homophones
Who is the silent player-protagonist named in the title of a 2011 computer game
who finds himself in an abandoned office and has to determine what has
happened? His name precedes the word ‘Parable’ in the title.
The STANLEY Parable
What does the letter L stand for in the acronym for the FLAC audio file format? It
reflects the fact that the specification allows for a perfect reconstruction of the original data after compression and decompression.
Lossless
Adrian Newey is rumoured to be moving to Ferrari at sometime during the 2025
Formula One season, having stepped down from his job at which other constructor, for which he has designed the cars that have won seven Constructors’ Championships since 2010?
Red Bull
What Yiddish name is given to egg noodles, used for a number of purposes in Ashkenazi cookery including a sweet version made into a pudding and served as a dessert?
Lokshen
The Baldur’s Gate series of computer games are based on what tabletop game,
first published in 1974 by TSR inc.?
Dungeons and Dragons
One of the minor characters in the ongoing feud between Drake and Kendrick
Lamar, which producer collaborated with Future on the album We Don’t Trust
You, which featured a verse on the track Like That targeting Drake by Lamar?
Metro Boomin (Leland WAYNE)
Containing several of the highest peaks in Africa, the Rwenzori mountains lie on
the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and what country to its
east? The lowest point in this country is over 2,000 feet above sea level at its
border with South Sudan.
Uganda
The period of the lunar month when the surface area of the Moon visible from
Earth increases, leading to a full moon, is known by what word beginning with w?
Waxing
Of Stuart Broad’s 604 Test wickets, eleven were of which Australian captain, who
succeeded Ricky Ponting in the role until his retirement in 2015?
Michael Clarke
The criminals are revealed to be a corrupt miner’s trade union and gang seeking
revenge against the Pinkerton agent who brought them down in which novel, the
last one written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring Sherlock Holmes?
The Valley of Fear
The instant noodle was first developed by Momofuku Ando, the founder of what
food company? Their product Cup Noodles are widely sold in the UK.
Nissin
What actor, who died in 2021, played Lieutenant Al ‘Gee’ Giardello in Homicide:
Life on the Street? His film roles included Parker in Alien and Dr. Kananga in Live and Let Die.
Yaphet KOTTO
Inspired by her viewing of a Peter Paul Rubens portrait of a woman wearing the
article of clothing, a self-portrait of which late eighteenth and early nineteenth
century artist in a Straw Hat is in the collection of the National Gallery?
Élisabeth Louise
VIGEE LE BRUN
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson discovered
what cosmological phenomenon while working at Bell Labs? This phenomenon is
a form of radiation that acts as significant evidence of the Big Bang.
Cosmic microwave
background radiation
One of the minor characters in the ongoing feud between Drake and Kendrick
Lamar, which rapper released the diss track 7 Minute Drill on his mixtape Might Delete Later? Appropriately, he later deleted the track from streaming services and apologised to Lamar.
J Cole (Jermaine Cole)
Shin Ramyun, known for their distinctive red packaging, are a brand of instant
noodles widely sold in the UK by which food company, the largest instant noodles
company in South Korea?
NONGSHIM
Meaning ‘discourse’ in Arabic, what is the name of the group of texts in Islam
containing oral accounts of the life and actions of Muhammad? It is second only
to the Quran in importance for Muslims.
HADITH
The intake stroke, compression stroke, power stroke and exhaust stroke are the
four strokes of what thermodynamic cycle, which powers most modern petrol
engines and is named for the German engineer who first built it?
Otto Cycle
Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker was partially financed by which right-wing
billionaire, who had been publicly outed as gay by the website in 2007?
Peter Thiel
The novelist Beryl Bainbridge was shortlisted for the Booker Prize five times without
winning. Which shortlisted book is a 1974 novel which sees a group of colleagues take a
day trip from London to Windsor, which takes a dark turn when one of them is found dead
in Windsor Great Park?
The Bottle Factory Outing
In which of London’s non-royal parks will you find the Peace Pagoda, a sculpture
completed in 1985 and which is watched over on a daily basis by a Buddhist monk? The
park is also home to a Grade II listed pump house, which is next to its large boating lake.
Battersea Park
Launched in the UK in 1970, what is the two-word rhyming name of the chocolate bar
manufactured by Cadbury that consists of chocolate coated caramel arranged into a holefilled lattice shape?
Curly Wurly
Released in 1991, which early Microsoft Windows game saw players control a winter
athlete as they descended an endless slope, using the arrow keys or the mouse to avoid
obstacles such as trees and dogs? If the player passed 2,000 metres the Abominable
Snowman appeared to chase the player.
SkiFree
Sometimes referred to as ‘white gazpacho’, what Spanish cold soup is made primarily
from almonds and bread mixed with garlic, olive oil, salt and water? It is traditional to
garnish the soup with grapes.
Ajoblanco
A system developed by Otto Eric Deutsch, the D Numbers is a catalogue of the
works of which composer? These works include the String Quintet in C Major,
Erlkönig, and the song cycle Winterreise. [vint-ur-RICE-uh].
Franz Schubert
What name is given to the programme in the suite offered by Google that is their
equivalent of Microsoft Word?
Docs
Named for a Greek Titan, which moon of Saturn has an equatorial ridge that
gives it a walnut-like appearance, and is also notable for its unusual colouring,
with a dark leading hemisphere and a bright trailing hemisphere and poles?
Iapetus
Kathleen Hanna and Kathi Wilcox were two of the founding members of which riot grrrl [girl] band, whose albums include Pussy Whipped from 1993 and Reject All American from 1996? They disbanded shortly after the latter release, but reunited in 2017 as a three-piece, touring but not recording any new material.
Bikini Kill
Released in UK cinemas in 2024, Monster is the latest film by which Japanese director, whose 2018 film Shoplifters won the Palme d’Or?
Hirokazu Kore-eda
Thicker than gazpacho, what Spanish cold soup is made from dense bread and a
large quantity of skinned and pureéd tomatoes mixed with olive oil and garlic? It is
traditional to garnish the soup with shavings of ham or with diced boiled eggs.
SALMOREJO
Also released in 1991, which early Microsoft Windows game saw players control a
mouse who pushed blocks around in order to trap cats? As the player passed more
levels impediments would begin to appear, such as mouse traps and flying balls of
yarn which killed the mouse on contact.
Rodent’s Revenge
What part of a neuron receives electrical information and propagates it throughout
the rest of the neuron?
Dendrite
Another Beryl Bainbridge novel shortlisted for the Booker Prize was which 1989
novel, about the intrigues and rivalries among an acting troupe in 1950s Liverpool, as
they prepare for a Christmas production of Peter Pan? The title of the novel is taken
from a line in Peter Pan.
An Awfully Big Adventure
In which of London’s non-royal parks will you find the Chinese Pagoda, a sculpture
located on one of the islands in the park’s large lake? The park is also home to two
large fragments from the old London Bridge, demolished in 1831, which are used as
alcoved seating areas.
