Perfect Pub Quiz (10 page)

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Authors: David Pickering

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Round 2: Great explorers

  1. What was the legendary golden city sought by the conquistadors in South America?
  2. Which city was Marco Polo from?
  3. Which great English explorer was murdered in the Sandwich Islands?
  4. Which Portuguese explorer gave the Pacific Ocean its name?
  5. Which astronaut hit a golf ball on the moon?
  6. Which European explorer discovered Jamaica?
  7. Who led the first successful Antarctic expedition?
  8. What were Scott of the Antarctic’s first names?
  9. What was the name of Christopher Columbus’s flagship?
  10. Which contemporary British explorer was considered as successor to Sean Connery in the role of James Bond?
    32

Half-time teaser

‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody claimed the record for the number of bison killed in a single season – how many did he claim?

Round 3: 21st century Rock and Pop

  1. Which pop star came to fame as frontman of the boy band ’N Sync?
  2. Who was named Bestselling Female Vocalist of All Time at the 2000 World Music Awards, and then suffered a complete emotional and physical breakdown?
  3. Which contemporary pop star has released the albums
    Let Go, Under My Skin
    and
    The Best Damn Thing
    ?
  4. Which pop star was born of Portuguese parentage in British Columbia, Canada in 1978?
  5. Which member of the Clash died in 2002?
  6. Which US pop star’s career began with success in the 2002 television talent show
    American Idol
    ?
  7. Which single featuring a deranged amphibian topped the singles charts early in 2005?
  8. What did the UK charts include from the start of 2007?
  9. From which British city do the Kaiser Chiefs hail?
  10. Whose album released in 2006 became the fastest-selling début album ever released in the UK?

Round 4: Pot Luck

  1. Of which athletic event is the Fosbury flop a feature?
  2. Where did the Flowerpot Men want to go in 1967?
  3. Which amendment to the US constitution allows a defendant to withhold information that might damage their own case?
  4. By what name is Allen Konigsberg better known?
  5. Who was the creator of Jeremy Fisher?
  6. Who observed that ‘A week is a long time in politics’?
  7. What did football goals lack before 1875?
  8. Who starred opposite Trevor Howard in
    Brief Encounter
    ?
  9. Who wrote
    Airport, Hotel
    and
    Wheels
    ?
  10. What was the name of the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine?

Jackpot

Alongside Lincoln, Kennedy and McKinley, who was the other US president to be assassinated?

 

Quiz 33

Round 1: Pot Luck

  1. Who was the Iron Duke?
  2. In which children’s book were Homily, Pod and Arriety first introduced to readers?
  3. Who played the US marshal facing a gang of outlaws in the classic 1952 western
    High Noon
    ?
  4. What is the capital of Somalia?
  5. In what role did Ernest Hemingway participate in World War I?
  6. In which year was Prince Edward born?
  7. Which artist was accused in 1877 of ‘flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face’?
  8. What was the name of the character played by Joan Collins in television’s
    Dynasty
    ?
  9. Who rode a white swan in 1970?
  10. Of which organisation is ‘Think globally, act locally’ the slogan?

Round 2: Around the World

  1. What is the name of the hill outside Jerusalem at the foot of which the Garden of Gethsemane is situated?
  2. Which African country is entirely surrounded by South Africa?
  3. What is the name of the most famous bridge spanning the Grand Canal in Venice?
  4. Which is the smallest independent state in the world?
  5. Which city is sometimes called ‘the city of dreaming spires’?
  6. Where is the Copacabana beach?
  7. Which of the following is not in Australia – Sydney, Brisbane or Wellington?
  8. In which British town was the television sitcom
    The Office
    set?
    33
  9. In which Italian city is E. M. Forster’s novel
    A Room with a View
    partly set?
  10. In which country did the Contras and the Sandinistas compete for power in the 1980s?

Half-time teaser

According to a recent survey, how many times will the average American visit a McDonald’s during their lifetime?

