General knowledge quiz
POT LUCK
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
In which month of the year do the French celebrate Bastille Day, their Fete Nationale? What do the following words have in common: SUBLIMATE, AERODROME, FRIGATE and PARISHIONER? What is the name of the phenomenon where a sound, for example, may evoke sensations of colour? Larger in diameter than Mercury, Ganymede is a moon of which planet? In which country was female education activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai born? Who, on 23 November 1910, was hanged for the murder of his wife, a music hall singer who performed on stage as Belle Elmore?
GEOGRAPHY
In which country are the famous Waitomo Caves, known for being lit by glow-worms? Which river divides Manchester from Salford? Which Asian federation was known until 1971 as the Trucial States? ’Every country gets the circus it deserves. Spain gets bullfights. Italy gets the Catholic Church.’ What, according to Erica Jong, does the USA get? The capitals of the Seychelles and British Columbia, Africa’s largest lake and an Australian state all share which name? The Northwest Passage is a route between the Atlantic and which other ocean?
TELEVISION
What’s the surname of the X Factor twins, John and Edward? Which American soap opera that ran in the UK from 1982 to 1989 was set in Denver, Colarado? In 1963, the critic Bernard Levin was assaulted by a member of the audience during a live broadcast of which television programme? Which Derby-born actress played Amy Pearce in Duty Free, Barbara Liversidge in Barbara, and Peggy Armstong in Heartbeat? ’Am I bovvered?!’ became the catchphrase of which truculent schoolgirl, created by Catherine Tate? Which fictional town is the setting for the detective series A Touch of Frost?
BOOKS AND AUTHORS
From which of Shakespeare’s plays did Tom Stoppard borrow the title characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead? What was the name of the freckled red-haired heroine in Astrid Lindgren’s classic children’s book series? Edward Estlin were the forenames of which US poet who often dispensed entirely with the use of upper case letters in his writing? What links the authors of The Monk, a gothic novel of 1796, the historical romance Savrola and the 1844 political novel Coningsby? Who is the author of Chocolat? The title character of which 1897 novel first arrives in England at Whitby aboard the Russian ship, the Demeter?
FOOD AND DRINK
In the view of Samuel Johnson, which food ’should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar and then thrown out as good for nothing’? The vegetable stew known as ratatouille has its origins in the south of which country? Which Oxfordshire market town lends its name to the flat oval currant-filled cake made in the area from the 16th century? From which fruit is the brandy Calvados distilled? What did Mark Twain describe as ’nothing but a cabbage with a college education’? What name is given to a dish of scrambled eggs and anchovies served on toast?
Solutions in Monday’s Daily Record