Victoria Park
Another co-chair of the 2024 Met Gala was which Australian actor, who in 2024
played Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and who will provide the voice of
Optimus Prime in the upcoming film Transformers One?
Chris Hemsworth
Corin Tucker and Carie Brownstein were the founding members of which rock
band, part of the riot grrrl movement? They released albums including Dig Me
Out and The Hot Rock in the 1990s before disbanding in 2006, only to reunite
almost a decade later, with their first new release being 2015’s No Cities to Love
Sleater-Kinney
Name and regnal number required. After the defeat of a Catholic uprising against
her in the North of England, Queen Elizabeth I was excommunicated in 1570 by
which Pope?
Pius V
Which jeans brand popularised the cowboy cut?
Wrangler
What word can be a computer font, a tour guide, a variant of chess, or a professional delivery service?
Courier
The Saffir-Simpson wind scale grades the strength of hurricanes from 1 to what number?
5
Which English landscape artist painted Stonehenge at Sunset (1836)?
John Constable
The PVTIEDL is the intelligence agency of which Nordic country?
Finland
What vegetable is added to eggs and onions to make a traditional Spanish omelette?
Potato
The video game Hover Bovver, released in 1983 for the Commodore 64, simulated what mundane activity?
Lawn Mowing
Which Manchester band released the album Second Coming in 1994?
The Stone Roses
Which British crime drama series is set in the fictional town of Causton in south Oxfordshire?
Midsomer Murders
The Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is located in which European country?
Bulgaria (Sofia)
In the tale by Beatrix Potter, what type of animal is Timmy Tiptoes?
Squirrel
George Blagdon Westcott, captain of the HMS Majestic, was killed in which naval battle of 1798?
Battle of the Nile
The islands Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer, off County Galway, are collectively known by what name?
Aran Islands
Which nut is produced by the tree whose Latin name translates to “the royal nut of Jupiter”?
Walnut
Which round domed pastry pie dish is named after a French town twinned with Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire?
Pithivier
Mark Hollis was the lead singer of which 1980s pop band?
Talk Talk
What word completes the title of the 1966 Steve McQueen film The Sand ___?
Pebbles
Which Hermann Hesse novel is also known by the title Magister Ludi?
The Glass Bead Game
The Botola Pro is the top professional football league in which North African country?
Morocco
What colour is a Welsh Poppy?
Yellow
In Bible, the Garden of Gethsemane is at the foot of which mountain?
Mount of Olives
Iconic painting “Venus and Mars” by which Italian artist?
Sandro Botticelli
Ratafia biscuits are flavoured with which essence?
Almond
Which bird species Pandion Haliaetus extinct in UK since 1916 was returned to UK from Scandi in the 1950s and now found England, Scotland, Wales?
Osprey
What was married surname of minor music hall performer Belle Elmore who was victim of 1910 murder?
CRIPPEN
Which pretender to English throne, who claimed to be son of Edward IV was actually Flemish and hanged in 1499?
Perkin Warbeck
Which 1949 Gene Kelly film featured song New York New York?
On the Town
Chopin’s Piano Sonata No 2 in B Flat is known by what popular name?
Funeral March
Which British company produced the Black Shadow, advertised in 1948 as the World’s fastest production motorbike?
Vincent
Two islands separated by Sunda Strait?
Java or Sumatra
Cato Conspiracy of 1820 was plot to kill which PM and his cabinet?
Lord Liverpool
Which Northern brewery produces Taddy Lager, Taddy Porter and Old Brewery Bitter?
Sam Smiths
Which Northern brewery produces the beers XB, Lightfoot and Barista Stout?
Theakstons
The soay is believed to be the only wild breed of which usually domesticated animal to be found in the UK?
Sheep (found on St Kilda)
The Doubly Thankful Villages of Arkholme and Nether Kellet that didn’t lose man either World War, are in which English county?
Lancashire
Sacred Arias and Viaggio Italiano, 2 of the 20 best selling classical albums in the UK in the last 25 years are by which performer?
Andrea Bocelli
Which 2024 ITV drama about prisoner being escorted back to Beijing by plane starred Richard Armitage and Jing Lusi?
Red Eye
Which man served as the Queen’s official dressmaker between 1952 and 1989?
Hardy Amies
Fashion label Ted Baker founded and opened its first store in which British city?
Glasgow
Which 1970’s drama series, based on an Andrea Newman novel, starred Susan Penhaligon and Frank Finlay as a daughter and father with a strained relationship?
A Bouquet of Barbed Wire
Which 2023 BBC series set in Belfast and about problems faced by number of police recruits starring Richard Dormer and Sian Brooke?
Blue Lights
Barracks, Central and Manchester Road are three railway stations in which Northern town?
Burnley
Which 1970s TV series starred Gemma Jones as Louisa Trotter a servant who works her way up to become owner of a high class hotel?
The Duchess of Duke Street
Stroopwafel cookies made up of caramel placed on a hot drink to warm up the filling are from which country?
Netherlands
“Living a Dream” and “Second Nature”, 2 of the top 10 selling classical albums in the UK in last 25 years are by which woman?
Katherine Jenkins
Anti-pruritic drugs are designed to relieve which condition?
Itching
Which group had top 10 hit in 1982 with song Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)?
A Flock of Seagulls
Alphabetically last book of bible?
Zephaniah
WW2, what name given to operation to evacuate children from British cities to avoid bombing?
Operation Pied Piper
What is the name of the owner of the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop which is featured on the History series Pawn Stars?
Rick Harrison
The State Great Khural is the unicameral legislature of which Asian country?
Mongolia
Which team defeated the Edmonton Oilers in June 2024 to win their first Stanley Cup championship in their franchise history?
Florida Panthers
What do you call the French sweet wine made from Sémillon, sauvignon blanc, and muscadelle grapes that have been affected by noble rot?
Sauternes
The term turdine pertains to which bird?
Thrush
Which future US president was the American governor-general of the Philippines from 1900 to 1903?
William Howard Taft
French basketball player Zaccharie Risacher was selected with the first overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. He will play with what NBA team?
Atlanta Hawks
Which US singer-songwriter is best known for his 1962 number-one hit record “Hey! Baby”?
Bruce CHANNEL
Founded in 1927 when its founders opened a root beer stand in Washington, D.C., what is the world’s largest hotel chain?
Marriott International
Which khaki-coloured trousers take their name from clothing worn by Philippine soldiers in the Spanish-American war of 1898, which is thought to have been made from material which originated in China?
Chinos
How do we better know the primitive wingless insect named Lepisma Saccharinum for its diet of carbohydrates and starches? It is thought to have evolved more than 400 million years ago and shares its name with the highest adult award in Girlguiding?
Silverfish
Birmingham, Bourton-on-the-Water, the Maryhill district of Glasgow, Leeds, the Paddington area of London, Manchester, Rochdale, and Skipton are the British cities which are included in a list of 37 cities on Wikipedia which are known by which watery nickname?