Round 3: Epitaphs

  1. Whose gravestone bears the warning ‘Good frend for Jesus sake forbeare, to dig the dust encloased heare! Blest be the man that spares thes stones, and curst be he that moves my bones!’?
  2. Which poet’s gravestone reads ‘Here lies one whose name was writ in water’?
  3. To which English king did an anonymous wit dedicate the epitaph ‘Here lies our sovereign lord the king, whose word no man relied on, who never said a foolish thing, nor ever did a wise one’?
  4. Who has the epitaph ‘If you seek his monument, look around you’?
  5. Whose gravestone bears an epitaph beginning ‘Workers of all lands unite’?
  6. Which US wit suggested for her own epitaph ‘Excuse my dust’?
  7. Whose epitaph was ‘That’s all, folks!’?
  8. Which Irish poet wrote for himself the epitaph ‘Cast a cold eye on life, on death, Horseman, pass by!’?
  9. Which comedian suggested for his own epitaph ‘I told you I was ill!’?
  10. Whose gravestone bears the line ‘Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore”’?

Round 4: Pot Luck

  1. What is the name of the famous high-speed train that runs between Osaka and Tokyo in Japan?
  2. By what title is Whistler’s
    Arrangement in Grey and Black
    better known?
  3. In which film are the two main characters called Charlie Allnutt and Rose Sayer?
  4. By what name was US-born traitor William Joyce known for his broadcasts from Nazi Germany during World War 11?
  5. Who was arrested on suspicion of stealing a diamond and emerald bracelet during England’s 1970 World Cup campaign?
  6. What is a female deer known as?
  7. What is the name of the pub in
    Coronation Street
    ?
  8. To whose skull does Hamlet deliver a famous speech?
  9. Who won the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest for Israel?
  10. By what name was escapologist Ehrich Weiss better known?

Jackpot

Which Spanish architect designed the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, begun in the 1880s and still unfinished?

 

Quiz 34

Round 1: Pot Luck

  1. Which of the world’s languages has the most speakers?
  2. Which comet returns to earth every 75 years?
  3. With which family of instruments would you associate James Blades and Evelyn Glennie?
  4. Where is the Algarve?
  5. From which Cole Porter show came such classic songs as ‘I get a kick out of you’ and ‘You’re the top’?
  6. US presidential elections take place in November, but in which month does an incoming president take office?
  7. Which Glenn Miller tune won the first gold disc?
  8. What shape is something that is oviform?
  9. In the Bible, who was David’s father?
  10. What was the BEF?

Round 2: Words from Abroad

  1. Which French phrase is used by the English to describe a no-through road?
  2. What Greek phrase refers in English to ‘the common rabble’?
  3. Which language contributed to English the words ‘dinghy’, ‘juggernaut’ and ‘shampoo’?
  4. What Latin phrase describes an illogical step in an argument?
  5. Which language contributed to English the words ‘commando’ and ‘trek’?
  6. What Yiddish word means ‘effrontery’ or ‘cheek’?
  7. What French phrase is used in English to describe a social blunder?
  8. What Swedish word describes an official who investigates a complaint against a local authority or other institution?
  9. What German word refers to anything perceived to be pretentious or inferior or in bad taste?
  10. Which French phrase describes clothes that are ready-to-wear?

Half-time teaser

How tall, in feet, is St Paul’s Cathedral?

Round 3: Fictional Characters

  1. In which novel is Frodo a central character?
  2. Who marries Tess in Thomas Hardy’s
    Tess of the D’Urbervilles
    ?
  3. Which book features a dog called Montmorency?
  4. What was Winnie-the-Pooh’s real name?
    34
  5. In which Charles Dickens novel does Uriah Heep appear?
  6. What is the name of Algernon’s fictitious friend in
    The Importance of Being Earnest
    ?
  7. Where was Captain Hook educated?
  8. In which adventure novel does Professor Challenger appear?
  9. Which one of the Mr Men is a practical joker who lives in a teashop-shaped house and drives a shoe-shaped car?
  10. Who played Horace Rumpole in the televised versions of the stories by John Mortimer?

Round 4: Pot Luck

  1. What does the prefix trans- mean?
  2. Which educational institution established in 1969 became known as ‘the university of the air’?
  3. In which sport was Wilf Mannion a well-known figure?
  4. What name was subsequently given to the German counter-offensive in the Ardennes in late 1944?
  5. What disappeared from the British coinage in 1960?
  6. What is the mountain ash also known as?
  7. What kind of plant is the source of vanilla?
  8. Which British monarch was known as ‘the Sailor King’?
  9. Of which fellow-composer did Rossini remark that he ‘has lovely moments but awful quarters of an hour’?
  10. Which athlete won Olympic gold in the 800 metres and the 1500 metres in 2004?

