Quiz 44 Flashcards
Of which jazz musician’s death in 1967 did the poet and critic Philip Larkin write: I can’t coneal that it leaves in jazz a vast, blessed silence?
John Coltrane
Phlobotomy and venesection are scientific names for which, now largely obsolete, medical practice?
Bleeding
The world’s smallest mammal, found in Thailand, with individuals typically weighing only 2 grams, is a species of what kind of creature?
Bat
In which EU member state is the town of Schengen, where the Schengen Agreement on border controls was signed in 1985?
Luxembourg
Because of his submission to William the Conquerer in 1066, rather than being replaved by the invaders, Saint Wulfstan was allowed to remain as bishop of which city?
Worcester
The Ampullea of Lorenzini, named after the Italian anatomist who studied them, are minute structures in the snouts of which creatures, enabling them to detect electrical signals?
Sharks
In Walter Scott’s novel The Heart of Midlothian, what is the Heart of Midlothian?
The Edinburgh Tollbooth - prison
The wife of which former Prime Minister, knighted in 2005, is a Dame Commander of the British Empire in her own right, honoured in 1999 for her charity work?
John Major
In mathematics, what is the reciprocal of 2?
Half
In which English county is the Neolithic burial mound known as Hetty Peglar’s Tump?
Gloucestershire
Oscar Wilde wrote that - All women become like their mothers, that is their tragedy. No man does, that is his. In a play by which writer will you find the following parody - All women dress like their mothers, that is their tragedy. No man does, that is his?
Alan Bennett
In the Tom and Jerry cartoons, Tom the cat only got the name by which we know him today in the second cartoon, Midnight Snack. What name did he have in the first, Puss Gets The Boot?
Jasper
Which comet, which was widely sighted from Earth around Christmas 1973 but is now not due to return for another 75,000 years, is named after the Czech astronomer who discovered it?
Kohoutec
William Pratt was the real name of which star of horror films, born in London in 1887?
Boris Karloff
Which 1932 novel by Erskine Caldwell, which became a long running Broadway play, tells the story of Georgia sharecroppers during the Great Depression?
Tobacco Road
Although it was not patented or commercially successful during his lifetime, the inventor Willia Lee pioneered which hand-powered textile machine in Nottinghamshire in the late 16th century?
Stocking Frame
Which record did the Hollywood actress Greer Garson set at the Academy Award ceremony in 1942?
Longest acceptance speech
Which German scientist was awarded the very first Nobel Prize for physics in 1901, according to the citation for the discovery of the remarkable rays subsequently named after him?
William Rontgen
What’s the most common English name for the bird with the taxonomic name Crex crex, also known as the land rail?
Corncrake
By a strange co-incidence, two former US presidents died on the 4th July 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing onf the declaration of independence. Can you name either of them?
Adams and Jefferson
The Trio section of Sir Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No 1 is best known by what title, from the words set to it by AC Benson?
Land of Hope and Glory
What type of weather would you be afraid of if you suffered from Chionophobia?
Snow
One of the most illuminating biographies of Sir Winston Churchill is considered to be Winston Churchill: The Struggle for Survival by Lord Moran. What position did Lord Moran hold for much of Churchill’s life?
Physician
The William Herschel Telescope, named after the German-born British astronomer, is located on which islands?
Canaries
A game involving sending a ball through an iron hoop with a mallet, popular in the 17th century, gave its name to which London street?
Pall Mall
What would you be most likely to find inside a Stevenson screen?
Meterological instruments
Konrad Kujau, the manager of a Stuttgart cleaning company and small-time forger of luncheon vouchers, was responsible for which prominent 20th century hoax?
Hitler diaries
What composer’s name was used as an acronym during the 19th century to show support for the King of Sardinia, the man who was to become the king of Italy?
Verdi
Shir ha-Shirim is the Hebrew name for which book of the Old Testament?
Song of Songs
By European law, only cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Southern France are allowed to bear which famous name?
Roquefort
What is the name of the racetrack in Louisvill where the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks are run?
Churchill Downs
Which chemical element get its name from the Greek word for acid producer?
Oxygen
In which month of 1066 did the Battle of Hastings take place?
October 14th
The apostle Thomas is also known as Didymos. What does this mean?
Twin
A pilliwinks was the deceptively innocent name for a medieval instrument of torture that crushed, or put pressue on, what part of the body?
Thumbs
Symbolic of the dawn of hope, a rising sun is incorporated in to the national flag of which African country, which became independent of British rule in July 1964?
Malawi
The diarist Samuel Pepys died during the reign of which British monarch?
Anne
Baltra, Genovesa and Bartolome Island are among the 21 islands of which Pacific archipeligo, administered by Ecuador?
Galapagos
Bloomsday, celebrated each year in Dublin, is named after the central character in Ulysses, by James Joyce. It takes place on the date on which the novel is set. What date is it?
June 16th
Which asteroid, the second most massive in the solar system, is the only one that routinely appears bright enough from Earth to be seen with the naked eye?
Vesta