Venice of the North
Which country is the world’s largest producer of black pepper, accounting for one-third of the world market, the second-largest rice exporter in the world after Thailand, and the world’s second largest exporter of coffee after Brazil?
Vietnam
Which Belgian city was home to the first Stock Exchange in the world opened in 1309, features on the Wikipedia list of 37 countries mentioned earlier, and features in the closing scene of The Monuments Men when a looted Madonna by Michelangelo is returned to the Church of Our Lady?
Bruges
In jewellery, who or what is a “parure”?
Matching set of jewellery
A recent study by Colorado State University established that humans and which other animals are the only ones known to invent arbitrary names for each other, rather than merely copying the sound of the recipient?
Elephants
Techniques of which type of activity might be called Box, Cascade, Columns, Fountain, Mills Mess, Shower, or Windmill?
Juggling
Which is the only English football club to have won the Champions League/European Cup more often than it has won the League title?
Nottingham Forest
Which iconic British food brand, still in production today owned by Unilever, took advantage of the two middle letters of its name to issue a fake farthing to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1898?
BoVRil
Which hit movie of 1963 produced 4 UK number 1 singles, one of which made a reappearance in the 2023 film sequel to Chicken Run, Dawn of the Nugget?
Summer Holiday
Who was Jimmy Anderson playing when got 701st wicket in July 2024?
West Indies test
Which former Green Bay Packers quarterback won his first NFL MVP award in 2011? By the time he was traded away from the Packers in 2023 he had won the award a further three times.
Aaron Rodgers
Section 11 of the 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act is commonly known by what name, after the Liberal MP for Northampton who proposed it? Both Oscar Wilde and Alan Turing were convicted of “gross indecency” under this
Amendment.
LABOUCHERE Amendment
The American-Canadian composer Lena Raine has worked on many video
games, including Caves & Cliffs and Tricky Trials, which are updates for what
extremely popular Mojang release?
Minecraft
Sandy Passage, the premiere episode of the cable television series
Documentary Now! is a parody of which 1975 Maysles Brothers film? It stars Fred Armisen as Big Vivvy and Bill Hader as Little Vivvy.
Grey Gardens
Which relativistic modification of the Schrödinger equation has negative energy solutions that imply the existence of antimatter? This equation can be expanded to calculate the fine structure of the hydrogen atom
DIRAC Equation
With its capital at Argostoli and sitting north of Zakynthos, what is the largest
of the Ionian islands?
Kefalonia
In the sport of cycling, what word of French origin is universally used to
describe the specialised water bottles that can be held in a cage on the bike’s frame?
Bidon
Ernest Boulton, also known as Stella, was a Victorian crossdresser who was arrested in 1870 alongside which man, also known as Fanny? The pair’s subsequent prosecution only resulted in them being bound over, an outcome
said to be a contributing factor in the creation of the Labouchere Amendment.
Frederick PARK
The failure of the Dirac equation to predict which anomalous energy difference between the 2S one-half and 2P one-half orbitals in a hydrogen atom led to the development of quantum electrodynamics? The discovery of this anomaly earned its namesake American scientist the 1955 Nobel Prize in Physics.
LAMB Shift
The titular structure of which 1563 oil on wood panel painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder inspired the skyscraper that looms over the city in the Fritz Lang masterpiece Metropolis? There are two surviving versions of this painting, one in Vienna and one in Rotterdam.
TOWER OF BABEL
Which current Baltimore Ravens quarterback, who succeeded Joe Flacco in
the role, was voted NFL MVP for the 2023-24 season? This was the second time he had won the award, first doing so in 2019.
Lamar JACKSON
Which band released the song that contains the lyrics “A Pizza Hut, a Pizza
Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut”? A classic of 2000s school discos, this song peaked at number two in the UK charts.
Fast Food Rockers
One of Lena Raine’s most acclaimed works is the soundtrack to which
challenging 2018 platform game about a depressed woman named Madeline
attempting to climb the titular mountain?
Celeste
Said by Ridley Scott to be inspirational in the development of the film Gladiator, which 1872 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme depicts a victorious gladiator standing over his defeated foe while Vestal Virgins perform the title gesture?
POLLICE VERSO
How They Threw Rocks is an episode of Documentary Now! that parodies
which 1996 Leon Gast film? It centres on a duel dubbed The Melon vs The Felon in the fictional Welsh sport of Craig Maes
When We Were Kings
Santorini, Naxos and Mykonos are part of which Greek island group that sits
in the Aegean Sea?
Cyclades
In 2012, H&M launched a sellout collaboration with which Belgian fashion designer, who began his career with Jean Paul Gaultier? In 2003, this designer was succeeded by Gaultier as the creative director of Hermes after he stepped down to concentrate his efforts on his own French fashion house, named Maison <this>.</this>
Martin MARGIELA
Which former quarterback became NFL MVP in the 2016 season, the year in which he took the Atlanta Falcons to the Super Bowl? Although leading the game at 28-3, the Falcons would lose to Tom Brady’s New England Patriots in overtime.
Matt RYAN
“A Service, like a Drum / Kept beating - beating - till I thought / My mind was going numb” is a line from I felt a Funeral, in my Brain by which American poet, better known for Because I could not stop for Death?
Emily Dickinson
In the sport of cycling, what French word is given to the lightweight cotton shoulder bags that are handed to riders in a feed zone during a race? These bags typically contain bidons along with food and energy gels
MUSETTE
The Lamb shift was originally discovered by Willis Lamb and Robert Retherford when they used which ‘effect’ to excite hydrogen atoms with microwave radiation? This is the name given to the splitting of atomic spectral lines by the application of a magnetic field.
ZEEMAN Effect
Babur had reconquered Samarkand after allying with Ismail I, who was the founder and first shah of which Iranian empire, which ruled the country between 1501 and 1736?
SAFAVID
Part of the North Aegean island group, which large Greek island has its capital at Mytilene?
LESBOS
Lena Raine also created the score for the 2020 platform game Sackboy: A Big
Adventure, starring the namesake PlayStation mascot which had earlier
debuted in which 2008 PS3 title?
Little Big Planet
What pathological term follows “Ulcerative” in the name of an inflammatory
bowel disease that can cause serious flare-ups of copious loose and bloody
stools, with the potential for “toxic megacolon” and fatal bowel perforation?
Colitis
Babur was succeeded as Mughal Emperor by which of his sons? This man’s
own son, Akbar, is considered one of the greatest of all Indian emperors.
Humayun
The Documentary Now! episode ‘Juan Likes Chicken & Rice’ parodies which
2011 David Gelb film? David Chang, the founder of Momofuku, cameos as himself in this parody.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
In the sport of cycling, what word of French origin is given to the member of support staff who prepares bidons and distributes musettes during a race? Other responsibilities of this team member include sorting out kit and providing riders with massages.
SOIGNEUR
Which 1889 scandal was named for the London location of a gay brothel frequented by high-ranking officials? Henry Labouchere harshly criticised the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, for his handling of this affair.