Jackpot

If the nobility, the Church and the commons are the first three estates, what is the fourth estate?

 

Quiz 35

Round 1: Pot Luck

  1. Of the Seven Wonders of the World, which are the only ones still standing?
  2. What is the name of the RAF aerobatic display team?
  3. What was the name of the shopping mall in Manchester destroyed by an IRA bomb in 1996?
  4. For what television programme is ‘Approaching menace’ the theme tune?
  5. Where was the classic 1960s television series
    The Prisoner
    filmed?
  6. Tony Blair was not even born when Elizabeth II became queen – true or false?
  7. Who shot Bobby Kennedy?
  8. What was the occupation of John Tradescant?
  9. Whose music is celebrated at the annual Aldeburgh Festival?
  10. Who was the first non-royal personality to be depicted on a British postage stamp?

Round 2: The Body

  1. What is the chief purpose of the eyebrow – to shield the eyes from bright light, to stop perspiration running into the eyes or to make the eyes more attractive?
  2. How many ribs do humans have?
  3. It takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile – true or false?
  4. Which Australian supermodel is known as ‘The Body’?
  5. England’s strategy in the 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia led to a diplomatic row – what name did the tour acquire?
  6. Which dance style of the 1980s was characterised by jerky, robotic movements?
  7. What high street cosmetics chain was founded by Anita Roddick in 1976?
  8. In which part of the body is the femoral artery?
  9. There are 106 bones in the human body – true or false?
  10. Who sought to protect Whitney Houston in the 1992 film
    The Bodyguard?
    35

Half-time teaser

What is the record for the longest game of Monopoly ever played?

Round 3: Celebrities

  1. On what 2004 reality television programme did Jordan and Peter André first form a relationship, eventually resulting in marriage?
  2. In which country was the
    Big Brother
    celebrity show format originally devised?
  3. On which Caribbean island did Princess Margaret have a holiday villa?
  4. Who deserted his wife for Angelina Jolie in 2005?
  5. Of which church is Tom Cruise a well-known member?
  6. Who became Mrs Liam Gallagher in April 1997?
  7. Which actress is film director Sam Mendes married to?
  8. Who married Madonna in 1985?
  9. Who became Mrs Michael Jackson in May 1994?
  10. What surname do Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz share?

Round 4: Pot Luck

  1. Which artist born in Salford became famous for his ‘matchstick’ figures?
  2. What style of music evolved in the 1960s from ska, calypso and rhythm and blues?
  3. Which country lies to the immediate south of Egypt?
  4. What is vodka made from?
  5. Who does Babar the elephant marry in the children’s books of Jean de Brunhoff?
  6. In Australian slang, where do ‘banana-benders’ come from?
  7. To which country does the island of Madeira belong?
  8. What was the name given to the soft-soled suede shoes worn by Teddy boys in the 1950s?
  9. Who, in 1972, promised to be your long-haired lover from Liverpool?
  10. What was the name of the German shepherd dog that became a Hollywood star in the 1920s?

Jackpot

Which politician did Winston Churchill dismiss in 1931 as ‘the boneless wonder’?

 

Quiz 36

Round 1: Pot Luck

  1. In which city would you find the Palatine Hill?
  2. In American football, what is the playing area called?
  3. Who sang about a ‘ballroom blitz’ in 1973?
  4. In George Orwell’s
    Animal Farm
    , who is Napoleon, the leader of the pigs, thought to represent?
  5. Which major sporting event takes place at the Roland Garros Stadium in Paris?
  6. Which 1984 novel by Anita Brookner was set in a fashionable Swiss hotel?
  7. Who was the first athlete to run 5,000 metres in under 13 minutes?
  8. What did the Greek goddess Nike represent?
  9. By what other name is the Spanish chestnut also known?
  10. Of which radio programme is ‘Barwick Green’ the signature tune?

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