Quiz 44

Question 1

Of which jazz musician’s death in 1967 did the poet and critic Philip Larkin write: “I can’t conceal that it leaves in jazz a vast, blessed silence”?

Answer 1

John Coltrane

Question 2

Phlebotomy and venesection are scientific names for which, now largely obsolete, medical practice?

Answer 2

Bleeding

Question 3

The world’s smallest mammal, found in Thailand, with individuals typically weighing only 2 grams, is a species of what kind of creature?

Answer 3

Bat

Question 4

In which EU member state is the town of Schengen, where the Schengen Agreement on border controls was signed in 1985?

Answer 4

Luxembourg

Question 5

Because of his submission to William the Conqueror in 1066, rather than being replaced by the invaders, Saint Wulfstan was allowed to remain as bishop of which city?

Answer 5

Worcester

Question 6

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?

Answer 6

Sharks

Question 7

In Walter Scott’s novel The Heart of Midlothian, what is the Heart of Midlothian?

Answer 7

The Edinburgh Tollbooth - prison

Question 8

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?

Answer 8

John Major

Question 9

In mathematics, what is the reciprocal of 2?

Answer 9

Half

Question 10

In which English county is the Neolithic burial mound known as Hetty Peglar’s Tump?

Answer 10

Gloucestershire

Question 11

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”?

Answer 11

Alan Bennett

Question 12

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?

Answer 12

Jasper

Question 13

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?

Answer 13

Kohoutec

Question 14

William Pratt was the real name of which star of horror films, born in London in 1887?

Answer 14

Boris Karloff

Question 15

Which 1932 novel by Erskine Caldwell, which became a long running Broadway play, tells the story of Georgia sharecroppers during the Great Depression?

Answer 15

Tobacco Road

Question 16

Although it was not patented or commercially successful during his lifetime, the inventor William Lee pioneered which hand-powered textile machine in Nottinghamshire in the late 16th century?

Answer 16

Stocking Frame

Question 17

Which record did the Hollywood actress Greer Garson set at the Academy Award ceremony in 1942?

Answer 17

Longest acceptance speech

Question 18

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?

Answer 18

William Roentgen

Question 19

What’s the most common English name for the bird with the taxonomic name Crex crex, also known as the land rail?

Answer 19

Corncrake

Question 20

By a strange coincidence, two former US presidents died on the 4th July 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the declaration of independence. Can you name either of them?

Answer 20

Adams and Jefferson

Question 21

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?

Answer 21

Land of Hope and Glory

Question 22

What type of weather would you be afraid of if you suffered from Chionophobia?

Answer 22

Snow

Question 23

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?

Answer 23

Physician

Question 24

The William Herschel Telescope, named after the German-born British astronomer, is located on which islands?

Answer 24

Canaries

Question 25

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?

Answer 25

Pall Mall

Question 26

What would you be most likely to find inside a Stevenson screen?

Answer 26

Meteorological instruments

Question 27

Konrad Kujau, the manager of a Stuttgart cleaning company and small-time forger of luncheon vouchers, was responsible for which prominent 20th century hoax?

Answer 27

Hitler diaries

Question 28

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?

Answer 28

Verdi

Question 29

Shir ha-Shirim is the Hebrew name for which book of the Old Testament?

Answer 29

Song of Songs

Question 30

By European law, only cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Southern France are allowed to bear which famous name?

Answer 30

Roquefort

Question 31

What is the name of the racetrack in Louisville where the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks are run?

Answer 31

Churchill Downs

Question 32

Which chemical element gets its name from the Greek word for acid producer?

Answer 32

Oxygen

Question 33

In which month of 1066 did the Battle of Hastings take place?

Answer 33

October (14th)

Question 34

The apostle Thomas is also known as Didymos. What does this mean?

Answer 34

Twin

Question 35

A pilliwinks was the deceptively innocent name for a medieval instrument of torture that crushed, or put pressure on, what part of the body?

Answer 35

Thumbs

Question 36

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?

Answer 36

Malawi

Question 37

The diarist Samuel Pepys died during the reign of which British monarch?

Answer 37

Anne

Question 38

Baltra, Genovesa and Bartolome Island are among the 21 islands of which Pacific archipelago, administered by Ecuador?

Answer 38

Galapagos

Question 39

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?

Answer 39

June 16th

Question 40

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?

Answer 40

Vesta