CLEVELAND STREET Scandal
In 2008, H&M launched a capsule collection in collaboration with Comme des
Garcons, the avant-garde fashion label associated with which Japanese fashion designer, also the founder of the London high fashion emporium Dover Street Market?
Rei KAWAKUBO
Which Heisman Trophy winner and former Carolina Panthers quarterback
became the NFL MVP in the 2015 season after he led the Panthers to Super
Bowl 50 with a season record of 15-1?
Cam NEWTON
The design of the Bates Motel in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho was strongly
influenced by which 1925 Edward Hopper painting, now housed at MoMA, which depicts a Victorian mansion in New York state?
House By The Railroad
Garbolc is the easternmost point of which European country and also the site
of an international tripoint with Romania and Ukraine?
Hungary
What word of French origin is given to the peaked cotton cap that traditional
formed part of a road cyclist’s kit? Although less common since the introduction of cycling helmets, these caps are still worn on the winner’s podium at the end of race stages.
Casquette
What pathological term follows “Necrotizing” in the name of a catastrophic condition, in which destruction of soft tissue is caused by “flesh eating” Group A Streptococcus strains? The same term follows “Plantar” in the painful inflammation of connective tissue in the sole of the foot.
Fascitis
Which Nobel Prize-winning physicist explained the Lamb shift in the hydrogen spectrum in terms of the self-interaction of the electron,
supposedly while on a train ride? Earlier in his career he headed the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos during World War 2.
Hans BETHE
While Toby Fox composed most of its music, Lena Raine also worked on the
soundtrack for which quirky RPG, whose first chapter debuted in 2018? The game’s title is an anagram of Fox’s more famous earlier work.
Deltarune
The iconic scene of the priest silhouetted in front of Regan’s lit room in William Friedkin’s The Exorcist was inspired by which series of three paintings by René Magritte that depict a nocturnal street scene below a paradoxically sunlit sky?
The EMPIRE OF LIGHT
Parker Gail’s Location Is Everything is a Documentary Now! episode that parodies which 1987 Jonathan Demme film? Bill Hader portrays the title character as a caricature of Spalding Gray
Swimming to Cambodia
In response to repressive policies of the time, George Cecil Ives founded which gay secret society in London in 1897? The society took its name from a battle of 338BC which featured the destruction of a troop consisting of 150 pairs of male lovers?
Order of Chaeronea
In the 1994 erotic thriller The Last Seduction, which actress plays Bridget Gregory, a femme fatale who steals money from her husband’s illicit cocaine deal before seducing and subsequently framing another man for her husband’s murder? This actress went on to play Dr Laurel Weaver in Men in Black.
Linda Fiorentino
Which American won gold and broke the record in the 100m butterfly event at the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021? He became the fifth American to win five golds at one Olympics.
Caeleb DRESSELL
Which Labour politician defeated Liz Truss in the seat of South West Norfolk
at the 2024 UK General Election?
Terry JERMY
Created in 1970 by German artist Wolf Vostell, the artwork Concrete Traffic looks like a car made from concrete, but is in fact an actual model of a ‘Sedan De Ville’, made by which company, encased within?
Cadillac
In response to Common Sense by Thomas Paine - the work ‘Thoughts on
Government’ rejected the idea of a single legislative body and suggested the
three branch US system which exists today. It was written by which man?
John Adams
Which band released the early 2000s hit ‘World Of Our Own’?
Westlife
What NHL team clawed their way to a Game 7 victory to win the 2024 Stanley Cup?
Florida Panthers
Name of 35 year old Russian goaltender for Florida Panthers who won Stanley Cup in 2024?
Sergei Bobrovsky
May 2024 Iranian president who died in helicopter crash?
Ebrahim Raisi
The countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) have seen an influx of hundreds of thousands of Russian emigrants in recent years, known by what term?
RELOKANTY
What Indian state, the country’s youngest, has become an economic powerhouse thanks to a strong tech industry in Hyderabad?
TELANGANA
Shanghai, China; Krikenes, Norway; and Hamburg, Germany, are all ports on a projected sea route through the Arctic Circle known by what name?
NORTHERN SEA ROUTE or the SILK ROAD ON ICE
The Boston Celtics have won a record-breaking 18th NBA Championship in franchise history. Which Celtics shooting guard won the playoffs MVP award? 2024
JAYLEN BROWN
What US state became the first to require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms? 2024
LOUISIANA
Indian American software engineer Sarabh Netravalkar has become an overnight sensation after carrying Team USA to an upset victory over Pakistan in what sport? 2024
CRICKET
After the MLB acknowledged stats from the Negro Leagues between 1920 and 1948, what baseball player, known as the “Black Babe Ruth”, became the all-time career batting average leader?
JOSH GIBSON
What nepo baby sad girl singer is known for such albums as Good Riddance (2023) and The Secret of Us (2024), and has been an opening act on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour?
Gracie Abrams (daughter of JJ Abrams)
What pop singer’s recent DWI arrest has led to a viral meme exchange about how “this is going to ruin the tour”? 2024
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
The length of what article of clothing has become a generational marker between Millennials and Gen Z?
SOCKS
2024 album by The Last Dinner Party
Prelude to Ecstasy
1965 historical drama film directed by Carol Reed, starring Charlton Heston as Michelangelo and Rex Harrison as Pope Julius II
The Agony and the Ecstasy
Appointed French Minister of Justice after the fall of the monarchy on August 10 1792, which lawyer and leading figure of the French Revolution became the First President of the Commitee of Public Safety? He was later executed by Guillotine in April 1794 after accusations of Royalist inclinations.
Georges DANTON
The designer of an iconic 1990’s dress for Demi Moore in the film Indecent Proposal, which French former ballet dancer and fashion designer (1948-2022) launched the best-selling fragrance Angel, with its distinctive star shaped bottle, in 1992?
Thierry MUGLER
Making its debut as an Olympic sport at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Olympic games, which high speed sport involves supine athletes, either alone or in pairs, travelling down an icy track feet first on a flat sled?
LUGE
Produced between 1957 and 1991 and the butt of many jokes, which East German car model, produced by VEB Sachsenring from the recycled cotton material duroplast, gained notoriety for its smoky exhaust and its poor build quality?
Trabant
Which late French ye-ye singer-songwriter, astrologer and fashion muse for Andres Courreges and Yves St Laurent first found success with her 1962 song Tous les garcons et les filles?
Francoise Hardy
Which Icelandic former actress and TV language teacher became the first woman in the world to be democratically elected as a country’s President in 1980, and after 16 years, becoming the longest-serving elected female head of state in history?
Finboggadotir (vigdis)
Nicknamed “The Big Bear”, which American boxer first became World Heavyweight Champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson?
Sonny Liston
With its territory spanning the modern Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco and a name meaning “rubber people “ in Nahuatl, which Mesoamerican civilisation was known for its giant head statues and its practice of ritual blood-letting?
Olmec
Playing for the West Indies from 1988 to 2000, which Antiguan right-arm fast bowler took 405 wickets in his career and was one of the 1992 Wisden Cricketers of the Year? Surname A.
Curtly Ambrose
What four letter term links
1) The title of a 2008 novel by Australian author Christos Tsolkas, concerning the repercussions of the title reprimand
2) An informal or derogatory term for make-up?
SLAP (The Slap is the novel)
Sharing its name with the first female Prime Minister of Peru in 2003, which breed of domestic sheep gives its name to a fine, soft wool used for luxury garments?
Merino (Beatriz Merino)
Sharing her family name with American musical brothers Duane and Gregg who played the instrumental “Jessica”, which former professional dancer became the Women ‘s Olympic Discus Champion in 2021 at the Tokyo Games?
ALLMAN (Valerie)
Which crater lake in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand is the second largest lake by surface area on the North Island of New Zealand? A city of the same name extends across its Southern shore.
Rotorua
Spinning the threads of Fate at the foot of the sacred tree Yggdrasil, which powerful maidens of Norse mythology were deemed by pre-Christian Scandinavians to visit newborns and shape their destinies?
Norns
What name links
1) A British fashion photographer who photographed King Charles III for a 2024 cover of The Big Issue, highlighting the Coronation Food Project
2) The creator of Scottish policemen Malcolm Fox and John Rebus in a long-running series of crime novels?
Rankin (John Rankin Waddell known as “Rankin” and Ian Rankin)
Attributed to the legendary poet Valmiki, which epic text of Hinduism narrates the life of a Prince of Ayodhya during his 14 year exile with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana?
Ramayana
Which President of Equatorial Guinea is the second-longest consecutively serving current non-royal leader in the world after Paul Biya in Cameroon?
Teodoro Obiang
Alleging that Mussolini’s fascists had committed fraud in the 1924 Italian Election, which socialist politician and member of the Chamber of Deputies was bundled into a car and assassinated by stabbing on June 10th 1924?
Matteotti (Giacomo)
Produced by oxidative ageing in pre-seasoned oak barrels, which dry, nutty dark coloured Spanish sherry is made from Palomino grapes pressed twice and fortified early to kill off the flor (surface) yeasts? Its name derives from its fragrance.
Oloroso
Created using a narrow stream of sand pouring from the base of a compound pendulum, which French physicist gives his name to “figures” produced by the intersection of two sinusoidal curves with perpendicular axes? His work expanded on that of Nathaniel Bowditch in 1815.
Lissajous (Jules Antoine)
Mentioned by Socrates and Plato as a major influence on the rhetorical style of her partner Pericles, which Miletus-born intellectual opened a renowned school of philosophy and rhetoric in Athens in the 5th centruy BCE? She is a “guest” in the first Wing of Judy Chicago’s feminist work The Dinner Party.
Aspasia
Using a demi grande ronde de jambe to build momentum, which outward ballet turn named for the French for “whipped” is performed 32 times by Odile, the Black Swan in Act 3 of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake?
FOUETTE
Which 2003 young adult fantasy novel by Cornelia Funke marked the start of a namesake trilogy concerning a bookbinder with the ability to bring characters out of books by reading aloud? It was adapted into a 2008 film starring Brendan Fraser and Helen Mirren.
Inkheart
Originally characterised by Francois Jacob, Andre Lwoff and Jacques Monod in E. coli, what name is given to a cluster of genes, under a single promoter’s control, which are co-transcribed to regulate a particular facet of metabolism, e.g the use of lactose as an alternative fuel when glucose is not available?
OPERON
The autoimmune multisystem disease SLE is characterised by a butterfly rash over the cheeks, joint pain, kidney disease and neuropsychiatric manifestations? Possibly relating to the similarity of ulcerating lesions to animal bites, for what does the “L” stand in “SLE”?
Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus)
Write your answer as a word…….Seventeen, the first K-pop boy band to appear on Glastonbury’s main Pyramid stage in 2024, has how many members in its full ensemble?
Thirteen
Concerning a boy robbed of his grandmother’s savings en-route to Berlin, where he befriends and recruits local children to help him apprehend the thief, which 1929 Eric Kastner children’s novel was first adapted into a film by Billy Wilder in 1931?
Emil and the Detectives
Situated in the Northern and Western Region of Ireland, which Irish County contains Lough Key and the National Famine Museum at Strokestown Park?
Roscommon
Which amino acid with a basic side chain is given the single letter amino acid code “R”?
Arginine
Which French philosopher’s 1967 book Of Grammatology originated the idea of deconstruction, and argued for the primacy of writing over speech in language development?
Jacques DERRIDA
Credited with the first recordings of Bach’s Cello Suites, which cello virtuoso refused to play in Spain during the Franco regime and founded a namesake classical music festival in Puerto Rico? On being warned of the dangers of marrying a 20 year old at the age of 80 in 1957, he remarked “I look at it this way; if she dies, she dies”
Pablo CASALS
Which American Civil War battle of April 9th 1865 saw the surrender of General Robert E Lee when surrounded by Unionist forces in Virginia and cut off from the Confederate army of Tennessee?
Appomattox Courthouse
Which Canadian pop-punk singer-songwriter became the subject of an internet conspiracy theory originating in Brazil in 2011, suggesting she had died by suicide after her early success and been replaced by an actress body double, Melissa Vandella?
Avril LAVIGNE
Czech professional tennis player WON WIMBLEDON 2024, HAD WON FRENCH OPEN IN 2021 AND WON LOADS OF DOUBLES GRAND SLAMS
Barbora KREJCIKOVA
Italian tennis player who was losing finalist at both 2024 French Open (to Swiatek) and Wimbledon (to Krejcikova)
Jasmine Paolini
Which daughter of King Baldwin II was Queen of Jerusalem from 1131-53 and regent for her son Baldwin III from 1153 to 1161, until the latter defeated her for control of the throne in a Civil War?
Melisende
One of the “Antwerp Six” fashion designers, which Belgian fashion designer known for her asymmetric tailoring launched her own fashion house in 1985, but resigned from it in 2013 taking up porcelain designs with Serax? Her debut fragrance “A” was launched in 2023
Demeulemeister (Ann)
Which Hungarian-Austrian Composer confounded his audience with a Poem Symphonique for one hundred mechanical metronomes in 1962, during his association with the Fluxus art movment?
Gyorgy Ligeti
Popularising scientific ideas in the early 20th Century, which British physicist, who parodied The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam in a description of the 1919 solar eclipse, gives his name to a natural “limit” of the luminosity of stars? He shares his name with an actor who portrayed Jim Hacker in the British sitcom Yes Minister.
Eddington (Arthur and Paul)
Adapted by choreographer Wayne McGregor for the National Ballet of Canada and to be performed by The Royal Ballet in November 2024, which trilogy of post-apocalyptic novels by Margaret Atwood contains the books Oryx and Crake and The Year of The Flood?
Maddaddam
An Olympic Bronze medallist in Judo in 2008, which UFC Mixed Martial Arts Bantamweight Champion from 2012 to 2015 made her WWE wrestling debut in 2018 at WrestleMania 34, winning the Raw Women’s Championship at that year’s SummerSlam?
Ronda ROUSEY
One of the founders of the Art Nouveau movement, which Belgian architect created the Hotel Tassel in Brussels in 1893, influenced by the architectural theorist Eugene Viollet-le-Duc?
Victor HORTA
The singer of Want to Want Me (2015), which American singer-songwriter’s 2009 debut single Whatcha Say sampled and uses as a chorus Imogen Heap’s 2005 single Hide and Seek?
Jason DERULO
Named after a 17th Century English Scientist, the French priest and physicist Edme Mariotte is credited with designing which device with a two word name demonstrating the principles of conservation of momentum and energy?
Newton’s Cradle
Which singer-songwriter and Golden Globe-winning actor in Come September recorded his worldwide hit song Dream Lover in 1959, featuring Neil Sedaka on the piano? He died, aged 37, in 1973.
Bobby DARIN
Used in alternative medicines, what nutrient rich honey bee glandular secretion is fed to larvae in Queen cells, leading to the development of Queen bee morphology?
ROYAL JELLY
Wearing the Yellow Jersey all the way through the 1961 Tour de France, which winner of 8 Grand Tours between 1957 and 1964 has been surpassed by only Eddy Merckx (11) and Bernard Hinault (10).
Jacques ANQUETIL
What four letter instrument links
1) A French psychedelic rock band, formed in 1967 by Australian Daevid Allen, which released Camembert Electrique in 1971
2) “____ Bath”, a fashionable, fully-clothed post-yoga and meditation “immersion” in percussion-generated sound waves
3) Something struck in the company trademark of the J Arthur Rank Organization?
GONG
The first woman to become a FIDE chess Grandmaster in 1978, which Georgian Women’s chess pioneer sued the makers of TV show The Queen’s Gambit for erroneously stating that she was Russian and that she had never competed against men? An out of court settlement was reached with Netflix in 2022.
Gaprindashvili (Nona)
Complete stories is a volume of the collected lifetime works of which Ukrainian-born Brazilain novelist who died in 1977, and whose works include The Passion according to G.H, A Breath of Life, The Hour of the Star and her debut novel Near to the Wild Heart?
Lispector (Clarice)
Speculum of the Other Woman is a 1974 work by which French feminist philosopher and activist (born 1930) who examines phallocentrism in Western philosophy, with her most cited essay critiquing Sigmund Freud’s views on femininity,The Blind Spot of An Old Dream?
Irigaray (Luce)
A DEXA (Dual-Energy-X-Ray Absorptiometry) scan is used to diagnose which common age-related skeletal disorder which predisposes to bone fractures, and for which oestrogen and testosterone loss, alcohol consumption, smoking and low body mass are risk factors?
OSTEOPOROSIS
Sampled in Stormzy’s 2019 release Rainfall, the 2000 single Shackles (Praise You) was originally released by sisters Erica and Tina Campbell under what band name?
Mary Mary
Based on a Tony award-winning 1948 Broadway play in blank verse, which 1969 historical drama film starred Geraldine Bujold as the title character and Richard Burton as King Henry VIII?
Anne of the Thousand Days
Bobby Jones and Lady Frances Derwent investigate the mysterious last words of a man found dying on his local golf course in a 1934 Agatha Christie novel. What were those last words, also the British title of the crime novel?
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
American actor. He is best known for playing Fulton Reed in The Mighty Ducks trilogy (1992–1996), Foggy Nelson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) streaming television series Daredevil (2015–2018), The Defenders (2017), Jessica Jones and Luke Cage (both 2018), and Pollux in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014) and Part 2 (2015).
Elden HENSON
American actor. He is known for his role as Turk Barrett in all six of Marvel’s Netflix television series (2015–2018), Hap Jackson in Mudbound (2017), Officer Powell in Stranger Things (2016–present), and Teddy Oglethorpe in Don’t Look Up (2021).
Rob Morgan
Who plays Matt Murdock/Daredevil in the Netflix and DisneyPlus series Daredevil?
Charlie Cox
Who plays Luke Cage in Marvel tv series?
Mike Colter
Who plays Danny Rand/Iron Fist in the Marvel TV series? Also played Loras Tyrell in Game of Thrones.
Finn Jones
Billie Jean King won 20 of her 39 Grand Slam titles at which tennis tournament?
Wimbledon
What word links a biochemist who isolated penicillin, a song by Fleetwood Mac, and a bridge in Budapest?
Chain
Which Dalziel & Pascoe character was played by Colin Buchanan?
Peter Pascoe
The Tacaná volcano is a 4,000-m peak straddling the border between Guatemala and which other Latin American country?
Mexico
Fern Arable is the heroine in which novel by E.B. White?
Charlotte’s Web
Paul Simonon was the bass guitarist with which 1970s punk rock band?
Clash
What device was first used in the UK in 1992 on the westbound A316 over Twickenham Bridge?
Gatso Speed Camera
In June 2024, who beat Laura Muir to become British national champion in 1500m?
Georgia Bell
Which English port city is home to Tinside Lido?
Plymouth
Which English rock band released the album Quadrophenia in 1973?
The Who
Which member of the Fonda family dynasty played a journalist in The Godfather Part III?
Bridget
Which Shakespeare play is notable for the title character’s “Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks” monologue?
King Lear
The zampoña or syrinx, a traditional Andean wind instrument crafted from bamboo, is better known by what name?
Panpipes
Which Italian novelist wrote the 1940 psychological thriller The Tartar Steppe?
Dino BUZZATI
Which country was the holiday destination for the Brown family in the 1961 book Paddington Abroad?
France
Which British garden bird has the Latin name Carduelis carduelis?
Goldfinch
St Anne is the capital of which channel island?
Alderney
Shahdag Mountain resort is the largest winter resort in which Asian country?
Azerbaijan
Easy A: The Intolerable Acts were five punitive laws published by the British Parliament following what protest?
Boston Tea Party
Hard B: What nickname is also given to the “5 October Revolution”, which culminated in the removal of Slobodan Milošević as President of the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, also known as?
Bulldozer Revolution
Hard D: In the picture, you will see the coat of arms and location in Germany of a city which lies on both the Ruhr and the Rhine rivers. It also has the world’s largest online port. What is its name?
Duisberg
Hard E: In the picture, there is an evolutionary tree showing the hypothetical Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) and how it diverges into the three domains of life: Bacteria and Archaea are two of the domains; what is the name traditionally given to the third domain?
Eukaryote
Easy F: The capital of Equatorial Guinea, Malabo, is on the island of Bioko, But by what name was the island known, prior to the 1970s?
Fernando Po
Hard F: What is the name of the small island in the Shetland archipelago, the British Isles’ most remote inhabited island, mostly famous for not converting to the Gregorian calendar, and being also one day ahead of the Julian calendar since they did not celebrate a leap year in 1900?
Foula
Easy G: By what name is the Mona Lisa also known, particularly in Italian?
La Gioconda
Easy I: In which French Départment, famed for its skiing, would you find Grenoble?
Isere
Hard J: In Hinduism, who is the Goddess of Light, born either from Shiva’s halo or from a spark from Parvati’s forehead, depending on which myth one believes in?
Jyoti
Hard M: Who is the Patroness Saint of Catalonia, an example of a Black Madonna? She is venerated and named after the mountain range near Barcelona in the picture.
Montserrat
Hard N: Gamma, Delta, Epsilon and Eta form a square of stars within which constellation in our skies, which has a female-sounding name?
Norma
Hard O: What word is given to broken-off pieces of pottery or stone that have writing carved into them (occasionally used in Classical Athens to vote on whether or not someone should be exiled)?
Ostracon
Easy P: What item of clothing comes from the Aleutian (via Nenets) word for an “animal skin”, though has been used in the English language since 1625?
Parka
Hard P: What name is given to the breathing pore of a slug or land snail?
Pneumostome
Easy Q: What name is given to the party celebrated, especially in Mexico, when a girl reaches the age of 15?
Quinceanera
Easy U: What country has only ever won two Olympic medals in their history: gold for shooting in 2004, and bronze for judo in 2016?
UAE
Hard U: What country won for the first time the Best International Feature Film Oscar (previously known as Best Foreign Language Film) earlier this year? (They have had two previous failed nominations for this category in the 1990s).
United Kingdom
Easy W: What animal name has Buick used for a number of vehicles, in particular ones produced between 1963 and 1970, though they recently revived the name for their EV concept cars?
Wildcat
Hard X: What is the name of the extraterrestrial ruler who, according to Scientology beliefs, brought billions of people to Earth 75 million years ago, then killed them, and their spirits live on and (according to them) adhere themselves to humans?
Xenu
Easy Y: Dieter Mieler and Boris Blank formed what electronic music band in Switzerland in 1979, still going strong to this day? Their most famous song, “Oh Yeah”, has featured in a number of movies, including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Yello
Hard Z: By what name is the main square in Mexico City, the Plaza de la Constitución, most commonly known?
ZOCALO
Which method of mathematical proof involves showing that the statement is true
for the base case, and then showing that if the statement holds for any given
case, it also must hold for the subsequent case?
Induction
Which art deco building in Perivale was the UK headquarters of, and production
factory for, its namesake then Ohio-based company
HOOVER building
Consisting of coils around magnetic cores, which electrical component transfers
electrical energy from one circuit to another and may be used to step-up or stepdown voltages
Transformer
Which TV chef has a Lhasa Apso named Ralph and a Cocker Spaniel named
Cooper? Allegations of his bullying of production staff came to light in 2023
James Martin
Incorporating Latin and jazz rhythms, the 2000s albums De-Loused in the
Comatorium and Frances the Mute were released by which Mexican-American
progressive rock band?
The MARS VOLTA
Suzi Perry was the “skyrunner” in a 2002 revival of which gameshow, which first
aired in 1982? Two contestants were tasked with guiding the skyrunner by
following a series of clues
Treasure Hunt
Debuting in Mortal Kombat 2, which Mortal Kombat character is a former Shaolin
monk who uses his razor-brimmed hat as a weapon?
KUNG LAO
Presenters of which live BBC wildlife programme, broadcast seasonally from late
May each year, have included Bill Oddie, Michaela Strachan, and Chris
Packham
Springwatch
Consisting of a coil and a set of contacts, which electrical component was used in
telegraph systems to amplify signals? They can be “normally closed” or “normally open”
Relay
An art deco building with Egyptian ornamentation, built on the communal garden
area of Mornington Crescent, served as a factory for Carreras, a manufacturer of
what product
Cigarettes
Also known as brute force or complete induction, which method of mathematical
proof involves identifying a complete set of cases to check, and showing that the
statement holds for each of these cases
Exhaustion
Introduced in the first Tekken game, incarnations of which character, a ninja who
wields the Cursed Blade, also appear in the Soulcalibur franchise?
Yoshimitsu
Incorporating folk and classical elements, the 2000s albums Blackwater Park and
Ghost Reveries were released by which Swedish progressive metal band
Opeth
In which country is North Malé Atoll, on which the capital Malé is found, at around
4 degrees north of the equator?
Maldives
The current men’s squad of which continental European football club includes
Lee Kang-in and Ousmane Dembélé? The current women’s squad includes
Grace Geyoro and Mary Earps.
PSG
Airing in 1989 and presented by Annabel Croft, which gameshow saw
contestants tasked with locating a key to unlock their partner’s backpack? The
show’s title described the role of its infra-red-beam-firing villain, who tried to
prevent a successful meeting by jamming the backpacks.
Interceptor
Plants commonly known as the boomer plant and the squirting cucumber are
among species that display which process, where a fruit or seed pod splits along
a built-in line of weakness to release its contents?
Explosive DEHISCENCE
Which sweet wine from the Graves section of Bordeaux is made from Sémillon,
sauvignon blanc, and muscadelle grapes which have become partially “raisined” due to noble rot?
SAUTERNES
What ordinal number can in music denote the interval between the notes C and
E, and in grammar a person such as him, her or it
Third
In an 1860s example of gunboat diplomacy, the Royal Navy seized slave ships
bound for which country in the Christie Affair? This country later abolished
slavery with the Golden Law
Brazil
In one of several controversies at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, which Irish
entrant was ordered to alter Ogham-script text on their body reading “Ceasefire”
and “Freedom for Palestine”?
Bambie Thug
Which family of media players were developed by Microsoft as a competitor to
Apple’s iPod? They never achieved much market share, and were discontinued in 2011.
Zune
Which Melbourne suburb, home to one of the most successful Aussie Rules
Football sides, shares its name with a club that was once the headquarters of the
British Conservative Party?
Carlton
Which Australian performance artist was the subject of a series of paintings by
Lucian Freud? One of his regular performances saw him simulate giving birth to
his partner Nicola Bateman from a concealed harness on his stomach
Leigh BOWERY
The fourth, and most recent edition of which Paradox series of grand strategy
games allows players to control a country in World War II, starting in either 1936
or 1939
Hearts of Iron
In one of several controversies at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, which
Dutch entrant was disqualified and prevented from appearing in the final after
allegedly threatening a female camera operator
Joost KLEIN
In an 1850s example of gunboat diplomacy, the Royal Navy blockaded the Greek
port of Piraeus during the Don Pacifico Affair. Which future Prime Minister
defended the blockade in his five-hour “Civis Romanus Sum” speech?
Lord PALMERSTON
The second section of The Waste Land begins with the words “The Chair she sat
in, like a burnished throne / Glowed on the marble” – a reference to which
Shakespeare play, in which Enobarbus says a similar line?
Anthony and Cleopatra
Which estate in the Sauternes region, now part of the LVMH group, produced the
only sweet wine to be given the rating Premier Cru Supérieur in the 1855 classification of Bordeaux wines? The name of the Château begins with an unusual pair of letters
Chateau d’YQUEM
The fourth, and most recent edition of which Paradox series of grand strategy
games allows players to control a country in the early modern period from the
Battle of Varna to the death of Napoleon?
Europa Universalis
Greta Garbo received her final Best Actress Oscar nomination for her role in
which film, her first comedy? Garbo played the title Russian special envoy in this movie, which was marketed with the slogan Garbo Laughs!
Nintochka
Also the subject of a series of paintings by Lucian Freud, the model Henrietta
Moraes may be better known as the subject of a series of posthumous charcoals
by which British artist, her partner? This artist also created a memorial to Oscar
Wilde in Charing Cross
Maggi HAMBLING
Which multimedia encyclopaedia was published by Microsoft from 1993 to 2009?
Initially sold on a CD-ROM, it suffered due to competition from Wikipedia
Encarta
Which Melbourne suburb, home to a perennially-underachieving Aussie Rules
football team, shares its name with a Scottish archipelago whose islands include
Hirta, Soay and Boreray?
St Kilda
The first stage of the 2024 Tour de France saw the race visit which country for
the first time? Romain Bardet passed through this country on his way to take a
stage win and the yellow jersey in the town of Rimini
San Marino
Its name beginning with B, what fluffy deep-fried leavened sourdough bread that originates
from the Indian subcontinent is similar to the unleavened puri and eaten with yoghurt, pickles
or with chole [cho-leh] in a traditional dish?
Bhatura
Which English singer-songwriter sang the lead female vocals on the 1993 Meat Loaf single I’d
Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) and backing vocals on other songs from the Bat
Out Of Hell II album? Backing vocalist for Bonnie Tyler and Sam Fender, she released her
only studio album Mrs Loud in 2008.
Lorraine CROSBY
Part of the larger Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which is the oldest and largest national
park in South Africa, located in the northeast of the country? As a game reserve, it is notable
for containing the largest number of mammalian species of any reserve in Africa.
KRUGER
First aired in 2021, which Netflix original series concerns the lives of the mother and teenage
daughter title characters, played by Brianne Howey and Antonia Gentry respectively, as they
move to the fictional Massachusetts town of Wellsbury for a fresh start?
GINNY AND GEORGIA
Situated behind the brainstem, which major area of the hindbrain is crucial for motor
control, amongst other roles in language, attention and mental imagery? While it
does not initiate movement, it is responsible for co-ordination, controlling balance and fine tuning.
CEREBELLUM
Nicknamed the ‘Garden Isle’, which is the fourth-largest island of the Hawaiian
archipelago by both area and population? On this island, where Mark Zuckerburg
infamously purchased land in 2014, tourists might visit Waimea Canyon, the Na Pali
Coast and Hanalei Bay.
KAUAI
Which member of McFly won the UK version of The Masked Singer in 2024
disguised as ‘Piranha’?
Danny JONES
n May 2023, Dani Dyer and Jarrod Bowen had twin daughters. One of them shares
her name with what season of the year, also found in the name of a popular friendly
league in the QLL?
SUMMER
Who released the 2011 Top 20 single The One Who Got Away, whose lyrics
reference “making out in your Mustang to Radiohead”? Other Top 40 hits by this
artist include Unconditionally, Chained To The Rhythm and Thinking Of You.
Katy PERRY
The initialism SEO is used in website marketing terminology to refer to the act of
increasing unpaid traffic. In this context, the ‘SE’ stands for ‘search engine’; what
does the ‘O’ stand for?
Optimisation
With the title track performed by Kenny Loggins, which 1984 musical film whose title
begins with ‘F’, stars Kevin Bacon and Lori Singer and tells the story of a teenager
who moves to a small town where he attempts to overturn the ban on dancing?
Footloose
Which battle of June 1813, fought in the modern-day Basque Country of Spain, saw
the victory of a Wellington-led combined British, Spanish and Portuguese army over
the occupying French forces of Joseph Bonaparte? This battle paved the way for
victory in the larger Peninsular War.
Vitoria
With a range that extends up to C8, the C three octaves above middle C, which
woodwind instrument is the highest pitched instrument in a standard symphony
orchestra?
Piccolo
What mathematical concept quantifies the sensitivity of change of the output of a
function with respect to a change in its input? On a graph of a single variable of a
function at a chosen input value, this concept is depicted by the gradient of the
tangent at that point.
Derivative
First aired in 2019 and consisting of five seasons so far, which Netflix original series
tells the story of Mel Monroe, a midwife and nurse practitioner played by Alexandra
Breckenridge, who moves to the titular location in remote northern California for a fresh start?
Virgin River
Which Roman goddess is associated with agriculture, motherly relationships and
fertility? Her Greek counterpart, upon whom she is based, is Demeter
Ceres
Which American singer performed the lead female vocals on the 1977 Meat Loaf
single Paradise By The Dashboard Light and backing vocals on much of the rest of
the Bat Out of Hell album? She has also provided backing vocals for several songs
by The Clash, and is a former partner of band member Mick Jones.
Ellen FOLEY
What thin pancake, with alternative names beginning with A and H, traditionally made
from fermented rice batter and coconut milk originates from southern India and Sri
Lanka, and is often served topped with an egg?
Appa or appam or
hopper
Which character, a painter, is the male lead role in Giacomo Puccini’s opera Tosca?
Sung by a tenor, the role’s most famous aria is E lucevan le stelle [ay loo-che-van leh
stel-lay], performed while he is waiting to be executed.
Mario Cavaradossi (Acc either name)
Ben Duckett, Stuart Broad and Strictly Come Dancing alumnus Graeme Swann have
all represented which English county in domestic cricket? The second test of the
2024 West Indies tour of England, held at this county’s ground, saw the renaming of
its Pavilion End to the Stuart Broad End.
Nottinghamshire
Along with Gabby Douglas, who was the other gymnast to feature in the London and
Rio double team gold-winning ‘Fierce Five’ and ‘Final Five’ women’s USA gymnastics
teams? The captain of both teams, she also won four other individual Olympic medals, including a gold in the floor exercise in London
Aly RAISMAN
Also known as the Battle of the Nations, which October 1813 battle fought in modernday Germany, resulted in the victory of the Coalition forces of Austria, Russia, Sweden and Prussia over the French army? The largest battle in Europe until World War I, it saw France lose control of all territory east of the Rhine.
LEIPZIG
Housed in a historic complex of the same name, which museum and art gallery in
Vienna is home to Gustav Klimt’s painting The Kiss?
Belvedere
Who released the 2013 Top 20 hit Here’s To Never Growing Up whose opening line
describes “Singing Radiohead at the top of our lungs”? Other Top 40 hits by this
artist include What The Hell, When You’re Gone and I’m With You.
Avril LAVIGNE
